Bolland relishes rematch with Canucks
It has been a long six months since Dave Bolland and his Blackhawks teammates faced off against their bitter rivals.
When they last saw each other the combatants were shaking hands at center ice at Rogers Center in Vancouver. Then, the Canucks were full of smiles after clinching the Western Conference quarterfinals with a thrilling Game 7 victory in overtime and the Hawks were grimacing as their remarkable series comeback ended with a startling, season-ending abruptness.
Bolland had sparked the Hawks' comeback from an 0-3 deficit when he returned from a concussion after missing 17 games and helped his team reel off three victories before Alexandre Burrows scored in overtime in the series finale to give the Canucks a 2-1 victory and dash any hopes of a repeat Stanley Cup championship.
"? If we just would have gotten past that game I think we would have been right back to where we were the year before," Bolland said. "We're going to have that in our heads and that's going to play into it knowing they got that last game against us."
Bolland expects a postseason-like atmosphere when the teams meet again Sunday night at the United Center for the first of four regular-season games. The rematch figures to rekindle the fierceness between the teams.
"It will be like a playoff game on Sunday right from the puck drop," Bolland said. "Something will happen. The fans and everybody will be into it. It will be a crazy game."
Bolland certainly will be charged up for it as the center has been at his pesky best for showdowns against the high-flying Sedin brothers, Henrik and Daniel, and goaltender Roberto Luongo and the rest of the Canucks.
"I've missed everybody," Bolland said with a grin. "I try to be at my best every game but I think I'm at my extra best when I'm going against those guys."
As the Hawks' top defensive center, Bolland has been adept at shutting down the Sedins offensively the last few seasons while at the same time getting under the skins of the usually unflappable Swedish siblings.
"It's what my job is, to take down two guys like that, great players, and for them to take a minus or not get any points on the board," Bolland said. "It's just playing tough and being sure when they're on the ice that I'll be out there and on them."
As far as the war of words that often break out on the ice, Bolland said, "I don't really understand them. They'll chirp back once in a while and say a few words but I don't really listen that much to what they say."
The Hawks (8-2-3) are off to a strong start this season while the Canucks (6-7-1) perhaps are experiencing their own version of a Stanley Cup hangover after falling in seven games to the Bruins in the 2011 finals.
"At the end of the year you know they're going to be a top team," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "The rivalry is definitely in place. When you play them three years in a row in the playoffs there's something going on there."
