Still, when newcomer John Madden tallied late in the first period, there was this feeling that I knew the Blackhawks had the firepower to come back.  The second period belonged to Chicago, with goals from Kane, Byfuglien, and Bolland in a span of seven minutes.  Patrick Sharp tied the game about five minutes into the third on a great redirection that found the net.

With the United Center frenzied, the Hawks pressured but couldn’t end the game in regulation, but it only took 26 seconds of the extra period.  Brent Seabrook found himself with the puck and snapped a low shot beat Kiprusoff and cap the amazing comeback.

It’s safe to say I’ve never seen a game like that before.  To play so horribly in the first period and be able to completely turn that around to out-shoot the Flames by 19 and win is amazing.  I cannot overstate how bad things were during the onslaught by the Flames.  Duncan Keith even made a mistake!  As bad as Huet looked, Niemi looked just as bad when he came in after three goals.  It half expected to see Mark Grace come into goal.

For this young team to hang in and dominate the last two periods says so much.  As for their make-up, you have to like that they didn’t quit and while they may not have believed they could win the whole time, it didn’t take much to find that confidence.  While the veteran Madden got the first goal, Patrick Kane was electrifying last night.  The kid had a goal and two assists and with two teams filled with stars, he was the best player on the ice.

The comeback marks the biggest comeback in franchise history and ties for the best in league history.  That stat makes me think of when you’re watching a long field goal and the kicker hits a 58-yarder and they say “that would have been good from 65 or 70.”  While the Hawks only matched the five goals in regulation, you got the feeling watching that if it was six or seven, they would have matched that too.

We thought this would be an exciting season, and it certainly looks like that will be the case.

Just like in Game 1, when the Hawks fell behind they ended up carrying the play and peppering Luongo.  This time the Hawks finished the job.  Patrick Sharp scored two goals in about three minutes in the second period to tie the game up, then Dave Bolland scored a shorthanded goal with 3:10 left in the period to take the lead.

The Bolland goal was a thing of beauty.  Duncan Keith lobbed the puck from his own zone to Bolland who snagged it out of the air at the blue line and in one motion was skating in on Luongo unabated.  After a sweet move befitting a veteran of the playoffs, the youngster put in the go-ahead goal.  Chicago outshot Vancouver 13-5 in the crucial second period.

The Hawks came out firing in the third period with goals from Eager and Kane in the first six minutes to break the game open.  The Canucks would add a late goal on a 5-on-3 power play.

Frankly, this was the kind of game I expected.  Luongo was great in the first round, but he doesn’t get to play the St. Louis Blues all playoffs long.  The Hawks are going to put a lot more pressure on Luongo and they get scoring from everywhere.  I really think the Hawks are markedly better than the Canucks and if they can continue to bring the energy and focus every game, they’ll win this series.

The Blackhawks were dominant in even strength play Saturday.  All three of Vancouver’s tallies came on the power play.  A key for Chicago going forward will be to stay out of the penalty box, but if they’re going to score four even strength goals, I guess that it isn’t that big of a deal.

Today is an extra day of rest, so Game 3 will be tomorrow night at the United Center and starts at 7:00 CT.  The Hawks have to feel good about stealing home ice early in the series and have a great chance to put a strangle hold on it the next couple games in what is sure to be a rambunctious atmosphere on the West Side.