The Chicago Blackhawks start their quest for the cup against the Vancouver Canucks

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The Chicago Blackhawks start their quest for the cup against the Vancouver Canucks

The Chicago Blackhawks are defending Stanley Cup champions, but they barely squeaked into the playoffs. The reward for getting in will be a first round series against the best team in hockey, the Vancouver Canucks.

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The past two years it ended with Chicago knocking the Canucks out of the playoffs. With a history like that, you’d think it would be easy to get players talking about each other before their first-round series kicks off Wednesday in Vancouver.

For all the bitter history, the focus going into the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series was how much these two teams have changed since last season.

Chicago went on to win the Stanley Cup after eliminating Vancouver in six games in the second round for a second straight season.

But the Blackhawks were forced to shed 11 players to stay under the salary cap, including several key Canucks’ antagonists, and needed help from Minnesota beating Dallas in the final game of the season Sunday just to make it back into the playoffs.

Meanwhile the Canucks, in part because of improvements made after losing again to Chicago, set franchise records for points and wins and became the first team since the 1977-78 Canadiens to lead the league in goals for and against while winning the Presidents’ Trophy.

Maybe so, but these are not the same Blackhawks that hoisted the Cup. Gone are goalie Antti Niemi and forward Andrew Ladd, who was once called a “coward” by Canucks center Ryan Kesler.

Big-bodied forward Dustin Byfuglien, who made life miserable in Luongo’s crease, was traded, as was Kris Versteeg, who scored two game-winning goals in the last playoff series.

Especially in Vancouver, where the Canucks also host Game 2 on Friday before the series shifts to Chicago for Games 3 and 4. The Blackhawks won all three games in Vancouver last postseason, including a conclusive 5-1 victory in Game 6, and have a 5-1 record here the past two playoffs.

The Blackhawks are 15-31 in their last 46 games as an underdog of +151 to +200 and the Canucks are 38-14 in their last 52 against the Western Conference. The Canucks start the playoffs with a big win over the Blackhawks.

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