Hawks run it up- That's the rub

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The Blackhawks were elated after a 7-1 romp at Vancouver on Nov. 20, but Canucks coach Alain Vigneault (inset) thinks they were trying to rub it in on a late power play.

It wasn't a fight or a hair-pulling or even some name-calling. But Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault added another footnote in the Blackhawks-Canucks rivalry when he accused the Hawks of running up the score after the last time they played.

''We basically embarrassed ourselves in front of our fans, and they did everything they could to rub it in our face -- 6-0 and they throw their No. 1 power-play unit [out there] when it's a 5-on-3,'' Vigneault said after the Hawks demolished his team 7-1 on Nov. 20. ''They have every right to do that. They did it. They were pushing it, and they did.''

There were plenty of signs that the Hawks were not trying to run up the score, but nevertheless it makes tonight's game at the United Center all the more compelling.

''Our intentions were just the opposite of what we got accused of from my point of view,'' coach Joel Quenneville said Thursday.

The Hawks needed that win over the Canucks, especially after their embarrassing 7-2 loss to the Calgary Flames a day earlier. Quenneville also was rolling four lines at that point.

During the 5-on-3 Vigneault mentioned, Quenneville sent out Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Viktor Stalberg, Duncan Keith and Nick Boynton. Neither Boynton, Stalberg nor Keith is on the first power-play unit. At the time, Boynton and Keith were defensive partners. The Hawks had a two-man advantage for only 34 seconds -- all game.

Stalberg (:49), Boynton (:36), Jake Dowell (:56), Bryan Bickell (1:18), Jack Skille (:56) Jassen Cullimore (:43), Niklas Hjalmarsson (1:29) and Fernando Pisani (1:15) all saw power-play time against the Canucks in the rout. None was on the Hawks' first or second power-play units then, nor are they now.

''I don't think that's the way we really felt,'' Kane said. ''We were just out there playing hockey. I don't think anyone was really thinking we have to run up the score on these guys.''

The Hawks' 7-5 win Tuesday over the St. Louis Blues showed one reason to keep playing your top players. The Hawks blew a 5-1 lead with what Quenneville described as casual play, and the Blues made it a one-goal game early in the third period.

''They say we're running up the score, but then you look at a game like St. Louis,'' Kane said. ''What happens if we get one or two more goals and put them out of the game- They don't come back and make it 5-4. It's tough to say. You can say it about pretty much any game that's a blowout.''

Like what the Canucks did to the Flames on Wednesday. They scored two power-play goals in the final five minutes, turning a 5-2 game into a 7-2 shellacking. A game earlier, Vancouver scored twice in the final 5:10 against the San Jose Sharks en route to a 6-1 victory.

Frustration was most likely a factor in Vigneault's comments. The Hawks have won both their meetings with the Canucks this year after ending their Stanley Cup dreams two years in a row and basically outmuscling and outtoughing them on the ice.

''The first game was a very close game, and we were fortunate in overtime,'' Quenneville said. ''Last game, we were coming off a game where we needed a response. We liked the way we came out of the Calgary game with a big win and a needed win for us.

''We know that there is some history here. When you go against Vancouver, you have to be at your best. Their power play is effective, and they have some speed on their team. Let's make sure we're smart on how we approach it. Discipline is key.''TONIGHT: CANUCKS AT BLACKHAWKS