Vigneault wonders how Blackhawks-Canucks can get more intense

James O'Brien

Jan 31, 2012, 8:00 AM EDT

3 Comments

For many realists/fun-killers, a late January match between the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks isn’t that big of a deal. The rest of us cannot help but get excited, though, especially after Dave Bolland stirred the pot early in the season.

Ben Kuzma reports that Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault doesn’t think that Bolland’s comments will make much of a difference simply because the hostilities would be boiling over anyway.

Vigneault makes an excellent point, but it could always get more interesting. With that in mind, enjoy a few interesting tidbits to fan those flames.

Roberto Luongo provided Ian MacIntyre with an unusual take on how these games tend to feel, even if he’ll just be experiencing such a phenomenon from the bench (barring an injury or other debacle for Cory Schneider).

“You feel these are the games that get more and more important as you move along in the season,” Luongo said. “It just feels that it blows by and the next thing you know you’re in the playoffs.”

Gordon McIntyre reports that there’s one Blackhawks player who the Canucks are still friends with. (It will seem painfully obvious who that player is once you end up clicking the link … if you didn’t figure it out already).