Rocky Wirtz inherited some excellent young players when he took the helm in Chicago, specifically right winger Patrick Kane Jr. and center JonathanToews.
"We went through a little spurt there in the last series where we were doing the right things but the pucks weren't going in, " Blackhawks captain JonathanToews said.
After JonathanToews of Chicago and Jordan Schroeder of Vancouver were denied in the shootout, Kane skated in on Cory Schneider and tried to stuff one in close to the goal.
As the dual centerpieces of the NHL's best team, the Blackhawks' Patrick Kane and JonathanToews could siphon votes from each other, and Washington's Alex Ovechkin (a two-time MVP) has scored 18 goals over his previous 15 games.
The Blackhawks' four most talented and important players are all homegrown: forwards Patrick Kane (the No. 1-overall pick in 2007) and JonathanToews (No. 3 overall in 2006) and defensemen Duncan Keith (a second-round selection in 2002) and Brent Seabrook (No. 14 overall in 2003).