The 2010-11 Chicago Blackhawks were an unusual outfit. They were clearly depleted from the previous season’s team, which won the Stanley Cup. They backed into the Western Conference’s final playoff spot, clinching it despite losing their regular-season finale.
And yet, they gave the top-seeded and President’s Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks all they could handle in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Of course, that was after losing the first three games.
Chicago was quite literally a goal away from overcoming a 3-0 deficit and stunning the then-hated Canucks. But it wasn’t meant to be, as Alexandre Burrows ended what turned into a thrilling series with an overtime snipe in Game 7.