(My Sportsbook) - The well-rested Vancouver Canucks breezed to a sweep over the St. Louis Blues in the first round. Hopefully, the lengthy layoff between rounds doesn't cool off goaltender Roberto Luongo, who was Vancouver's best player in the conference quarterfinals.

Luongo is quite possibly the league's best puck-stopper and is such an important part of the Canucks franchise that he was named the club's captain prior to the start of this season, making him the first NHL goaltender to assume the role of team captain since Montreal's Bill Durnan in 1947-48.

The Montreal native showed his worth in the opening series against the Blues, posting eye-popping numbers on his way to a 4-0 record. Luongo stopped 126- of-131 shots he faced in the series for a .962 save percentage and also recorded a stingy 1.16 goals against average.

However, Luongo and the Canucks played their last game against St. Louis on April 21, giving the club eight full days of rest before beginning the second round against Chicago. It will be interesting to see whether or not Luongo will have to shake off some rust early on against the Blackhawks.

This is just the second career postseason appearance for Luongo, who is 9-7 with a 1.63 GAA and .946 save percentage in 16 playoff games.

Despite missing 24 games to a groin injury during the regular season, Luongo went 33-13-7 with a 2.34 goals against average and a franchise-record nine shutouts. The injury was a big reason Vancouver struggled midway through the campaign and Luongo's play after his return in January was also the key to the Canucks winning the Northwest Division title.

While Luongo is Vancouver's most valuable asset, the club also boasts one of the NHL's best 1-2 punches in twin brothers Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The duo both notched a team-best 82 points during the regular season, with Daniel, a left wing, posting a club-high 31 goals and Henrik, a centerman, leading the way with 60 assists that ranked eighth in the league.

The Sedins had a strong opening round against St. Louis as well. Daniel posted two goals and three assists to lead the team with five points and Henrik added four points on a goal and three helpers. Both Daniel and Henrik also posted a plus-four rating for the series.

The lone non-Sedin on Vancouver's top line also had a productive series against the Blues, as winger Alex Burrows recorded a team-high three goals.

The long layoff could pose a problem to the Canucks in terms of rust, but the club was happy that the break allowed a few key players to recover from injuries.

Veteran centerman Mats Sundin missed the last two games of the St. Louis series and top defenseman Sami Salo sat out Game 4, but both players are expected to be ready for the second-round opener. Salo contributed four points (1 goal, 3 assists) from the blueline in his three games against St. Louis, while Sundin managed to record career playoff goal No. 36 in two games.

In addition to Salo, the Canucks blueline also gets steady defense from veterans Mattias Ohlund and Willie Mitchell.

The Canucks put forth a solid effort on the power play in the opening round, scoring on 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) of their opportunities with the man advantage. Vancouver was nearly perfect on the penalty kill against the Blues, stopping 24 of St. Louis' 25 chances (95.8 percent) on the power play.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (4th seed, West)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 46-24-12

2009 PLAYOFFS: Defeated Calgary 4-2 in conference quarterfinals

(My Sportsbook) - Fresh off the franchise's first playoff series win in 13 years, the youthful Chicago Blackhawks will try to keep their playoff run going as they enter this second round series against Vancouver.

The Blackhawks are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and their 4-2 series win over Calgary marked the Original Six franchise's first postseason victory since sweeping the Flames in the opening round of the 1996 playoffs.

Chicago is going through a hockey renaissance, as the city gets to cheer for one of the most exciting young teams in the league. Now with the team headed to the second round, the Blackhawks' profile in the Windy City is about to grow even larger.

The Blackhawks' youth movement is led on offense by captain Jonathan Toews, who just celebrated his 21st birthday, and is aided by former No. 1 overall pick Patrick Kane and 2008-09 Calder Trophy finalist Kris Versteeg.

Versteeg led the Blackhawks in the opening round with seven points (2g, 5a) with all of that offense coming in the final three games against Calgary. The 22-year-old winger was second amongst NHL rookies during the regular season with 53 points on 22 goals and 31 assists.

Toews, currently the league's youngest captain, was one of five Chicago players with six points in the Calgary series as he notched two goals and four assists. He led Chicago with 34 goals during the regular season.

Kane had two goals and two assists in the first round after finishing second on the team with 70 points during the regular season.

Another reason for Chicago's success all year long was the fact that Martin Havlat turned in the finest season of what has been an injury-plagued career. The 28-year-old Czech posted career-highs this year in assists (48), points (77), plus-minus (plus-29) and games played (81). Havlat continued to produce in the playoffs, posting six points (3g, 3a) against the Flames.

Chicago boasts considerable scoring depth as it had five players with 20 or more goals during the regular season. Toews led the way as the team's only 30- goal scorer and was followed by Havlat (29), Patrick Sharp (26), Kane (25) and Versteeg (22).

The Blackhawks defensive corps features a handful of talented youngsters, but was greatly improved as a unit with the offseason addition of veteran Brian Campbell.

Campbell, 29, was signed to a lucrative eight-year contract this past summer and earned his pay by leading the Chicago defense with 52 points (7g, 45a) during the regular season. The former Buffalo and San Jose blueliner has helped stabilize the Blackhawks power play, which finished 12th in the league this year.

Brent Seabrook and Cam Barker, who are 24 and 23 years old, respectively, played extremely well in the first playoff series of their careers. The youngsters paced the Chicago blueline with six points apiece, as Barker tallied three goals and three assists and Seabrook added one goal and five helpers.

The Blackhawks combination of scoring depth and talented defensemen helped the team score five times on 22 opportunities (22.7-percent) on the power play in Round 1. Chicago also did well on the penalty kill, surrendering just two power-play goals on 15 opportunities against the Flames.

Handling goaltending duties in the opening round was veteran backstop Nikolai Khabibulin, who has assumed the No. 1 role despite the presence of free-agent signee Cristobal Huet.

Huet, who was inked to a four-year deal in the offseason, and Khabibulin each started 40 games during the regular season, but the "Bulin Wall" wound up with the starting job thanks to turning in a more consistent 2008-09 campaign.

Khabibulin, who won a Stanley Cup title as Tampa Bay's starting netminder in 2004, had an up-and-down series against the Flames and ended the set with a 2.52 GAA and .914 save percentage.

MATCHUP

This series pits one of the league's best goaltenders in Luongo against one of the NHL's quickest and youngest teams.

The Canucks and Blackhawks met four times during the regular season and split the series with two wins apiece. However, Vancouver won the final two matchups and outscored the 'Hawks by an 11-3 margin in those contests.

Chicago had a problem slowing down the Sedin twins over the course of the season series, as the duo led all scorers on either team with six points each in the four games. Khabibulin also struggled with an 0-2 record and lofty 4.84 GAA against Vancouver this year.

The Blackhawks and Canucks have met just twice in the postseason and each club has won a round. They last met in the playoffs in 1995, when Chicago swept Vancouver in four games during the conference semifinals.

Neither the Blackhawks nor the Canucks have made it to the conference finals since the mid-1990s, but that will change for one club with the outcome of this series. Chicago made it to the West finals in 1995, where it lost to Detroit in five games. The Canucks were last participants in the conference finals in 1994, when they made it to the franchise's second Stanley Cup Finals before falling in seven games to the New York Rangers.

By reaching the second round of the playoffs, Chicago and its youthful lineup are ahead of schedule in terms of development. Luongo and the Sedins, on the other hand, are entering the primes of their careers.

Vancouver will struggle to overcome the long layoff at the start of this series, but Luongo will eventually lead the way to a berth in the conference finals.

My Sportsbook predicted outcome: Canucks in 7