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CHICAGO -- Is there any chance the Chicago Blackhawks would be interested in trading for Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo?

Luongo said he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause, and it sounds like the Canucks might accommodate him.

A source told ESPN.com's Pierre Lebrun that Chicago could be on the short list of teams Luongo would be willing to be traded to.

Coincidentally, Luongo and Hawks starter Corey Crawford share the same agent in Gilles Lupien.

But does Luongo make any sense for the Blackhawks?

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Every day between now and the end of the regular season I’ll update you on the playoff race as it pertains to the Chicago Blackhawks:

The Los Angeles Kings prevented the Hawks from clinching a playoff berth as they beat the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night, 4-1. The win vaulted the Kings back into first place in the Pacific Division knocking the Dallas Stars down to the No. 7 seed as they lost 5-2 to the Vancouver Canucks.

The Hawks have a chance to clinch on their own if they earn at least a point in Saturday night’s game against the Nashville Predators. Nashville beat Detroit 4-1 on Friday to take over the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Nashville has 98 points, Detroit has 97 and Chicago has 95. Even if the Hawks beat Nashville and tie Detroit in the points, they’ll still wake-up on Sunday as the No. 6 seed due to tie-breakers.

The Hawks can also clinch a playoff berth if the San Jose Sharks lose, in regulation or overtime, later on Saturday when they host the Stars. If Dallas loses in regulation or Phoenix does the same against Anaheim, the Hawks also clinch. Lastly, if the Kings lose to Minnesota in regulation or overtime the Hawks can clinch.

The Hawks are 1-4 against Nashville this year while the Predators have earned points in all five games. Nashville’s win on Friday earned coach Barry Trotz his 500th career victory. The Hawks are 14-6-2 against the Central Division while the Predators are 16-4-3.

If the playoffs started to the Hawks would take on the Kings in the opening round of the postseason.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault says injured winger Daniel Sedin has a concussion.

The team remains mum on the left wing's condition, or if he will be able to return to action before the playoffs.

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CHICAGO -- At first thought, Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith receiving a five game suspension for his elbow to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin seems harsh.

If there is anything the league has been consistent on it’s that first time offenders can get away with a lot more than repeat ones.

But Keith’s situation may have been somewhat unique. In explaining why the league decided on five games discipline czar Brendan Shanahan said:

“Regardless of Keith’s assertion his intent on this play was to impede Sedin’s progress, as opposed to a retaliation of an earlier hit. Keith’s hit was still dangerous, reckless and caused injury.”

We’ve seen other hits described in a similar manner but for first-time offenders they rarely get as many as five games. Just days earlier, Phoenix Coyotes forward Shane Doan was suspended three games for an elbow to the head and he is a repeat offender.

The hits aren’t exactly the same, Keith’s may have been a bit more violent, but they’re close enough to wonder why such a harsh punishment for a first time offense?

It’s clear from replays, that minutes before the blow to Sedin, Daniel hit Keith with an elevated shoulder that caused his head to snap back near the boards but did not cause injury. It was a questionable hit. By Shanahan’s response in his explanation video the idea of a “retaliation” blow obviously came up in the phone call with Keith and his representatives. Keith denied retribution but that doesn’t mean the league believed him.

The injury to Sedin, who missed the next game and is out “indefinitely,” played a big part as well, according to league spokesman Gary Meagher. That notion, coupled with the possibility of retribution contributed to the five games being handed out.

As for the earlier hit by Sedin on Keith, the league would not comment publicly if the referees should have called a penalty but Meagher simply said “it did not rise to the level of needing supplemental discipline.”

It’s possible the league viewed the hit as a shoulder-to-high chest hit and not anything more nefarious than that.

The retribution angle is somewhat unchartered territory in the sense it came minutes after the original blow and not right away. But if the league believes the hit was intentional, and was a response to a previous hit on Keith, than giving him five games makes some sense. There is little doubt the league wants to curb the idea of players taking matters into their own hands in the fashion that Keith did. There are already enough questionable hits in the course of play that those that are deemed intentional are going to be scrutinized more closely.

As for the league changing its mind on Thursday regarding an in-person hearing as opposed to a phone call, Shanahan simply changed his mind as the day progressed. Maybe it was getting a full medical report on Sedin that changed his mind or maybe he became more convinced at the retribution angle. By asking for an in-person hearing, which Keith waived, it allowed Shanahan to potentially suspend him for more than five games. Instead, he landed exactly on that number, and so the Hawks will be without one of their top defenseman until the final two games of the regular season.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith has been suspended for five games for his elbow to the head of Vancouver Canucks' forward Daniel Sedin in Wednesday's 2-1 overtime win by Chicago.

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CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks and defenseman Duncan Keith say they respect the process the NHL administers when it comes to potential supplemental discipline.

And now they’ll just wait and see what the department of player safety has to say after they conduct a conference call with Keith and his representatives about a high elbow he delivered to forward Daniel Sedin in a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

“We’re going to talk to [director of enforcement] Brendan [Shanahan] and see what happens,” Keith said after Hawks practice on Friday. “Let the NHL make a decision. I respect all the decisions they make.”

Keith had a scheduled 1 p.m. CT call with Shanahan regarding his elbow to the head of Sedin. He was assessed a two-minute minor penalty but the league deemed supplemental discipline may be in order for the blow which kept Sedin out of Thursday’s game in Dallas. He’s out indefinitely.

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CHICAGO -- Add another nasty chapter to the rivalry between the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks. The Hawks’ 2-1 overtime victory on Wednesday kept Chicago moving in the right direction, but it takes a back seat to the looming punishment awaiting defenseman Duncan Keith.

Keith’s hit on Daniel Sedin in the first period is certain to bench the Hawks’ defenseman for at least a game. There is no question it was illegal as evidenced by the minor penalty invoked. The league will decide the punishment on Friday -- in a 1 pm CST conference call with Keith, his agent and general manager Stan Bowman. The fact that Sedin is missing Thursday’s game against Dallas as he returns to Vancouver for further testing is certain to work against Keith.

The fact that the hearing is by phone means the suspension can’t be longer than five games – if it were to extend beyond that mark, it would require an in-person hearing with the league instead of a phone call.

The NHL takes into account injury impact of a play . So if Sedin has a concussion, the league’s discipline czar, Brendan Shanahan, will use that in determining the length of a possible suspension. But the severity of the concussion probably won’t play a part, just the fact he has one -- or at least that he’s missing a game. With only one day for the Canucks to assess Sedin’s condition, Shanahan probably won’t know the full extent of the injury when he makes a decision.

The bottom line is Keith is a first-time offender who delivered a blow to the head as the principal point of contact. It means a suspension of 1-3 games, more likely on the heavier side than the lighter one.

Will the league take into account Sedin’s high hit on Keith a few minutes earlier? It might actually work against Keith.

The league already has a mechanism in addressing Sedin’s hit, they could review it just as they are Keith. But they won’t give Keith a pass because he or others may believe Sedin had it coming. It doesn’t work that way. They may actually view Keith’s hit as intentional retribution, further adding to the evidence against the Hawks’ defenseman.

Sedin’s hit on Keith should have drawn an on-ice penalty, but to say definitively it deserves more punishment might not be correct. It was a questionable hit but not as vicious as Keith’s elbow.

As for the other extracurricular activities, most of it surrounded the Canucks’ attempts to find Keith and exact their own retribution on him. Alex Burrows and Keith have a long history of animosity while Dave Bolland and Henrik Sedin have had words over the years and had some on Wednesday. Newcomers to the rivalry, like Zack Kassian, had some words with Brent Seabrook among others.

So it was business as usual for these two rivals. Before the game Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said the teams simply “hated each other.” After the game Seabrook reiterated that notion. It’s about the only thing the two teams can agree upon these days.

Star winger Daniel Sedin was on his way back to Vancouver Thursday for further medical evaluation, Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager Laurence Gilman told ESPN.com.

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CHICAGO -- The calendar might still say March, but it sure felt like April or May at the United Center on Wednesday night.

But no matter if its winter or spring or even a preseason game in fall, the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks don’t disappoint in the entertainment department. Why? Because they simply don’t like each other and it comes out on the ice.

But you are already knew that.

“It’s a playoff atmosphere every time we play them,” Brent Seabrook said after the Hawks 2-1 overtime win. “Those are the games both sides like to play in. They’re hard fought battles. It’s nice to come away with two points tonight.”

And what about the numerous skirmishes and cheap shots to go along with 12 minor penalties and three 10-minute misconducts?

“It’s one of those love/hate relationships,” Seabrook said. “We all love to play in games like that. They’re fun and exciting. At the same time I think we hate each other.”

There’s little doubt about that last sentiment. Seabrook was in the middle of a lot of that extracurricular activity as was his partner Duncan Keith. Keith went high on Daniel Sedin with a blow that will undoubtedly get a second look from the league then he reacquainted himself with old foe Alex Burrows.

“There was a little skirmish there,” Keith said. “That stuff happens. … It’s fun playing these guys. It’s fun and intense games to be a part of.”

Keith and Burrows were sent off for 14 minutes each after that altercation.

Seabrook and Keith weren’t the only two to scrap with the feisty Canucks. This game and rivalry were made for a player like Andrew Shaw who scored yet again off his shin pad, this time to win the game in overtime. But not before sustaining several big hits including a scary one by Alex Edler right before Keith nailed Daniel Sedin.

“I get banged around a lot in every game,” he laughed. “I get hit, get back up and keep going. … With the adrenaline you don’t feel much anyway but you have to watch out for those big guys.”

Shaw takes his hits and keeps on coming, mostly to the net. That’s three games in a row he’s scored off his shin pad. All while still playing his trademark scrappy style.

“It’s unbelievable,” Shaw said. “I love it. It’s the hockey I always wanted to play.”

If the teams meet in the playoffs for a fourth straight year he’ll get his wish. And so will many fans in two cities.

Here's a quick look at the Blackhawks' OT win over the Canucks on Wednesday.

How it happened: Andrew Shaw redirected a Johnny Oduya shot in overtime off a feed from Dave Bolland to complete a crazy night.The Canucks scored first, 27 seconds into the game when Jannik Hansen beat Johnny Oduya then Corey Crawford. The Hawks tied it in the second period on a Patrick Kane goal, his 20th of the season. As the game got chippy, the Hawks had multiple chances on the power play to take advantage but couldn’t get a second one by Roberto Luongo in that second period. The teams exchanged chances in the third with Corey Crawford coming up big while fatigue set in for the Hawks who played the night before.

The chippy play: The teams admit they don’t like each other and proved it once again with a penalty and cheap-shot filled game. Duncan Keith could be facing supplemental discipline due to an elbow to the head of Daniel Sedin who did not return for the final two periods. Keith and Alex Burrows got into it each receiving 10 minute misconduct penalties in the second period. There were numerous other incidents with Brent Seabrook in the middle of a lot of the action.

What it means: The actual play on the ice took a back seat to the rough-housing. The only conclusions to take away from the game are the Hawks' power play still needs work and Chicago has become a resilient group. The Hawks improved to 9-1-1 since Johnny Oduya joined the team and 10-4-1 without Jonathan Toews. They continue to match Vancouver stride for stride, and another playoff matchup would not disappoint. The Hawks have won five in a row and on a roll.

What’s next: The Hawks are off until Sunday when they host the Nashville Predators at 6:30 pm at the United Center.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks trail the Vancouver Canucks 1-0 after the first period at the United Center.

Vancouver scored 27 seconds into the game when Jannik Hansen beat Johnny Oduya to a shooting area then went top shelf on Corey Crawford who gave up too much of the net on the play.

The first period of this rivalry was heated featuring big hits and some dirty plays. After Alex Edler checked Andew Shaw hard into the boards, Duncan Keith responded with an elbow to the head of Daniel Sedin. Keith was only given a two-minute minor penalty but could face a supplemental hearing for the blow.

The Hawks killed off that power-play attempt and two more after Brandon Bollig took an after the whistle penalty and Viktor Stalberg was called for tripping.

Despite the power-play advantages, the Hawks outshot Vancouver 12 to 6. Roberto Luongo had a good showing in the opening 20 minutes.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was on the ice for at least 30 minutes on Wednesday morning as he continues to recover from a concussion.

Toews skated with teammates Jimmy Hayes, Sean O'Donnell, Brendan Morrisson, Sami Lepisto and Steve Montador as the Hawks held an optional workout before their game against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night. Montador is also recovering from a reported concussion.

Toews and Montador went through a series of hard skating drills administered by assistant coach Mike Kitchen. At one point, coach Joel Quenneville came out from the dressing room to watch. Then Toews shot pucks on his own while also working the tip drill with Montador shooting from the point.

Lepisto tested his injured left leg but left the ice before his other ailing teammates.

Toews has missed 14 games and recently was kept off the ice for several days after having a setback in his recovery. He was hopeful to have returned last week but now is starting the process over. Toews will need to be cleared for contact before he returns to the lineup. First, he has to skate for a few days symptom-free.

Quenneville will address his status before the Hawks take on the Canucks on Wednesday night. There is no timetable for his return or for Montador, who has missed the past 20 games.

The Hawks have gone 9-4-1 without Toews in the lineup.

VANCOUVER -- Some nights there shouldn't be a loser.

The Chicago Blackhawks dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to their arch-rivals, the Vancouver Canucks, on Tuesday. They played more than well enough to win, but the result didn't cooperate.

“We like the way we played,” coach Joel Quenneville said afterwards. “Tough ending but we did some good things to start our trip.”

The Hawks controlled most of the last two thirds of the game after being outplayed in the first period, and when Viktor Stalberg had a break-away chance in overtime, it looked like it might be the Hawks' night. But a last second slash from defenseman Dan Hamhuis altered the ending. The referees kept their whistles in their pockets on the play.

“Terrible call,” Stalberg said. “If they look at that they are going to see it’s a penalty. He slashed my hands so I can’t make the move I wanted so I think it’s pretty clear. It’s the definition of a penalty shot so it’s a terrible call.”

It was just one of many plays that could have decided the outcome of this playoff-style hockey game. There was the post-to-post save by Corey Crawford a few minutes earlier on the Canucks' captain, and in the second period, Vancouver’s Cory Schneider robbed Brendan Morrison of a near open-net chance. It went back and forth like that all night.

“Upsetting end but that was a great game for us coming out of the break,” Stalberg said. “We keep playing like that we’re going to win a lot of games.”

That was the theme echoed throughout the locker room. And why not, The Hawks made few mistakes while holding the Sedins in check until the final moments. Henrik found Daniel in front of the net for the overtime winner.

“Yeah, we got caught standing around late in the game,” Duncan Keith said. “We did a good job over the course of the game but all they need is one chance..We had a lot of chances and just wouldn’t go in the net. Back and forth game. Tough outcome.”

There is a reason these teams entertain as much as they compete. Their styles bring out the best in each other as does the bitter rivalry. Both sides skated like it was April or May and not the last day of January.

“We did a lot of good things,” Quenneville said. “Crawford made one of those spectacular saves that their guy also made in the game. You play like that you find a way to get points.”

It’s the first of nine on the road and if the Hawks can play that way they will get more than just a point in most of them. It doesn’t hurt to get the key call from the men in striped when you need it, but it wasn’t meant to be on Tuesday.

“I saw the replay,” Quenneville said. “It should have been a penalty shot but you still have to win the game.”

Someone had to.

VANCOUVER -- Here's a quick look at the Blackhawks' loss in Vancover on Tuesday night.

How it happened: A back-and-forth game ended in overtime when Daniel Sedin converted a feed from his brother Henrik to give the Canucks the victory. The teams exchanged goals early in the third period as the Hawks took their first lead when Viktor Stalberg finished after a great shift by the Hawks' top line. But a turnover by that trio led to a Cody Hodgson breakaway score to tie it again a few minutes later. Vancouver owned the early portion of the game, and struck first when Ryan Kesler tallied after some sustained pressure. It didn’t take long for the Hawks to even the game and take some momentum as Jamal Mayers scored his third of the year. Though neither team tallied in the second the Hawks dominated the period outshooting Vancouver 15 to 6.

What it means: The game is what we’ve come to expect out of the two teams, high intensity and a fast pace. The Hawks’ blue-liners were all over the place intercepting pucks and initiating the offense, especially in the second period. Duncan Keith in particular was very active as he and Brent Seabrook didn’t allow the Sedin line to set up camp in the Hawks zone very often. Both goalies played well and after another 60 minutes between the clubs it’s hard to discern a big difference between them. With eight more games remaining on the road trip it was a good start for the visitors who played a very solid road game.

Morrison debut:: Brendan Morrison had a slow start to the game and his Hawks’ career, turning a couple pucks over and even icing one on a power play. It remains to be seen if he’s the answer at center on the second line though he did hold his own in the defensive end.

What’s next: Game 2 of the nine-game road trip takes place in Edmonton on Thursday after a practice day there on Wednesday.

VANCOUVER -- The Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks continue to be tied 1-1 after two periods at Rogers Arena.

There was no scoring in the second period but the Hawks had the edge in play after Vancouver did in the opening 20 minutes. The visitors outshot the home team 15 to 6 in the second but couldn’t get one by Cory Schnedier.

New Hawk Brendan Morrison had a glorious chance after Schneider turned the puck over behind his net. Morrison grabbed it out in front but Schneider slid back to his crease making the highlight reel stop.

Overall, its been an even first 40 minutes with a good pace to the game though the Hawks have won just 31 percent of the face-offs.