Frustration. Disappointment. Anger. I felt all of the above after the Canucks fell 5-1 at home in game 6 to a Hawks team that took us by the throat and squeezed. That's it. Series over. You can blame a lot of people for losing this series. You can point to Luongo for his below average play through at least a few of the games. You can look at Vigneault who just can't figure out how to win in the Playoffs. You could lay the blame on Kesler or Burrows or Daniel Sedin. I, however, blame myself. I went to my Mother's to watch the game and I forgot my Canucks' jersey. They were 2-0 when I went to her house with my jersey on, including game 5. I am at fault, and now I'll go to the box for 2 minutes and feel shame.
I watched some of the interviews with the Canuck players after the game and none of them wanted to use injuries as an excuse. But realistically, they were already so thin on defence, when you have Sami Salo at 50% at best, and then you lose Alex Edler, it would take a pretty big miracle to beat the Hawks. Kesler had a right shoulder injury and Samuelsson had groin and back problems. I don't consider these excuses. These are reasons why these players didn't play at their best. They gave as much effort as they could and that's all they can do. I haven't heard about Burrows and Daniel Sedin, but I have a feeling they were also suffering from ailments. I realize that injuries are a part of Playoff hockey and I'm sure Chicago had it's share of issues as well. You just can't go into the playoffs expecting to go all the way when you know that you cannot afford for any of your top 4 defencemen to get injured. I said all along, if Salo gets injured they cannot win, and what are the odds of Sami Salo playing anywhere from 16 to 28 playoff games without an injury? Considering he's suffered 39 injuries in his career, I'd say they are not good. Having said that, you have to give him a lot of credit for even playing in game 6. Bruised balls and all.
Looking back to the trading deadline, Mike Gillis very likely knew that Mitchell was done for the year and he knew that Lukowich was out for the season yet all he came up with was Andrew Alberts. No disrespect to Alberts, I mean he would be a pretty good defenceman if he could skate faster than a glacier, but that's just not going to turn you into a contending team. At that time some of the columnists for The Province said that Mike Gillis' failing to get a quality d-man or two would indicate that Gillis realizes that this team is not that close to winning a Cup. I remember being a little upset by those comments. I must admit I can get a little defensive when it comes to my Canucks. Well it certainly appears now that those columnists were exactly right. Maybe it's a good thing that Gillis didn't give up Schneider or Hodgson or even Mayson Raymond. A good GM has to think long term and next year I expect this team to be a lot better with the likely additions of Hodgson and Schroeder. Gillis has a lot of work to do to try and get us some quality defencemen. I'm not convinced that you can go all the way in this league without a superstar d-man. History has shown that it is extremely rare. How many Cups would Detroit have won without Nick Lidstrom? Nobody can dominate a game like a defenceman. They can control games at both ends. A goalie can stand on his head but if nobody on his team can score a goal, he can't possibly win. This team has never really recovered from the tragic loss of Luc Bourdon who very likely would have been that superstar. It's time for Gillis to address this problem.
Back to game 6, I thought Luongo played a great first period and kept us in the game. It's just not realistic to expect him to stand on his head for three periods. That first goal he didn't have much of a chance on and then things quickly started to unravel, not unlike their 3 other losses in this series. I think Luongo is still learning how to play Playoff hockey and with this years Playoffs combined with the Olympics, I think he's learned a lot about staying composed and patient and relaxed. Nobody wants to win more than Luongo but sometimes that can work against him. He's been guilty at times of over-committing and getting too emotional. The best thing that could happen next season would be Luongo giving up the 'C'. It's been a pretty big disaster. He needs to concentrate on playing goal. I'd make Kesler the captain.
I think Alain Vigneault has improved somewhat as a coach this year. He's learned a little more about matching lines and giving the guys who are playing well more ice time. I wish he had better instincts about calling timeouts, and make adjustments during games when needed, and show some intensity once in a while, but I don't think he's capable of any of those. I hope that Mike Gillis decides to make a change, and I would consider Scott Arniel. Whoever it is, they need to come in and show that they are in charge. This starts with taking the 'C' away from Luongo and telling him that he's not in charge of how often he plays. They need someone to come in who doesn't play favorites. You have to earn your ice time. Maybe I'm being a little unfair, but Vigneault has coached good teams throughout his coaching career and he is 2 games below 500. Not good enough. All I ask is that Gillis doesn't make Ryan Walter coach.
The Canucks-Hawks series looked to be the series to watch in round 2 and it's been a huge disappointment. A lot of one-sided games both ways. The Canucks lost their 3 home games by a combined score of 17-7, after having the most home wins in the NHL this year. That's inexcusable. I'd be really bitter if I'd shelled out a couple of hundred bucks to go to one of those games. I don't believe the Canucks lost the series tonight, I think they lost it in game 2. They dominated from the start, got out to a quick 2-0 lead that could have easily been 4-0, and then collapsed. You can blame Luongo for a lot but the fact is that he played well enough in those first 2 games for the Canucks to head home up two games to zip. The Canucks let the Hawks into the series. The great teams find ways to win when the other team is down. The great teams go for the jugular. The Canucks still have a ways to go but I hope they learned a lot in this series. I hope they approach this as a learning experience and have the mindset that they need to improve collectively and individually. There are some really good components there and with a few good signings from Gillis, they will likely be serious contenders next year.
Whatever happens in the off-season, I will continue to be a fan. I've been on the bandwagon for about 35 years and I'm not going to jump off anytime soon. I guess I should be eating my vegetables and taking my vitamins so that I can live long enough to see this team bring that silver chalice to Vancouver. I just know in my Heart that one of these years all the stars will align and that perfect storm will blow in and this team will figure out a way to win it all. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Canucks Look To Extend Series
After playing a solid and composed game 5 in Chicago, and finally showing what this team is capable of, is this Canuck team just setting us up once again for our annual heartbreak? I've shed more tears on my '94 White Hot Canucks towel than I care to remember. They always suck us in, and then just when we start believing, and start discussing that damned parade, they fall apart.
That's all in the past, and today's a new day. When Roberto Luongo plays like Roberto Luongo, there is no telling how far this team can go. I think if he'd played solid this whole series against Chicago they might be resting up for the next series right now. When he is sharp and on his game, the rest of the team seems to be calm and composed. He looked as solid as I've seen him all season on Sunday and we'll need that from him again tonight. I'm just glad that maybe he shut his critics up for a few days. Seriously, if I read Luuuusongo one more time, I may go Postal. That's not funny. Nor is Byfugly by the way. Canuck's fans are anything but original.
And speaking of Sami Salo's nuts, (we were weren't we?) he is a gametime decision after talking a slap shot there at the end of the first period in game 5. I think I'm also a gametime decision just from watching that happen. I was in pain myself. Salo's 39 career injury was ugly and for once I think we would all understand if he's not playing tonight. But we would all be gland, err glad if he did play. (Okay that was bad, sorry.)
The road teams seem to be winning most of the games in the Playoffs this year. (I'd look up the exact stat but I'm too lazy) I think that's because when you play in front of home fans that are freaking out, waving the flags and chanting your name, it's hard not to get too emotional and too pumped up. Calm and composed tends to win hockey games nowadays, and that's how the road teams seem to be approaching the games. It's also easy to get into a game of firewagon, run and gun hockey when you are playing at home. The Canucks will likely lose if they play like that tonight against the Hawks. Calm, cool and composed. That's how you win hockey games now. Well a little effort helps too.
Nice to see Kevin Bieksa again. Wow! How much hockey did he miss? 2 years? I don't know how you just flip a switch and play with such confidence and actually make good decisions, but that's pretty much what happened. Hey, maybe there's hope for Andrew Alberts yet.
It would be nice to see the Sedins get going again. Clearly Daniel is injured (likely along with Kesler, Burrows and Salo, did we mention Salo's nuts?) but injuries are a large part of playoff hockey, and if you're good to go, you need to find a way to contribute.
The other ugly incident last game was a high stick by Byfuglien to the face of Shane O'Brien. I thought I'd accidentally sat on the remote and switched to the Scream Channel. I didn't know somebody could bleed that much. Now I know that that's not a penalty under the present rules, but I think in this particular case it should be. That was a serious follow-through and it should be left to the ref's discretion as to whether or not a penalty is warranted. I'm not saying Byfuglien did it on purpose, but would it be so hard to take a shot and have a follow through that stabs Shane O'Brien right between the blinkers? I don't think so. If they don't adjust this rule I bet they start teaching this at hockey schools. Although in Bettman's NHL I'm quite surprised O'Briend didn't get a penalty for too much Plasma on the ice. Clearly the refs missed a golden opportunity.
There are definitely a few good things that come from the Canucks playing at home. They have last change which is usually important, the fans will be loud and proud (until we give up a goal and then they'll be quiet and ashamed) and most importantly I won't have to listen to that horrific anthem singer in Chicago. Nobody buys a ticket to see him yet he acts like the star of the show. And his voice is painful.
It would sure be disappointing if the Canucks failed to win one game at home in this series, but I really don't have a feeling about tonight's game. I expect Roberto to play well and hopefully the rest of the team will respond. But this Hawks team desperately wants to head to San Jose after the game and not back home to Chicago for a game 7. We'll know a lot more in a few hours.
That's all in the past, and today's a new day. When Roberto Luongo plays like Roberto Luongo, there is no telling how far this team can go. I think if he'd played solid this whole series against Chicago they might be resting up for the next series right now. When he is sharp and on his game, the rest of the team seems to be calm and composed. He looked as solid as I've seen him all season on Sunday and we'll need that from him again tonight. I'm just glad that maybe he shut his critics up for a few days. Seriously, if I read Luuuusongo one more time, I may go Postal. That's not funny. Nor is Byfugly by the way. Canuck's fans are anything but original.
And speaking of Sami Salo's nuts, (we were weren't we?) he is a gametime decision after talking a slap shot there at the end of the first period in game 5. I think I'm also a gametime decision just from watching that happen. I was in pain myself. Salo's 39 career injury was ugly and for once I think we would all understand if he's not playing tonight. But we would all be gland, err glad if he did play. (Okay that was bad, sorry.)
The road teams seem to be winning most of the games in the Playoffs this year. (I'd look up the exact stat but I'm too lazy) I think that's because when you play in front of home fans that are freaking out, waving the flags and chanting your name, it's hard not to get too emotional and too pumped up. Calm and composed tends to win hockey games nowadays, and that's how the road teams seem to be approaching the games. It's also easy to get into a game of firewagon, run and gun hockey when you are playing at home. The Canucks will likely lose if they play like that tonight against the Hawks. Calm, cool and composed. That's how you win hockey games now. Well a little effort helps too.
Nice to see Kevin Bieksa again. Wow! How much hockey did he miss? 2 years? I don't know how you just flip a switch and play with such confidence and actually make good decisions, but that's pretty much what happened. Hey, maybe there's hope for Andrew Alberts yet.
It would be nice to see the Sedins get going again. Clearly Daniel is injured (likely along with Kesler, Burrows and Salo, did we mention Salo's nuts?) but injuries are a large part of playoff hockey, and if you're good to go, you need to find a way to contribute.
The other ugly incident last game was a high stick by Byfuglien to the face of Shane O'Brien. I thought I'd accidentally sat on the remote and switched to the Scream Channel. I didn't know somebody could bleed that much. Now I know that that's not a penalty under the present rules, but I think in this particular case it should be. That was a serious follow-through and it should be left to the ref's discretion as to whether or not a penalty is warranted. I'm not saying Byfuglien did it on purpose, but would it be so hard to take a shot and have a follow through that stabs Shane O'Brien right between the blinkers? I don't think so. If they don't adjust this rule I bet they start teaching this at hockey schools. Although in Bettman's NHL I'm quite surprised O'Briend didn't get a penalty for too much Plasma on the ice. Clearly the refs missed a golden opportunity.
There are definitely a few good things that come from the Canucks playing at home. They have last change which is usually important, the fans will be loud and proud (until we give up a goal and then they'll be quiet and ashamed) and most importantly I won't have to listen to that horrific anthem singer in Chicago. Nobody buys a ticket to see him yet he acts like the star of the show. And his voice is painful.
It would sure be disappointing if the Canucks failed to win one game at home in this series, but I really don't have a feeling about tonight's game. I expect Roberto to play well and hopefully the rest of the team will respond. But this Hawks team desperately wants to head to San Jose after the game and not back home to Chicago for a game 7. We'll know a lot more in a few hours.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Haven't We Seen This Movie Before?
It seems like only a year ago that we saw what occurred on Friday night at GM Place. As usual the original was better. This sequel was a waste of time. And money. While this nightmare hasn't ended yet, it's obvious and hauntingly sad ending seems all but a foregone conclusion.
Canucks coach Alain Vigneault has apparently learned nothing from last years loss to the Hawks. He still clearly has no answer for Byfuglien. Or any other Blackhawk for that matter. On paper I think these are two pretty even teams. last year I think the Canucks were definitely the better team. Joel Quenneville is outcoaching Vigneault. I think that's one of the biggest factors that nobody seems to be talking about.
There's no question that Luongo put the team in a hole when he allowed a weak goal 18 seconds into the game. Other than that I don't think he could really be faulted for anything else. When you give Chicago 8 power plays, they are going to score. I don't think there's any stopping them. Don't pick on the penalty killing. They need to stay out of the box in the first place.
Which leads conveniently to the reffing. I agree with the two crosschecking penalties O'Brien received. He needs to control himself better, and put the team first. But the Salo, Daniel Sedin (2), and Raymond penalties were garbage. Daniel got one penalty after his stick broke when he bumped a Chicago player after the whistle. This automatic penalty when you break a stick on a player mentality has to stop. Have you seen how many sticks break in a game? They are breaking all over the ice. Some break when a player receives a pass. It can't be that black and white. While the Mason Raymond incident was technically a penalty, if you are going to call that then they should be blowing the whistle every 20 or 30 seconds. In fact there should be no 5 on 5 play at all. The refs need to call a game so the players know what they can and cannot get away with. Clearly there is no consistency. The officiating in this league is atrocious right now. Did it cost the Canucks the game tonight? I'm glad you asked. Why yes it did in fact. The Blackhawks scored 4 power play goals and a 5th goal a few seconds after a penalty had ended. The league's influence last year resulted in Chicago beating us when they told the refs to allow Luongo to be treated like a pinata and the same thing is happening all over again. Feel free to call it a conspiracy if you wish. Those of you who think I'm being ridiculous are ignoring the facts. The penalties, the disallowed goals, bumping Luongo, pushing Luongo into the net and scoring. Enough's enough. This has got to change or the Canucks can't possibly win this series.
As it is they will have to win 3 in a row, 2 of them in Chicago. No easy task but keep in mind that's exactly what happened in '94 against the Flames. Since Calgary is a Canadian team the refs didn't influence the outcome of that and allowed us to come back and win what I think was one of the best series' in NHL history. It's happened before and it can happen again. It's possible. I just don't see this series even coming back to Vancouver. The way this series has fallen apart for the Canucks, and knowing the killer instinct that the Hawks have, is there any way the Canucks can win Sunday night? And this is coming from an optimist.
The Canucks need to get back to their game. Forget about Byfuglien and concentrate on what they have to do. They need to play on the edge, but don't go over it. Let Byfuglien stand in front of Luongo. You can't move him, so don't take up space in front trying. And don't cross check him in the neck after he's down. Yeah, I'm talking to you Alex. Our defense needs to be better. Starting with replacing Alberts with Rome. Alberts just can't keep up with the play. While we're at it, can we wave a magic wand and turn Kevin Bieksa into Nick Lidstrom? Maybe then we'd have a chance.
No question Luongo has to be better. I don't think it was fair of Vigneault to throw him under the bus though when he said in his post-game comments that Roberto is the second best goalie in this series. If it was that simple I'd actually be able to sleep tonight. Luongo can't see the puck. He can't come out and attack the shooter. He's being bumped and knocked down. 200 feet away, Antti Niemi has had it pretty easy. He's been able to see a huge majority of the shots. The Canucks finally started to be more aggressive tonight but still didn't really bother him enough. Even though he's seeing most of the shots, he still lets out a ton of rebounds that his defencemen gather up and clear out of harms way. At the other end of the ice the Canucks defencemen kick it around until it ends up on a Hawks stick and in it goes. I should also point out that Luongo did his job in the first two games. If the rest of the team had done theirs then they would have headed home up 2-0. I'm sure this series would look a lot different right now and it may have in fact been over by now. I'd like to think that nobody would argue that point. For those of you bitching about Luongo, (and I know there are A LOT of you) if you think he's so bad why do you think the Chicago game plan is always to bump him and not let him see the puck? Quenneville knows that if Luongo can come out and challenge shooters and see the puck that the Canucks will win the series. I can't dumb it down any more than that.
Alain Vigneault has coached some pretty solid teams in Vancouver and Montreal and yet his playoff record is now 2 games below .500. Do you think that those numbers are good enough? I'm the first one to say that most stats you can throw out the window. If stats told the whole story you wouldn't need to have scouts travel all over to watch games. Just look at the box score in the paper and then draft your players. The only stat that really counts are wins and losses. And this playoff stat of Vigneaults stinks. I'm not saying he's a terrible coach, but if you want to win a Stanely Cup I'm not convinced that he's your guy. I haven't completely given up on them yet, maybe there'll be some sort of Mother's Day Miracle, but if they get blown out on Sunday I really hope that Gillis will decide it's time for a change.
Speaking of Gillis, and don't think for a second that he's above any criticism, he failed miserably at the trade deadline. I think this team is actually very close to going all the way, they were just way too thin on defence. And that's with Salo miraculously remaining healthy throughout the playoffs thus far. Gillis probably knew that Mitchell wasn't coming back and he knew Lukowich was done for the year, yet all he could come up with was Alberts? Gillis has done some great things for the Canucks (mainly Samuelsson and Ehrhoff) but I want a GM that will do what is needed at the trade deadline to put us over the top when we are close.
I'm a little down right now but I know that I'll wake up in the morning and the sun will be up, the birds will be chirping. Life will go on as usual. Once I have my medication I will be fine. Tomorrow's a new day. They just need to take it one game at a time, one shift at a time. Our best players need to be our best players. It's do or die. Pick a cliche. Any cliche. It just makes me want to scream knowing that someplace, somewhere out there Gary Bettman is smiling.
Canucks coach Alain Vigneault has apparently learned nothing from last years loss to the Hawks. He still clearly has no answer for Byfuglien. Or any other Blackhawk for that matter. On paper I think these are two pretty even teams. last year I think the Canucks were definitely the better team. Joel Quenneville is outcoaching Vigneault. I think that's one of the biggest factors that nobody seems to be talking about.
There's no question that Luongo put the team in a hole when he allowed a weak goal 18 seconds into the game. Other than that I don't think he could really be faulted for anything else. When you give Chicago 8 power plays, they are going to score. I don't think there's any stopping them. Don't pick on the penalty killing. They need to stay out of the box in the first place.
Which leads conveniently to the reffing. I agree with the two crosschecking penalties O'Brien received. He needs to control himself better, and put the team first. But the Salo, Daniel Sedin (2), and Raymond penalties were garbage. Daniel got one penalty after his stick broke when he bumped a Chicago player after the whistle. This automatic penalty when you break a stick on a player mentality has to stop. Have you seen how many sticks break in a game? They are breaking all over the ice. Some break when a player receives a pass. It can't be that black and white. While the Mason Raymond incident was technically a penalty, if you are going to call that then they should be blowing the whistle every 20 or 30 seconds. In fact there should be no 5 on 5 play at all. The refs need to call a game so the players know what they can and cannot get away with. Clearly there is no consistency. The officiating in this league is atrocious right now. Did it cost the Canucks the game tonight? I'm glad you asked. Why yes it did in fact. The Blackhawks scored 4 power play goals and a 5th goal a few seconds after a penalty had ended. The league's influence last year resulted in Chicago beating us when they told the refs to allow Luongo to be treated like a pinata and the same thing is happening all over again. Feel free to call it a conspiracy if you wish. Those of you who think I'm being ridiculous are ignoring the facts. The penalties, the disallowed goals, bumping Luongo, pushing Luongo into the net and scoring. Enough's enough. This has got to change or the Canucks can't possibly win this series.
As it is they will have to win 3 in a row, 2 of them in Chicago. No easy task but keep in mind that's exactly what happened in '94 against the Flames. Since Calgary is a Canadian team the refs didn't influence the outcome of that and allowed us to come back and win what I think was one of the best series' in NHL history. It's happened before and it can happen again. It's possible. I just don't see this series even coming back to Vancouver. The way this series has fallen apart for the Canucks, and knowing the killer instinct that the Hawks have, is there any way the Canucks can win Sunday night? And this is coming from an optimist.
The Canucks need to get back to their game. Forget about Byfuglien and concentrate on what they have to do. They need to play on the edge, but don't go over it. Let Byfuglien stand in front of Luongo. You can't move him, so don't take up space in front trying. And don't cross check him in the neck after he's down. Yeah, I'm talking to you Alex. Our defense needs to be better. Starting with replacing Alberts with Rome. Alberts just can't keep up with the play. While we're at it, can we wave a magic wand and turn Kevin Bieksa into Nick Lidstrom? Maybe then we'd have a chance.
No question Luongo has to be better. I don't think it was fair of Vigneault to throw him under the bus though when he said in his post-game comments that Roberto is the second best goalie in this series. If it was that simple I'd actually be able to sleep tonight. Luongo can't see the puck. He can't come out and attack the shooter. He's being bumped and knocked down. 200 feet away, Antti Niemi has had it pretty easy. He's been able to see a huge majority of the shots. The Canucks finally started to be more aggressive tonight but still didn't really bother him enough. Even though he's seeing most of the shots, he still lets out a ton of rebounds that his defencemen gather up and clear out of harms way. At the other end of the ice the Canucks defencemen kick it around until it ends up on a Hawks stick and in it goes. I should also point out that Luongo did his job in the first two games. If the rest of the team had done theirs then they would have headed home up 2-0. I'm sure this series would look a lot different right now and it may have in fact been over by now. I'd like to think that nobody would argue that point. For those of you bitching about Luongo, (and I know there are A LOT of you) if you think he's so bad why do you think the Chicago game plan is always to bump him and not let him see the puck? Quenneville knows that if Luongo can come out and challenge shooters and see the puck that the Canucks will win the series. I can't dumb it down any more than that.
Alain Vigneault has coached some pretty solid teams in Vancouver and Montreal and yet his playoff record is now 2 games below .500. Do you think that those numbers are good enough? I'm the first one to say that most stats you can throw out the window. If stats told the whole story you wouldn't need to have scouts travel all over to watch games. Just look at the box score in the paper and then draft your players. The only stat that really counts are wins and losses. And this playoff stat of Vigneaults stinks. I'm not saying he's a terrible coach, but if you want to win a Stanely Cup I'm not convinced that he's your guy. I haven't completely given up on them yet, maybe there'll be some sort of Mother's Day Miracle, but if they get blown out on Sunday I really hope that Gillis will decide it's time for a change.
Speaking of Gillis, and don't think for a second that he's above any criticism, he failed miserably at the trade deadline. I think this team is actually very close to going all the way, they were just way too thin on defence. And that's with Salo miraculously remaining healthy throughout the playoffs thus far. Gillis probably knew that Mitchell wasn't coming back and he knew Lukowich was done for the year, yet all he could come up with was Alberts? Gillis has done some great things for the Canucks (mainly Samuelsson and Ehrhoff) but I want a GM that will do what is needed at the trade deadline to put us over the top when we are close.
I'm a little down right now but I know that I'll wake up in the morning and the sun will be up, the birds will be chirping. Life will go on as usual. Once I have my medication I will be fine. Tomorrow's a new day. They just need to take it one game at a time, one shift at a time. Our best players need to be our best players. It's do or die. Pick a cliche. Any cliche. It just makes me want to scream knowing that someplace, somewhere out there Gary Bettman is smiling.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
After Dismal Start The Hawks Come Back To Tie Series
As a Canucks fan I was very nervous going into game 2. I put a little extra Vodka in my Coke Zero to try to steady the nerves. My fingernails were already long gone. After the Canucks found a way to win game 1 in Chicago, I knew that the Hawks would approach this like a must-win game and I just hoped the Canucks could weather the early storm. That, of course, didn't happen. Quite the opposite actually. The Canucks pinned the Hawks deep in their own zone for the better part of 7 minutes waiting for Antti to cry Uncle. (See what I did there?) While the Canucks did score two big goals, (Mason Raymond and Mikael Samuelsson) they could have easily been up by 4. Then they appeared to get a little complacent. Maybe a little cocky. Or do you give credit to Chicago who, after Quenneville changed things up and put Hossa out with Toews and Kane, scored a huge goal to put an immediate halt on that seemingly unrelenting momentum the Canucks were enjoying?
From then on Chicago basically took over the game. Luongo got more excercise during the over-the-top and annoying National Anthems than he did during the first 7 minutes. I was worried because I know he likes to feel the puck early to get into games. After the Hawks first goal he definitely got his excercise and played a very solid game. I would like to see the Canucks battle more. They didn't really have to battle early because they owned the puck. The hard part is fighting to get the puck back when you don't have it. I thought we played like we were a little afraid as well. It's important to keep your head up and try to avoid getting hit by Byfuglien and Seabrook, but you don't give up the puck to do so. If you need to take a hit to make a play, in the playoffs that's what you have to do. Of course that's easy for me to say while I lounge in my easy chair munching Baked Cheezies, but that's why they live in Mansions and I live in my car. (Okay, that's not true. Just trying to make the story more interesting.) The turning point in this game came on a Canucks power play. The puck bounced over Ehrhoff's stick and Patrick Sharp went end to end and put it in a basically empty net. The Canucks played that power play very poorly and instead of having the killer instinct to get that huge 3rd goal that would have given them a two goal lead, they get out of synch and end up giving up the tying goal. If the Canucks end up losing this series, that's one of the plays that you can probably look back on. It was tight from then on. It seemed to be pretty even. I was thinking we might see overtime in which case I would be pouring myself a triple Vodka Coke Zero. Chicago poured the pressure on and Luongo did everything he could but he just couldn't make the desperation save that he so often makes. Down 3-2 with a minute and a half to go I would've really liked to see a time-out. Get on the same page. Figure out when to get Luongo out. They didn't call one and they never really got on track to threaten to tie it up. Kane score in the empty net to finish things off.
I thought the Hawks exposed our defense as well. Ehrhoff, Bieksa, Alberts, and Edler all had pretty tough games. I think maybe it's time to get Rome into this series and give Alberts a rest. Rome is smaller, but they could use some more mobility back there. I would also put Ryan Johnson in for Rick Rypien if he is ready to go, although that may take too much toughness out of the lineup. Maybe scratch Grabner.
I was frustrated that the Canucks couldn't really test Niemi after the 7 minute mark of the first period. Even with the power plays they had, they had the mindset that it had to be the perfect play. They needed to get the puck on net. He's not that good of a goalie. Move the puck around and set up the one-timer from the point while Burrows or Bernier get in his face.
Once again I was happy with the play of Luongo. He did about all he could do. While I thought the reffing was decent overall, I thought there could have been a goalie interference penalty or two against the Hawks. That Andrew Ladd shot to Luongo's head was not unintentional.
Is it just me or are there more broken sticks than usual? This is now beyond annoying and I fear that it could cost one of these teams the series. Maybe ease up on those slappers. The most dangerous shots in hockey are the wrist shots and backhanders anyways. When Sammy Salo winds up for that big shot the odds are better that he breaks his stick than they are for him getting that shot on the net.
While the Canucks fans can (and often do) scream and yell and whine and cry about the outcome, nobody thought this was going to be easy. I'm sure if the Canucks had won the game there would've been fans bringing brooms to game 3. That wouldn't have been a good idea. I know it's frustrating because that was a very winnable game but they still ended up with a split. For those people saying that Chicago has outplayed us in 5 of the 6 periods, that's just ridiculous. We had a big lead in the first game and let up on them. Who cares which team played better in each period? The Hawks were basically embarrassed. You can't look at hockey in a period by period way. If the Canucks were down by a big margin to Chicago but then outplayed the Hawks in the 3rd to get a little closer, that's not something you can be satisfied with.
The Canucks need to come into GM Place and initiate the play. Own the puck. When you have the puck you are likely to either score or draw penalties. Use their speed, play a solid team game, move the puck and get shots on net. I would bump Niemi whenever possible. Old time hockey. You bump our goalie, we'll bump yours.
If Luongo continues to play well then I think we are in really good shape. They just need to put their foot on the gas pedal and don't let up. At least not until they've scored half a dozen goals. Chicago is too good of a team to let up off the mat. We're still in really good shape and if I'm Chicago I'm a little concerned at this point. Now is the time to put the fear of God in them.
From then on Chicago basically took over the game. Luongo got more excercise during the over-the-top and annoying National Anthems than he did during the first 7 minutes. I was worried because I know he likes to feel the puck early to get into games. After the Hawks first goal he definitely got his excercise and played a very solid game. I would like to see the Canucks battle more. They didn't really have to battle early because they owned the puck. The hard part is fighting to get the puck back when you don't have it. I thought we played like we were a little afraid as well. It's important to keep your head up and try to avoid getting hit by Byfuglien and Seabrook, but you don't give up the puck to do so. If you need to take a hit to make a play, in the playoffs that's what you have to do. Of course that's easy for me to say while I lounge in my easy chair munching Baked Cheezies, but that's why they live in Mansions and I live in my car. (Okay, that's not true. Just trying to make the story more interesting.) The turning point in this game came on a Canucks power play. The puck bounced over Ehrhoff's stick and Patrick Sharp went end to end and put it in a basically empty net. The Canucks played that power play very poorly and instead of having the killer instinct to get that huge 3rd goal that would have given them a two goal lead, they get out of synch and end up giving up the tying goal. If the Canucks end up losing this series, that's one of the plays that you can probably look back on. It was tight from then on. It seemed to be pretty even. I was thinking we might see overtime in which case I would be pouring myself a triple Vodka Coke Zero. Chicago poured the pressure on and Luongo did everything he could but he just couldn't make the desperation save that he so often makes. Down 3-2 with a minute and a half to go I would've really liked to see a time-out. Get on the same page. Figure out when to get Luongo out. They didn't call one and they never really got on track to threaten to tie it up. Kane score in the empty net to finish things off.
I thought the Hawks exposed our defense as well. Ehrhoff, Bieksa, Alberts, and Edler all had pretty tough games. I think maybe it's time to get Rome into this series and give Alberts a rest. Rome is smaller, but they could use some more mobility back there. I would also put Ryan Johnson in for Rick Rypien if he is ready to go, although that may take too much toughness out of the lineup. Maybe scratch Grabner.
I was frustrated that the Canucks couldn't really test Niemi after the 7 minute mark of the first period. Even with the power plays they had, they had the mindset that it had to be the perfect play. They needed to get the puck on net. He's not that good of a goalie. Move the puck around and set up the one-timer from the point while Burrows or Bernier get in his face.
Once again I was happy with the play of Luongo. He did about all he could do. While I thought the reffing was decent overall, I thought there could have been a goalie interference penalty or two against the Hawks. That Andrew Ladd shot to Luongo's head was not unintentional.
Is it just me or are there more broken sticks than usual? This is now beyond annoying and I fear that it could cost one of these teams the series. Maybe ease up on those slappers. The most dangerous shots in hockey are the wrist shots and backhanders anyways. When Sammy Salo winds up for that big shot the odds are better that he breaks his stick than they are for him getting that shot on the net.
While the Canucks fans can (and often do) scream and yell and whine and cry about the outcome, nobody thought this was going to be easy. I'm sure if the Canucks had won the game there would've been fans bringing brooms to game 3. That wouldn't have been a good idea. I know it's frustrating because that was a very winnable game but they still ended up with a split. For those people saying that Chicago has outplayed us in 5 of the 6 periods, that's just ridiculous. We had a big lead in the first game and let up on them. Who cares which team played better in each period? The Hawks were basically embarrassed. You can't look at hockey in a period by period way. If the Canucks were down by a big margin to Chicago but then outplayed the Hawks in the 3rd to get a little closer, that's not something you can be satisfied with.
The Canucks need to come into GM Place and initiate the play. Own the puck. When you have the puck you are likely to either score or draw penalties. Use their speed, play a solid team game, move the puck and get shots on net. I would bump Niemi whenever possible. Old time hockey. You bump our goalie, we'll bump yours.
If Luongo continues to play well then I think we are in really good shape. They just need to put their foot on the gas pedal and don't let up. At least not until they've scored half a dozen goals. Chicago is too good of a team to let up off the mat. We're still in really good shape and if I'm Chicago I'm a little concerned at this point. Now is the time to put the fear of God in them.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Chicago On The Ropes Going Into Game 2
It may be a little premature to say that this Blackhawk team is in trouble, but they don't look like the dominant superpower that they think they are. In fact there are only two teams in the playoffs that have given up more goals than they've scored. Montreal is the obvious one, but the other is Chicago. Doesn't sound like a superpower to me. I don't think it's a stretch to call this a must win for the Hawks. Going into Vancouver, where the Canucks have been all but unbeatable, down 2-0 would be a nightmare scenario for this team.
The Canucks on the other hand have not played well when they start to get complacent. If they play like that tonight they are in trouble. There is a lot of talk about how dominant the Canucks were in game one, and I don't agree. They were outplayed by a pretty good margin throughout most of the first period. They were a little lucky to have the lead after one, let alone a two goal lead. The key to the entire game was definitely the play of Roberto Luongo. If he can play like this consistently from here on out, there may be no stopping this club. There's a long way to go however, and judging by the way Luongo has played most of the season, that's still a pretty big if.
Look for Chicago to play much more physical tonight. They had trouble getting to Luongo, I expect that to change in game two. Grabner moves up and Demitra moves down to the fourth line which I think is a good move. Demitra was virtually invisible in game one, and if he plays better tonight, Vigneault can move him up if he wants.
I was very happy with the play of the Sedins in game one. Particularly the first shift of the second period. Raymond scored a late goal to end the first and instead of sitting back and protecting that two goal lead, the Sedins and Samuelsson came out and attacked on that first shift of the second, with Henrick eventually putting it in the net. That basically finished off the Hawks who collapsed like Devin Setaguchi after somebody looks at him the wrong way. Maybe the Sedins are the real deal. They are starting to prove that they can perform in the playoffs. People have underestimated them every step of the way, and I don't expect that to change until they win a Stanley Cup. That, by the way, is looking more and more like it could be a serious possibility. We will have a better idea about that in a couple of hours.
The Canucks on the other hand have not played well when they start to get complacent. If they play like that tonight they are in trouble. There is a lot of talk about how dominant the Canucks were in game one, and I don't agree. They were outplayed by a pretty good margin throughout most of the first period. They were a little lucky to have the lead after one, let alone a two goal lead. The key to the entire game was definitely the play of Roberto Luongo. If he can play like this consistently from here on out, there may be no stopping this club. There's a long way to go however, and judging by the way Luongo has played most of the season, that's still a pretty big if.
Look for Chicago to play much more physical tonight. They had trouble getting to Luongo, I expect that to change in game two. Grabner moves up and Demitra moves down to the fourth line which I think is a good move. Demitra was virtually invisible in game one, and if he plays better tonight, Vigneault can move him up if he wants.
I was very happy with the play of the Sedins in game one. Particularly the first shift of the second period. Raymond scored a late goal to end the first and instead of sitting back and protecting that two goal lead, the Sedins and Samuelsson came out and attacked on that first shift of the second, with Henrick eventually putting it in the net. That basically finished off the Hawks who collapsed like Devin Setaguchi after somebody looks at him the wrong way. Maybe the Sedins are the real deal. They are starting to prove that they can perform in the playoffs. People have underestimated them every step of the way, and I don't expect that to change until they win a Stanley Cup. That, by the way, is looking more and more like it could be a serious possibility. We will have a better idea about that in a couple of hours.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Hold On To Your Butts
One of the more famous lines from Jurassic Park came from Samuel L. Jackson. "Hold on to your butts" basically warned the audience to strap on your seat belts and get ready for a hell of a ride. Seventeen years later I think that same phrase could apply in the second round series between Chicago and Vancouver. Jim Hughson might want to say those words before the puck drops in game one. There will likely be no introduction and no character development. There will certainly be no love story. No, there's a genuine hatred between these teams and I would guess that from the opening face-off there will be T-Rex's and Velociraptors running rampant at the United Centre. And you can be sure that Dustin Byfuglien and Bryan Bickell will be in Roberto Luongo's grill quicker than you can say Dilophosaurus. Okay, enough with the Jurassic Park analogy. It was fun while it lasted, but let's move on.
It looks like this should be the series to watch in the second round. I have a bad feeling that whoever makes it through the Western Conference, bruised and battered and exhausted, might end up like the goat did after the T-Rex had his din-din, (dammit, I promised I was going to stop doing that) once Pittsburgh has finished with them. The Canucks have been waiting for this for a long time. They still feel like they should've beat the Hawks last year in the playoffs, and I would have to agree. I think more than anything they were outcoached. Joel Quenneville found a way to get under our skin and it worked. The reffing (or lack thereof) certainly didn't help. I think it's a new and improved Alain Vigneault this year. I'm still not completely sold on him, but I think that he's done a good job this year. The Canucks had some key injuries this year and their number one goalie and arguably their best player had an off year. Despite that, they still won their division. You have to give Vigneault some credit for that.
In The Vancouver Province, columnist Tony Gallagher seems to think that Chicago has the speed advantage. I'm not convinced that is the case. I think we can skate with that team, despite the fact that Andrew Alberts moves like a dinosaur. (There I go again!)
The Canucks had a very long layoff last Spring after sweeping the Blues, this time it's a 5 day layoff, which is stretching it a bit, but still not too bad. I think the Canucks are better prepared after facing a solid Kings team that plays a similar game to the Hawks. Even their goalie Jonathan Quick is similar to Chicago's Niemi. On the other hand the Nashville Predators were everything that the Canucks are not. They have very little scoring up front and are solid on defense. It will be a big adjustment for Chicago to face the Canucks. That may give us a slight edge in the early going.
I was shocked to see in today's Province that they give the edge in goal to Chicago. Clearly somebody made a mistake. While Niemi's numbers may be slightly better in the first round, LA is a much more offensive team than Nashville. Luongo is a much better goalie than Niemi and if he fails to prove that in this series, the Canucks will once again be on the outside looking in once this series reaches it's conclusion.
The good news is that apparently Ryan Johnson and Aaron Rome are close to coming back. We could definitely use Johnson as he takes faceoffs, kills penalties and most importantly, blocks shots. Chicago uses all four lines, so if we can put together a decent enough fourth line so that we can do the same, that would help a lot.
I know a lot of people expect fireworks off the opening face-off, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. I hope the Canucks decide to stick to business and let the Hawks run around if they so desire. Luongo also needs to focus on the puck and forget about that Brachiosaurus parked in his crease. (I just can't stop myself.) I have a feeling that Luongo is going to have a great series. If that happens, and we don't have any injuries to our top four defencemen, I think we're in good shape.
Either way, this series should have suspense and drama, horror (Andrew Alberts) and comedy (the green men) and everything you could hope for. Steven Spielberg would be proud.
It looks like this should be the series to watch in the second round. I have a bad feeling that whoever makes it through the Western Conference, bruised and battered and exhausted, might end up like the goat did after the T-Rex had his din-din, (dammit, I promised I was going to stop doing that) once Pittsburgh has finished with them. The Canucks have been waiting for this for a long time. They still feel like they should've beat the Hawks last year in the playoffs, and I would have to agree. I think more than anything they were outcoached. Joel Quenneville found a way to get under our skin and it worked. The reffing (or lack thereof) certainly didn't help. I think it's a new and improved Alain Vigneault this year. I'm still not completely sold on him, but I think that he's done a good job this year. The Canucks had some key injuries this year and their number one goalie and arguably their best player had an off year. Despite that, they still won their division. You have to give Vigneault some credit for that.
In The Vancouver Province, columnist Tony Gallagher seems to think that Chicago has the speed advantage. I'm not convinced that is the case. I think we can skate with that team, despite the fact that Andrew Alberts moves like a dinosaur. (There I go again!)
The Canucks had a very long layoff last Spring after sweeping the Blues, this time it's a 5 day layoff, which is stretching it a bit, but still not too bad. I think the Canucks are better prepared after facing a solid Kings team that plays a similar game to the Hawks. Even their goalie Jonathan Quick is similar to Chicago's Niemi. On the other hand the Nashville Predators were everything that the Canucks are not. They have very little scoring up front and are solid on defense. It will be a big adjustment for Chicago to face the Canucks. That may give us a slight edge in the early going.
I was shocked to see in today's Province that they give the edge in goal to Chicago. Clearly somebody made a mistake. While Niemi's numbers may be slightly better in the first round, LA is a much more offensive team than Nashville. Luongo is a much better goalie than Niemi and if he fails to prove that in this series, the Canucks will once again be on the outside looking in once this series reaches it's conclusion.
The good news is that apparently Ryan Johnson and Aaron Rome are close to coming back. We could definitely use Johnson as he takes faceoffs, kills penalties and most importantly, blocks shots. Chicago uses all four lines, so if we can put together a decent enough fourth line so that we can do the same, that would help a lot.
I know a lot of people expect fireworks off the opening face-off, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. I hope the Canucks decide to stick to business and let the Hawks run around if they so desire. Luongo also needs to focus on the puck and forget about that Brachiosaurus parked in his crease. (I just can't stop myself.) I have a feeling that Luongo is going to have a great series. If that happens, and we don't have any injuries to our top four defencemen, I think we're in good shape.
Either way, this series should have suspense and drama, horror (Andrew Alberts) and comedy (the green men) and everything you could hope for. Steven Spielberg would be proud.
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