Well you knew it had to happen. After an epic opening round series against the Blackhawks, you knew there was going to be a letdown for the Canuck fans and the viewers across the country. It's kind of like watching the brilliant opening scene of Raiders Of The Lost Ark and then waiting patiently, frustratingly for a scene to match that one. Luckily, however, the Canucks themselves didn't suffer from a letdown. Far from it. They kept their work ethic at a high level and stuck to their game plan. And I was able to comfortably watch the game without hyperventilating.
I don't expect this to be an easy series. While Nashville and Vancouver aren't known for a rivalry, the Preds are a solid team and they are well coached. I hate to think what Barry Trotz could do with this team if he had a few superstar forwards. They are solid on their back end and have Vezina nominee Pekka Rinne in goal. If the first game is any indication, the Canucks could theoretically win this series and only score 4 goals. I'm guessing that's probably never happened before. Right now I'm a little worried that they may never score another goal this series and lose in 5. I'm guessing that's never happened before either. That just goes to show you just how good Rinne was in game 1.
CBC never seems to give the Canucks much credit. Ron McLean and crew just bitched about how boring the game was. The Canucks can only do so much. It's up to the Predators to push back. I'm getting sick and tired of Craig Simpson only talking about the missed calls on what he thinks should be Canuck infractions, and only showing those replays. I don't want a color guy who is simply a Canuck cheerleader, but a little objectivity would be nice. I'm guessing that he probably didn't like all the whining about penalties in the 1st round and all the conspiracy talk so now he's trying to show Canuck fans that it's not really that one-sided. In game 1 I don't think the reffing determined the outcome of the game but I just think that it was bad in general.
I think the reffing has been bad in most of the games I've watched in the Playoffs so far. I'm not really sure how to fix it. I realize it's a very difficult sport to officiate but is it any better with 2 refs than it was when there was only 1? You would think that it should be a lot better, but I'm not convinced that it is. There needs to be consistency at least within each game, if not the league in general. For example, if they call an early questionable slashing penalty on one team, then they should be calling legitimate slashing penalties for the rest of the game. Conspiracy? Truthfully, I don't think the reffing is near good enough to be able to conspire to anything.
Does anybody else have a problem with the 6pm PDT start times for the home games or is it just me? The Canucks won the President's Trophy. They fought hard all season long (okay, not ALL season long I forgot about those back-to-back Oiler losses) to enjoy home ice advantage for as far as they go. I may be nit-picking a little but moving the start time up an hour is slightly less of an advantage to the home team. Players have their routines. Their afternoon naps, their pre-game meals. Okay so maybe it's not a big disadvantage, but if the change was only so that CBC has more viewers back East then I have a problem with it. I feel sorry for the working fans that have to try to get to the game on time, but I'm sure Gary Bettman wouldn't be too concerned. They are probably all Canadian.
Game 2 goes tonight. I would expect to see a different Nashville team in this one. Coach Trotz wasn't very happy about that last game and likely let his troops know it. The Canucks need to keep up their solid team defense and work for their chances. Getting in front of Rinne might be a good idea as well. Let's not allow him to get too comfortable. And please, for the love of all things Holy, let's get that first goal, because if we don't, I'm going to need to start drinking Red Bull by the case just to stay awake.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Buh Bye Demons
Forget about the Sidney Crosby goal in the Olympics. 'The Goal' at GM Arena (sorry Rogers Place, okay, whatever), is now Alex Burrows' in game 7 OT against the Blackhawks. In what will go down in History as one of the most intense games in the Canucks 40 years, their 2-1 victory allowed them to exorcise the demons, or as John Shorthouse said in his great call of the goal, slay the dragon.
Does anybody else feel like they actually played this game? I think I was more tired than most of the players and I probably looked worse than Raffi Torres when all was said and done. I actually intended to write this immediately after the game but I had to go to the ER for an IV due to too much stress and dehydration. (Okay, that's not true. Just trying to spice up my blog a little. You still awake?) Why wouldn't I cut it as a sports journalist? Well, I don't have time or space to list the reasons on here, but one of them would be that I always seem to be about 2 days late with my blogs. Incidentally, I'll be posting my round 1 NHL predictions tomorrow.
I told myself I was no longer going to be superstitious. I didn't wear my Canucks jersey or bring out any flags for the first 3 games of this series. I wore my Canucks jersey and put flags on my car for games 4, and stubbornly once again for game 5. Then for game 6 I went with my autographed Canuck t-shirt and they got back to playing their game. Luckily I went with the same t-shirt for game 7. So much for not being superstitious. (Incidentally my t-shirt has Daniel, Burrows, Kesler and Malhotra autographs among a few other Canucks, BUT it also has Shane O'briens's. So not sure what to do now.)
Game 7 featured just an amazing effort from the player who clearly should be captain of this team. Ryan Kesler was a man possessed. He gave everything he had and I fully expect to see some Kesler jerseys throughout North America in the years to come. He was that good. Since Manny's unfortunate and tragic eye injury, Kesler had to step into that defensive center role. It's not really fair to bitch about his numbers. Funny how everyone just looks at the stats to determine if someone is playing well or not. You can't judge his performance in game 7 by looking at the numbers. Well, unless you want to look at Jonathan Toews production or plus-minus.
The guy who will go down in History as the real hero in this game of course will be Alex Burrows. Fitting too, as he is probably the classiest Canuck. He signed autographs for a long time in Penticton during training camp and when there were no more to sign he asked if there were any others, looked around and when he saw that there weren't he then said goodbye and walked into the dressing room. He also talked to the fans and answered their questions. Now that's classy, although I'm sure Ron Mclean woudn't think so. While Burrows was the man, scoring the first Canuck goal on an awesome set up by Kesler, and finishing things off with a great, opportunistic individual effort in the OT, he also made some costly mistakes. He had the puck stolen from him in the neutral zone late in the 3rd while on the power play, leading to the tying goal by Toews. He needed to play safe, smart hockey there and dump the puck in. He also took the penalty in OT which the Canucks luckily were able to kill thanks in part to a solid save by Luongo off of a Patrick Sharp one-timer in close. But regardless of that, he was the one to finish off the Hawks and for that he is a hero in Vancouver and rightly so.
When 'the goal' went in I jumped around my house waving my '94 White Hot Canuck towel for what seemed like forever. It was 'the' Olympic goal, times 10. (Incidentally, I'm now out day-to-day with a groin pull, a charley horse and a bruised spleen.) Did I enjoy the whole experience? Nope. It was painful to watch. PAINFUL. Looking back it was an amazing hockey game. This is the way hockey was meant to be played. (That's why I hate watching Minnesota and Columbus and often Nashville as well.) We came within an eyelash of disaster. I felt like we were on the Titanic and by some miracle just barely steered clear of the ice berg.
Another hero on this night was the man that couldn't have possibly faced any more pressure than he did. In fact, I don't know how he wasn't crushed by the tidal wave of pressure on him while he stood there for the National Anthems. Roberto Luongo stood his ground and was solid, and at times great. He didn't need to be spectacular because when the Canucks are playing THEIR game, he rarely ever has to be. It was a game that he couldn't relax for a second. We never did get that 2 or 3 goal lead. But still he battled and battled some more. He fought the puck a few times but his D were right where they should be to help him out. And then when the shot fired out from the grassy knoll (okay it was Toews on his stomach in the slot), and my heart felt like it was going to explode, Roberto didn't fall apart. That's the stuff champions are made of. Canuck fans will NEVER EVER be able to agree on who should have played game 6 or even game 7 for that matter. There is the Luongo camp and the Schneider camp. (It's kind of like trying to debate which one is more feminine, Donny or Marie. It's a waste of time, we will never agree.) I'm in the Luongo camp but I can certainly see both sides. I think the team as a whole is better because Luongo was in net when they were able to 'slay the dragon' and not Schneider. And for the people bitching about the rebound Luongo gave up on the Toews goal, (and even asking why Roberto was on his stomach in OT in game 6, you do realize the original shot was deflected right?) you can all give your head a shake. If the Canucks get by Nashville you can expect Luongo to have issues again at some point. It's the NHL playoffs. There is a reason the Stanley Cup is the most difficult trophy to win. There may even be a time when Cory Schneider gets another start. We'll see. But calling out Luongo when there are almost always 2 or 3 miscues by his team before the puck even gets to him, doesn't really help matters. Heaping on the pressure doesn't really make things easier for him. And incidentally, calling him Loosongo isn't really very funny. Or original. There. I said it.
Other Canucks that deserve mention for their great play in game 7 are Edler and Hamhuis, both played amazing D, the Higgins, Lappierre and Hansen line was a force, especially in the second period, and Ballard played solid after being a healthy (?) scratch for the previous 2 games. If Ballard was indeed healthy I have to question the decision not to play him. And I'll go even further. The decision to play Alberts over Ballard was the reason they lost game 6. Salo was out after 4 shifts and didn't return and the Canucks were down to 5 D early. It was Alberts first game in over 2 months and he was out there when the overtime goal was scored. That seemingly small decision almost cost Alain Vigneault his job.
It wouldn't be fair of me to talk about game 7 without giving credit to those lowly, no-good, oughta be tossed out of the league Chicago Blackhawks. Hey, after the misery they have bestowed on us Canuck fans, how could I possibly like them? The biggest credit of all has to go to their rookie goalie Corey Crawford. I clearly didn't give him enough credit going into this series. He played great all series long and in game 7, when it mattered most and the pressure was at its peak, he was simply spectacular. There is no more pressure for a goalie than when they are down a goal. The Hawks were down by 1 for almost the entire 3 periods and he kept his team in the game. It looks like he's going to be a star in this league for a long time to come.
I will also give credit to Pentictonite Duncan Keith. The whole Chicago team has had a tough season. They've played a lot of tough hockey, struggling just to make the playoffs. Keith played a lot of minutes all season and was clearly worn down heading into this series. He likely has a few injuries as well. But something happened in game 4 with the score tied 1-1. He was the one that seemed to ignite this team. (The weak too-many-men call and missed off-side helped too. Sorry, had to throw that in there.) He then seemed to carry the team on his back for games 4 and 5. He's a great player, he did all he could, and it was almost enough.
Jonathan Toews battled Kesler head-to-head for most of the series. It's fair to say that Kesler won that battle, but Toews was also exhausted and beat up heading into the series. I've heard that he has issues with both shoulders. He's a great Canadian hockey player and found a way to take his team into OT in game 7 against the President's Trophy winning Canucks. (I know, I know. The President's Trophy and $10 will buy you a small coffee at Starbucks.) I would hope that all Hawk fans are proud of the entire team. They battled hard all year after losing a lot of their depth players from last years Cup winning team. They played a lot better than I thought was possible.
Now the Canucks move on. Funny how all the other teams get at least 2 days rest. Conspiracy? I don't know. I think it's just that Bettman doesn't like Canadian teams. If Montreal had beaten the Bruins in game 7 last night, they'd probably be playing tonight too. So does Vancouver phone this one in? Are they still flying high over their huge win on Tuesday and unprepared? Or do they just continue where they left off? We'll find out very soon but I'm thinking that now that they've finally gotten the monkey off their backs, they will start to soar. (Because clearly you can't soar with a monkey on your back.) Just don't expect a wide open end to end, entertaining series like the last one. I expect it to be tight checking. We will probably see a lot of 1-0, 2-1 games. The Canucks need to play their best every game and if all goes well they will earn themselves a rest when this series is over. Because if they don't play their game, they will earn themselves a very long rest.
Does anybody else feel like they actually played this game? I think I was more tired than most of the players and I probably looked worse than Raffi Torres when all was said and done. I actually intended to write this immediately after the game but I had to go to the ER for an IV due to too much stress and dehydration. (Okay, that's not true. Just trying to spice up my blog a little. You still awake?) Why wouldn't I cut it as a sports journalist? Well, I don't have time or space to list the reasons on here, but one of them would be that I always seem to be about 2 days late with my blogs. Incidentally, I'll be posting my round 1 NHL predictions tomorrow.
I told myself I was no longer going to be superstitious. I didn't wear my Canucks jersey or bring out any flags for the first 3 games of this series. I wore my Canucks jersey and put flags on my car for games 4, and stubbornly once again for game 5. Then for game 6 I went with my autographed Canuck t-shirt and they got back to playing their game. Luckily I went with the same t-shirt for game 7. So much for not being superstitious. (Incidentally my t-shirt has Daniel, Burrows, Kesler and Malhotra autographs among a few other Canucks, BUT it also has Shane O'briens's. So not sure what to do now.)
Game 7 featured just an amazing effort from the player who clearly should be captain of this team. Ryan Kesler was a man possessed. He gave everything he had and I fully expect to see some Kesler jerseys throughout North America in the years to come. He was that good. Since Manny's unfortunate and tragic eye injury, Kesler had to step into that defensive center role. It's not really fair to bitch about his numbers. Funny how everyone just looks at the stats to determine if someone is playing well or not. You can't judge his performance in game 7 by looking at the numbers. Well, unless you want to look at Jonathan Toews production or plus-minus.
The guy who will go down in History as the real hero in this game of course will be Alex Burrows. Fitting too, as he is probably the classiest Canuck. He signed autographs for a long time in Penticton during training camp and when there were no more to sign he asked if there were any others, looked around and when he saw that there weren't he then said goodbye and walked into the dressing room. He also talked to the fans and answered their questions. Now that's classy, although I'm sure Ron Mclean woudn't think so. While Burrows was the man, scoring the first Canuck goal on an awesome set up by Kesler, and finishing things off with a great, opportunistic individual effort in the OT, he also made some costly mistakes. He had the puck stolen from him in the neutral zone late in the 3rd while on the power play, leading to the tying goal by Toews. He needed to play safe, smart hockey there and dump the puck in. He also took the penalty in OT which the Canucks luckily were able to kill thanks in part to a solid save by Luongo off of a Patrick Sharp one-timer in close. But regardless of that, he was the one to finish off the Hawks and for that he is a hero in Vancouver and rightly so.
When 'the goal' went in I jumped around my house waving my '94 White Hot Canuck towel for what seemed like forever. It was 'the' Olympic goal, times 10. (Incidentally, I'm now out day-to-day with a groin pull, a charley horse and a bruised spleen.) Did I enjoy the whole experience? Nope. It was painful to watch. PAINFUL. Looking back it was an amazing hockey game. This is the way hockey was meant to be played. (That's why I hate watching Minnesota and Columbus and often Nashville as well.) We came within an eyelash of disaster. I felt like we were on the Titanic and by some miracle just barely steered clear of the ice berg.
Another hero on this night was the man that couldn't have possibly faced any more pressure than he did. In fact, I don't know how he wasn't crushed by the tidal wave of pressure on him while he stood there for the National Anthems. Roberto Luongo stood his ground and was solid, and at times great. He didn't need to be spectacular because when the Canucks are playing THEIR game, he rarely ever has to be. It was a game that he couldn't relax for a second. We never did get that 2 or 3 goal lead. But still he battled and battled some more. He fought the puck a few times but his D were right where they should be to help him out. And then when the shot fired out from the grassy knoll (okay it was Toews on his stomach in the slot), and my heart felt like it was going to explode, Roberto didn't fall apart. That's the stuff champions are made of. Canuck fans will NEVER EVER be able to agree on who should have played game 6 or even game 7 for that matter. There is the Luongo camp and the Schneider camp. (It's kind of like trying to debate which one is more feminine, Donny or Marie. It's a waste of time, we will never agree.) I'm in the Luongo camp but I can certainly see both sides. I think the team as a whole is better because Luongo was in net when they were able to 'slay the dragon' and not Schneider. And for the people bitching about the rebound Luongo gave up on the Toews goal, (and even asking why Roberto was on his stomach in OT in game 6, you do realize the original shot was deflected right?) you can all give your head a shake. If the Canucks get by Nashville you can expect Luongo to have issues again at some point. It's the NHL playoffs. There is a reason the Stanley Cup is the most difficult trophy to win. There may even be a time when Cory Schneider gets another start. We'll see. But calling out Luongo when there are almost always 2 or 3 miscues by his team before the puck even gets to him, doesn't really help matters. Heaping on the pressure doesn't really make things easier for him. And incidentally, calling him Loosongo isn't really very funny. Or original. There. I said it.
Other Canucks that deserve mention for their great play in game 7 are Edler and Hamhuis, both played amazing D, the Higgins, Lappierre and Hansen line was a force, especially in the second period, and Ballard played solid after being a healthy (?) scratch for the previous 2 games. If Ballard was indeed healthy I have to question the decision not to play him. And I'll go even further. The decision to play Alberts over Ballard was the reason they lost game 6. Salo was out after 4 shifts and didn't return and the Canucks were down to 5 D early. It was Alberts first game in over 2 months and he was out there when the overtime goal was scored. That seemingly small decision almost cost Alain Vigneault his job.
It wouldn't be fair of me to talk about game 7 without giving credit to those lowly, no-good, oughta be tossed out of the league Chicago Blackhawks. Hey, after the misery they have bestowed on us Canuck fans, how could I possibly like them? The biggest credit of all has to go to their rookie goalie Corey Crawford. I clearly didn't give him enough credit going into this series. He played great all series long and in game 7, when it mattered most and the pressure was at its peak, he was simply spectacular. There is no more pressure for a goalie than when they are down a goal. The Hawks were down by 1 for almost the entire 3 periods and he kept his team in the game. It looks like he's going to be a star in this league for a long time to come.
I will also give credit to Pentictonite Duncan Keith. The whole Chicago team has had a tough season. They've played a lot of tough hockey, struggling just to make the playoffs. Keith played a lot of minutes all season and was clearly worn down heading into this series. He likely has a few injuries as well. But something happened in game 4 with the score tied 1-1. He was the one that seemed to ignite this team. (The weak too-many-men call and missed off-side helped too. Sorry, had to throw that in there.) He then seemed to carry the team on his back for games 4 and 5. He's a great player, he did all he could, and it was almost enough.
Jonathan Toews battled Kesler head-to-head for most of the series. It's fair to say that Kesler won that battle, but Toews was also exhausted and beat up heading into the series. I've heard that he has issues with both shoulders. He's a great Canadian hockey player and found a way to take his team into OT in game 7 against the President's Trophy winning Canucks. (I know, I know. The President's Trophy and $10 will buy you a small coffee at Starbucks.) I would hope that all Hawk fans are proud of the entire team. They battled hard all year after losing a lot of their depth players from last years Cup winning team. They played a lot better than I thought was possible.
Now the Canucks move on. Funny how all the other teams get at least 2 days rest. Conspiracy? I don't know. I think it's just that Bettman doesn't like Canadian teams. If Montreal had beaten the Bruins in game 7 last night, they'd probably be playing tonight too. So does Vancouver phone this one in? Are they still flying high over their huge win on Tuesday and unprepared? Or do they just continue where they left off? We'll find out very soon but I'm thinking that now that they've finally gotten the monkey off their backs, they will start to soar. (Because clearly you can't soar with a monkey on your back.) Just don't expect a wide open end to end, entertaining series like the last one. I expect it to be tight checking. We will probably see a lot of 1-0, 2-1 games. The Canucks need to play their best every game and if all goes well they will earn themselves a rest when this series is over. Because if they don't play their game, they will earn themselves a very long rest.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Time To Shine
It's time to throw history out the window. Forget about the past two seasons. Forget about losing 3 straight and facing the dire possibility of becoming only the 4th team in history to blow a 3-0 lead in the playoffs. Forget about winning the President's Trophy. Now, it's just about winning one game. It's about giving everything you have and finding a way to get it done.
This series has more than lived up to expectations. While games 3 and 4 were a letdown to even the most objective hockey fans (7-2 and 5-0 games aren't the most exciting to watch), game 6 had everything you could have asked for and more. It was intense, dramatic, controversial and exhausting. Well, I was exhausted anyways. Let's just say that sleep hasn't exactly been a friend of mine for the past week or so.
There is a huge goaltending debate in Vancouver that will probably go on for the foreseeable future. Schneider or Luongo? We can argue this forever and never agree. It's like abortion. Or capital punishment. Or whether Sarah Palin has the IQ of a stick or a rock. (I'm thinking rock incidentally.) Why has Vancouver been known as a goalie graveyard for 40 years? Well the fans accepting nothing but perfection would probably be one reason. So much pressure is being put on Luongo right now it's incredible. (And by the way, those of you saying 'he's making 10 mill this year he should be able to handle it!' don't understand that pressure doesn't have a price tag. Salaries don't mean anything in the playoffs.) Going into game 6 Luongo was 3-0 in games where his teammates have shown up. He played outstanding in 2 of those games. No he was not at his best in games 4 and 5 but how many goals would you consider to be bad goals? I would say only the first goal in game 5, but that's only off the top of my head. (And did I mention that I am sleep deprived?) While Cory Schneider played great in just over 2 periods in game 6, and raised his trade value in the process, I think it's fair to say that 2 of the goals he let in were worse than any the Luongo did. I think it was a mistake to start Schneider but then my entire family disagrees with me so what do I know? (Although I should point out that the only thing my Mother likes better than the Canucks is Vodka, so what does SHE know?) Anyways, the bottom line with this whole goalie debate is that it doesn't matter which goalie plays in net. If the Canucks play at the top of their game, we will win. There. Now wasn't that easy.
The other issue from game 6, and for most of the series in fact, has been the officiating. There is a lot of talk on CDC about NHL conspiracies. I have been quite outspoken about this on previous blogs. I try not to get too wrapped up in conspiracies in general but I do find them fascinating. I do believe in some conspiracies (911, JFK) and don't believe in others (moon landing hoax, Britney Spears singing live). I tend to think there isn't one in the NHL but I wouldn't completely rule it out. I think what is more likely is that the NHL wants to see each series go to 7 games. More revenue and overall much more exciting to watch. I haven't watched all the games from other series but I'd be willing to guess that once a team has won 3 games they have a lot of calls go against them. I've heard that Phoenix got favorable calls against Detroit (for obvious reasons) and I thought in the last LA-SJ game the Kings Doughty should've got a double minor late in the game and the charging penalty the Sharks took with just over 3 minutes left in the 3rd should've probably only gotten 2 minutes and not 5 and a game. Back to the Canucks-Hawks series, I don't think there's any question that the reffing played a significant role in getting Chicago back in this series. With the Canucks up 3-0 and tied 1-1 early in the 2nd period in a lifeless Chicago Arena, the Canucks received a phantom too-many-men call and just after it expired the same linesman that called the too-many-men missed the off-side that happened seconds before the go ahead Chicago goal. WIth the big momentum boost the Hawks then scored again 17 seconds later. So at that point it should still have been 1-1 and I really believe that if the Canucks were to get that next goal this series would have ended on that night. Instead it was 3-1 and the Canucks lost their way as they tried to climb back into the game.
While a lot of the calls and non-calls are debatable, you can't debate the penalty totals in this series. I don't really have a problem with the calls that went against the Canucks, but I have a real problem with what wasn't called on the Hawks, particularly the Scott punch to Burrows' face, the clearing the puck over the glass (it's not rocket science, pinpoint where the puck left the ice and where it landed, draw a straight line and you'll see that it went over the glass before landing on the bench), the hit on Bieksa in OT should have gotten a 2 min charge, but in my opinion did not warrant a suspension. There was also an obvious holding the stick, Hossa on Alberts mere seconds before the winning goal. No call. I think the penalty shot could have gone either way, but most likely if it had been Kesler on a breakaway and Seabrook did that there would have been a minor penalty on the play. I realize there were missed calls on the Canucks as well. I try to be as objective as possible. But you just can't deny the numbers. They don't lie. The Canucks have the best power play in the league and they haven't really been able to take advantage of that.
I'm glad that Mike Gillis spoke out to the media. Somebody had to say something. Vigneault doesn't ever seem to do anything but smile. I want a coach that will yell and scream when necessary. (And ONLY when necessary.) I firmly believe that if Vigneault was more like Quenneville or Babcock (a little more confrontational with his players) the Canucks would have shown up for game 5 and finished this series off. The team looked disinterested. The refs didn't even have to give the Hawks a helping hand in that game.
The other thing nobody seems to be talking about after game 6 was the fact that Salo got injured on his 4th shift of the game, and it was Andrew Alberts first game in over 2 months. I don't understand why Vigneault would play Alberts after 2 months off. He's not the fastest skater and if we get an injury to one of our D or the game goes into overtime then he'll have to play more minutes than you would like him to play. Both of those things happened and he was out there when the winning goal was scored in OT. A very curious decision from Alain Vigneault. It's almost like he's asking to be fired.
And that brings us to game 7. I really hope the Canuck players have slept better than I have. I hope they remember that games like these are what they dreamt of as kids. They need to play to win tonight and not like they are afraid to lose. All we can ask is that they leave everything on the ice. I fully expect the refs to let the players play. If the reffing is fair then you have to give the Canucks a decided edge. If the Canucks play like they did in game 6, and I expect them to play even better, then I really like our chances. Keep in mind that even though the Canucks have lost some big games in this series, game 7 will be their first must-win game. That will certainly be extra motivation. I look forward to seeing what this team is really capable of. I am also nervous as hell and will have trouble watching. We just need to find a way to win. Then the entire Province will explode, I will get some much needed sleep and Gary Bettman will have something to cry about. It's a win-win.
This series has more than lived up to expectations. While games 3 and 4 were a letdown to even the most objective hockey fans (7-2 and 5-0 games aren't the most exciting to watch), game 6 had everything you could have asked for and more. It was intense, dramatic, controversial and exhausting. Well, I was exhausted anyways. Let's just say that sleep hasn't exactly been a friend of mine for the past week or so.
There is a huge goaltending debate in Vancouver that will probably go on for the foreseeable future. Schneider or Luongo? We can argue this forever and never agree. It's like abortion. Or capital punishment. Or whether Sarah Palin has the IQ of a stick or a rock. (I'm thinking rock incidentally.) Why has Vancouver been known as a goalie graveyard for 40 years? Well the fans accepting nothing but perfection would probably be one reason. So much pressure is being put on Luongo right now it's incredible. (And by the way, those of you saying 'he's making 10 mill this year he should be able to handle it!' don't understand that pressure doesn't have a price tag. Salaries don't mean anything in the playoffs.) Going into game 6 Luongo was 3-0 in games where his teammates have shown up. He played outstanding in 2 of those games. No he was not at his best in games 4 and 5 but how many goals would you consider to be bad goals? I would say only the first goal in game 5, but that's only off the top of my head. (And did I mention that I am sleep deprived?) While Cory Schneider played great in just over 2 periods in game 6, and raised his trade value in the process, I think it's fair to say that 2 of the goals he let in were worse than any the Luongo did. I think it was a mistake to start Schneider but then my entire family disagrees with me so what do I know? (Although I should point out that the only thing my Mother likes better than the Canucks is Vodka, so what does SHE know?) Anyways, the bottom line with this whole goalie debate is that it doesn't matter which goalie plays in net. If the Canucks play at the top of their game, we will win. There. Now wasn't that easy.
The other issue from game 6, and for most of the series in fact, has been the officiating. There is a lot of talk on CDC about NHL conspiracies. I have been quite outspoken about this on previous blogs. I try not to get too wrapped up in conspiracies in general but I do find them fascinating. I do believe in some conspiracies (911, JFK) and don't believe in others (moon landing hoax, Britney Spears singing live). I tend to think there isn't one in the NHL but I wouldn't completely rule it out. I think what is more likely is that the NHL wants to see each series go to 7 games. More revenue and overall much more exciting to watch. I haven't watched all the games from other series but I'd be willing to guess that once a team has won 3 games they have a lot of calls go against them. I've heard that Phoenix got favorable calls against Detroit (for obvious reasons) and I thought in the last LA-SJ game the Kings Doughty should've got a double minor late in the game and the charging penalty the Sharks took with just over 3 minutes left in the 3rd should've probably only gotten 2 minutes and not 5 and a game. Back to the Canucks-Hawks series, I don't think there's any question that the reffing played a significant role in getting Chicago back in this series. With the Canucks up 3-0 and tied 1-1 early in the 2nd period in a lifeless Chicago Arena, the Canucks received a phantom too-many-men call and just after it expired the same linesman that called the too-many-men missed the off-side that happened seconds before the go ahead Chicago goal. WIth the big momentum boost the Hawks then scored again 17 seconds later. So at that point it should still have been 1-1 and I really believe that if the Canucks were to get that next goal this series would have ended on that night. Instead it was 3-1 and the Canucks lost their way as they tried to climb back into the game.
While a lot of the calls and non-calls are debatable, you can't debate the penalty totals in this series. I don't really have a problem with the calls that went against the Canucks, but I have a real problem with what wasn't called on the Hawks, particularly the Scott punch to Burrows' face, the clearing the puck over the glass (it's not rocket science, pinpoint where the puck left the ice and where it landed, draw a straight line and you'll see that it went over the glass before landing on the bench), the hit on Bieksa in OT should have gotten a 2 min charge, but in my opinion did not warrant a suspension. There was also an obvious holding the stick, Hossa on Alberts mere seconds before the winning goal. No call. I think the penalty shot could have gone either way, but most likely if it had been Kesler on a breakaway and Seabrook did that there would have been a minor penalty on the play. I realize there were missed calls on the Canucks as well. I try to be as objective as possible. But you just can't deny the numbers. They don't lie. The Canucks have the best power play in the league and they haven't really been able to take advantage of that.
I'm glad that Mike Gillis spoke out to the media. Somebody had to say something. Vigneault doesn't ever seem to do anything but smile. I want a coach that will yell and scream when necessary. (And ONLY when necessary.) I firmly believe that if Vigneault was more like Quenneville or Babcock (a little more confrontational with his players) the Canucks would have shown up for game 5 and finished this series off. The team looked disinterested. The refs didn't even have to give the Hawks a helping hand in that game.
The other thing nobody seems to be talking about after game 6 was the fact that Salo got injured on his 4th shift of the game, and it was Andrew Alberts first game in over 2 months. I don't understand why Vigneault would play Alberts after 2 months off. He's not the fastest skater and if we get an injury to one of our D or the game goes into overtime then he'll have to play more minutes than you would like him to play. Both of those things happened and he was out there when the winning goal was scored in OT. A very curious decision from Alain Vigneault. It's almost like he's asking to be fired.
And that brings us to game 7. I really hope the Canuck players have slept better than I have. I hope they remember that games like these are what they dreamt of as kids. They need to play to win tonight and not like they are afraid to lose. All we can ask is that they leave everything on the ice. I fully expect the refs to let the players play. If the reffing is fair then you have to give the Canucks a decided edge. If the Canucks play like they did in game 6, and I expect them to play even better, then I really like our chances. Keep in mind that even though the Canucks have lost some big games in this series, game 7 will be their first must-win game. That will certainly be extra motivation. I look forward to seeing what this team is really capable of. I am also nervous as hell and will have trouble watching. We just need to find a way to win. Then the entire Province will explode, I will get some much needed sleep and Gary Bettman will have something to cry about. It's a win-win.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Okay, Now You Can Panic
I know the road to the Stanley Cup is always a long journey, filled with peaks and valleys, disasters and moments of elation. But I didn't expect this journey to involve stepping on a land mine and then getting hit by an Atom bomb. I think that's about how most of us Canuck fans are feeling right now, and I didn't even fork out a few hundred dollars to have to sit in the Rog and have to witness this catastrophe.
Am I overstating things? Maybe slightly. The Canucks still have 2 more chances to wrap this series up. But generally speaking, this sort of thing doesn't happen to championship teams. The Canucks have completely gotten away from everything they did right in the Regular Season and the first 3 games of this series. Except for Roberto on occasion, nobody had to be spectacular. Now they are all playing an individual game. You win and you lose as a team. That's the way it's been since the beginning of time. Okay, the beginning of team sports. That's why a team like Pittsburgh, minus Crosby and Malkin, can still win games. That's how the '82 Canucks made it to the Stanley Cup final. It certainly wasn't because of talent. Maybe this Canuck squad should go back and watch some of those old tapes.
I had an uneasy feeling shortly before the first goal. Luongo likes to get some shots early and he hadn't had one to that point. He needs to make a save on that first goal. The team also needs to have a push-back shift after a goal so that they don't continue giving up 2 goals in 17 seconds or whatever it was. In fact, this team needs to push back when they are being pushed. That's what championship teams do.
For the next 3 goals you can blame Luongo if you want to (and I know a lot of people do) but that's just not being realistic. Once this Canuck team gives up a goal, and then a 2nd goal, they seem to just throw their game out the window and try to play firewagon hockey. Once they do that they are in trouble. No goalie in the league is going to stop those 3 shots. If the Hawks have figured one thing out I think it's to just randomly take shots on Roberto. Don't give Luongo any easy saves that would enable him to feel the puck and get in a zone.
While I think Cory Schneider played well (and hopefully increased his market value some more), Luongo is still starting game 6. I just hope that he finishes it. As much great work as Mike Gillis has done in building this team, as deep as they are, this team still cannot win unless Luongo is at his best.
Having said that, a little offensive push would be nice. Where are our top 6 forwards? The only valid excuse I can think of is that some awful African virus has hit the entire team. If that's the case they have a couple days now to get it out of their system. Otherwise I'm considering putting the skates on, and I can barely skate backwards.
While I generally don't believe in momentum from game to game, losing the last 2 games 12-2 I'd say without question Chicago has the momentum. The Canucks need to find a way to wrestle it back. For the first 3 games the Hawks were too easy to play against. For the last 2, it's been the Canucks who have been far too easy to play against.
Clearly the Canucks didn't miss Manny Malhotra in the first 3 games, but with the return of Dave Bolland in game 4 making the Hawks deeper at centre, there is now a hole there that they can't fill. I haven't looked at the face-off stats from game 5 but they can't be good.
Now it's up to the Canucks to find their game again and show they still have a pulse. Obviously they have to play to win but even losing by a goal in the next game would be a step in the right direction. I never thought I would ever say something like that. Their defence has to stop backing in too far and they just need to focus on winning puck battles through plain old hard work. It's not rocket science. If they put the effort in and play as a team there is a good chance they will be rewarded. Otherwise, this long and grueling road to the Stanley Cup will be cut tragically short.
Am I overstating things? Maybe slightly. The Canucks still have 2 more chances to wrap this series up. But generally speaking, this sort of thing doesn't happen to championship teams. The Canucks have completely gotten away from everything they did right in the Regular Season and the first 3 games of this series. Except for Roberto on occasion, nobody had to be spectacular. Now they are all playing an individual game. You win and you lose as a team. That's the way it's been since the beginning of time. Okay, the beginning of team sports. That's why a team like Pittsburgh, minus Crosby and Malkin, can still win games. That's how the '82 Canucks made it to the Stanley Cup final. It certainly wasn't because of talent. Maybe this Canuck squad should go back and watch some of those old tapes.
I had an uneasy feeling shortly before the first goal. Luongo likes to get some shots early and he hadn't had one to that point. He needs to make a save on that first goal. The team also needs to have a push-back shift after a goal so that they don't continue giving up 2 goals in 17 seconds or whatever it was. In fact, this team needs to push back when they are being pushed. That's what championship teams do.
For the next 3 goals you can blame Luongo if you want to (and I know a lot of people do) but that's just not being realistic. Once this Canuck team gives up a goal, and then a 2nd goal, they seem to just throw their game out the window and try to play firewagon hockey. Once they do that they are in trouble. No goalie in the league is going to stop those 3 shots. If the Hawks have figured one thing out I think it's to just randomly take shots on Roberto. Don't give Luongo any easy saves that would enable him to feel the puck and get in a zone.
While I think Cory Schneider played well (and hopefully increased his market value some more), Luongo is still starting game 6. I just hope that he finishes it. As much great work as Mike Gillis has done in building this team, as deep as they are, this team still cannot win unless Luongo is at his best.
Having said that, a little offensive push would be nice. Where are our top 6 forwards? The only valid excuse I can think of is that some awful African virus has hit the entire team. If that's the case they have a couple days now to get it out of their system. Otherwise I'm considering putting the skates on, and I can barely skate backwards.
While I generally don't believe in momentum from game to game, losing the last 2 games 12-2 I'd say without question Chicago has the momentum. The Canucks need to find a way to wrestle it back. For the first 3 games the Hawks were too easy to play against. For the last 2, it's been the Canucks who have been far too easy to play against.
Clearly the Canucks didn't miss Manny Malhotra in the first 3 games, but with the return of Dave Bolland in game 4 making the Hawks deeper at centre, there is now a hole there that they can't fill. I haven't looked at the face-off stats from game 5 but they can't be good.
Now it's up to the Canucks to find their game again and show they still have a pulse. Obviously they have to play to win but even losing by a goal in the next game would be a step in the right direction. I never thought I would ever say something like that. Their defence has to stop backing in too far and they just need to focus on winning puck battles through plain old hard work. It's not rocket science. If they put the effort in and play as a team there is a good chance they will be rewarded. Otherwise, this long and grueling road to the Stanley Cup will be cut tragically short.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Don't Anybody PAAANNNNICCCCC!!!
I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I fully expected Chicago to come out and play great in game 4. I also expected that the Canucks would have a killer instinct that has been missing for most of 40 years. Clearly I was wrong. Why awake a sleeping giant? (Okay maybe giant is the wrong word, these aren't last years Hawks but they certainly have some confidence back). The best way to go deep in the Playoffs is to finish teams off as early as possible so you can rest. I guess you could say the Hawks NEED to win won over against the Canucks WANT to win. And it won over in a big way.
For those of you that blame Luongo for this 7-2 shellacking, you are either just trying to get attention or you are an idiot. Roberto kept the Canucks in it through the first. They were lucky to be tied after 20 minutes. And incidentally, not that it would have made much difference but Vigneault could have called a time-out at some point to try to get his team going and stop Chicago's momentum. Maybe after 2 goals in 17 seconds made it 3-1 Chicago perhaps. Again, I don't think that would have changed the outcome at all but a coaches' job is to find ways to win, find ways to turn things around when your team is struggling. You have to give credit to Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. This year he's the one with the beat up and exhausted team. You just know that with him behind the bench that 4th win is not going to be easy.
While it would probably be ridiculous of me to suggest that the refs determined the outcome of the game they certainly didn't help matters. I would love to see both of them have to sit down in front of the camera and try to explain some of their decisions. They could've put it on PPV and made a fortune. How on Earth does Duncan Keith not get a 2nd minor penalty for sticking his leg out and blatantly tripping one of our players right in front of the ref? Inexcusable. And the Ehrhoff goaltender interference penalty? After what the Canucks have endured the past two seasons with Dustin Byfuglien crashing Luongo at every turn with no calls, can we chalk this one up to a bad joke? Well 'bad' and 'joke' are two words I would use to describe the reffing in this game. I could use others, but why bother? I also thought the too many men penalty on the Canucks was ridiculous. After that I have to admit I just lost count. By the time the game was out of reach it no longer mattered. I'm not even sure who reffed this game (and that's another thing, I want their names put back on their jerseys, maybe that might make them a little more accountable!) but my ruling is that they each get a 4 game suspension. And feel shame.
Here's where I would normally tell you all that it's just one game and not to panic. Truthfully I don't care if everybody panics. If you were awake all night crying until you have no more tears left to cry. Just as long as the team doesn't overreact. They have been great all year at not getting too high and not getting too low. It's hard to continue to play at a high level when you keep winning. Bad habits tend to creep in. Maybe you start believing all the press about how good they are. Maybe they can just coast and have fun out there and still win games. Of course that's wrong. If Edmonton can prove it in back-to-back games in the regular season then you know that won't happen against a desperate Chicago team that was being embarrassed.
I fully expect the Canucks to play their best game to date in game 5. I would rather them lose 7-2 than 3-2 in OT. At least now they've gotten their wake-up call and it's time for them to respond. I'm excited to see what this team is made of. For good or for bad, we should have a much clearer idea of that tomorrow night.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Canucks Will Battle A Great Team Tonight: Themselves
The Canucks head into game one of the first round of the 2011 NHL Playoffs against the Blackhawks in great shape. They've had their most solid, most consistent regular season in their History. The numbers, the stats and the awards are well documented. I don't think I need to waste time here going over them once again. Let's just say the numbers have been astounding, and leave it at that. The Hawks on the other hand have crawled into the Playoffs, almost against their will. They played that last game against Detroit like they had already planned a fishing trip for the weekend. On paper every little stat favors the Canucks.
Having said all of that there is a reason they drop the puck. Anything can happen. Hawks' coach Joel Quenneville has the tough job of trying to figure out how to get the Canucks out of their rhythm. He's a great coach, the best coach in this series in fact, but he's got his work cut out for him. The Hawks have had to play hard for 82 games. They've had to rely on two lines and their top two defencemen for the whole season. They will continue to have to rely on them in this first round. That may be too much to ask.
Last season has been well documented and there's probably not much I can add, but the Canucks headed into that second round series against Chicago a very bruised, battered and tired team. This year it is Chicago's turn. Rookie goalie Corey Crawford has been looking tired lately. Since he's probably the third best goalie in this series I'd have to say this could be a quick demise for the Hawks.
The biggest thing to watch for tonight is how the Canucks start the game. The biggest advantage the Hawks have just might be psychologically. The Canucks need to not only realize that they are a great team but also that Hawks are a shell of their former selves. They need to play to win and not be afraid to lose. They need to play one game at a time, one shift at a time. (Damn. That's about all the cliches I can come up with, I was on a roll there.) On the other hand, Chicago doesn't give a tinker's damn that the Canucks finished first overall. (It's been a while since I've blogged, do people still say 'tinker's damn'?) They will try to make things as uncomfortable as possible and once again try to get into the Canucks' heads. I don't like their chances of doing that, but time will tell. If the Canucks can't beat the Hawks this year in the playoffs I'm not sure it will ever happen again.
There has been a lot of talk about Luongo. No surprise there. Reading some of the posts on the Blackhawks website, I was surprised to read that some of their fans think that Vancouver hasn't addressed their goaltending. The Canucks got a new, full-time goalie coach, Luongo changed his style to play deeper in the crease making it harder to run him, and we now have the best back-up goalie in the league so Luongo is FINALLY rested heading into the playoffs. I'm not sure how you could do more to address the goaltending issues. I feel very confident that Luongo will be fine. In fact better than fine. He's my Conn Smythe pick this year. (Hmm, I hope I don't jinx him.)
Speaking of jinxing, I'm going to make an effort to try not to be superstitious this year. It was getting ridiculous. I had to wear the same jersey every game, wave my Canuck flags while the anthems were sung, eat my Baked Cheezies as the puck dropped.
I could be wrong, but I don't really think the outcome of this series hinges on which type of snack I choose. Call me crazy. I definitely believe in luck. To win the Stanley Cup you need a lot of luck. But I think the players can create their own luck. I can't do that for them. That doesn't mean I'm not going to eat Baked Cheezies. I just may switch it up with Baked Ketchup Chips. It's called living on the edge people.
One thing I've always found amusing, if you go to the Canucks messageboards, or probably any teams messageboards, I always read posts like 'Let's not be too overconfident' or 'don't panic, it's just one game'. To be honest, I don't really care what the fans do. If you want to panic because Luongo let's in a shaky goal, by all means PANIC! Just as long as Luongo and the rest of the team doesn't panic. If you feel like marching through the streets of Vancouver (watch out for those hookers and junkies) after the Canucks win their first game, you go for it! I just don't want to see the Canucks spraying champagne on each other's bodies until they've won 16. Now where was I? Sorry, got distracted there.
It also occurred to me the other day that if 'we are all Canucks', then shouldn't I go and get my ring finger sized? And then I thought, they better not go chintzy. No damned cubic zirconia for me. Hey, my overconfidence isn't going to affect the outcome of this series. Haven't you been paying attention?
The playoffs are a journey. The Canucks begin that journey in a couple of hours, and they hope it's a long one. There will be a lot of sleepless nights for me and who knows what my fingernails will look like when all is said and done. I'll be the one with bandaged hands at the Parade. As nervous as I will be, it's important to appreciate how good this team is and to enjoy this journey we're about to embark on. I don't even want to think about how many losing seasons the Canucks have had. How many times they've been out of playoff contention by Christmas. How many times they've gone 0-for-January. That's all in the past. This is their time. And now it's time for them to show us what they've got. If they can win the battle against their own insecurities, it promises to be a fun ride.
My Opening Round 2011NHL Playoffs Predictions
After countless hours of research and crunching numbers, my expert team and I have FINALLY come up with our first round predictions for the 2011 NHL Playoffs. Anything short of 8 for 8 and HEADS ARE GONNA ROLL!!!
WEST:
Van (1) vs Chi (8) - Vancouver in 5
SJ (2) vs LA (7) - San Jose in 5
Det (3) vs Phoenix (6) - Detroit in 5
Ana (4) vs Nash (5) - Anaheim in 6
EAST:
Wash (1) vs NYR (8) - Washington in 7
Phil (2) vs Buff (7) - Buffalo in 6
Bos (3) vs Mtl (6) - Boston in 4
Pitt (4) vs Tam (5) - Tampa in 7
WEST:
Van (1) vs Chi (8) - Vancouver in 5
SJ (2) vs LA (7) - San Jose in 5
Det (3) vs Phoenix (6) - Detroit in 5
Ana (4) vs Nash (5) - Anaheim in 6
EAST:
Wash (1) vs NYR (8) - Washington in 7
Phil (2) vs Buff (7) - Buffalo in 6
Bos (3) vs Mtl (6) - Boston in 4
Pitt (4) vs Tam (5) - Tampa in 7
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