After a seemingly endless road to the Stanley Cup the Canucks now go into Boston just one win away from the biggest moment in Vancouver history. Yes, bigger than any moment of the Olympics. While it is a great position to be in, it's not a very comfortable position. I found it quite amusing that the ridiculously biased Boston media basically wrote off the Canucks chances with the series 2-2. Now that it's 3-2 Canucks they are not quite so arrogant. The reality is that this series still could go either way.
You really have to admire the sports fans in Boston. They truly are hardcore. They seem to have to hate their opponents, in any sport. It's pretty bad when Canuck fans in Boston are afraid to wear their Canuck jerseys. The Canucks have had a few major rivalries over the years and while I don't particularly like some of the teams, I have the utmost respect and appreciation for Iginla, Kiprusoff, Hall, Eberle, Toews and Keith. I'm a fan of hockey first and foremost. Being a fan of the Canucks is a very close second.
I want to see exciting, highly skilled hockey. I don't need to see a lot of goals, but I'd like to see a lot of chances and some great goaltending. If you like that kind of hockey, how can you not like the Canucks? Do people hate playing against Ryan Kesler? Yup. But if you want to be a contending team then you need people on your team that aren't that fun to play against. How about those Sedins? (Give me a break with the sisters comments.) Their skill level is off the charts. When they are healthy they are elite players. I think it is shameful that the refs aren't calling the games as they should be called which would allow them to show the skill that they have. It makes the NHL look extremely bad. Although a lot of things make the NHL look bad.
I can also tell you without question that there is no Canuck player even close to as dirty as Corey Perry or Chris Pronger. Those two are often seen as heros. Don't get me wrong, they are great players. But they are cheap shot artists. Aaron Rome is about as honest a player as you will get. And now he's suddenly hockey's equivalent to Charles Manson?
And Alex Burrows? Well, how dare he (allegedly) chomp down on a gloved finger when it is forced into his mouth??!! How is he not banned for life? Seriously though, I'm really not sure how the NHL could've suspended him for that. The only 2 people who could possibly know if he really did bite down are Burrows and Bergeron. Still, the whining continued.
Roberto Luongo? Wow! There's a BIG story. Saying that he would've made the save on Lapierre because he plays in the paint? And then also saying that 'THERE ARE SOME SAVES THAT THOMAS WOULD MAKE THAT I WOULDN'T.' And the Boston media thinks this is a story? How is saying that 'their goalie would make saves that I wouldn't' arrogant? It is writers like those in Boston that are responsible for all the 'they are a great team, we will just try our best' and 'we'll just take it one shift at a time' and 'our backs are to the wall' quotes that put everyone to sleep. Can we not all agree that BOTH of these goalies have been great? They both play completely different styles, but it is working for both of them. It is also extremely likely that one of them will win the Conn Smythe Trophy. I think that if Roberto comes up huge in Boston and the Canucks win, he should win it. If it goes to 7 then maybe give it to Thomas even if Boston loses that final game. As good as Thomas has been in this series, he has yet to steal a game. I wouldn't say Roberto has necessarily stolen games, but he does have 2 shutouts.
I'm expecting a great game 6. The Bruins will be fired up with the Cup on the line. They especially don't want the Canucks parading the Cup around their building. The Canucks of course know that they just need to win one more. That should be incentive enough for them to put their best game on the ice. I hope the Canucks can weather an early storm and I would be surprised to see them get any power plays. A game in Boston where the Bruins could be eliminated, which would give the Cup to a Western Canadian team? I'm thinking no power plays.
I have a good feeling. I think Roberto is going to get the job done. It would be nice (for my heart at least) if we blew the Bruins away. But that's never really been the way the Canucks do things. It's always been a difficult road. That last game we couldn't relax for a second, and I don't expect game 6 to be any different. Either way I will be holding my breath, watching through trembling fingers, with my '94 White Hot towel in hand and Champagne chilling in the fridge, just waiting to be opened. Get 'er done boys!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
The 'Villains' Look To Regain Control Of Series
If there wasn't a Boston-Vancouver rivalry before, I think it's safe to say we have one now. I find it quite laughable that the Canucks are now looked upon as the bad guys. I realize that most Americans are somewhat new to Hockey, but you don't have to be Scotty Bowman to see what's happening out there on the ice. (To you Americans, he's widely regarded as the Einstein of Hockey, winning several Cups with Montreal and Detroit) The simple fact is that Boston CANNOT win this series unless they take it into the trenches, the back alleys, the boxing ring. Pick your metaphor. The Bruins do not have enough skilled players to be able to compete with the Sedins or the speed to keep up with Raymond, Hansen and Kesler (when he's healthy). In other words, if Zdeno Chara does not turn into the second-coming of Ogie Oglethorpe (might want to Google that Bruins' fans), Henrik will be hoisting the Cup and Patrice Bergeron will be forever known as the guy who stuck his gloved hand into a player's mouth and then whined about getting bit.
If you watched Oglethorpe, excuse me Chara, in game 3 you would know what I am talking about. I wish I had recorded it so I could watch it back, but I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that there wasn't one shift that he took where he couldn't have gotten a penalty. If he doesn't hack, wack, slash, hold, grab, spear and punch the Sedins then the party is over. The fact that he isn't going to the box and feeling shame is just a bonus for Boston. That being said, if the Canucks don't get their power play back on track to at least try to keep the Bruins honest, then they are their own worst enemy. The bigger Vancouver's power play fails, the more liberties Boston are likely to take.
Wow. Two whole paragraphs and I haven't even brought up the Aaron Rome hit on Nathan Horton. For those of you that think it was an intent to injure, you are clearly delusional. The Canucks were up 2-0 in the series and looking to take a stranglehold. Do you really think early in the first period of game 3 that they would want any part of that? Not to mention that Aaron Rome is not and never has been that type of player. He was on the receiving end of a dirty hit against San Jose that gave him a concussion, no suspension on that play. (Had to throw that in there, sorry.) Was it a penalty? Yes. From the moment he passed off the puck to the moment of contact it was slightly less than one second. The NHL allows a half second. So it was late, no question. There are people in Boston calling Rome a 'felon' and that he'should never play again'. He didn't leave his feet, didn't target the head, and it obviously wasn't a blindside. Mike Murphy even said all of these things. What it really boils down to is two things. The fact that Horton was sent off on a stretcher and likely won't be back in this series, and the fact that Rome is not one of Vancouver's star players. If Kesler had hit Horton, or for that matter if Horton had hit Rome like that, there would be no suspension. I'm disappointed that Rome was given a suspension at all. But 4 games? 4 times more than any other player in Stanley Cup Final history? If I wasn't laughing so hard at the ridiculousness of the NHL in making this decision I would be outraged.
But now the NHL has painted itself into a corner. This is every hockey writer in Vancouver's wet dream (and probably the one writer in Boston that occasionally covers Hockey too!) But I'd guess that it's about to get better. That 4 game suspension will have caught the attention of every player in the NHL, and yes Boston players too. Even those fishing and golfing will have at least looked up the hit on Youtube. Because now there is a risk for every player in the league of being banished for a Stanley Cup final. Okay, let's be honest. Daniel and Henrik probably aren't going to attempt to stand a guy up at the blue line so they are probably okay. But virtually everyone else is in danger of being ejected from the SCF because they hit a guy less than a half second late. When I say that it's about to get better, I mean that there will likely be a much worse hit in this series and most likely from the Bruins. Let's say it's Chara or Lucic. Not too far-fetched I don't think. If it's the same hit or worse, will there be a suspension? Well, we will likely find out. But I wouldn't bet on it.
Did that hit on Horton cost Vancouver the game? Probably. The Canucks did kill the 5 minute penalty but going down to 5 defencemen that early in a game is tough. They beat Boston with 5 D in game one but they had Hamhuis and he makes a big difference. I think Alberts played half decent with the extra minutes but he's no Dan Hamhuis. I really don't care if the score was 2-1 or 8-1. It was a 4-0 game going into the 3rd and the Canucks were trying to get back into it. That's when you are likely to give up goals. No point sitting back and preserving a 4-0 loss. But it makes for a good story, and when you need to write a story a day about Hockey, then you go with it.
I was actually thinking about apologizing to AV for all the negative things I've said about him in the past (not until they win 2 more games however), but now I have to say he was outcoached in game 3. I think the third goal (the first short-handed goal) was the back-breaker, but they still had a minute left on their power play. Call a timeout and rest the 1st unit so they can stay out there. If they get that next goal a comeback is a possibility. As a coach you have to find a way to win. Joel Quenneville did just that in the first round and almost pulled the upset. As far as Luongo goes, (and don't get me wrong, I've always been a big supporter of Roberto) you don't ask him if he wants to come out. You are the coach. Once he sees Schneider heading his way he will come out. I'm not really concerned about him getting lit up for 8 goals, but it would give Schneider a bit of work. You know if Luongo plays lights out again, which I expect, then he is likely to get run over 'accidentally' by one of those Bruins. We may still need Schneider at some point before all is said and done.
So how does Vancouver turn this around and go home with a chance to wrap it up? They need to get back to playing their style of Hockey. I hear the ice in Boston is horrible, which favors the less-skilled, slower Bruin team, so they will have to fight through that. They need to move the puck on their power play and they need to find a way to beat Boston's best penalty killer, Thomas. I imagine Vigneault saw this Boston freight train coming. Why try to get in front of it? Let it pass and concentrate on playing hockey like the villains we are, and that baby is going to derail.
If you watched Oglethorpe, excuse me Chara, in game 3 you would know what I am talking about. I wish I had recorded it so I could watch it back, but I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that there wasn't one shift that he took where he couldn't have gotten a penalty. If he doesn't hack, wack, slash, hold, grab, spear and punch the Sedins then the party is over. The fact that he isn't going to the box and feeling shame is just a bonus for Boston. That being said, if the Canucks don't get their power play back on track to at least try to keep the Bruins honest, then they are their own worst enemy. The bigger Vancouver's power play fails, the more liberties Boston are likely to take.
Wow. Two whole paragraphs and I haven't even brought up the Aaron Rome hit on Nathan Horton. For those of you that think it was an intent to injure, you are clearly delusional. The Canucks were up 2-0 in the series and looking to take a stranglehold. Do you really think early in the first period of game 3 that they would want any part of that? Not to mention that Aaron Rome is not and never has been that type of player. He was on the receiving end of a dirty hit against San Jose that gave him a concussion, no suspension on that play. (Had to throw that in there, sorry.) Was it a penalty? Yes. From the moment he passed off the puck to the moment of contact it was slightly less than one second. The NHL allows a half second. So it was late, no question. There are people in Boston calling Rome a 'felon' and that he'should never play again'. He didn't leave his feet, didn't target the head, and it obviously wasn't a blindside. Mike Murphy even said all of these things. What it really boils down to is two things. The fact that Horton was sent off on a stretcher and likely won't be back in this series, and the fact that Rome is not one of Vancouver's star players. If Kesler had hit Horton, or for that matter if Horton had hit Rome like that, there would be no suspension. I'm disappointed that Rome was given a suspension at all. But 4 games? 4 times more than any other player in Stanley Cup Final history? If I wasn't laughing so hard at the ridiculousness of the NHL in making this decision I would be outraged.
But now the NHL has painted itself into a corner. This is every hockey writer in Vancouver's wet dream (and probably the one writer in Boston that occasionally covers Hockey too!) But I'd guess that it's about to get better. That 4 game suspension will have caught the attention of every player in the NHL, and yes Boston players too. Even those fishing and golfing will have at least looked up the hit on Youtube. Because now there is a risk for every player in the league of being banished for a Stanley Cup final. Okay, let's be honest. Daniel and Henrik probably aren't going to attempt to stand a guy up at the blue line so they are probably okay. But virtually everyone else is in danger of being ejected from the SCF because they hit a guy less than a half second late. When I say that it's about to get better, I mean that there will likely be a much worse hit in this series and most likely from the Bruins. Let's say it's Chara or Lucic. Not too far-fetched I don't think. If it's the same hit or worse, will there be a suspension? Well, we will likely find out. But I wouldn't bet on it.
Did that hit on Horton cost Vancouver the game? Probably. The Canucks did kill the 5 minute penalty but going down to 5 defencemen that early in a game is tough. They beat Boston with 5 D in game one but they had Hamhuis and he makes a big difference. I think Alberts played half decent with the extra minutes but he's no Dan Hamhuis. I really don't care if the score was 2-1 or 8-1. It was a 4-0 game going into the 3rd and the Canucks were trying to get back into it. That's when you are likely to give up goals. No point sitting back and preserving a 4-0 loss. But it makes for a good story, and when you need to write a story a day about Hockey, then you go with it.
I was actually thinking about apologizing to AV for all the negative things I've said about him in the past (not until they win 2 more games however), but now I have to say he was outcoached in game 3. I think the third goal (the first short-handed goal) was the back-breaker, but they still had a minute left on their power play. Call a timeout and rest the 1st unit so they can stay out there. If they get that next goal a comeback is a possibility. As a coach you have to find a way to win. Joel Quenneville did just that in the first round and almost pulled the upset. As far as Luongo goes, (and don't get me wrong, I've always been a big supporter of Roberto) you don't ask him if he wants to come out. You are the coach. Once he sees Schneider heading his way he will come out. I'm not really concerned about him getting lit up for 8 goals, but it would give Schneider a bit of work. You know if Luongo plays lights out again, which I expect, then he is likely to get run over 'accidentally' by one of those Bruins. We may still need Schneider at some point before all is said and done.
So how does Vancouver turn this around and go home with a chance to wrap it up? They need to get back to playing their style of Hockey. I hear the ice in Boston is horrible, which favors the less-skilled, slower Bruin team, so they will have to fight through that. They need to move the puck on their power play and they need to find a way to beat Boston's best penalty killer, Thomas. I imagine Vigneault saw this Boston freight train coming. Why try to get in front of it? Let it pass and concentrate on playing hockey like the villains we are, and that baby is going to derail.
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