Just Wait Until Next Year

I had a brainstorm the other day about selling t-shirts with the Canucks' logo and the phrase 'Just wait until next year' underneath it. I think I could make a fortune. I've been saying 'Just wait until next year' every Spring since I was old enough to talk. In fact those may have been my very first words. Either that or 'That Mike Bossy is a Motherfucker!' Can't really remember. Another season has come and gone for my beloved Vancouver Canucks. While this one was less painful and much less exhausting, it would be fair to call it a bigger disappointment. Last season died by the hands of the Boston Bruins and I really felt like this season did too. Not only were Kesler (still not really 100% and probably never will be), Edler (one broken finger from the Stanley Cup Final still hasn't healed)and Raymond (broken back from an arguably dirty hit by Boychuk, I only say 'arguably' because I'm trying really hard to sound objective, that has definitely hindered his play) not themselves, but also that big game in Boston during the regular season seemed to suck the life out of us. Sure we won the game and proved that we could score on the power play, but we never really seemed to regroup. I don't know if there is a stat for winning ugly games, but if there is I think we may have broken the record. Something seemed wrong about the way they played most of the season and I just thought that it was me waiting impatiently for the playoffs. While that was part of it, there was clearly more to it than that. I think it's important to give credit where credit is due. The LA Kings played a great series. They stuck to their game plan 100%. They have a great goalie and great defense and the Canucks didn't seem to have the skill level to really test Jonathan Quick for the first 3 games. A big part of that was not having Daniel Sedin. You could say that a contending team should be able to overcome the loss of one player, but really it's almost like losing 2 players. And their top 2 players at that. Henrik is not the same without Daniel. The NHL is really hard to figure out sometimes (okay, most of the time). Duncan Keith received a 5 game suspension (in the regular season) for his brutal intent-to-injure elbow to the head of last years Art Ross Trophy winner while Raffi Torres receives a 25 game suspension in the playoffs for his charge on Marian Hossa. I personally didn't think the Torres hit was late, but he did leave his feet and deserved a charging penalty in my opinion. Not only was the Duncan Keith hit late, Daniel never ever had the puck. The only way to really get the players' attention is, if it is determined to be an intent to injure, to suspend the guilty player at least until the injured player comes back, if not longer. If a player who is about to elbow a guy in the head knows that if he does some serious damage, he could be out for half a season or maybe even a full season, then he probably brings that elbow back down and tries for a clean hit. Obviously if Duncan Keith had missed the first 3 games of the playoffs that wouldn't have had any effect on the Canucks-LA series, but if this rule had been in place, the incident likely never would've happened, in my opinion. One big positive was the play of Cory Schneider. Even though he was only able to win 1 of the 3 games he played, he showed that he could handle the pressure and only lost because his team just couldn't score goals. It should be pointed out that Luongo also played well in his 2 games. It's sad that he always gets the blame. How many goals did the Canucks score in game 7 against Boston? That's right. Zero. There is a reason why this city is a goalie graveyard. I just hope that Schneider isn't next. Just remember that no goalie is perfect. Schneider will let in some crappy goals now and then. (Most often there will be a couple bonehead plays from his teammates before those goals but nobody seems to notice those). It's important to not crucify him for it. Luongo is an elite goalie and has given us 6 stellar years. He's unquestionably the best goalie the Canucks have ever had and I really hope that he goes to an Eastern team because if he doesn't, he could really come back and bite us in the ass. I have never been a fan of Alain Vigneault. When Mike Gillis became the new GM I expected him to make a change and I wanted Joel Quenneville. Too bad it didn't happen. There's no denying that Vigneault knows how to win in the regular season, but the Playoffs are an entirely different animal. It's almost like comparing a Lamb to a Tiger, or a Bunny Rabbit to a Cobra, or a, well, you get the point. I think AV has been out-coached in the playoffs more often than not. In game 1 against LA his team was so badly prepared that it was embarrassing. The Kings looked like the Oilers of the '80's and the Canucks looked like the Canucks of the '70's. AV has been here for 6 years. That's a very long time for a coach. Players get sick of hearing the same bullshit. It's time for a new voice and a new philosophy. Gillis wants the team to be attacking but AV is a defensive coach. It just doesn't make sense. I was convinced that a change would be made but now I am hearing otherwise. I know that a coach can't put the skates on and score goals; it's up to the players. A coaching change will not solve all of our problems, but it would at least get us heading in the right direction. It's unfortunate that most of the offensive-minded teams have lost in the first round. Is anybody interested in watching the LA Kings play against St Louis, other than their fans? I'm certainly not. It's hard to believe that Vancouver, Detroit, San Jose, Chicago, Pittsburgh and the Bruins all lost in the first round. I only hope that the GM's in the league don't decide to make their teams more defensive minded. We should all be cheering for the Flyers to win the Cup because at least they play an exciting, offensive style. Without good goaltending however, I don't see them winning it all. And now my long off-season begins. I can't really complain too much. Instead of sitting in front of my tv, holding my breath and drinking God knows what just because I think it may bring good luck, I will be spending more time on the golf course, the tennis court and the beach. I've put away my Canucks towel and brought out my lime green G-string. And maybe that's a good thing. No, you're right. It's not. But just wait until next year.

Time To Get My Drink On (Barf Bag Standing By)

In the wake of the Pittsbugh Penguins being bounced from the Playoffs, are the Vancouver Canucks next? We will soon find out. It's probably a good thing that they had 3 days off, especially for Daniel. He's obviously still not in game shape and got some extra practice time in. I doubt that the Canucks will lose 3 straight at home but if they do then they certainly don't deserve to advance to round 2 in the first place.

I really hope the Canucks plan is to set the tone in that first shift, but you never know with Vigneault. It's time for us to make another statement and start to take over this series. You can't do that by sitting back and playing not to lose. Can the Canucks win the next 3 games? Absolutely. 2 of them are at home and with the Sedins back together and Schneider playing lights out in net, it can definitely happen. What worries me the most is Jonathan Quick. He is more than capable of stealing a game and he only needs to do it once in the next 3 games.

It looks like Raymond will play on the 4th line although if it was my choice he'd probably be in the press box. He's just not playing well enough and making too many mistakes. You have to wonder if it is a confidence thing or if the back injury has had too negative of an effect. It may sound bad but it really doesn't matter. As a coach you have to put the players on the ice that will give you the best chance to win. I probably wouldn't have Manny Malhotra out there either although he is great on faceoffs.

It's too bad they don't have a consolation draw in the NHL for all the first round losers. The Wings and Penguins would already be in it and you could possibly add the Bruins and Canucks later today. You may even be able to add the Hawks to that list tomorrow. The consolation rounds could quite possibly get better ratings than the games with the teams still in it.

I'm certainly doing my part to keep the Canucks alive in these Playoffs. Banana Vodka Paralyzers to start each period and Melon Liqueur shots for every goal. I'm not sure who the idiot was that came up with that combo (okay it was me) but it worked last game so we have to stick with it. We also switched from our usual Baked Cheezies (broke my heart) to Cracker Jacks. Gotta go with that again. Can't change a winning formula. I'm also once again going to wear my White Hot t-shirt from 1994 even though it is 3 sizes too small now. (Don't worry, I won't post a pic). I'd say this superstitious stuff is bordering on insanity, but we crossed that threshold in last year's Stanley Cup Finals. No point going back now. If we are losing in the 3rd period, I may even put tinfoil on my head.

I thought about driving down to the game tonight. I hear tickets on Craigslist are selling below ticket price, which is still outrageously high. (GREEDY, GREEDY, GREEDY!!) But it's about a 5 hour drive and with all that traffic and construction, not to mention Rogers Arena may not sell Cracker Jacks and DEFINITELY won't sell Banana Vodka Paralyzers, I decided to stay home.

Last game was the first game this series where I made a prediction on the score. I correctly said 3-1 Canucks. I guess I had better make another prediction. Let's go with 4-2 Canucks. That sounds pretty good to me. If the Canucks score any more than that I will probably be throwing up something that will be unspeakably awful, and THAT I will post a pic of.

Canucks Need To Find A Way

It's do or die time. The Canucks just need to take it one shift at a time. Their backs are to the wall. They need to leave it all on the ice. These are probably the things that Alain Vigneault is going to be telling his team before they go out on the ice. He always was a great motivator.

The Canucks find themselves in the shocking position of needing to win 4 straight against the 8th seeded LA Kings just to make the 2nd round. It looks like Daniel Sedin is finally going to play although he apparently hasn't practiced much so I don't know how effective he will be. The bigger story, however, is who is going play goal for Vancouver. Luongo has been the go-to guy for 6 years. It looks like that ends tonight as Cory Schneider gets the start. I say it's the bigger story but realistically it may not even matter. The Canucks are not down 3-0 in this series because of their goaltending. The Canuck forwards have simply been unable to get to the front of the net. Most shots are coming from 30 or 40 feet out (or more) and Jonathan Quick is able to see most of the shots. If he can see it he's going to stop it. The Kings were outshot by a pretty good margin in that last game (I'd look up the exact numbers but I'm too lazy) but as far as scoring chances go, the Kings had more. How many scoring chances from the slot did the Canucks have? One. That's just not going to get the job done. If that continues, Schneider is going to have to be perfect to give the Canucks a chance to win. You would have to think that we will score eventually, it just might not be until the 4th overtime. Schneider was almost perfect in game 3, he will need to be better tonight if the Canucks are going to bring this series back to Rogers Arena.

Maybe the Canucks will be inspired by the Penguins tonight. Also facing elimination, the Penguins have scored 9 goals so far tonight and the 2nd period isn't even over yet. This Flyers-Penguins series has been crazy.

For the first time this Spring I put my Canuck flags on my truck as I drove into town. That's gotta bring some good karma. As far as our Canuck drink, we're going with Banana Vodka Paralyzers, which is a regular Vodka Paralyzer with a splash of Banana Liqueur in it. We are also going to be doing Melon Liqueur shots after every Canucks goal. Hopefully we get to do at least a few shots. In an act of total desperation, I'm doing away with my official Canucks snack, Baked Cheezies, and instead I am going with the tried and true Cracker Jacks. With all of that, how can we not lose? Hang in there Canucks fans, this isn't over yet.

Oh, And One More Thing...

I forgot one important thing in my blog yesterday about rule changes that would actually make the NHL much more watchable and more fair. If you look at the way round one of the playoffs has gone so far, every single team with home ice advantage has lost it. (The New Jersey - Florida series is still in the middle of game 2 but Florida is up 2-0 and if they hold on they'll get a split heading home.) Doesn't seem like much of an advantage to finish in the top 4 does it? I don't think it's much of a secret around the league. As the road team heading into the series, your goal is to at least get a split. That happens more often than you would think.

If the NHL made it a little more of an advantage to have home ice advantage in a series then down the stretch teams would be battling harder to win the President's Trophy rather than just make the playoffs and then try to get, or stay, healthy.

So how do they do that? How about having the team with home ice advantage start on the road? So in the Canuck series, for example, they would play the first 2 at Staples Center in LA and then play 3 games in Vancouver, game 6 in LA and game 7 in Vancouver. That way if the so-called favored team shits the bed in the first 2 games (a la the Canucks) they aren't in quite as much trouble. If the favored team gets a split, as so often happens, then they have an opportunity to wrap it up at home by winning all 3 games. Genius isn't it? Well, I hate to brag.

You could even take this one step further. How about giving the favored team the choice of the format the way it is now or this new proposed (and ingenius, okay apparently I don't hate to brag) format?

Gary Bettman seems so concerned about getting that huge tv deal in the US. Instead of fighting to give an NHL team to every city in the Southern US and having half full buildings (only half full if they offer 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 cokes and free parking for $20) how about making changes to the game which would make the teams actually want to put the effort in to finish first overall. Jeez. Did I just make Gary Bettman sound like an idiot? Sorry about that.

A Change Will Do You Good: Improving the NHL

I'm getting sick and tired of seeing what once was a great sport being ruined by Gary Bettman. Here is a list of changes that need to be made. The sooner the better.

- Fire Gary Bettman (okay, that one is obvious)

- Get rid of the automatic penalty for flipping the puck over the glass in your own end. Leave it to the ref's discretion.

- Get rid of the rule that the top teams in each division are automatically the top 3 teams in the conference. It sucks that it's not possible for Pittsburgh, Philly, Detroit and Nashville (4 legitimate Cup contenders) to make the 2nd round.

- Either change to the no-touch icing rule or have a race to the goal line. Too many needless injuries.

- As I mentioned in my last blog, if you injure someone illegally and it is deemed an attempt to injure, you cannot come back before the injured player. That might make some of these star players who often seem to get a pass think twice about trying to take someone's head off with their elbow.

- I doubt this would happen as long as Gary Bettman is in charge but I would abolish the instigator rule. I think we'd see a lot less cheap shots and thus less injuries.

- As far as suspensions go, I would like to see an independent group determine the length of suspension. I'm not convinced that it is a fair system for all teams the way it is right now.

- I would also like to see them once again make glove hand passes in your own zone illegal. Let's make it more difficult on those d-men and force them to make a skilled play. I never did like that rule change.

- I do like the 4 on 4 OT, but how about 2 points for a win and 0 points for an OT loss? Get rid of the shootout. A tie means each team gets a point.

Finally, not really a rule change but a big change to the game, I would make the ice surface wider. Not like the European ice, but may 4 or 5 feet wider. I think this is an inevitability in this league. The players are bigger and faster than ever and injuries continue to skyrocket. Obviously Bettman and the owners don't want to take seats out of their buildings, but the game would be immensely better if there was more room out there. As I say, this will happen at some time. Hopefully very soon.

There you go. I think these changes would really make watching NHL hockey a lot more enjoyable. Maybe if they ever do fire Bettman I should submit my resume. As long as it doesn't involve me having to get out of my comfy easy chair!

No Time To Panic

After an abysmal effort in a game 1 loss, the Canucks upped their compete level considerably in game 2. While they didn't dominate like I'd hoped that they would, at least they were able to skate with the Kings and had a definite edge in play five-on-five. Sometimes all it takes is a miscue or two. Sometimes the better team doesn't win. I think that happened tonight as LA pulled off a big 4-2 win to take a 2-0 lead back to Staples Center.

The Canucks undoing was their power play. You can look back to them trading Cody Hodgson and not getting a power play guy in return, you can look at their inability to replace Ehrhoff, and of course you can look at the loss of Daniel Sedin, something that obviously is not Mike Gillis' fault. All of these have been a factor. I also think that Newell Brown has made their power play too predictable. It's time to change things up and maybe lose the neutral zone drop pass. Something drastic has to happen. They can't get by LA, let alone win a Stanley Cup without some production from the PP.

Back to Daniel Sedin for a moment. I would like to see a rule change. If it is deemed an attempt to injure which clearly, watching the incident with Duncan Keith, I would say that it was, then the offending player should be out at least as long as the injured player if not longer. The important thing here would be to find a way to determine what exactly is an attempt to injure. Rome on Horton? I would say no. Weber on Zetterberg? Probably yes. The Bitz hit on Clifford? That's where it gets a little tricky. I'm not sure. But I do think that if there was a rule in place there would probably be a good chance that Duncan Keith turns to retrieve the puck, which is instinctually what a defenceman would do in that moment, instead of targeting Daniel's head with his elbow. His season could be on the line. Maybe that would help lessen the concussions and extend some great player's (Sidney Crosby) careers.

I will say this though, if Daniel Sedin does not return to the Canucks and they don't get past LA, or even if they fail to win the Stanley Cup, Duncan Keith is probably not going to feel very welcome coming back to BC, and I'm not above going all Tonya Harding on his ass.

Roberto Luongo has been at or near the top of his game for the first two games of this series. Surprisingly I haven't read any hateful Twitter tweets. (Pretty sure that's redundant.) Having said that, I personally would go with Cory Schneider for game 3, as I mentioned in my last blog. I think Schneider is a little quicker, better positioned, more patient, and has overall had a better season. Perhaps more importantly the team often seems to play better in front of him. More than anything this team needs to change something up.

Once again this year the Canucks were a great road team. There are often a lot of distractions at home, and most certainly a lot of pressure. They were probably looking forward to getting out on the road. Don't jump off the bandwagon yet. If we fight back on Sunday and find a way to win, well we are right back in the series. I really hope that Daniel is able to come back, but I have a bad feeling. The Canucks are really going to have to tighten things up in their own end if Daniel doesn't come back or there may not even be a game 5 back in Vancouver. For me though, that would be less heartbreaking and way less painful than losing game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Well my lucky, smelly autographed Canucks t-shirt, which was so successful last Spring, didn't work. My Long Island Iced Teas were a bust. I'm not sure what else to try. Still have to decide on our next Canuck drink. Definitely thinking about Tequila Shooters but I worry that if the Canucks go on a big winning streak (and of course we will have to continue drinking Tequila shots every game) then I would miss the Stanley Cup Parade because I would be in AA Meetings. Maybe I'll just go with Pear Cider.

Time To Flip The Switch

Well that was rather unimpressive. The Canucks played game 1 of their first round series against The LA Kings like they were the team that just squeaked into the playoffs not the other way around. They played like they were afraid to lose, rather than playing to win. They also looked like they were afraid to move their feet. Dare I bash the coach for the umpteenth time since he's been here? Why bother. Won't do much good.

One thing many Canucks fans fail to do is credit the opposition when they play well, and LA played a great game. The Canucks simply couldn't, or wouldn't, raise their compete level and try to skate with this team. It's infuriating to me when we only go on the offensive when we are down a goal and if we tie it up we tighten up once again and let them take it to us. That's just bad coaching. And here I said I wasn't going to bash the coach. Oops.

One of the few good things on the night was the play of Roberto Luongo. Actually I'm not sure if that's good or bad. It might be a little more comforting if we could just blame the goaltending and pretend everything else is great. I think a lot of Canuck fans have been doing that most of the season.

As lop-sided as this game was it was still a winnable game for the Canucks well into the 3rd period. A lucky bounce here or there and they might've even gotten a victory. I hate to bitch about the refs but as Tony Gallagher said in his column in The Province, they basically scored the first Kings goal. How they call Kesler for spraying the goalie I will never know. That led to 2 consecutive clearing the puck over the glass penalties which were a direct result of being short-handed and the game took a turn for the worse at that point. I am often quite vocal about the reffing, but I can also be objective. I get mad when the refs make a bad call on the opposition as well. I want the Canucks to win fair and square and I would love to barely notice the officials in a game, especially when the game doesn't get out of hand with fights and dirty hits. I want to see some even strength play, is that too much to ask? Probably.

I think I'm most disappointed that my Vodka Paralyzers didn't do the trick. Now we have to change drinks. It breaks my Heart. That's okay. I love our game 2 drink as well, Long Island Iced Tea. If we don't win this one then we may resort to Tequila shots for game 3, but let's not go there right now.

My lucky Baked Cheezies didn't help either, but I don't have to change that up. It's ridiculous to think that eating Baked Cheezies could influence a hockey game. Nope. It's all about the booze.

A lot of people are calling game 2 a must win game for The Canucks. I don't quite see it that way. Keep in mind that those hated Boston Bruins (sorry, I threw up in my mouth a little just saying their name) lost the first 2 games at home to Montreal in round 1 last year and they went on to win The Sta...sorry, I can't even say it. While I think the Canucks need to approach this game as a must win, their road record was great again this year so I wouldn't totally count them out if they lose tonight. In my opinion though, if we do lose tonight, no matter how well Luongo plays I would probably go with Schneider for game 3, just to change things up a bit. The team for some reason often plays better in front of Schneider.

Now is not the time to jump off the bandwagon. Now is the time to wave those flags and chant 'Go Canucks Go!' and of course drink those Long Island Iced Teas like there is no tomorrow!

The (Hopefully) Long Journey To The Stanley Cup Begins

It's been 10 months since I last wrote about the Canucks. I wrote a blog after every game they played in last years playoffs. Except the last one. It was excruciatingly painful the way the Canucks crumbled to the Bruins, an inferior team in my opinion. I didn't even watch Chara hoist the Cup. I couldn't. I'm not even going to talk about what happened last Spring. It's too exhausting and depressing to think about. Right now it's time to focus on a new opportunity for Henrik to carry the Cup around the ice and enable me to finally open the champagne that is in the back of my fridge somewhere. Hopefully it doesn't have an expiry date.

It's been a long season for all of us Canucks' fans. Even longer for the players I'm sure. Hard to believe, as up and down as their season has been and as lackluster as they've played at times, that they've been able to win their 2nd straight President's Trophy. A pretty incredible feat that admittedly doesn't really mean much at the end of the day.

I watched 81 games this year, but really was more focussed on Tweeting than the actual games. With the exception of a few games (Boston, Detroit, Chicago) I haven't been paying attention nearly as much as most years. I think our expectations are so high that anything short of a 6-0 victory every game is a disappointment and somebody needs to be traded, or fired. Now we can all settle down. There will be no more trades and Vigneault will hold onto his job at least for the next couple of months.

I don't think there is any question that the Canucks have not put in a full effort for most of this season. Their focus has clearly been to be as ready as possible and as healthy as possible by April 11, which coincidentally enough is today. A lot of games I think I put more effort into my Twitter comments than most of the Canucks do playing. The real question is, will they be able to raise their game enough to beat a very solid team in the LA Kings? Soon enough we will know the answer. But for now, if you would like a little expert analysis or insight into this series, well, you probably will want to read someone else's blog. I'll just say that as long as we get good goaltending I think we'll find a way to score enough to win. If Luongo can't get the job done then I think Cory Schneider will. I don't care which one of them wins us a cup (or both, just not at the same time - unfortunately that's against the rules), just as long as we win. The best players put the team before themselves. In any sport. As good as Steve Yzerman was he didn't become a great player until he became a 2 way player and was dominant at both ends of the ice. I would take a young Steve Yzerman over an overly flashy all-about-me Alex Ovechkin any day. I really get the feeling that the Canucks as a whole put the team before themselves. That's how you win. Or to be more accurate, that's how you give yourselves a chance to win.

This team seems to be the most hated in the NHL and I'm not really sure why. On the ice I can see why people watching get frustrated. Kesler and Burrows do dive a lot. Lappiere yaps a lot. But off the ice they are a very classy bunch and there is no one more classy than the Sedins. All in all it doesn't matter anyways. Great teams are always hated. I'm not sure if there is a team in baseball more loved and more hated at the same time than the Yankees. (For the record, I hate them.) I think we should all take it as a compliment. I don't like the way CBC talks about the Canucks though. Our taxes help fund that shitty network. I don't need to hear that weasle Ron McLean bash our team. In fact not only did I not watch any Hockey Night In Canada games that didn't involve the Canucks this year, but I also changed the channel between periods when I did watch. Thanks to Youtube I could still hear the hilariously stupid things coming out of Don Cherry and Mike Milbury's mouths.

As we approach game time for the Canucks - Kings game my sources have told me that Daniel Sedin will not play. (Okay, I don't really have sources, just trying to make this sound better.) I wouldn't panic about that. The Canucks have been great without Daniel down the stretch and I would think that 2 goals may be enough to beat these Kings. We should be able to score twice without Daniel, if not someone needs to run Quick into next week. (Kidding.)

It's time for me to look out my Canucks towels, Jerseys, flags, mugs, posters, programs, autographed t-shirts etc and poor myself a Vodka Paralyzer. That's our drink to start the playoffs. We will be drinking Vodka Paralyzers every game until the Canucks lose and then we will switch to something else. I hope we sweep. I love my Vodka Paralyzers.

Enjoy the game and will all of you Canucks' fans please do me a favor and rally around Luongo. If you want this team to win, and I know you do, it would take a lot of pressure off of his back if everyone just gave him a break. NOBODY wants to win more than he does and nobody works harder on and off the ice. Let's just give him a break. He's trying his best and that's pretty much all we can really ask.