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!
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