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.
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