Watching the Bruins/Lightning Game Wow. Game whatever was rough. I'm lost at the moment. Lost in the Boston/TB game, to be specific. Can't think. Shouldn't look too far ahead, I know. But I can't help thinking that the way Tampa and Boston are beating the shit out of one another says something positive about the possibility of a Canucks run for the Stanley Cup.
Boston Wins, Series 3-2 Boston 3-1 Tampa Bay (Game 5, ECF) I was wondering, at the outset, how Tim Thomas (G-BOS) could have a 2.34 GAA, since every time I saw him play, it was 3+ goals per game. Still, though, I suppose he could have had a hell of a run in prior series. "Tonight was kind of special", and if you recognize that you're actually old, so deal with it. But he did well tonight. I'm posting off-day because I need to; I've been neglecting this precious thread, despite how deeply the NHL Playoffs have affected my life and living routine. I mean, I've gotten to the point that I'm watching the off-conference games. That's significant for me, who can't be bothered to watch the MLB playoffs if I don't have a team it. No, seriously, I accept the argument against the Bruins—they're from Boston, but I've adopted a relationship with Tim Thomas (G-BOS), sympathetic to such a degree that I'm hoping he makes it to square off with the Canucks for the Cup. Right. My desire is a Thomas-Luongo showdown. Props to Brad Marchand, a rookie taking his first huge interview. He's doing his best, and holding on. Still, though, yeah, my hat's off to Boston. To their credit, they have what it takes to win. To the other, the Bruins are spending a lot for each win. That, I cannot help but point out, is to the Canucks' favor ... presuming, of course, the Canucks' benefit.
Remotely something, something Canucks 3-1 In Game Five Contributions from everybody: Alain Vignault insists that the Vancouver Canucks can put away the Wester Conference Finals against the San Jose Sharks. San Jose defender Dany Heatley has registered all of one goal in his last eleven outings, which is a subtext to apply to the proposition that the Canucks have failed in two out of two game five efforts throughout the playoffs. I don't know. They switched it over to WEC. I'm really high. This post took me twenty minutes. At least. I can barely manage remotely accurate punctuation. (I was going to correct a typo in this post, and then I realized I have no idea what it's about. Yeah, I must've been high, or something. I think it's commentary looking forward to Game 5, but I can't promise that's the case. Leave it be. I'll try again for something ... er ... coherent.)
Game Five: San Jose @ Vancouver Game Five: San Jose @ Vancouver Apopos of nothing, here's an animated GIF of Canucks center Ryan Kesler getting punched in the face: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! (Image via Slog) Looking ahead to Game Five tonight, the Canucks are chasing history. Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the players tonight is to keep focus. This is one game, and it is Game Five, and victory is not a must for the Canucks. But they can put this series away early, and rest up while the Bruins and Lightning continue to tear each other to pieces. The key, of course, is to focus on this one game. They cannot worry about having lost both previous game five matchups in this year's playoffs. They cannot dwell on the seventeen seasons since their last Stanley Cup finals appearance. They cannot let the forty years of Canucks failing to bring Le Coupe home to Vancouver play in their thoughts. Tonight the Vancouver Canucks should follow only one thought: Win this game. While the 'Nucks skate in missing forward Mikkael Samuelson (hernia) and blue-liners Christian Ehrhoff (shoulder) and Aaron Rome (undisclosed), the Sharks are lacking defenseman Jason Demers, and center Joe Thornton limps in with a target on his chest. If reports are accurate, Thornton will be skating through the pain of a shoulder injury described as "significant"; we can expect Raffi Torres and his Vancouver teammates to lay on the hits tonight. Vancouver's outlook seems simple enough. The Sedin twins are skating in high gear, including Henrik's club record four assists in Game Four. Daniel's three assists on Sunday brought him up to five points for the series, and he will likely be looking to break out and boost those stats even more tonight. Sami Salo found the back of the net twice in Game Four, and earned an assist, as well. Though the Canucks blue line runs thin, it is also extremely dangerous. For the Sharks, things are less clear. Joe Thornton will be playing below his utmost capacity, leaving Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, and Joe Pavelski to pick up the pace. Those three have combined for three assists, twenty-seven shots, and a dismal -7 for the series. Heatley spent nineteen minutes on the ice in Game Four, taking only one shot from his place on the third line following a temporary demotion. Throughout the series, he has managed eight shots on goal, and logged only one assist. With Thornton playing injured, it is unclear how the Sharks' physical game will go. San Jose forward escaped any serious repercussions after his Game Two outburst, including his boarding penalty for hitting Daniel Sedin, but has not seen ice time in either of the subsequent games. There is mysteriously little about his potential return to the ice, but that means nothing. It may be that the Sharks need his presence on the ice, but that answer eludes me until drop time.
Woooooooo! An odd game, for sure. We were lucky to capitalize on a poor icing call, and that bounce was just straight up crazy. But as a Canucks fan, I'll take it.
Exhausting Yeah, that was completely bonkers. I think Bieksa was the only person on the ice who knew where the puck was. Marleau, I think it was, pointed like the puck went up and out; I think I saw Henrik skating through the frame, adjusting his helmet like he thought the play was over, and then Bieksa's shot went rocketing behind him. Everything about this game was just too stressful. But, in the end, it was worth it. I mean, it was bad enough from the couch; I can't imagine what it was like in the arena, or on the ice. But a win is a win is a win, and seventeen years to the day after their last double-overtime win to advance to Le Coupe, the 'Nucks did it again. Luongo managed a .964 tonight, 56 saves of 58 shots on goal, which is in itself a titanic performance. A classic game; one for the ages. Players and fans alike get to breathe and relax until, well, hopefully all the way to Sunday. With luck, the Bruins and Lightning will continue their Kilkenny routine all the way through seven. Raise a glass, that our 'Nucks might raise the Cup.
Le Coupe ... Le Coupe Hockey humor, from Cameron Cardow of The Ottowa Citizen: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! (via Cagle) Le Coupe ... Le Coupe. The Bolts demand a Game Seven on Friday. Happy Birthday to me, I get to see the Canucks' potential opponents tear each other to pieces one more time before the battle for Lord Stanley's Cup. And why does that sound so ... er ... never mind. Stephen Harris for the Boston Herald: If you didn't see the goal by defenseman Kevin Bieksa that gave the Canucks their series-ending, 3-2 double-overtime victory against San Jose Tuesday, you aren't alone: The Sharks never saw the winning shot, either. A crazy cross-ice bounce of the puck off a stanchion on the right wing boards set up Bieksa's shot from the high slot—with the rest of the players, including San Jose goalie Antti Niemi, looking in the wrong direction. The early analysis is what we might expect. Former Boston Bruin and current CBC analyst Garry Galley points to high expectations for the Canucks: "Going into the playoffs," he explained, "they were the favorite to win the Cup and they've held serve .... They're a team that really is firing on all cylinders." The Sedins, he noted, are "finding their game", and Galley offers praise for late additions Chris Higgins and Maxim LaPierre. Meanwhile, Galley's analysis of the series between his former Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning is not so happy. Calling the series a roller coaster, Galley noted, "Neither team has gotten consistency, from their goaltender right on out. There has been a myriad of mistakes in the defensive and neutral zones, which you never thought you’d see from these teams. There’s some cleanup work that needs to be done." It's been a figuratively bloody series between the Bolts and Bruins. The Canucks and their fans, said Galley, "probably hoped for Game Seven, triple overtime". Meanwhile, forwards Patrice Bergeron of Boston, and Ryan Kesler of Vancouver, are the two front runners for this year's Conn Smythe Trophy. One thinks that for Bergeron to snatch the prize, he must first advance his team to meet the Bruins in the battle for the Stanley Cup. Out here on the west coast, of course, the commentary is ... well, I haven't done a complete analysis. I'm still mortified by Steve Kelley. Every big town has at least one, I think. You know, the sports columnist who should never have been hired: Borrowing from the dusty playbook of Ike and Tina Turner, the Canucks never, ever do anything easy. I'm just going to presume that the line refers to a specific song that slips my memory, or an autobiography title, and isn't actually making a domestic violence joke. Still, it's terrible. Bulwer-Lytton terrible. And yet, the Boston Herald version of Kelley's article actually opens with it. Doesn't matter. It's the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals. That's all that matters until they bring it to Vancouver—back to Canada for the first time in eighteen years. 'NuckNuckNuckNuckNuck! ____________________ Notes: Harris, Stephen. "Canucks wait for foe". The Boston Herald. May 26, 2011. BostonHerald.com. May 25, 2011. http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/hockey/other_nhl/view/2011_0526canucks_wait_for_finals_foe/ Kelley, Steve. "Drama-king Canucks headed to Stanley Cup Final". The Seattle Times. May 24, 2011. SeattleTimes.NWSource.com. May 25, 2011. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/stevekelley/2015139089_kelley25.html —————. "Canucks win it their way with high drama". The Boston Herald. May 25, 2011. BostonHerald.com. May 25, 2011. http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...0525canucks_win_it_their_way_with_high_drama/
Winning the series in 5 games is doing things the hard way? Yeah, game 5 wasn't a storybook finish, but Luongo stood tall and we made good on two glorious chances given to us. We survived the Shark frenzy and stole the win.
Astounding, flabbergasting, glorious, pure accident Well, it certainly wasn't the most direct path. To put them away in four would have been. And tying the game with thirteen seconds left—and I actually got to see the extra attacker work right for a change!—was certainly dramatic. Taking two overtimes to drive the nail certainly doesn't count as the easy way. The flip side is that it's Steve Kelley. Seattle Times readers will recognize the significance of that sentence. He's an institution of bad sports writing. Game Five ended exactly the way those games end, only pointedly so. By the point of the second overtime, the game will be decided pretty much by accident or failure. Bieksa later said he was just concentrating on trying to get enough wood on the puck to make sure it went where it needed to go. That's all he had left. It was the shot of a lifetime. A statistical oddity that will live in a certain infamy. From the outset, the CBC commentators were noting the glass, that was a recent installation, and Bieksa said he'd never seen a bounce like that in all his time in the arena. The game was decided by accident. Even other Canucks were skating to an inevitable whistle that never came. As Bieksa shot, I saw a Canuck skating at ease, stick gripped midway, adjusting his helmet as two or three players pointed up to the netting, and everyone was looking somewhere other than where the puck actually was. When you're a kid, you dream about that. If you're lucky enough to make the show, you're luckier still to ever get that chance. I mean, that wasn't just, "Hello!" That was one of the most unexpected resolutions to an exhausting war we could have expected. But when you're trying to be the best team in the National Hockey League, that's the kind of luck you make. I mean, Bieksa still had to get the thing into the net, and not bounce it of Niemi's chest, or miss wide, or something. It was a glorious coincidence of more factors than I can count. The NHL could go twenty years without seeing another play like that. And pure accident. NBC Sports has the video excerpt, which Joe Yerdon describes: Vancouver won Game 5 in double overtime thanks to a Kevin Bieksa goal that defies all description. It started with the Canucks locking down play in the San Jose end. They were able to bounce the puck around the zone and prevent the Sharks from taking control of things and clear the zone. Eventually the puck was worked around the perimeter and out to Alexander Edler. Edler went to send the puck back deeper into the corner when he fired it along the glass. At that point, Versus' Dave Strader and virtually everyone else on the ice lost sight of where the puck went. Kevin Bieksa was the one guy who did spot it as the puck bounced off a partition in the glass right to him as he fired the puck on net to beat Antti Niemi to win the game. Bieksa's shot wasn't exactly the prettiest shot in the world as it knuckled and whirled towards the net just slipping past Niemi's foot and into the corner of the net but it was good enough to put the Canucks into their first Stanley Cup finals since 1994. Back then it was Greg Adams beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in double overtime to send the Canucks off to face the New York Rangers in the Cup finals. Bieksa's turn as the hero, even in the face of the wild bounces and freakish luck, will put him down in Canucks history as a hero. The CBC broadcast was framed from up high for the play; it didn't actually make sense that the puck was bouncing in the direction it was, but there was this moment when time stopped because it was so unreal. And before you could think, "Is that the puck!" the lights flared and the horn blew. But yes, there was this flicker of motion that just stopped everything. Astounding. Flabbergasting. To the Cup! Canucks! ____________________ Notes: Yerdon, Joe. "Breaking down the magic bounces of Kevin Bieksa’s series-winning goal". Pro Hockey Talk. May 25, 2011. ProHockeyTalk.NBCSports.com. May 26, 2011. http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/...bounces-of-kevin-bieksas-series-winning-goal/
Exorcism, Part One All Good People Behind Blue Eyes What? I needed a title to exorcise a couple of earworms that have been bothering me for, quite literally, weeks. Meanwhile, when it comes to being behind any eyes, perhaps the best view in the world right now belongs to Canucks' forward Manny Molhotra. The thirty-one year-old forward enjoyed less than a year with the team before his season was presumably cut short, and career possibly destroyed, by a puck that caught him in the left eye on March 16: The grave danger to the Vancouver Canucks is being overstated. The concern for Manny Malhotra can not be. When the puck ramped off Colorado Avalanche defenceman Erik Johnson's stick Wednesday and struck Malhotra flush on the left eye, it had more potential to end the third-liner's career than the Canucks' season .... .... There is no such thing as a minor vision problem and the last Canuck who suffered a serious eye injury — defenceman Mattias Ohlund in a similar incident during a 1999 pre-season game — missed large chunks of two seasons and never recovered full peripheral vision in his right eye. Ohlund, however, continues his long and lucrative National Hockey League with a valve surgically implanted below his damaged eye to draw away fluid and regulate pressure. Malhotra underwent surgery Wednesday [March 16] night to drain fluid from his eye, but any damage to his vision won't be known until swelling subsides and the 30-year-old undergoes further tests. (MacIntyre) On Saturday, fans winced as they looked over Molhotra's injured eye, but celebrated word that the third-line center has received the green light to suit up and skate for the Vancouver Canucks in Game One of the Stanley Cup Final. Coach Alain Vigneault was first to confirm that Malhotra has been cleared to play, before Malhotra personally addressed the media for the first time since the incident. “It’s obviously a very exciting prospect for me at this point,” said Malhotra, of the possibility of returning to the line-up, which coach Vigneault did not speak to. “Coming from where I was two months ago and making the statement that the season was over to potentially having a chance to play in the NHL Stanley Cup Final is obviously incredibly exciting for me.” (Jory) Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Caged: Malhotra will wear a full cage to protect his still-healing face. In fairness, it should be noted that Malhotra's eyes are not blue. Defensemen Christian Erhoff and Aaron Rome, technically the third blue line, will both skate in Game One. Erhoff missed the last two games against San Jose with a shoulder injury, and many fans expected Aaron Rome to be finished for the season after being knocked stiff cold in Game Three against San Jose. With that pair seemingly ready to go, Vancouver comes to Game One with one of the best and deepest defenses in the League. Analyst Dan Rosen notes: The Canucks rely heavily on rolling their top six and remarkably have been able to use nine defensemen in these playoffs without any significant dropoff. Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins offer up a scary blue line of their own with the genuinely frightening Zdeno Chara (6'9", 255 lbs; +11) paired with Dennis Seidenberg, who has emerged as something of a secret weapon. Averaging 28 minutes a game, Seidenberg has logged a +8 since joining Chara. But the Bruins also suffer a question of depth. The second blue line consists of Andrew Ference (7 pts., +6) and Johnny Boychuk (6 pts., +5), and while they've had their shaky moments, they have also managed to be brilliant when needed. Ference set up the game winner in Game Seven against Tampa Bay, and Boychuk has racked up hits against opponents. Meanwhile, Thomas Kaberle (8 pts., +7) and Adam McQuaid (4 pts., +5) round out the blue liners, with Shane Hnidy to fill in as needed. The defensive focus is important because it seemed that Boston suffered its greatest troubles against Tampa once its formidable defense buckled. The Canucks have a spare blue line without significant statistical loss, and all it takes for the Sedins to light up the ice is to get a heartbeat ahead. Daniel's no-look pass to Henrik, who then fed Burrows in Game Five against San Jose should adequately state the point about what happens when a defense buckles. Looking forward to Wednesday night, it is for Canucks fans a battle of confidence against the reality that this is the NHL Stanley Cup Final. The prospectus speaks well for Vancouver, but nothing on the ice is certain until the final buzzer. Boston's ability to score is known, and should not be underestimated; eleven Canucks are on the wrong side of their plus-minus, including Henrik (21 pts., -4) and Daniel (16 pts., -4). But the question is whether Bruins defense can continuously disrupt the Canucks' fluent puck communication. If Boston can break Vancouver's ambition and slip a couple early breakaway goals, the Bruins could easily set themselves a winning course through the Finals. ____________________ Notes: MacIntyre, Iain. "Worry for Manny Maholtra's career more than Canucks season". The Vancouver Sun. March 17, 2011. VancouverSun.com. May 30, 2011. http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/...r more than Canucks season/4460796/story.html Jory, Derek. "Green light for Malhotra". May 28, 2011. Canucks.NHL.com. May 30, 2011. http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=564074 Rosen, Dan. "NHL.com breakdown". May 28, 2011. Canucks.NHL.com. May 30, 2011. http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=564076
Winnipeg! Brief Digression: Winnipeg! Raise a glass, as the National Hockey League is headed north, again. On behalf of Canucks Sports & Entertainment the Vancouver Canucks extend congratulations to David Thomson, Mark Chipman and Craig Heisinger on the return of NHL hockey to the city of Winnipeg. The Canucks have enjoyed an excellent partnership with True North Sports & Entertainment over the years and look forward to a new relationship with True North and the city of Winnipeg as an NHL partner. (Vancouver Canucks) I knew this was coming, but the brief communique above is how I found out that the decision had been announced. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal writes: I grew up in Winnipeg, so yes, I’m happy the NHL’s back there. Somewhere up in heaven, John Ferguson, their first GM, is lighting up a celebratory cigar, Randy Carlyle, a former NHL captain, AHL Manitoba Moose coach and now Anaheim Ducks’ head coach, is grinning ear-to-ear and former Jets’ scoring machine Teemu Selanne is doing wheelies in one of his 18 cars, too. Maybe, if they can relocate the picture of the dour Queen which hung at the end of the now demolished Winnipeg Arena, she might be smiling, too. And the CBC offers a glimpse into the history of hockey, both general and Winnipeg-related, including local contributions to the sport alleged to include goalkeeper's pads and the wrist shot. While I won't knock Atlanta, I must admit that hockey south of about Denver, Colorado, is a strange concept for most Americans. And, yes, this includes three California teams, the former Winnipeg team in Phoenix, and two in Florida; four of those five organizations made the playoffs this year. The Thrashers tallied a record of 34-36-12 (80 pts.) during their final season in Atlanta, falling some twenty-three points short of Tampa Bay (46-25-11; 103 pts.), who made the playoffs for the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division behind the Conference-leading Washington Capitals. In Atlanta today, hockey fans are disappointed by the news, which came this morning when the team gave notice: Earlier today, we, along with our partners, signed an asset purchase agreement to sell the Atlanta Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment. If ratified by the NHL, Commissioner Bettman and the league's Board of Governors, this will result in the relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, Canada beginning with the 2011-2012 season. It's extremely disappointing to all of us that it became necessary after all other options were exhausted. We want to express our gratitude to you, the fans, for the years of dedication you have offered to the Atlanta Thrashers. As many of you know, for some time we have been seeking a buyer for the team or a partner willing to join with us in continuing to fund the team. We hired an investment banking firm to seek out potential investors with the expressed goal of finding someone who would keep the team here in Atlanta. In recent months, we openly indicated a growing urgency to secure assistance in off-setting our operating losses in hopes that our public plea would produce investors who, to that point, had eluded us. After extensive effort, nobody has come forward. As a result, we had no choice but to explore the investment option presented to us by the NHL in the form of True North Sports and Entertainment. Relocation of the Thrashers is not the outcome that any of us ultimately wanted .... Meanwhile, Ben Wright at The Blueland Blog has been asking fans to recount their first Thrashers' experience. And as one Vancouver fan commented a short while ago, "Thanks for 11 years of Thrashers hockey." Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Lars-Erik Sjoberg and the Winnipeg Jets celebrate their 1979 WHA championship. Save a drink for Atlanta, indeed. And congratulations, Winnipeg. ____________________ Notes: Vancouver Canucks. "Canucks Statement on Return of NHL to Winnipeg". May 31, 2011. Canucks.NHL.com. May 31, 2011. http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=564321 Matheson, Jim. "Winnipeg hockey fans primer: By-Fug-Lien is pronounced Buff-Lin". The Edmonton Journal. May 31, 2011. Blogs.EdmontonJournal.com. May 31, 2011. http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/20...ns-primer-by-fug-lien-is-pronounced-buff-lin/ CBC News. "Winnipeg's hockey history". May 31, 2011. CBC.ca. May 31, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2011/05/31/f-winnipeg-hockey-history.html Atlanta Thrashers. "Atlanta Thrashers Update". May 31, 2011. Thrashers.NHL.com. May 31, 2011. http://thrashers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=564242 Wright, Ben. "What Was Your First Game?" The Blueland Blog. May 16, 2011. BluelandBlog.com. May 31, 2011. http://bluelandblog.com/2011/05/16/what-was-your-first-game/
A Brief Note A Brief Note It's been bugging me that I haven't said anything about the outcome of Game One. I tried. Really, I did. But I couldn't make any sense, ranting about that goal, fretting over Hamhuis, the fact that the first two periods passed with more than half the time spent in special teams play while the third went without a penalty, and all that sort of thing. I will, however, mention one thing: • Eastern Conference Final, Game Five: Tying goal at 19:46. Double overtime victory. • Stanley Cup Final, Game One: Winning goal at 19:41. I'm generally confident, of course, but I wonder how long before the Canucks either get sick of this last-second stuff and blow Boston out of the water, or buckle under the stress of these late wins. The slogan goes, "Cool heads prevail." Perhaps that is the lesson here. After two periods of penalty-inflicted play, the teams finally got to swing fully into their game plans, and the Canucks, quite impressively, kept at theirs until the end against Boston. They certainly did in their double-overtime win against San Jose, even though fatigue was making everyone just a bit sloppy. But they didn't break form. Didn't panic. Didn't start looking for the desperate play. And it worked. The question is whether they will start wearing thin having to play straightfaced into the last minute over and over again. Maybe they'll break later today. Or maybe, just maybe—we can always hope, right?—they will simply eat the Bruins in Game Two. 'NuckNuckNuckNuckNuck!
Happy Birthday, Fin Happy Birthday, Fin! What gifts the Canucks bring their faithful mascot on his tenth birthday. Bruins | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 Canucks| 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 I got to do the Happy Dance when the Vancouver Canucks hit the ice for their warm-up skate, and Rogers Arena erupted into cacophony as Manny Malhotra stepped into the rink. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! 79 days: "It's a privilege to play in front of fans like this," Malholtra told reporters. "I was excited I was going to have the chance to play, but probably the most nervous I've been in my entire career," he said. Malhotra hadn't played since March 16, when a deflected puck hit him in the face, opening a wound that left a trail of blood on the ice. He needed two operations on his left eye, and the Canucks declared his season over. Wearing a full-face shield, Malhotra was the last player on the ice for warmups for Game 2, and he got the biggest cheer from the crowd as it made its way into the building. He was greeted by more cheers and chants of "Manny, Manny" when he made his finals debut by beating Boston's Chris Kelly on a faceoff 1:48 into the first period. (Associated Press) Malhotra won six of seven face-offs in his 7:26 on the ice; a triumphant return, indeed. His teammates certainly did not let the occasion pass unnoticed, jumping to a first period lead that disappeared during a weak performance in the second. But a Daniel Sedin goal at 9:37 in the third period tied it up. The Bruins and Canucks played to the final horn, and then headed to overtime. It was a short overtime. Eleven seconds. The Boston Bruins, through two games, have suffered a rash of neutral zone turnovers, and indeed those errors proved costly in Game Two. At the drop to start the overtime, the Bruins appeared to win the face-off, but failed to secure the puck. Canucks forward Alex Burrows came away with the puck and rushed the goal. Bruins keeper Tim Thomas committed, Burrows faked. Thomas flopped back to cover the short side, and slid past the goal. Burrows leaned into Zdeno Chara, banked the puck off the boards behind the goal, and beat the 6'9, 255 pound defenseman around the corner to push a wrap-around into the empty net. Thomas, frustrated, skated quickly off the ice amid the thunderous celebration of Vancouver's 2-0 series lead. After a long and confounding game, the lightning-quick resolution seemd a shot heard 'round the world. And for many fans, the whole question of whether or not Alex Burrows bit Patrice Bergeron in Game One seemed silly enough, though the press seems to have enjoyed it. But the thing about the facewash in hockey is that it's never, ever a good idea to cram your fingers into someone's mouth as Bergeron did. Furthermore, if you're Bergeron, it probably isn't the best reaction to punch a referee in the head. Strange that nobody seemed to talk about that part. Alex Burrows erased that story in Game Two, scoring two goals including the game-winner, and racking up an assist on Daniel Sedin's third period tying goal. Happy birthday, Fin. And welcome back, Manny. Scoring Summary: Vancouver Goals: • Burrows (9), 12:12 1st; 0:11 OT • D. Sedin (9), 9:37 3rd Assists: • Higgins, Salo, Burrows, D. Sedin, Edler (2) Saves: • Luongo 28/30 .933 Boston Goals: • Lucic (4), 9:00 2nd • Recchi (3), 11:35 2nd, PP Assists: • Boychuk, Krejci, Chara, Bergeron Saves: • Thomas 30/33 .909____________________ Notes: Associated Press. "Malhotra returns to Canucks lineup for Game 2 of Stanley Cup finals". Sports Illustrated. June 5, 2011. SportsIllsutrated.com. June 5, 2011. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/hockey/nhl/06/04/malhotra.canucks.ap/ Wyshynski, Greg. "Malhotra comeback: 'Privilege to play in front of fans like this'". Puck Daddy. June 5, 2011. Sports.Yahoo.com. June 5, 2011. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Malhotra-comeback-8216-Privilege-to-play-in-f
It's been a very tight series so far, and I expect that should continue into games three and four. I'm hoping the Canucks show EA Sports' prediction to be wrong, and steal a home game from the Bruins. Two would be better, but winning the cup in game 5 in Vancouver would be amazing.
Fun facts: There are more American players (6) in Vancouver than in Boston (4) and there are more Canadian players in Boston than in Vancouver. So Canada wins either way.... Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Yeah. Winnipeg's season tickets are already sold out and some packages all the way to 5 years. You don't realize what you had till it's gone. I expect them to be the most rabid fans for years to come.
As a follow-up anecdote to the team relocating back to Winnipeg, a former work-acquaintance of mine lived in Winnipeg during the last years of the Jets' tenure there. Apparently tickets were very, very inexpensive just to try and get fans into the arena. Something like $15 for a seat, and that included some sort of concession items as well. I'm happy for the people of Winnipeg that are getting a second chance. They are certainly showing that they want it badly enough.
Ouch Ouch I haven't checked the scuttlebutt. I don't even want to know what action is coming down after that performance.
Winnipeg already f*cked it up big time by building an undersized arena with room for only 15000, whereas the new NHL standards are pushing up towards a minimum ~20000 seating capacity. If they wanted an NHL team in that barn, they should have planned in advance before they flushed hundreds of millions down the toilet. They're lucky Atlanta's such a sh*t market for a hockey team, but if Winnipeg wants to keep their team and keep it profitable, they're going to have to spend hundreds of millions once again building yet another new arena not too far down the line, and Winnipeg's not exactly the kind of city that can afford it.
Painful Painful This series is just brutal. Game Five: Bruins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 Canucks| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 Maxim LaPierre notched his second playoff goal at 4:35 in the third (Bieksa, Torres assists), and that was good enough for the win in a hard-fought Game Five. Roberto Luongo handled all thirty-one shots Boston threw at him, while Thomas missed just one of twenty-five from Vancouver. Compared to prior games, it seems nearly like a cease-fire, as do the eighteen penalty infraction minutes. To their credit, the Canucks are at their best when they play faithfully according to the game plan. They really are a remarkable testament to such outcomes. But that game plan seems good enough, at present, to barely keep up with Boston, winning by a single goal in games one, two, and five. Boston, on the other hand, took their two games at home by a combined score of 12-1. So the challenge for Vancouver seems to be to keep their heads about themselves. They racked up ninety-six penalty infraction minutes over the last two games at TD Gardens. Meanwhile, Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo managed to unsettle some feathers with his analysis of teammate Maxim LaPierre's goal that marked the difference in Game Five: According to Luongo, he would've made the save on that play. "It's not hard if you're playing in the paint. It's an easy save for me, but if you're wandering out and aggressive like he does, that's going to happen," said Luongo during his post-game presser. "He might make some saves that I won't, but in a case like that, we want to take advantage of a bounce like that and make sure we're in a good position to bury those." Thomas made 24 saves in the loss, and has surrendered just six goals in the five games thus far in comparison to the 16 Luongo has given up during the Stanley Cup Final. On Saturday as the team prepared to board its charter to Boston, Luongo wasn't necessarily backing down from his post-game comments. "I said also that he might make some saves that I don't, so I'm just saying on that particular play I would've played it different and that's the difference between me and him," said Luongo, trying to speak over hundreds of fans chanting 'Luongo, Luongo!' at Vancouver International Airport. "I've been pumping his tires ever since the series started. I haven't heard any one nice thing he's had to say about me, so that's the way it is." The 32-year-old Montreal native isn't surprised at the attention his post-game comments received given the stage the two teams are on at the moment. "Obviously we're in the Stanley Cup Final, so every little thing is going to be blown out of proportion," Luongo continued. "He has his style and I have mine, so that's the way it goes." (Mahiban) Thomas' aggressive style is something Vancouver fans have been hoping their team will capitalize on, and some of the empty-net moments the team has failed to convert into points have ridden groaning waves across the Great North, and echoed through Seattle. Luongo himself was faulted after last year's playoff performance for being too aggressive and coming too far out of his net. One wonders if maybe Boston's hot tempers aren't looking for something to complain about. But they ought not worry; Game Six is in Boston, and the 'Nucks have not been nearly so good on the road. Which brings us, of course, back to the game plan. They can keep up; we've seen them do it. But can they do it in Boston to put this thing away in six? The Vancouver Canucks need to win one in Boston. It's a matter of pride. And now one is all they need. Monday night: For the Cup! _____________________ Notes: Mahiban, Dhiren. "Luongo doesn't back down from comments". June 11, 2011. NHL.com. June 11, 2011. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=565565
