Game Six: The Weight of History Game Six: The Weight of History If I'm doing the math right, then according to Bruins fan Mark Marino, the Vancouver Canucks have only ever won in Boston seven times in their history when on the road in Boston. Which is even worse than I had thought, having supposedly heard eight the other day. You would think a stat like that would be all over the place, but it's taken a few days worth of halfhearted, hunt and peck searching to actually find these numbers: • 108 total meetings between Vancouver and Boston prior to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. • Bruins lead series 68-24-15-1. • Bruins record at Vancouver: 29-17-8-0. Did you catch that? Vancouver has won twenty-four times in the whole of the series, prior to the Final. Seventeen of those were in Vancouver. Which leaves seven. And a tie. While Tim Thomas was undefeated against the Canucks coming into the series, with two shutouts, Roberto Luongo has returned that favor with shutouts in games one and five. But Vancouver suffered two incredibly ugly defeats at TD Garden in games three and four, outscored 12-1 as they seemed to forget how to skate. The real question of history is not in the blowouts. Not in the trivia of who wins game five. It is not Boston's heritage nor Vancouver's hunger. And while we all stand amazed at Tim Thomas' performance through the Stanley Cup Final, it is not the Boston keeper. The real question of history is whether the Vancouver Canucks can win in Boston. The Canucks' last four wins have come by one-goal margins. Two have required overtime periods to settle the question. The power of the Canucks' game plan is evident insofar as the team did not panic against the Sharks, and evened up with just under twenty seconds to play. And then, Boston—thirteen seconds left. In Game Two, it was enough to match up at 9:37 in the third, and Burrows settled up eleven seconds into the overtime period. It works, quite obviously, in Rogers Arena, where the 'Nucks have netted three wins with a total of five goals. Boston scored eight at TD Gardens in Game Three. A functional problem emerges. The patience of the Canucks' game plan simply does not seem to be able to account for falling behind Boston on the road. And, in looking to history, we find troubling suggestions for the future. Troubling suggestions for tonight. In a house where the 'Nucks so rarely find victory, they must find a way to make the game plan work. They must skate faster, pass cleaner, shoot harder and closer to true. They must hit ferociously but efficiently. They must elevate the game plan to a new valence, one that suits the circumstances. Tonight, the Vancouver Canucks shall play for Le Coupe. The Canucks have two chances to win one game. The Bruins have one chance to win two. One can take comfort in such numbers, but also remember that such figures are unreliable. The way to ensure the Cup is for the Vancouver Canucks to take one away from the Boston Bruins, to win a game in the Garden, and end this series tonight. Do not give the Boston Bruins a reason to fight for the Cup in Game Seven. Do not give them a chance. The game plan works, and cannot be abandoned. It cannot be changed. But it must be played anew, with vigor and faith befitting champions. They only have the whole of history to overcome—No problem. Great teams of sporting lore are not content to simply await their moment, but instead demand it. Boston plays to live up to its heritage. Vancouver plays to stake theirs. ____________________ Notes: Marino, Mark. "Boston Bruins vs. Vancouver Canucks all-time stats". The Hub of Hockey. May 27, 2011. TheHubOfHockey.net. June 13, 2011. http://thehubofhockey.net/2011/05/27/boston-bruins-vs-vancouver-canucks-all-time-stats/
Well...maybe they really need to have more players on the ice than the rules allow. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ...or to try and keep their sticks on the ice. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
So ... uh ... yeah. Take that! Er ... um ... right. Yeah, it's now a rush to recovery. I need to be capable of sitting through Game Seven. I believe. No, really, though. I believe in Mr. Hanky. I mean, Rogers Arena. I just really wanted the Canucks to make some sort of statement in Boston. At least, some sort of statement other than doing their best tribute to Kurt Cobain. Boston is a heritage club. They know how to steal games in these moments. Vancouver's test of championship is tomorrow night. I mean, if they can't win this .... Well, it doesn't matter, because they are going to. (A note to our atheistic neighbors: See? This is called "faith", and it's part of the human experience, regardless of whether or not God exists. Get over it.)
Game 6 also came down to 4.5 really awful minutes. Otherwise they played alright (and actually outplayed the Bruins for much of the third).
Shattered A friend observes that when Lu breaks, he shatters. What is it about road games in tough houses? And why is Lu's breakdown always so damnably coincident with the team in front of him forgetting how to skate? Seriously, that's the thing that gets us. It's one of those things you hear enough if you grow up in a sports household: It's a mark of champions. And perhaps that is the case here. Why, after all, can the Canucks not manage to rally up in front of their keeper? But what the hell is going on?
So glad the B's gave the 'nuckleheads another beatdown. It would have been worst sham in NHL, if Vancouver would have won.
Right... Now we're going through another horrendous situation. Looting, burnt cars, stabbings, fights, accidents, violence against the police. Fuck. So disgusting.
Well, Detroit had a stacked team which pretty much owned the NHL for several years, and it took them multiple tries to win their most recent cup despite having the best regular season record for something like 3 years in a row. So Vancouver definitely has a shot next year. The problem with getting this close to a cup and falling short, is that players with expiring contracts will still want full credit for their heroics leading up to the final game, and will thus expect a pay raise accordingly. So no championship, but the roster salary takes a bump, and the Canucks will probably have to let a few key players sign with other teams in the summer or take a chance on them at a higher pay scale with a more prominent role on the team. I feel really bad for Luongo right now. Vancouver is one hockey city where anything other than winning constitutes epic failure. They've been spoiled for years by a world class goaltender, a couple of offensive superstars and several surprise overachievers, so now they think they're entitled to a Stanley Cup, and the players will be receiving heaps of scorn for not realizing this entitlement.
Wow! 4 to 0, that's a real beating the Canadians took and at home ice as well. They won 3 games that they played there before the last game so they really should have won it but alas they just couldn't do it and the Bruins could. Congratulations to the Bruins for a well played game and perhaps next year the Canadians will come back to give it another try for eventually they should win.
My main team didn't even make it in (Panthers) and my second isn't in the finals (Red Wings). Oh well, guess i'll root for the Canadians.
Cosmic, there are seven teams with homes in Canadian cities. One of them, from Montreal, is actually called the Canadiens. The team facing the Bruins in the finals was the Vancouver Canucks. Calling the team "the Canadians" is misleading -- especially since I think the Bruins have just as many players who are Canadian citizens as the Canucks do. Anyway, the run that the Canucks had was fantastic, and as a fan I am very happy with their performance save the last series and especially the final game. The disgust was referring to the rioting, looting, and general mayhem caused by people using the game as an excuse.
