PUCK ALERT – by Saint Pako

Homecoming for Burrows and Luongo.

In tomorrow night’s game, the fans of Montreal will welcome back two of their hometown boys, both currently considered the best in their role.

Of course, captain Luongo always draw a lot of media attention whenever he is back in Montreal. After a shaky start against the Leafs the other night, in which he was pulled after the first period for allow three goals on eight shots, coach Alain Vigneualt is expecting Luongo to bounce back and have a great game in his hometwon.

The picture is a little bit different for Alex Burrows, who is considered one of the hottest player in the league right now. In fact, Burrows was just the player who bailed Luongo out with a four-point night against Toronto to extend Vancouver’s winning streak to seven.

Of course, many argue that Burrows is the sole beneficiary of the tremendous play-making abilities of the Sedin twins. Undeniably, a lot of the goals that Burrows scored are the direct results of the Sedins magical passes, at times it seems like anyone can score alongside the Twins, as long as he parks himself in front of the opposition goaltender.

But if you look closely at what Burrows brings to the team, and his influence on the Sedins, perhaps we will be able to see his true value. Just look at the last game against the Maple Leafs. The Canucks down 3-0 in the mid-way point of the game and down a man, Burrows singlehandedly stole the puck from Ponikarovsky and scored a shorthanded goal which completely turn the game around.

Surely you can’t say that’s because he plays with the Sedins, can you?

On the other hand, take a look at the influence Burrows has on the twins. Vigneualt’s experiment of Sedins-Burrows started around the mid-way point of last season, and if you watch closely, you can see the Sedins changing their game. They are more involved in the play, they are much more physical and they are taking advantage of their speed. Doesn’t that sound like the attributes of Burrows?

I am not saying that Burrows is solely responsible for the change of style for the Sedins, I am merely saying that playing alongside Burrows a while, his style kind of rubs off on the twins, a little bit.

Just that little bit seemingly is more than enough to turn the talented-but-mediocre twins into two of the very best player in the league.

To say the Sedins/Burrows line is the best line in the league right now is not an exaggeration. In the 13 games played during January, this top line has produced a whopping 69 points!!!

Henrik, for the first time in his career, leads the entire league in points with 78, two ahead of Ovechkin and seven ahead of Crosby. Not too bad eh?

Daniel, despite missing 18 games due to injury, has 16 goals and 35 assists. That’s 51 points in 36 games!!! Way ahead of the twins usual point-per-game season.

Burrows, is on pace to his best offensive season with 49 points in 54 games, but he ranks top overall in short-handed goals and second overall in terms of plus-minus with 30.

For the first time in a long time, the Canucks have 3 players in the top 30 point-getters in the entire league, and don’t forget the most important thing about Burrows:

At $2-million a year for three more season, at his current-pace Burrows should finish this season with about 74 points, and is by-far the cheapest 70-point forward you can find!!!

Notes:

The Canucks with 70 points in 54 games, now sits comfortably atop the NW division, with four points ahead of the Avs. Vancouver has the most wins at home with 23, and the second fewest OT loss across the league. The team is still 8 points below the Chicago blackhawks and 11 points behind the top-ranked Sharks.

Loser Point’s got to Go.

Again, I must apologize for my lack of updates recently, but I’ve been quite busy, and work still comes first.

Although it’s been a while since my last post, I have been able to watch most of the Canucks’ games. I must admit, the Blue & Green seems to be picking it up in terms of scoring. During the last eight-games stretch, which the Canucks have won five, they have scored at least four goals in all of their wins.

The results were optimistic, with an 8-2 blowout at Colorado, followed by another 5-2 win at home against the Avs, a 4-1 win over the Kings, another 7-3 blowout at home against the Oilers, and finally today’s 5-2 solid win against possibly the hottest team in the east, the NJ Devils.

A number of factors contributed to the recent success, including the return of injured players like Daniel Sedin and Jannik Hansen. The impressive plays of Christian Ehrhoff with his 6G 11A while posting a +10 plus/minus is definitely another reason. Last year’s MVP Ryan Kesler is also having a breakout sesaon with 5 goals and 20 assists, only 27 games into the season.

Another underrated Star of last season – Alex Burrows had a slow start due to Daniel’s absence, but is picking up his play with 5 points in the last four games.

Captain Luongo is also regaining his old form, as his numbers are improving as we approach the Christmas break. If the past is any indication, Loui will only get better as the season progresses.

The Canucks are now on a four-game road swing, leaving New Jersey tonight, the team will play the remaining three games in Philadelphia, Carolina and Nashville. It was definitely a positive start for this road trip, defeating perhaps the best team they will face in this trip.

This year, being an Olympic year is interesting whenever goalies fighting to represent their countries are faced-off against each other. Two nights ago, the battle for the Finnish starting-position saw Kiprusoff shutting out Rinne and the Predators 5-0. Tonight, it was team Canada’s goaltender-candidate Brodeur battling out with fellow-candidate Luongo. It was Roberto’s night as he blanked Devil’s All-Star Zach Parise numerous times for the victory.

Although the team is playing some decent hockey of late, their efforts are now shown in terms of standings. The Canucks playing 27 games with 15 wins are still three spots out of a playoff berth, ranked 11th in the West.

The closest three teams above Vancouver – Columbus (8th), Dallas (9th) and Detroit (1oth) all have at least two fewer wins than the Canucks, playing the same number of games, except Detroit (26GP). The reason why they are on top is ONLY because of the OT-Loss Point.

Right now, a point is awarded to both teams if they are tied during regulation time, with the eventual winner getting an extra point. This absurd rule has caused an abnormality for rewarding defensive style hockey, and penalizing teams with ambition to go out and win it all. This goes completely opposite to what the League has been trying to do in the past decade, which is to bring back the entertaining offensive-minded style of hockey.

Like any sport, shouldn’t the NHL put more focus on Wins than on Losses or Ties???

In fact, the 7th-seeded Phoenix Coyotes, who also played 27 games, have exactly the same wins as the Canucks, but is four spots on top of Vancouver because of ONE stupid OT-Loss Point.

So if the Playoffs starts tomorrow, the Phoenix will be in not because they are better offensively, but because in one of their many losses, they were able to delay the defeat beyond regulation time. The Canucks will not make the playoffs even though they’ve scored 17 more goals in the same number of games than the Coyotes. (Canucks – 85 GF in 27 games, Coyotes – 68 GF)

Really???!!!! Is this what the League wants???

Of course, I am not only saying this because the Canucks are currently on the short side of the stick. Even if the positions are reversed, I would still think that this method of calculation is problematic.

We should just drop the OT-Loss point, and for all teams tied in Points and Games Played, the team with the higher GF wins. Now, THIS is how you reward offensively-mind teams, and THIS is how you reward scoring, and THIS is how you make the game that we love so much entertaining again, Mr. Bettman.

Unidentical Twins

I must first apologize for my lack of updates in the recent weeks, things at work have been pretty crazy this season.

Since my last update, it seems like things have been turning around for the Canucks. With one quarter of the team off due to injuries, everyone was expected to chip in, from the depleted lineup in Manitoba and Victoria to defense men playing forwards. The results were actually better than anyone could have expected.

The Canucks were 7-3 in the last 10 games, but was only 3-5 in the first 8 games.

Things may further improve as the team prepare for their upcoming game against the Blues on Tuesday in St. Louis. If nothing goes wrong from this point on, it looks like Daniel Sedin will be reunited with him twin brother on the ice for the first time since his injury almost one month ago.

For this first time in both Sedin’s career, this has been the longest injury they have to face, and if Daniel doesn’t suddenly score tons of goals unassisted, this may finally be the year the Twins will have drastically different points production.

Henrik and Daniel have never had more than 8 points difference in their annual point production, except for the 2003-2004 campaign when Daniel alone missed 6 games due to injury. In fact, ever since the lock-out, the twins have had near-identical point productions with a margin of less than 4 points every year.

However, as of today, Henrik leads the team with 8G 11A 19Pts, while Daniel, who played only 4 games so far, has 0G 4A 4Pts.

The differential may be even bigger in the upcoming few games, as Daniel recovering from his fracture foot injury will have to quickly catch up to his teammates and brother in terms of conditioning and scoring touch.

Aside from Daniel, Tuesday’s game may see the returning of two more forwards in Steve Bernier and Jannik Hansen. Roberto Luongo’s cracked rib seemed to be healing nicely, but is said to be under the flu, so look for either Raycroft or Schneider (both coming off great performances) to start.

Other players still listed as injured includes Pavol Demitra, Alex Bolduc, Michael Grabner and Mathieu Schneider.

Panic Button.

Three Wins and Four Losses, the Canucks suddenly find themselves near the bottom of the standings, seven game into the season. An absolutely terrible game in Calgary, and a difficult win against the worst team in the league, the Minnesota Wild, the team with most of their key-players injured, other than the Canucks.

Some suggests now is the time to press the Panic Button, some suggests sending Luongo to Manitoba, some suggests the firing of Mike Gillis and Alain Vigneault.

This blogger thinks that might be over-reacting a bit.

It all started out great, with the Canucks loss-less in the regulation during the Pre-Season, playing half of their squad. But when it really mattered, the Canucks dropped three straight to start their season. It’s arguable that this is due to the lack of incentives for the other teams, or the strong plays of try-out-players trying to impress the team. However, I think, like last season, or the many many seasons before that, it’s a psychological thing.

When playing half their squad, and during Preseason, the core players are relaxed and know that if they win, great, but if they don’t, they know that it’s because half of the team wasn’t playing. With the talent on this team, they can flat-out win games easily.

But then came the first game against the Flames. The Canucks, full of confidence, were victim of luck, and Kiprusoff, they were beaten, 5-3, despite outshooting Calgary 42-23. Then came the second game, against an Avs team which everyone thought would be bottom-feeder this year, and against an unknown goaltender of Craig Anderson, the Canucks again outshot Colorado, 35-27. In fact, Anderson earned the first star and the Shut Out, turning aside all 35 shots.

Then came the third game, against the Blue Jackets and last year’s Rookie-of-the-Year Steve Mason, the Canucks again outshot Columbus 43-24, only to come out short.

By then, three games down, Shirokov’s sent back to the minors, and the team’s confidence is completely shattered. Although, the team will eventually win the next two, hammering the Habs 7-1, the team is hesitant about slowly picking up the momentum to win.

Thanks to the league’s scheduling, the Canucks then had a five days break, and instead of being prepared and rejuvenated, the team were rusty and disorganized against a hard-hitting Flames team. A 5-3 loss on paper is acutally misleading, as the team were down 5-0 by the end of the second period. Vancouver were terrible in every aspect of the game, with one, maybe two consolation prize.

First, the Canucks had two Powerplay Goals, and is now considered having  the best powerplay in the league, and Second, his first-ever NHL point during his debut for the player I thought will never see any NHL icetime this year, Micheal Grabner.

Next, the game against the Wild, commentators suggest that the Canucks have to post a complete blow-out against Minnesota for them to go away feeling better after the loss in Calgary. Instead, the Canucks fell to a fluky goal in the first, and barely able to keep the Wild from even-ing things up during the dying seconds of the third.

So, I guess maybe it IS time to press the Panic Button, afterall.

The Canucks will play the Oilers tomorrow night in Edmonton, still without an entire NHL-level line of Sedin-Demitra-Hansen-Salo-Schneider.

However, there is a silver-lining to all this. The ice-time for Grabner seems to being paying off, as he played a decent game on the top line, and an even better game with Raymond and Kesler. Raymond is quickly improving during the absence of Daniel, and his speed and improved body-weight is looking to pay off in terms of production soon. Kesler also seems to be comfortable playing with Raymond and Grabner, and this speedy line may be just what the Canucks need in today’s NHL.

Luongo, always a slow starter, is improving. Ehrhoff has two goals and four assists so far, and is looking like everything that is expected of him. Samuelsson is also starting to put up numbers, and play-time with Burrows and Henrik will definitely be beneficial to him.

Honestly, not a lot of positive signs going forward, especially with Daniel still out at least 3 more weeks. But perhaps the next game against the Oilers will shed more light on the subject.

Home Sweet Home.

Unlike their predecessors of the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals rematch, this year’s version were no-where close to being a swept from either side. With both teams winning every home games of the series, the powerhouse from Detroit and the young-guns from Pittsburgh will faceoff in a deciding game 7 this Friday.

Playing a near-perfect game, the Penguins dominated the first and second period doubling the Red Wings in S.O.G. Coupled with the sensational performance by Goaltender Fleury, the Penguins were just too much for the Red Wings to handle.

Of course, logic dictates that this may very well be the final wins for the Penguins this season as the game heading back to Detroit will provide an advantage for the Red Wings in almost every aspects. Red Wings almost near-perfect in Joe Louis Arena for the past two playoffs will most certainly be a different team on Friday, but if history is as indication, all bets are off in Game 7 for any Stanley Cup Finals.

Personally, I would love to see the Penguins win the Cup this year, since they’ve showed passion, commitment and hunger to the level unmatched by the Wings. The reason why the series is tied is simply because the Red Wings talent-wise and experience-wise are just that much better. With the Cup on the line, the Penguins will have to do the impossible on Friday, and that is out-performing what they did tonight.

Fleury will have to be even better, the best players will have to be their best, namely Crosby and Malkin must provide the scoring. Gonchar will have to play his best defensive game, while supporting secondary scoring from the point. Role-players like Staal, Cooke and Kennedy will have to repeat what they did tonight, and marginal players like Sykora will have to step up his game significantly.

If, by any chance, the Red Wings do make a mistake or two, maybe, just maybe the underdog Penguins will have a chance of becoming this year’s Stanley Cup Champions.

Stanley Cup Finals, Rematched.

How fun is it to watch the Stanley Cup Finals 2008 again in 2009??

Well, honestly, not too fun. But if no miracles are to happen to both the Eastern and the Western Conference Finals, we will see the Red Wings and the Penguins battling it out for the Cup again come the end of next week.

Of course, Pittsburgh is aiming to have a complete opposite outcome this year, especially with their improved forward line-up by the addition of Satan, Kunitz and Guerin.

However, the Penguins’ deadliest player last season now plays for the other team. Marian Hossa had 12 goals and 14 assists in 20 games last season, and that’s only because the Penguins won their Prince of Wales Trophy in 14 games!!!

So far in this playoff, Hossa only has 6 goals and 6 assists, but we all know that if he’s to face his old teammates in the finals, he will surely step his play up tremendously. We all remember how he is willing to take a pay-cut to sign with Detroit last season because he wants to win the cup. (Imagine how he feels, if Pittsburgh wins it this year!!!)

In the latest game, game four of the series, with the absence of Datsyuk and Lidstrom, Hossa carried the team on his shoulder with two goal and one assist. One can only imagine the welcome Hossa will get when he steps on the ice in Mellon Arena!

Despite my personal feelings about a rematch in the playoff finals, if this does happen, it will mark the first time in 25 years when two cup finalists meet against each other for two consecutive years.

In 1982-83, Mike Bossy’s Islander faced-off against Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers in the finals. The young oilers were no match against the Islander’s Dynasty Club, which claimed its fourth consecutive Stanley Cup in a four-game sweep.

The next year, the Oilers again met the Islanders in the finals, and this time the fate reversed as Gretzky & co. finished off the Islanders in 5 games, marking the beginning of a new era for the NHL, the Oiler’s Era. (The Oilers will continue to dominate the league with 5 Cups in 7 seasons.)

Can history truly repeats itself? Can this be the year for the shifting of the power?

Can the young penguins, with the talents of Crosby and Malkin (resembling Gretzky and Messier), begin their dynasty this year by defeating the old powerhouse of Detroit and ending their era of dominance (4 cups in the last 10 years)?!

So, maybe, it will be interesting after-all.

Canucks eliminated in 6.

After the initial disappointment subsided, my first reaction to the Canucks’ elimination from the Playoffs is that the guys should hold their heads up high and return to Vancouver as winners, not losers.

The Canucks played a good and hardworking series, but at the end the better team won. If back in September, you ask me where Vancouver would end up in terms of standings and playoff results, I would have said that first in their division and a second round finish were admirable goals.

However, once the team swept the Blues in the first round, the expectation sky-rocketed and it suddenly seemed inevitable that Vancouver would finally bring the Cup to West Canada, after 39 years.

But if you look at the teams the Canucks would have had to defeat, was it really a fair expectation? Even if we were able to defeat the young Blackhawks, would we really be able to defeat the Red Wings, the Penguins/Capitals or the Bruins/Hurricanes?? Maybe. Maybe not.

Perhaps the first game in this series was the perfect foreshadowing of things to come for the Canucks. The Canucks played excellent when the scores were even, and they scored first and had a three goal lead only to be tied before the game was over.

In fact, the Canucks scored first in all of the first four games of the series, but came out dead-even. Just like tonight, it seems like every time the Canucks scored a goal, the Blackhawks were quick to reply with one or more goals in bunches.

So, why couldn’t the Canucks keep any leads against the Blackhawks??!!!

First, I think the Blackhawks, offensively are a much better team than the Canucks, especially in their speed and ability to finish. Toews, Kane, Havlat, and Sharp played much better offensively than the Sedins, Kesler, Burrows and Sundin.

The ability of Chicago’s defense to start off an attack, feeding timely passes for odd-man rushes, was also the main key to their success.

Secondly, the Blackhawks’ inexperience made them vulnerable to play a defensive game against the Canucks, hence allowing many first goals. However that same inexperience made them fearless when they were down by two or three goals to go all-offensive, which on most nights resulted with goals in bunches.

Third, since the first two games, the Blackhawks were able to get into the heads of the Canucks, threatening them that no lead was safe against Chicago with their ability to bounce back and tie any hockey game. It resulted in the Canucks collapsing into their own zone after they scored a goal, and taking penalties or simply chasing around the fast-moving Blackhawks.

Last but not least, the Canucks were out-coached. Despite getting the team its division championship and into the second round of the playoffs, Alain Vigneualt hasn’t been good with the mental-aspect of the game throughout the entire season.

On paper, the Canucks’ roster is filled with skills and experience, they should have been able to do much better. Yet, the team’s psyche is weak, and at times you can see the Canucks are so fearful when they have a lead, that they spend way too much time in their own zone defending.

During the four consecutive, four-game winning streaks starting  in February, every time the Canucks won four straight, in the fifth game, they would go into a shell and play such a defensive-minded game that was the total opposite of what gave them the edge in the first place.

This mental problem haunted the team to a point that they were not able to play a simple confident style of hockey. And in this series, ever since the fifth game at home, the heart-breaking OT-loss initiated a complete breakdown of confidence which, unfortunately, the coach wasn’t able to address.

However, they did play a good game tonight. The players tried very hard not to show their fear and played a good offensive style of hockey. If you look at the score board, five goals on the Canucks side rarely result with a loss.

Obviously, the mental weakness crept through the entire roster of Vancouver, and even Luongo wasn’t sure if he could stand firm for a win against the Blackhawks, especially when the Canucks have a lead.

Vigneault shouldn’t be blamed for Chicago’s successful mind-games, the lucky bounces, or even the Blackhawks ability to score quickly. But it is his job to address any issues affecting his player’s performance. A good coach should be able to motivate his players to get through these mental challenges, but a great coach will also change his game plan to throw his opposition off. Unfortunately for the Canucks, Vigneault is neither.

Another point worth mentioning is the ability of role players to step up. Specifically, Blackhawks forward Dustin Byfuglien, who wasn’t even sure if he’d make the team for the playoffs.

He stepped up his play to another level, scoring timely goals, throwing his body around, finishing off checks, screening and interfering Luongo, and even contributing on power-plays. On the contrary, the Canucks’ role-players were much less effective, except for a beautiful goal by Hordichuk, setup by Rypien, in a losing effort in game five.

At the end, aside from having the better goalie, who also experienced a breakdown in the most crucial game of the season, the Canucks were outmatched by the Blackhawks in most elements of the game.

So it’s really not surprising that they lost this series. Afterall, the Blackhawks were a better team during the regular season, with more wins and more points than the Canucks. Vancouver was actually the underdog in this series, but like I said, the series against the Blues may have given unrealistic expectations for everyone.

Anyways, hats off to Mike Gillis for putting together a great team for this season’s success. Bringing in players like Ryan Johnson, Darcy Hordichuk, Kyle Wellwood, and Mats Sundin provided the Canucks with what they needed to at least have a chance at the Cup this year.

In Johnson, the Canucks were able to come out on top in most nights in the face-off circle, and the team was able to block many shots because of Ryan. Wellwood stepped up his play tremendously despite a drastic drop in goal production since his scoring frenzy early on in the season.

Wellwood’s soft hands and play-making ability were very effective even in his new role as a third-line defensive centerman. Hordichuk provided grit and sandpaper which made the Canucks tougher to play against.

Sundin, despite playing below expectation, showed his character by quietly working hard to elevate his game and condition. Although he wasn’t able to carry the team on his shoulders, he did a great job as a second-line centerman, making plays and scoring goals even in this possibly last game of his career.

Honorable mention to a great season for our MVP, Ryan Kesler, and Alex Burrows. Although both Frick and Frack weren’t able to elevate their game back to their regular season form, they both played a strong playoff series, and I think we will see much improvement from them come next season. I still believe in “Clutch” Burrows.

As for the Sedins, wow, what a difference they’ve been in this year’s playoffs. I know they haven’t been very successful on the score-sheet, but their improvements in puck possession and physical play during the playoffs were unseen in the past.

If the twins do decide to sign back with us next season, I think they will be even better in any future playoff appearances. Finally, the Twins have matured to what we all hoped they would when they were drafted ten years ago.

For the D’s, there’s tremendous hope in Edler, as he was perhaps the best defenseman in both series’. He is slowly maturing into a combination of Salo and Ohlund, and if we give him a few more seasons, he has a good chance to become our top defenseman.

Ohlund, who may also be leaving the team after the Summer, played extremely well in the first series, and wasn’t as good against the speedy Blackhawks, but I’d just like to say “thanks” for all his efforts throughout the years for the club, and good luck in the future.

Last but surely not least, our Captain, Luongo. Don’t cry, you have nothing to feel sorry for, it’s a team game, and by no means your fault only. You were the best goaltender during the playoffs, and this last game will only be the experience you need for your future success.

I know this for sure. All great players go through tough times like this in order to succeed, and I hope you will see that the Canucks do have a decent chance for the Cup, and sign back with us by the end of next season, if not earlier. Don’t forget that you are the reason why the team was even in the playoffs!!!

Come on guys, hold your heads up, so we didn’t win the Cup this season, it’s not the end of the world. There’s always next season, right? As they say, there can only be one Stanley Cup champion, and the rest of the 29 teams are losers, but in the mind of this hockey fan, the Canucks are already a winner. Go Canucks Go!!!

Canucks in trouble??

As Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie puts it so accurately, the Canucks are facing their first real adversity in this year’s playoffs.

“It’s not so much that the Canucks lost a playoff game, because even they probably didn’t think they would go 16-0 to the Stanley Cup and win it all that way…” McKenzie said “…but it’s how they lost that game in Game 2 against the Chicago Blackhawks. For this team, the wheels completely came off.  They had a 2-0 lead and it fell apart, and this was a team that had all the answers before.”

Adding the fact that they will probably head into the third game in Chicago without one of their best defenseman Sami Salo, the Canucks will have to start playing desperate hockey against a young Blackhawks team with all the momentum on their side. The statistic shows that the Canucks are 12-game above .500 with Salo, and 5-game below without. Will this be the downfall of the Canucks, in this year’s playoffs??? A year when the team has shown such promise for finally capturing their first-ever Stanley Cup.

Maybe it’s a bit too early to say, as the series are still tied at 1-1. The Canucks have shown that they can be very effective on the road, and perhaps if they can pull out one win in Chicago, they still have a decent shot at eliminating the Blackhawks in 6 or 7 games.

But what worries me the most is team confidence. Vancouver just doesn’t seem to have much against Chicago at this very moment, as in both games they enjoyed an early-lead, only to be tied by a talented and resilient hockey team. The Canucks got lucky in the first game, but not so lucky in the second game. Immediately after the second game, I wondered if I am Alain Vigneault, what am I to say to the team to boost their confidence, and prepare for the next game?? But I find it difficult to motivate them, since the team knows they can score against Chicago, but they will have to play a perfect 60 minute hockey game if they want to maintain any lead.

Is it possible to play a perfect 60-minute hockey game for 3 more games???

You can almost feel that the team knows that they can’t protect any lead against the Blackhawks. Look at the second period in the game 2, the team came out knowing that the Blackhawks won’t just go away, they knew that, but they just can’t doing anything to stop them. Lack of confidence results with mistakes and turn-overs, too many even for Luongo’s magic goaltending. It’s getting to their heads now, and that is something that won’t just go away easily.

It’s good that the team will get an extra day off before game 3, hopefully the team can settle down and go back to the basics. I mean, a lot of people will agree that the Canucks is still a great hockey club with speed, skills, grit and experience, even without their star defenseman Salo. They absolutely have what it takes to defeat the Blackhawks, they just have to start believing againg.

The next game will be the most crucial game of the season for the Canucks. If they can win one in Chicago, they know that they can afford to lose a game 4, and come back to Vancouver to regroup. But if they lose game 3, the team will be tested on something foreign for the first time this season, and that is trailing in a playoff series. Who know what that might do to the team psyche??!!!

So, let’s hope they win this next one, and if they don’t I’m off to buy shaving cream after the game.

Sharks Cooked, Flames Extinguished.

Another disappointing playoff for this year’s President Trophy Winner – San Jose Sharks, and the Trade-Deadline Winner – Calgary Flames. This is good news for the Canucks.

The Anahiem Ducks’ upset of the Sharks means that the Canucks can avoid playing against the defending-Stanley Cup Champion, for at least another round. Of course, with the way the Blackhawks played against the Flames, especially the spectacular play of goaltender Khabibulin, the Canucks shouldn’t start buying those champagne yet. Still, it’s better than playing against a Flames team which always seem to have the Canucks’ number or the highflying Red Wings.

Although it has happened to the Flames before, four consecutive times including this year, Calgary’s first round exit seems…unexpected. This is, of course, not to underestimate the skills and will of the young Blackhawks. However, the Flames already a very powerful team, were improved significantly after the trading deadline this season. They were unanimously awarded as the winner of the trade-deadline, by adding Star Centerman Olli Jokinen and Veteran Defenseman Jordan Leopold. But with just 2 goals and 3 assists in 6 playoff games, and 8 goals and 7 assists in 19 regular season games at a horrible -8 plus/minus total, it’s difficult not to think trading away Matthew Lombardi, who actually had one more point than Jokinen in the same 19 games, was a wise decision at all.

Maybe it is as Matthew Barnaby says on TSN, the team which will play against the Flames in the playoff will be glad Calgary added Jokinen to their dressing room.

How about the San Jose Sharks??

Despite having a fabulous regular season, finishing top overall with 53 wins, 18 losses and 11 OT losses, the Sharks regressed during this year’s playoff back to 8 seasons ago, when they were ousted in the first round by the St. Louis Blues. But since then, the Sharks have never once been defeated in the first round of the playoffs. Since the Lock-out season, the Sharks have never finished lower than the second spot in their division.

Last season, the Sharks finished second overall in the entire league, but their defeat in the second round to the Dallas Stars were deemed disaapointing and unacceptable. A team lead by a leader who has been named a playoff-underachiever, the Sharks set out to silent all their critics this season. Who would’ve guessed that a team which most commentator named as the “most feared team” in the entire league will end their season worse than their last?

Well, playoffs are full of surprises and drama, everything is magnified 100 times, that’s why it’s so interesting, that’s why even the best players would call their careers disappointing if they’d never won a cup.

Starting this Thursday or maybe Friday, the Canucks will have to continue their path for the ultimate glory, a path that will only be more difficult as they go further, a path that is filled with blood and bruises, pain and anger; but it will surely be a path that both San Jose and Calgary wish they can still venture upon.

Price is Right.

We’ve all heard about how French-Canadians are seen as rude and arrogant. To avoid being niavely discriminating, I know that it’s a stupid and unfair comment. There are rude and arrogant people in every society in every country; and I’m sure a majority of the French-Canadians are nice and polite people. But if you think about it, there must be a reason why people say these things.

Maybe we can find some clue in the Canadiens/Bruins playoff series, since afterall, the Montreal Canadiens are the only NHL team left with their home crowd being mostly French-Canadians.

A main reason why the NHL attracts a lot of fans is because it’s a sport about traditions and respects. Back in the earlier days when hockey players are unhappy about how their opponents are fighting, they will drop their gloves and solve their differences on the ice. After a good fight, the players will give each other a nod, a pat on the shoulder, or even a handshake. They do this, because they have respect for each other. Fans love this, because it feels right.

But what fans would boo the singing of the U.S. National Anthem, during the first home game of their playoff series during their teams’s 100th year celebration?? What’s the reason for the boos?? Canada and the United States aren’t at war, even if they are, isn’t the spirit of sports suppose to transcend politics?? Despite the some rough stuff during the first two games, the series wasn’t particularly dirty, and Boston played two very respectable home games. The Canadiens were down two games only, there’s still plenty of hockey to be played, the booing was un-called for.

Don’t the fans of Montreal know that four players (Higgins, Bouillon, Komisarek and Schneider) in the roster are Americans?? How would it make the US players feel with the home team “supporting” them like this??

Canadiens GM and interim-Coach Bob Gainey called their home team fans “bullies” in an interview immediately after their 4-1 loss to the Bruins in game 4. Gainey was defending his young goaltender for his imitation on Patrick Roy’s mock celebration 14 years ago. That was the year Montreal booed their hometown hero out of town, after an 11-1 loss to the Red Wings dated December 2nd, 1995.

After allowing nine goals on 26 shots, the Montreal crowd jeered him every time he made a simple saves. With coach Mario Trembly reluctant to pull his goalie, leaving their All-Star Netminder out to dry, Roy raised his arm in mock celebration when he made a routine save.

Forteen years later, Carey Price faced the same treatment from his hometown fans. After giving up four consecutive goals, blowing a one-goal lead from the first period, the crowd jeered the young net-minder everytime he made a simple save. In response, Price raised his arm just like his Canadiens predecessor in mockery.

Bob Gainey said that it isn’t fair how the fans treated the young netminder, who just last season single-handedly helped the Habs to re-claim their first conference champions since 1991. With 24 wins, 3 shutouts and a save percentage of .920, Price lead all rookie goaltenders in every aspect of the game during 2007-08′s regular season.

During the post-season of 07-08, Price recorded a 1-0 win over the Boston Bruins, and became the first Canadien Rookie to post a playoff shutout since none other than Patrick Roy. The Habs will go on to win that series, with Price earning another shutout in a  7-game series.

At the age of 19, Price was forced to step up as the starting goaltender for the Canadiens, after the club traded away his mentor Cristobal Huet to the Washington Capitals. 

Price despite enjoying a good start this season, began to tail-off in terms of performance, after his ankle injury which side-lined him for nearly a month. Similar to Marc-Andre Fleury of the Penguins and Cam Ward of the Hurricanes, Price shown signs of regression, commonly known as Sophmore Slumps. Maybe, it’s because of his conditioning after the injury, maybe the Canadiens pushed him a bit too hard too early, or maybe he just needs his space and time to learn and grow.

But you won’t find pity or even patience with Canadiens fans. In tonight’s game, or even this entire series, Price wasn’t his previous spectacular self, but his performance is nevertheless decent, at least for a young goaltender with so much pressure on his shoulder. As Gainey explained, the four goals he let in tonight weren’t his faults, and he did made a couple of great saves on break-aways and open-shots. Every Canadiens on the ice and on the bench are as much responsible for loss as Price, but he seems to be the one taking the most heat.

At this moment, there are only two teams which loss 4 straight games in the first round, the other team being the St. Louis Blues. Both teams loss key players due to injury, both teams played below their fans’ expectations, and both teams finished out their season at home.

What does it tell you when one team’s fans gave a standing ovation to their losing home-team, thanking the players for a great attempt, and another team’s fans booing their 21 year-old goaltender who single-handedly won many many games for them in the past, and then clearing out of the stadium before the game is even finished??

If this is what you called one hundred years of hockey tradition, then I want no part of it, thank you. Watching things like this happen, I am ashamed to even call myself a hockey fan.