June 2011
18 posts
2 tags
May 2011
19 posts
3 tags
The Canucks' Hard Road to Glory
You would think that the Canucks’ best regular season ever, which earned them their first President’s Trophy, might have entitled them to a relatively easy route to the Stanley Cup Final. But think again.
Yes, this season that has often times appeared blessed with good fortune, some might even say grand intervention (the miraculous recoveries from injury by Sami Salo and, now, Manny...
4 tags
Canucks Get Little Love from Don Cherry
With the Canucks now just four wins away from Canada’s first Stanley Cup in 18 years, you’d think that the head talking head at the CBC might be just a little more complimentary of Canada’s team.
Despite predicting the Canucks’ game 5 victory against San Jose (dandy Don even got the score right), it’s hardly like he’s on the bandwagon.
And while we...
9 tags
Canucks, Cups and Cliches
The lexicon of sport is riddled with mantras that are so oft repeated, they sometimes sound hollow. And as the battles intensify, the calls of our “best players need to be our best players”, “we’ve got to leave it all out there”, and “you gotta be good to be lucky” can be heard everywhere.
And last night, the Canucks proved that every damn one of them...
3 tags
Why We'd Like the Canucks to Lose Game 5
And no, it’s not because we want to have more to write about. And no, we are not part of the ownership group who stand to make even more millions if the Sharks can extend this series to seven games. And yes, we are really being facetious. Or somewhat. Please play along - there is method to this madness.
With the Canucks on the verge of their third ever appearance in a Stanley Cup Final,...
8 tags
Canucks' Killer Whale Instinct
With the home San Jose Sharks refusing to feed upon the ample first period power play offerings this time out, the Canucks proved yet again that they will feed at every opportunity.
In a first period that had Canucks’ fans thinking they were simply watching game three all over again, the Sharks seemed somewhat disinterested in taking advantage of ample power play chances. Perhaps they felt...
3 tags
Canucks Trapped In Sin Bin Near Judgment Day
Fresh from their turn-the-other-cheek successes against neaderthalic Ben Eager and with judgment day clearly on the horizon (today, if you believe it), you’d have expected the Canucks to be the men without sin on Friday night.
But the rollercoaster ride of this post-season reached another free fall instead as the suddenly undisciplined Canucks wound up taking ten minor penalties. Yes,...
5 tags
Canucks More Than Eager
On a night where Ben Eager ran around trying to settle scores, the Canucks again showed that, for now, they are the more determined team.
Clearly, Eager hasn’t been paying attention to how the Canucks operate this season. If you take liberties and wind up in the box, they will make you pay. Again. And again.
And while Patrick Marleau might get to lose the “gutless” label...
3 tags
Bobby Blue and the Ghost of Dan Cloutier
Poor Roberto Luongo, the guy can’t catch a break. One day after winning his first ever Conference Final game, he was the front page sports story in the Vancouver Province under the headline “Winner Takes Fall”.
As we all know, the Vancouver media and fan base are a manic lot. And Luongo, as the highest paid player and presumed leader of this team, is the lightning rod for...
5 tags
Canucks Get What They Deserve
In a game where the Canucks outshot, outchanced and outhit their opposition, the final 3-2 result was a just one.
And while Sharks’ fans will be bitterly complaining about a phantom Dany Heatley elbowing penalty that gave the Canucks the chance for the game-winning tally, the biggest factor in the Sharks having the lead for most of the night was another gift, this one not provided by the...
3 tags
The Battle of the New Best in the West
While we would have preferred to see the Canucks play the Wings, a battle with the Sharks has no shortage of interesting story lines. In fact, over the course of the last ten seasons, after Detroit, the Sharks and Canucks are the winningest teams in the Western Conference (and the third and fourth winningest teams in the entire NHL).
And with Detroit slipping in the regular season standings the...
3 tags
Place Your Order - Hot Wings or Shark Fin Soup
Tonight, the Canucks’ Conference Final opponent will be determined as the veteran Detroit Red Wings look to crush the eternally nascent playoff dreams of the San Jose Sharks. We’re not looking for predictions here, but simply your vote. Who would you rather see the Canucks match-up against?
We’ll take the Wings. Despite the adrenalin shot that a comeback from a 3-0 deficit...
2 tags
It Sucks to be a Shark Fan
Vancouver’s panicky faithful often drag our 40 years of mediocrity around like some cross to bear. But in a post-season that has featured more than enough Canuck dizzying heights and close calls for the eager fan-base, we should be thankful we’re not backing the San Jose Sharks.
Though only 19 years old, the Sharks have experienced tremendous regular season success, having made the...
3 tags
Canucks Say "We're Half Way There!"
Indeed, it is time to cue up the Bon Jovi; the Canucks are half way there. But forget about “Livin’ On a Prayer”, for this team it’s clearly “Livin’ On a Kesler”.
And if our name dropping some lame big hair 80’s hit has you a little squeamish, we apologize. It’s been almost as long since the Canucks have seen Conference Final action as...
5 tags
In Search of the Sedins
On a night where Ryan Kesler continued his remarkable play (has there ever been a Canuck playoff performer post a three game run of this dominance?), the Sedins were again noticeable for all the wrong reasons.
Daniel, the Art Ross Trophy winner, was on the ice for every Nashville score and was kept of the scoresheet, again. Henrik, defending Art Ross trophy winner, fared marginally better...
3 tags
Canucks v. Predators - We've seen this before, so...
At the outset of this series, we warned that it would be like watching the 2007 seven game paint drying championship versus the Dallas Stars. And while this series might be marginally more entertaining, on paper, it is shaping up in almost identical fashion.
After four games in that snoozefest, the Canucks also led three games to one (with two games having gone to extra time) and had outscored...
3 tags
Ryan Kesler's Defining Moment
Entering last night’s pivotal game 3 match-up with the Predators, the Canucks had a grand total of zero goals from their top two centres in a combined 18 playoff games. And despite this, the Canucks found themselves in decent enough shape.
His scoring woes aside, Ryan Kesler has found many other ways to contribute, whether shutting down the Hawks’ snipers in the first round or...
7 tags
Time for Coach Vigneault to Tinker Again
In his early days in Vancouver, Coach Alain Vigneault was known to juggle his lines at the slightest adversity. Though as the Canucks have morphed into an elite team, his juggling act has reduced greatly.
However, it was the decision to remove Alex Burrows from his typical slot on the Sedin line to reunion with partner-in-crime Ryan Kesler (a move that was suggested here first) that turned the...
8 tags
'Nucks v. Preds - No Surprise So Far...
Let’s see. The best player in the series thus far? Pekka Rinne. The second best player? Roberto Luongo. Combined goals scored in nearly three games of playoff hockey - four.
And depending on your persepctive, this is a repeat of the 2007 seven game series victory over Dallas where Luongo outlasted Marty Turco’s three shut-out performance or the 2003 loss (also in seven) to the...
