Prior to Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, San Jose forward and ex-Canuck Kyle Wellwood mused that when the Sharks were down a goal in a game, they almost seemed to play better than they did at any other time.
Perhaps he confused his current team with his old one.
The Vancouver Canucks trailed after the second period by a score of 2-1 in a physical opening matchup between the two West Coast superpowers. But they came at the Sharks much like Orcas attack in reality--in packs they converged on puck carriers, beat them into submission with thunderous bodychecks, and moved on to other prey.
The Canucks outhit the Sharks 38-26 and it showed in a big way. The Sharks wore down as the game went on and the Canucks just seemed to get better. Everyone was in on the act; Roberto Luongo made a key save early in the 3rd on Joe Thornton, who was the best Shark last night that wasn't wearing goalie pads. The third line of Raffi Torres, Maxim Lapierre and Jannik Hansen hemmed the Sharks in their own zone shift after shift.
But the real story here was the (re) emergence of the brothers Sedin. Henrik in particular played his best game of the playoffs. It was Henrik who made a nifty chip play with the puck to send Alex Burrows into the San Jose end behind the defensemen. Burrows then made a teriffic pass to a hard-charging Kevin Bieksa, who did what other Canuck defenders to that point had failed to do--put the puck high on Niemi.
Then the third line struck again. Or was struck again, depending on your point of view. A good hustle by Raffi Torres lead to an ill-timed elbowing penalty against Dany Heatley, as he tried to impede the Canuck forward by smashing his elbow into his face. The result was a Canucks power play, and that was where the final blow was dealt.
Ryan Kesler (of course) started the play with a great cross-ice pass to Christian Ehrhoff at the blueline. Henrik Sedin--skating hard to the front of the net--beaver tapped his stick and Ehrhoff passed it tape to tape. Henrik held the puck while Antti Niemi frantically contorted himself in every way possible to no avail--Henrik tucked the puck into the yawning cage and the Canucks had a 3-2 lead that they never relinquished.
San Jose coach Todd McLellan summed it up quite well after the game; he said that as the game went on, the Sharks lost their legs while the Canucks found theirs. The Sharks were probably battling some fatigue from the long, grinding series against Detroit. But it certainly didn't help that any time their head wasn't up and in the play, they were being sent flying by the hard hitting Canucks.
There is now another long break before Game 2. The last break seems to have served the Canucks--Henrik Sedin in particular--quite well. But with how well the Canucks have performed on the road this season in the playoffs, the Sharks will be desperate to get a victory in Game 2. The Canucks will need the same tempo they exuded at the end of the second period and throughout the third for the entirety of Game 2 if they are to win.
Until then, once again, it is hurry up and wait.
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