Riders in the Storm

Let the gamesmanship begin.

We are now less than five hours away from puckdrop in Vancouver, and an eerie silence has gripped the Province. Or at least, it has up here in Kitimat. 16 hours Northwest of Vancouver, Kitimat has been gripped with a similar "Canuck Fever" to what the Lower Mainland has experienced. Jubilant throngs fill the parking lots of the local malls, proudly waving Canuck fans and honking their horns after every Canuck victory thus far in this post-season.

But at the moment, it is all quiet. It has been that way for mostly a week, or since the Boston Bruins slapped the Canucks around in two consecutive games.

It's not quiet on the Canucks' roster front, however. The Canucks' blueline--fresh off a game in which calling it a "Chinese Fire Drill" would have been generous--is going to go through some more changes tonight. Out comes hapless defensemen Keith Ballard and in comes green-as-grass rookie Chris Tanev. Yes, Chris Tanev; the 21-year-old kid who was playing in the second tier of the collegiate ranks in the USA last year.

That isn't to be negative on Tanev. I think he is a very good defensemen, even now. More than likely, he plays a safer game than Ballard which might be what the Canucks are looking for. Nevertheless, it is just another notch on the belt of the worst professional season of Ballard's career. But we'll cover that another day, as I could probably fill up several blog entries with my speculation on just what the heck is going on with Keith Ballard and the Canucks' coaching staff.

So let's focus on Tanev. He acquitted himself extremely well in 29 games this season, and also suited up for Games 4 and 5 against the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Final--both victories. He is an unflappable, cool-as-a-cucumber player who makes extremely intelligent plays with the puck, highlighted moreso by the fact that he is still only 21 years old. The kid has a great hockey IQ.

While it's somewhat of an odd decision to insert him in the lineup, the Canucks needed a shakeup. Since Dan Hamhuis went down to injury, the chemistry hasn't been there, the quick movements of the puck haven't been there, and the smart, lateral passes haven't been there. Chris Tanev is strong in all of these categories, and while he isn't expected to see a whopping amount of ice time, it's difficult (but not impossible) to imagine him having a much worse go of it than Keith Ballard and Andrew Alberts have had.

In goal, the party line remains the same: Roberto Luongo will be in goal. Anyone questioning that decision, in my humble opinion, needs to go find a doctor since they clearly are in dire need of some assistance in removing their own head from their rectum.

The notion that somehow still plagues Luongo of him not being a "big game player" is truly silly. He proved it in the Olympics, he proved it in Game 7 of the opening round against Chicago, and he proved it in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against San Jose. He was hotly talked about as a Conn Smythe Trophy candidate after Game 2 of the playoffs, and the "Luuuuuuu" chants were being sung loud and proud.

Two days later, and some in the media as well as Canuck Nation want to see Cory Schneider start. Maybe those people should put the "BC Bud" down.

Cory Schneider is a teriffic goaltender and he is fully capable of winning games. I would be highly confident in him were he starting these games. But you just do not do this to a team that has come this far as a team. Roberto Luongo, like him or love him, is just as big a reason for the Canucks being in this Stanley Cup Final fighting for their first championship as Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, or the brothers Sedin. To say he is somehow riding the coat-tails of anyone is beyond idiotic, it is pure fantasy.

Roberto Luongo has proven that he has the mental toughness to bounce back from some putrid outings, and I don't expect tonight to be any different. He can be better, and he will be better. I'm not giving him a mulligan for Game 4--I thought he let in two incredibly soft goals. But so many people like talking about the goaltender that he becomes when is game is off. Boston had better hope they don't get the chance to talk about the goaltender he is when his game is on.

Now, I'm a Canucks fan. The Canucks could have gone 0-82 to this point (they wouldn't be in the Cup Final were that the case, but give me some suspension of disbelief for a second) and I would still be waving the pom poms saying I believe in them.

But they are headed into Game 5, on home ice, with the chance to put a loaded gun to the head of the Boston Bruins with just one victory. One victory, tonight on home ice, and they have a chance to sip from the Cup on Monday. That is 60 minutes (or more, depending on overtime) of good, smart, hard hockey.

And that's the way the Canucks need to play. Whether it's Keith Ballard, Chris Tanev or Daffy Duck playing on the Canucks' blueline, they need to get back to playing Canuck hockey. Enough of this between-the-whistles horse-pucky. Enough of getting sucked into jousting wars with the goaltender. Enough of an anemic power play that wouldn't strike fear into a Pee Wee hockey team.

The Canucks need to get back to the smooth skating, fast-moving transition game that has gotten them to this point. They need to calm down, play as a team, and let Boston make their own bed with their antics and tomfoolery.

Like it or not, that will start with Luongo between the pipes. But if he's proven anything, it's that he can shut out all the white noise going on around him and bring a big game when he needs to.

To quote a TV ad that's been going around, the clock is ticking. Let's see what they've got.