Well. That was inspiring.
It is somewhat ironic that the biggest talking point before the series with respect to the Vancouver Canucks' weak link - goaltender Roberto Luongo - was the team's strongest player in Game 1 of their opening round series against the Los Angeles Kings. In fact, you could further argue that he was the only player for the Vancouver Canucks in Game 1.
After a strong surge down the stretch of the regular season where they lost one of nine games without injured star Daniel Sedin, the Canucks came out and promptly fell flat on their face last night in what was one of their most embarassing performances of the season. Even a Canuck fan sporting the biggest pair of rose coloured sunglasses in the world (heck, that may well be me) would be shaking their head after last night's game.
The Canucks deviated almost completely from their usual game plan. The defense were charging out of position to make big hits, leaving Kings forwards all alone in front of Luongo. Were it not for the goaltender's heroics, the score would have been far less flattering than the eventual 4-2 tally. The forwards got in on the act as well, with Zack Kassian taking a charging penalty, and Byron Bitz earning himself a five-minute major and a game misconduct or a charge/elbow on Kings' forward Kyle Clifford.
It didn't stop there. The Canucks' decision making with the puck was panicked, as we saw them twice in a five minute span fire the puck over the glass, resulting in an extended period of 5-on-3 play for the Kings. We also saw several prominent Canucks revert to tactics that had earned them scorn from the league during last year's Cup Run, with both Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler diving in an attempt to earn penalty calls, the latter doing so on several occasions, choosing to focus on pleasing the Summer Olympic Diving judges rather than covering his check.
Somehow, the game remained tied until the late stages of the third period when a brutal turnover by Alexander Edler resulted in a fortuitous Kings' goal. But the Canucks were lucky to be even in the game at that point. It was unfortunate to see the Canucks waste such a stronge effort from their goaltender, but the best way forward for them may well be to just forget Game 1 ever happened. A game where they were outshot, outhit, outhustled and outworked by a determined Kings team that seemed to take the Canucks completely by surprise.
The other positive to take from this is: we have watched this team enough to know what their best effort looks like, and Game 1 was about as far as we have seen from it in a considerable amount of time. The Canucks will watch their game tape, regroup (likely without Byron Bitz, whom smart money dictates will be facing supplementary discipline for his hit) and be ready for Game 2. If things suddenly begin to go right, they may well do so with Daniel Sedin in the lineup. But as of Thursday morning, there was still no update on his condition and he remains day-to-day, while Canuck nation not-so-silently continues to curse Duncan Keith.
But for the moment, the Canucks need to look at themselves in the mirror, forget Game 1 and come at Game 2 fresh.
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