And we're back.
Unless you were living under a rock during the Vancouver Canucks' run to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, you might have noticed that the team was not exactly at the top of a lot of peoples' Christmas card lists. It wasn't just spurned opponents, either--although the likes of Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland, Dan Boyle and Ben Eager had their share of beaking to do in the media. Players on teams who weren't even in the hunt for the grail were espousing their loathing for the Canucks.
It didn't end with the players--the media outlets mercilessly railed against the Canucks and their cheap shotting tactics. Ryan Kesler chicken-winging sticks, The Sedin Twins diving, Maxim Lapierre yapping or embellishing, Alexandre Burrows' famous instance of mistaking Patrice Bergeron's fingers for chicken fingers--all of this received premium play time amongst the press clippings of each game.
The comments ranged from the intelligent (they play with an edge and are difficult to play against) to the idiotic (anything Mike Milbury opened his trap to say).
But that was last year. To start this season, the Canucks were radically inconsistent. They would play one night looking like gangbusters, and the next night they could come out and lay an egg so profundly that I was starting to debate throwing them in the oven to cook for Thanksgiving. Suspiciously, the national press had virtually nothing to say about them while they struggled. That's all changed, now, thanks to a 9-1-0 run of sterling hockey that has seen the Canucks return to their high-flying, in your face brand of hockey.
It has not gone unnoticed by the media who, faced with a resurgent band of players, are now going out of their way once again to paint the Canucks as villains in every sense of the word. Watching Saturday night's contest on CBC between the Vancouver Canucks and the Ottawa Senators was painful on the ears at times. Listening to Jim Hughson call the play by play is always a treat, but he was paired with Gary Galley and Cassie Campbell--a duo that covers the Senators on a regular basis. To call their commentary biased would be generous, as it was legitimately far worse than that. But the real fun began with the intermission shows, Coach's Corner and the Satellite Hotstove.
Let me preface all of this by saying that when Don Cherry seems to come across as your voice of reason, you are in big, big trouble.
CBC seems to have adopted a "WWE"-style method of promoting storylines. The last time the Canucks and the Senators played on November 20, a non-incident occurred when Maxim Lapierre bodychecked Jesse Winchester into the bench door for the Canucks. Burrows had his hand on top of the door which--unfortunately, unluckily, and unintentionally--opened, depositing Winchester into the bench.
This non-incident received exactly nothing in terms of lip service amongst CBC's talking heads for nearly a month until game-day arrived. And then "latch-gate" or "gate-gate" was in full swing. Why? Well gee, those pesky Canuckleheads are 8-1-0 in their last few starts and looking like they might be able to dominate the league once more. Shall we take them down a peg?
Ron MacLean, he of noted attempted character assassinations on Alex Burrows in the past (followed by a boycott of CBC by the Canucks, followed by a private apology from CBC to the Canucks) can barely contain himself when he gets the chance to villify the Canucks, Burrows in particular. So when Don Cherry called him on it on live television, it was more than a little gratifying to watch MacLean grit his teeth, narrow his eyes, and to see that little vein on the side of his head sticking out as he restrained himself from strangling Cherry.
Cherry finished his heckling of MacLean by saying "the Canucks are going back to the Final, and you'll be in big trouble".
Mike Milbury (he of the famouse shoe-beating and worst-general-managing in history incidents) proceeded to detail a list of reasons why people hated the Vancouver Canucks later in the evening, listing their cheap shots and diving as being among the principle reasons. Putting aside the irony of a man who once climbed into the audience to beat a man with his own shoe accusing anyone of dirty play, I cannot for the life of me understand how this man has a job as an analyst. Watching Mike Milbury discuss hockey is fun in the same way that watching a dog chase its own tail is--he is so preposterously stupid that you can't help wondering what he is going to say next. Ask the good folks on Long Island what they think of his hockey knowledge.
To cut a long ramble short, the Vancouver Canucks are putting things back together and are starting to play like an elite team once more. This is making the rest of the hockey world stand up, take not, and go--"oh, yeah, THOSE guys--I hate them".
Well, it's time to Embrace the Hate, Canuck Nation. Not only does it make every victory all that much sweeter, but it means the team is doing something right if they can rack up the wins while making every other team in the league see red at the same time.
Monday, 12 December 2011
Friday, 7 October 2011
Runnin' on Empty
It looks as though Canuck coach Alain Vigneault's plan to rest his team through as much of the preseason as possible was a success. The Canucks looked so rested, in fact, that there were times where I legitimately thought they were sleeping on their feet during their season opening loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.
It certainly wasn't a pretty game. Anyone expecting it to have the emotional charge that the games played in April, May and June of this year did were of course going to be disappointed...but it was an extremely sluggish effort from a group of players who clearly have some rust to shake off.
They started to come to life towards the end of the game. To their credit, they found their legs, they started to control the play, and they had a few solid chances to take the lead and win the game. Even when the game was slow to start, the Canucks weren't the worst thing about it--that dubious title went to the announcing duo of Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes. (I actually don't mind Weekes--he's hilarious, if unintentionally so).
There were some things to be happy about for the Canucks. The Sedin Twins put on their usual display of brilliance--Henrik finding Keith Ballard in behind the Pittsburgh defense with a teriffic saucer pass which Ballard buried (hopefully along with the memories of last season for him). Daniel then joined in on the fun by taking another sweet pass from Henrik, outwaiting both a Pittsburgh defender and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, before deftly ripping the puck upstairs to tie the game.
There was a surprisingly nice night from the new fourth line with center Maxim Lapierre leading the way. He was 71% on faceoffs, he scored a goal that came at the end of a great forechecking shift where they hemmed the Penguins into their own zone, and along with wingers Aaron Volpatti and Dale Weise (or as Mark Lee knows them, whatshisname and whoshisface), had a strong night.
There was second line center Cody Hodgson who looked quite dangerous, and he even had a glorious chance to put the Canucks ahead in the third period. He showed excellent patience, waited until everyone had over committed to the play...and then slid the puck just wide of the net. Newcomer winger Marco Sturm had a solid game on the defensive side of the puck, but the big goose egg next to the shots on net column in his game is a bit alarming for a player the Canucks are hoping will be able to provide some secondary scoring this year.
There were some warts to this game, too. The Canucks' penalty kill clearly missed Ryan Kesler, as two of the three goals scored by the Penguins were scored on their quick-strike power play. The Canucks' net clearly missed a goaltender who was awake, when Roberto Luongo whiffed on a 44-foot-wing-and-a-prayer shot by Matt Cooke to give the Penguins a then 3-1 lead. It was an auspicious debut for Luongo, as the first goal (scored from behind the goal line by James Neal) and the aforementioned Matt Cooke goal both had a distinct odour to them. If Canuck Nation was hoping Luongo would come out and immediately start allowing them to forget his inconsistent play in the Final, they were let down last night.
In Luongo's defense, he typically has awful Octobers and rebounds with a stellar close to the regular season. But none of that is going to matter this year--for Luongo, it's all about the playoffs.
There were a smattering of veterans who looked as though they were playing together for the first time (in truth, it was the second for many of them), and so the rust will take a bit of time to wear off. The promising thing about this game is that the Canucks were able to come back, tie it, squeak out a point and at least have some positives to look back on. But in all honesty, it was a clunker of a game and a sign that maybe--just maybe--Alain Vigneault should let his veterans play together a bit during the preseason in the future, something he hasn't done to any great extent in the past, but took to a whole new level this year.
To make matters worse, it's a long wait until Monday for the Canucks' next game. But perhaps some time on the road (they are travelling to Columbus for the start of a four-game road trip) to bond together as a team will be productive. And hopefully they'll play with a little more gas in the tank than they had last night.
It certainly wasn't a pretty game. Anyone expecting it to have the emotional charge that the games played in April, May and June of this year did were of course going to be disappointed...but it was an extremely sluggish effort from a group of players who clearly have some rust to shake off.
They started to come to life towards the end of the game. To their credit, they found their legs, they started to control the play, and they had a few solid chances to take the lead and win the game. Even when the game was slow to start, the Canucks weren't the worst thing about it--that dubious title went to the announcing duo of Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes. (I actually don't mind Weekes--he's hilarious, if unintentionally so).
There were some things to be happy about for the Canucks. The Sedin Twins put on their usual display of brilliance--Henrik finding Keith Ballard in behind the Pittsburgh defense with a teriffic saucer pass which Ballard buried (hopefully along with the memories of last season for him). Daniel then joined in on the fun by taking another sweet pass from Henrik, outwaiting both a Pittsburgh defender and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, before deftly ripping the puck upstairs to tie the game.
There was a surprisingly nice night from the new fourth line with center Maxim Lapierre leading the way. He was 71% on faceoffs, he scored a goal that came at the end of a great forechecking shift where they hemmed the Penguins into their own zone, and along with wingers Aaron Volpatti and Dale Weise (or as Mark Lee knows them, whatshisname and whoshisface), had a strong night.
There was second line center Cody Hodgson who looked quite dangerous, and he even had a glorious chance to put the Canucks ahead in the third period. He showed excellent patience, waited until everyone had over committed to the play...and then slid the puck just wide of the net. Newcomer winger Marco Sturm had a solid game on the defensive side of the puck, but the big goose egg next to the shots on net column in his game is a bit alarming for a player the Canucks are hoping will be able to provide some secondary scoring this year.
There were some warts to this game, too. The Canucks' penalty kill clearly missed Ryan Kesler, as two of the three goals scored by the Penguins were scored on their quick-strike power play. The Canucks' net clearly missed a goaltender who was awake, when Roberto Luongo whiffed on a 44-foot-wing-and-a-prayer shot by Matt Cooke to give the Penguins a then 3-1 lead. It was an auspicious debut for Luongo, as the first goal (scored from behind the goal line by James Neal) and the aforementioned Matt Cooke goal both had a distinct odour to them. If Canuck Nation was hoping Luongo would come out and immediately start allowing them to forget his inconsistent play in the Final, they were let down last night.
In Luongo's defense, he typically has awful Octobers and rebounds with a stellar close to the regular season. But none of that is going to matter this year--for Luongo, it's all about the playoffs.
There were a smattering of veterans who looked as though they were playing together for the first time (in truth, it was the second for many of them), and so the rust will take a bit of time to wear off. The promising thing about this game is that the Canucks were able to come back, tie it, squeak out a point and at least have some positives to look back on. But in all honesty, it was a clunker of a game and a sign that maybe--just maybe--Alain Vigneault should let his veterans play together a bit during the preseason in the future, something he hasn't done to any great extent in the past, but took to a whole new level this year.
To make matters worse, it's a long wait until Monday for the Canucks' next game. But perhaps some time on the road (they are travelling to Columbus for the start of a four-game road trip) to bond together as a team will be productive. And hopefully they'll play with a little more gas in the tank than they had last night.
Monday, 3 October 2011
Here I Go Again
In just a few short days, the puck will drop and the Vancouver Canucks will begin anew their quest to bring the franchise and the city its first Stanley Cup. All of this after coming so agonizingly close back in June, when they lost in Game 7 on home ice. It was the shortest off-season in the history of the team, but it certainly felt long.
That's all behind us now, as we look forward to the new season ahead. It's finally time to start getting excited about hockey again. There have been some changes over the summer--some for the better, some for the worse, some which the jury will remain out on for some time to come. In a nutshell, let's review.
Gone is offensive defensemen Christian Ehrhoff, who signed a whopping 10-year, $40million deal with the Buffalo Sabres during the summer. Replacing his 50-points from the blueline will be a challenge, but it's not impossible. Kevin Bieksa, Dan Hamhuis, Alex Edler and Sami Salo all missed significant time last year due to injury--they missed a combined 120 games. If one or more of them are able to remain mostly healthy throughout the season, they should all be able to contribute a bit offensively to make up the lost points from Ehrhoff. This is ignoring the two most interest defenders heading into the season--Keith Ballard and Chris Tanev.
Ballard is interesting because his first season in Vancouver was, let's face it, awful. He arrived on the day of the 2010 draft as a much ballyhooed defender who was capable of skating well, putting up 25-30 points, and playing a gritty, in your face game. Specifically, he had a penchant for throwing amazing hipchecks. As Jamie McGinn of the San Jose Sharks can attest to (has he stopped cartwheeling through the air after that hit in Game 4 vs. San Jose yet?), the hipchecks were certainly there. Unfortunately, that was about all that was a hit for poor Ballard. He had his worst professional season to date, scoring a measly 2 goals and 5 assists while spending most of his time--especially during the Stanley Cup Run--in the press box.
So why is he interesting? There's an old adage that when you're on the bottom, the only direction you can go is up. (the inverse is true as well, but that's for another day) So whether or not Keith Ballard can rebound and find the form that made him a highly sought after defender by the Canucks in the first place will be an interesting story this year.
On the other end of the spectrum is Chris Tanev. Anyone who says they knew his name at this time last year is either lying, or they read HFBoards a lot. Tanev stepped into the franchise last summer as a relatively unheralded free agent signing straight out of the lower tiers of the American collegiate system, where he had played for the Rochester Institute of Technology. He had a surprisingly solid camp, and an even more surprisingly strong start to the year with the AHL's Manitoba Moose, before cracking the Canucks' roster for the remainder of the year due to the massive amounts of injuries the big club incurred.
Tanev displayed remarkable poise, patience and smarts for such a young and inexperienced player. He was even thrown into the fire of the Stanley Cup Final where he continued to acquit himself admirably. He has since bulked up over the off-season, putting on ten pounds of muscle by his own admission. In training camp, he looks stronger, faster, and he has shown a greater willingness to jump into the attack to generate offense--something he seems, again, surprisingly good at. If he is able to contribute offensively, that may also lessen the burden his defensive counterparts now face in trying to replace Ehrhoff's offense.
Up front, there are some temporary and permanent changes. Gone is hard-hitting forward Raffi Torres, whose bone crunching hits were the cause of much hand wringing amongst the Canucks' critics during the playoffs. While the intensity and intimidation of the hard charging forward will be missed, in the new era of the NHL where headshots are being examined more closely, it might be a benefit to the Canucks that he was allowed to walk.
Missing for the start of the year will be Selke trophy winner Ryan Kesler, who required surgery after the Canucks were defeated in the Finals last year. He is expected to be back by November, but his spot will be temporarily filled by another interesting Canuck rookie--Cody Hodgson.
Cut and paste Keith Ballard's story here and you would have a similar tale. Cody Hodgson was the 10th overall pick in the 2008 Entry Draft, and was immediately called by many pundits an absolute steal. A sure fire NHL player who dripped with character, intelligence and skill. This didn't change over the following year, as he lead Team Canada in scoring at the World Junior Championships, teaming with 1st overall selection John Tavares to wreak havoc. He was picked by many hockey outlets as a candidate to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in the 2009/2010 season.
Then came the back problems. Hodgson injured his back while training in the summer of 2009 and was set back drastically. He tried to battle his way through camp that year, but was ultimately slowed down far too much by the injury. Alain Vigneault inadvertently put his foot in his own mouth when Hodgson announced he was seeking a second opinion on his back, when Vigneault stated that Hodgson was perhaps not used to disappointment at this stage in his career.
Imagine Vigneault's surprise when that second opinion Hodgson saught revealed a tear in the muscles surrounding his back. Oops.
The 2009/2010 season was lost for Hodgson, who missed almost the entire year with his injury. He played just 13 regular season games and a handful more in the playoffs. The 2010/2011 season had some growing pains as well--he did see NHL time and scored his first goal, but he did not look as NHL ready as he had before his injury.
Now, he seems ready--he arrived at camp this year looking faster and stronger, and he has not missed a chance to showcase his offensive abilities. He will fill the vacant second line center spot left by Ryan Kesler until he returns, at which time the "what to do with Hodgson" discussion can begin. But for the moment, he's on the team and he's a player many in Canuck Nation are excited about.
Also missing up front is Mason Raymond, who will be out considerably longer with his broken back. Brought in to fill in is veteran Marco Sturm, who also has something to prove. Having had both of his knees surgically repaired in the last few years, he will be looking to regain the form that has seen him eclipse the 20-goal mark seven times in his NHL career. He also brings some defensive responsibility in his game, so look for him to rome all over the lineup.
In goal, the song remains the same for the Canucks (for now). Roberto Luongo is back as the No. 1 man, and Cory Schneider returns as his backup. Both are capable of playing teriffic hockey, but this is a season where no matter what they do in the regular season, they will not earn praise. For both (moreso for Luongo), the real test will be when the playoffs begin again. In spite of leading the Canucks to the Final, Luongo still faces a great deal of questions with respect to his mental toughness. (allowing 21 goals against in four losses in the Final will do that).
But overall, it's a new season. The journey begins anew, and for the Canucks, there is only one all-consuming goal: to get the storybook ending that eluded them in June. To get back to the Stanley Cup Final and, this time, skate off with the trophy in hand.
And it all begins this week. It's about time.
That's all behind us now, as we look forward to the new season ahead. It's finally time to start getting excited about hockey again. There have been some changes over the summer--some for the better, some for the worse, some which the jury will remain out on for some time to come. In a nutshell, let's review.
Gone is offensive defensemen Christian Ehrhoff, who signed a whopping 10-year, $40million deal with the Buffalo Sabres during the summer. Replacing his 50-points from the blueline will be a challenge, but it's not impossible. Kevin Bieksa, Dan Hamhuis, Alex Edler and Sami Salo all missed significant time last year due to injury--they missed a combined 120 games. If one or more of them are able to remain mostly healthy throughout the season, they should all be able to contribute a bit offensively to make up the lost points from Ehrhoff. This is ignoring the two most interest defenders heading into the season--Keith Ballard and Chris Tanev.
Ballard is interesting because his first season in Vancouver was, let's face it, awful. He arrived on the day of the 2010 draft as a much ballyhooed defender who was capable of skating well, putting up 25-30 points, and playing a gritty, in your face game. Specifically, he had a penchant for throwing amazing hipchecks. As Jamie McGinn of the San Jose Sharks can attest to (has he stopped cartwheeling through the air after that hit in Game 4 vs. San Jose yet?), the hipchecks were certainly there. Unfortunately, that was about all that was a hit for poor Ballard. He had his worst professional season to date, scoring a measly 2 goals and 5 assists while spending most of his time--especially during the Stanley Cup Run--in the press box.
So why is he interesting? There's an old adage that when you're on the bottom, the only direction you can go is up. (the inverse is true as well, but that's for another day) So whether or not Keith Ballard can rebound and find the form that made him a highly sought after defender by the Canucks in the first place will be an interesting story this year.
On the other end of the spectrum is Chris Tanev. Anyone who says they knew his name at this time last year is either lying, or they read HFBoards a lot. Tanev stepped into the franchise last summer as a relatively unheralded free agent signing straight out of the lower tiers of the American collegiate system, where he had played for the Rochester Institute of Technology. He had a surprisingly solid camp, and an even more surprisingly strong start to the year with the AHL's Manitoba Moose, before cracking the Canucks' roster for the remainder of the year due to the massive amounts of injuries the big club incurred.
Tanev displayed remarkable poise, patience and smarts for such a young and inexperienced player. He was even thrown into the fire of the Stanley Cup Final where he continued to acquit himself admirably. He has since bulked up over the off-season, putting on ten pounds of muscle by his own admission. In training camp, he looks stronger, faster, and he has shown a greater willingness to jump into the attack to generate offense--something he seems, again, surprisingly good at. If he is able to contribute offensively, that may also lessen the burden his defensive counterparts now face in trying to replace Ehrhoff's offense.
Up front, there are some temporary and permanent changes. Gone is hard-hitting forward Raffi Torres, whose bone crunching hits were the cause of much hand wringing amongst the Canucks' critics during the playoffs. While the intensity and intimidation of the hard charging forward will be missed, in the new era of the NHL where headshots are being examined more closely, it might be a benefit to the Canucks that he was allowed to walk.
Missing for the start of the year will be Selke trophy winner Ryan Kesler, who required surgery after the Canucks were defeated in the Finals last year. He is expected to be back by November, but his spot will be temporarily filled by another interesting Canuck rookie--Cody Hodgson.
Cut and paste Keith Ballard's story here and you would have a similar tale. Cody Hodgson was the 10th overall pick in the 2008 Entry Draft, and was immediately called by many pundits an absolute steal. A sure fire NHL player who dripped with character, intelligence and skill. This didn't change over the following year, as he lead Team Canada in scoring at the World Junior Championships, teaming with 1st overall selection John Tavares to wreak havoc. He was picked by many hockey outlets as a candidate to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in the 2009/2010 season.
Then came the back problems. Hodgson injured his back while training in the summer of 2009 and was set back drastically. He tried to battle his way through camp that year, but was ultimately slowed down far too much by the injury. Alain Vigneault inadvertently put his foot in his own mouth when Hodgson announced he was seeking a second opinion on his back, when Vigneault stated that Hodgson was perhaps not used to disappointment at this stage in his career.
Imagine Vigneault's surprise when that second opinion Hodgson saught revealed a tear in the muscles surrounding his back. Oops.
The 2009/2010 season was lost for Hodgson, who missed almost the entire year with his injury. He played just 13 regular season games and a handful more in the playoffs. The 2010/2011 season had some growing pains as well--he did see NHL time and scored his first goal, but he did not look as NHL ready as he had before his injury.
Now, he seems ready--he arrived at camp this year looking faster and stronger, and he has not missed a chance to showcase his offensive abilities. He will fill the vacant second line center spot left by Ryan Kesler until he returns, at which time the "what to do with Hodgson" discussion can begin. But for the moment, he's on the team and he's a player many in Canuck Nation are excited about.
Also missing up front is Mason Raymond, who will be out considerably longer with his broken back. Brought in to fill in is veteran Marco Sturm, who also has something to prove. Having had both of his knees surgically repaired in the last few years, he will be looking to regain the form that has seen him eclipse the 20-goal mark seven times in his NHL career. He also brings some defensive responsibility in his game, so look for him to rome all over the lineup.
In goal, the song remains the same for the Canucks (for now). Roberto Luongo is back as the No. 1 man, and Cory Schneider returns as his backup. Both are capable of playing teriffic hockey, but this is a season where no matter what they do in the regular season, they will not earn praise. For both (moreso for Luongo), the real test will be when the playoffs begin again. In spite of leading the Canucks to the Final, Luongo still faces a great deal of questions with respect to his mental toughness. (allowing 21 goals against in four losses in the Final will do that).
But overall, it's a new season. The journey begins anew, and for the Canucks, there is only one all-consuming goal: to get the storybook ending that eluded them in June. To get back to the Stanley Cup Final and, this time, skate off with the trophy in hand.
And it all begins this week. It's about time.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Go Your Own Way
Some people might expect me to be disappointed with the game last night. The reality is exactly the opposite. The only thing I am tremendously disappointed with is the idiots who spilled into the streets of Vancouver last night and began rioting. It was shameful, disgusting and horrifying to witness. Out of that darkness, however, comes hope this morning: thousands of volunteers are arriving to clean up the mess, and thousands more on Facebook and Twitter have started campaigns of collecting photo and video evidence of the perpetrators to help police find, arrest and--hopefully--convict these fools for their terrible actions.
But truly, I am immensely proud of every member of the Vancouver Canucks. It's easy to dissect the team after an emotional loss, to declare that it's time to blow up the core, fire the coach, replace the GM, trade half the players, and so on and so forth.
There will be some changes this off-season, no doubt--but they will be very minor. Because lost in the emotion of a heartbreaking Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Final is the fact that this year was and is the greatest season the Vancouver Canucks have ever had in their 40 year history. The list of accolades isn't small--the Vancouver Canucks were Northwest Division Champions. They also won the President's Trophy for having the No. 1 record through the regular season. They were Western Conference Champions, representing the West in the Stanley Cup Final. The individual accolades are numerous as well--Mike Gillis has been nominated for Executive of the Year. Ryan Kesler has been nominated, and is expected to win, the Frank J. Selke Trophy (best two-way player). Daniel Sedin has won the Art Ross Trophy(league's leading scorer) and is a nominee for both the Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP) and the Ted Lindsay Trophy (MVP as voted by the players). Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider split the William M. Jennings Trophy(lowest goals against) and Luongo is a nominee for the Vezina Trophy(best goaltender). Daniel and Henrik Sedin are joint nominees for the NHL's Foundation Player Award (recognition of charitable work and contributions).
This was an amazing year. The Vancouver Canucks slayed their demon in the Chicago Blackhawks and took us on a wonderful ride to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. They won a great many games on home ice in this playoff run, giving all of Vancouver something to celebrate about. The injuries that this team persevered through on this Cup run are beginning to trickle to light. They include, but are not limited too: an abdominal tear for Tanner Glass, sports hernia surgery for Mikael Samuelsson, more eye surgery for Manny Malhotra, an abdominal tear for Dan Hamhis, a torn groin and a torn labrum for Ryan Kesler, two broken fingers for Alex Edler, a broken foot for Chris Higgins...the list will go on. We haven't even gotten to the Sedin Twins yet, but the list of the walking wounded is astounding.
These guys gave it their all and gave us a teriffic season. They now get to take a short, well-earned break before gearing up for what will hopefully be an amazing encore in the 2011/2012 season.
Thank you to the Vancouver Canucks for an amazing year, it was a hell of a ride.
But truly, I am immensely proud of every member of the Vancouver Canucks. It's easy to dissect the team after an emotional loss, to declare that it's time to blow up the core, fire the coach, replace the GM, trade half the players, and so on and so forth.
There will be some changes this off-season, no doubt--but they will be very minor. Because lost in the emotion of a heartbreaking Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Final is the fact that this year was and is the greatest season the Vancouver Canucks have ever had in their 40 year history. The list of accolades isn't small--the Vancouver Canucks were Northwest Division Champions. They also won the President's Trophy for having the No. 1 record through the regular season. They were Western Conference Champions, representing the West in the Stanley Cup Final. The individual accolades are numerous as well--Mike Gillis has been nominated for Executive of the Year. Ryan Kesler has been nominated, and is expected to win, the Frank J. Selke Trophy (best two-way player). Daniel Sedin has won the Art Ross Trophy(league's leading scorer) and is a nominee for both the Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP) and the Ted Lindsay Trophy (MVP as voted by the players). Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider split the William M. Jennings Trophy(lowest goals against) and Luongo is a nominee for the Vezina Trophy(best goaltender). Daniel and Henrik Sedin are joint nominees for the NHL's Foundation Player Award (recognition of charitable work and contributions).
This was an amazing year. The Vancouver Canucks slayed their demon in the Chicago Blackhawks and took us on a wonderful ride to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. They won a great many games on home ice in this playoff run, giving all of Vancouver something to celebrate about. The injuries that this team persevered through on this Cup run are beginning to trickle to light. They include, but are not limited too: an abdominal tear for Tanner Glass, sports hernia surgery for Mikael Samuelsson, more eye surgery for Manny Malhotra, an abdominal tear for Dan Hamhis, a torn groin and a torn labrum for Ryan Kesler, two broken fingers for Alex Edler, a broken foot for Chris Higgins...the list will go on. We haven't even gotten to the Sedin Twins yet, but the list of the walking wounded is astounding.
These guys gave it their all and gave us a teriffic season. They now get to take a short, well-earned break before gearing up for what will hopefully be an amazing encore in the 2011/2012 season.
Thank you to the Vancouver Canucks for an amazing year, it was a hell of a ride.
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Stairway to Heaven
And then there was one.
June 15, 2011 will mark the final game of the 2010/2011 NHL season, one way or another. Whether it's the Vancouver Canucks or the Boston Bruins that ultimately hoist the Stanley Cup over their heads, this season ends tonight. It has been a long and winding road for the Vancouver Canucks, but they have found themselves as close to the Stanley Cup as this franchise has ever come.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs began on April 14. Two months plus one day later, and the Vancouver Canucks have been through an awful lot. In the first round, they drew their arch-nemesis Chicago Blackhawks. After walking through the first half of the series to stake a 3-0 lead, the Canucks looked to be ready to punch an easy ticket to the 2nd round. But then the Blackhawks mounted a counter-attack, forcing a decisive Game 7 at Rogers Arena. All eyes were on Canuck goaltender Roberto Luongo to see how he would fare under the pressure. He delivered and so did his teammates, as Alexandre Burrows' overtime slapshot over the shoulder of Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford ended the Blackhawks' three-year reign of torment and propelled the Canucks into the second round.
Things didn't get much easier from there. The scrappy Nashville Predators and the towering figure of goaltender Pekka Rinne awaited the Canucks. This time, the eyes of the hockey world were on Ryan Kesler who single-handedly dominated the Predators in one of the most amazing one-series performances the Canucks franchise has ever seen. 11 points in 6 games, plus being in on 11 of the Canucks' 14 goals in that series were all eye-popping figures.
The San Jose Sharks waited for the Canucks next, and the Sedin Show began. Not to be outdone by his American counterpart, Henrik Sedin racked up a whopping 12 points in just 5 games against the San Jose Sharks, as he and brother Daniel Sedin ran roughshod over the Stanley Cup hopefuls from California. Kevin Bieksa also came to the fore with some clutch offense, ultimately scoring the goal that sent this team to the Final for the first time in 17 years.
And now, it's the Boston Bruins. It has been a strange series, with the home team taking every game thus far. The games at Rogers Arena have been nailbiters, all being decided by 1-goal and two of the three being shutouts for Roberto Luongo. Just the opposite has held true when the series shifted to Boston, where the Bruins outscored the Canucks by a combined 17-3 and Roberto Luongo was relegated to the bench twice.
It has been a long two months. The Canucks have lost soldiers along the way. Mikael Samuelsson went down in the second round to a season-ending sports hernia injury that required surgery. Steady Dan Hamhuis has been MIA since Game 1 of the Final with a mysterious injury. And then the worst of them all, Mason Raymond suffering a broken back in Boston in Game 6.
They have lost more over the years. Many a Canuck gets lost in thought when the name "Luc Bourdon" is mentioned. The affable and friendly Canucks' defender who was killed in a motorcycle crash back in 2008. He is never far from the minds of his teammates, especially now with the ultimate goal for any hockey player within reach.
They have faced tremendous adversity. In Games 4 and 5 against Chicago, they were outscored 12-2. Roberto Luongo didn't even start Game 6, with Alain Vigneault opting to start Cory Schneider. But Luongo came back in Game 7, making 31 saves while only allowing 1 goal. They faced adversity in this series against the Bruins, where after being outscored 12-1 in Games 3 and 4 in Boston, Roberto Luongo bounced back with a 31-save shutout while Maxim Lapierre provided the game's only goal.
For two months, this team has persevered through loss, controversy, pressure and more, all in the search of a dream. It's the dream of every player who ever plays the game: to lift the Stanley Cup over your head.
Tonight doesn't just represent the end of the 2010/2011 season, it represents the last time that this group of players will hit the ice as a team. It's a sad fact of the NHL that every team has changing faces from year to year. On this year's team alone, unrestricted free agents include Raffi Torres, Christopher Higgins, Sami Salo, Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, Andrew Alberts, and Tanner Glass.
Not all of these players will be brought back. Not all of them may even play next year; Sami Salo is 36-years-old and has an impressive compilation of injuries. After the long grind to reach this moment, this may just be the final stop on the journey of his career.
The Canucks need to take a good, long look around their dressing room. The chance doesn't come very often. The chance to win the Stanley Cup is a rare gift indeed. 17 years ago, when the Canucks last made the Final, they had two franchise cornerstones: Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure. Linden was 25 years old, and Bure was 24 years old. Both young by any standard. When they came away from Game 7 against the New York Rangers, some conventional wisdom suggested that they had their whole careers ahead of them to get another chance.
But they never did. Bure retired 9 years later, Linden 14 years later. Neither of them came close to winning that coveted Cup ever again.
The chance doesn't come very often. For many of these players, it may in fact never come again. That's a sobering reality that they need to think long and hard about.
The bottom line is that these men, these hockey players, these Vancouver Canucks, cannot leave anything in the dressing room. They must lay everything they've got on the ice, they must fight with every stride of their skates and they must push with every ounce of their intensity. We've seen their will bend, but never break in this Stanley Cup playoff, and they can ill afford to start that now.
To a man, the Vancouver Canucks need to play the game of their lives tonight. Trends, statistics, history, patterns, superstitions, doubt, controversy--none of that matters now. All that matters when the puck drops tonight is the Game. 60 minutes of the hardest hockey anyone will ever play is what seperates the Vancovuer Canucks from the biggest prize in the game.
Win or lose, they should be incredibly proud of what they have accomplished to this point. I know I am.
But they call the Stanley Cup the most difficult trophy to win in all of professional sports for a reason. To quote Bruce Cockburn, "nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight". The Canucks need to seize the opportunity in front of them and step up, stand up, and play like Champions.
Tonight, they need to become Champions in every sense of the word.
They need to do it in Vancouver, on June 15, 2011. They need to make history.
Go Canucks Go.
June 15, 2011 will mark the final game of the 2010/2011 NHL season, one way or another. Whether it's the Vancouver Canucks or the Boston Bruins that ultimately hoist the Stanley Cup over their heads, this season ends tonight. It has been a long and winding road for the Vancouver Canucks, but they have found themselves as close to the Stanley Cup as this franchise has ever come.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs began on April 14. Two months plus one day later, and the Vancouver Canucks have been through an awful lot. In the first round, they drew their arch-nemesis Chicago Blackhawks. After walking through the first half of the series to stake a 3-0 lead, the Canucks looked to be ready to punch an easy ticket to the 2nd round. But then the Blackhawks mounted a counter-attack, forcing a decisive Game 7 at Rogers Arena. All eyes were on Canuck goaltender Roberto Luongo to see how he would fare under the pressure. He delivered and so did his teammates, as Alexandre Burrows' overtime slapshot over the shoulder of Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford ended the Blackhawks' three-year reign of torment and propelled the Canucks into the second round.
Things didn't get much easier from there. The scrappy Nashville Predators and the towering figure of goaltender Pekka Rinne awaited the Canucks. This time, the eyes of the hockey world were on Ryan Kesler who single-handedly dominated the Predators in one of the most amazing one-series performances the Canucks franchise has ever seen. 11 points in 6 games, plus being in on 11 of the Canucks' 14 goals in that series were all eye-popping figures.
The San Jose Sharks waited for the Canucks next, and the Sedin Show began. Not to be outdone by his American counterpart, Henrik Sedin racked up a whopping 12 points in just 5 games against the San Jose Sharks, as he and brother Daniel Sedin ran roughshod over the Stanley Cup hopefuls from California. Kevin Bieksa also came to the fore with some clutch offense, ultimately scoring the goal that sent this team to the Final for the first time in 17 years.
And now, it's the Boston Bruins. It has been a strange series, with the home team taking every game thus far. The games at Rogers Arena have been nailbiters, all being decided by 1-goal and two of the three being shutouts for Roberto Luongo. Just the opposite has held true when the series shifted to Boston, where the Bruins outscored the Canucks by a combined 17-3 and Roberto Luongo was relegated to the bench twice.
It has been a long two months. The Canucks have lost soldiers along the way. Mikael Samuelsson went down in the second round to a season-ending sports hernia injury that required surgery. Steady Dan Hamhuis has been MIA since Game 1 of the Final with a mysterious injury. And then the worst of them all, Mason Raymond suffering a broken back in Boston in Game 6.
They have lost more over the years. Many a Canuck gets lost in thought when the name "Luc Bourdon" is mentioned. The affable and friendly Canucks' defender who was killed in a motorcycle crash back in 2008. He is never far from the minds of his teammates, especially now with the ultimate goal for any hockey player within reach.
They have faced tremendous adversity. In Games 4 and 5 against Chicago, they were outscored 12-2. Roberto Luongo didn't even start Game 6, with Alain Vigneault opting to start Cory Schneider. But Luongo came back in Game 7, making 31 saves while only allowing 1 goal. They faced adversity in this series against the Bruins, where after being outscored 12-1 in Games 3 and 4 in Boston, Roberto Luongo bounced back with a 31-save shutout while Maxim Lapierre provided the game's only goal.
For two months, this team has persevered through loss, controversy, pressure and more, all in the search of a dream. It's the dream of every player who ever plays the game: to lift the Stanley Cup over your head.
Tonight doesn't just represent the end of the 2010/2011 season, it represents the last time that this group of players will hit the ice as a team. It's a sad fact of the NHL that every team has changing faces from year to year. On this year's team alone, unrestricted free agents include Raffi Torres, Christopher Higgins, Sami Salo, Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, Andrew Alberts, and Tanner Glass.
Not all of these players will be brought back. Not all of them may even play next year; Sami Salo is 36-years-old and has an impressive compilation of injuries. After the long grind to reach this moment, this may just be the final stop on the journey of his career.
The Canucks need to take a good, long look around their dressing room. The chance doesn't come very often. The chance to win the Stanley Cup is a rare gift indeed. 17 years ago, when the Canucks last made the Final, they had two franchise cornerstones: Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure. Linden was 25 years old, and Bure was 24 years old. Both young by any standard. When they came away from Game 7 against the New York Rangers, some conventional wisdom suggested that they had their whole careers ahead of them to get another chance.
But they never did. Bure retired 9 years later, Linden 14 years later. Neither of them came close to winning that coveted Cup ever again.
The chance doesn't come very often. For many of these players, it may in fact never come again. That's a sobering reality that they need to think long and hard about.
The bottom line is that these men, these hockey players, these Vancouver Canucks, cannot leave anything in the dressing room. They must lay everything they've got on the ice, they must fight with every stride of their skates and they must push with every ounce of their intensity. We've seen their will bend, but never break in this Stanley Cup playoff, and they can ill afford to start that now.
To a man, the Vancouver Canucks need to play the game of their lives tonight. Trends, statistics, history, patterns, superstitions, doubt, controversy--none of that matters now. All that matters when the puck drops tonight is the Game. 60 minutes of the hardest hockey anyone will ever play is what seperates the Vancovuer Canucks from the biggest prize in the game.
Win or lose, they should be incredibly proud of what they have accomplished to this point. I know I am.
But they call the Stanley Cup the most difficult trophy to win in all of professional sports for a reason. To quote Bruce Cockburn, "nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight". The Canucks need to seize the opportunity in front of them and step up, stand up, and play like Champions.
Tonight, they need to become Champions in every sense of the word.
They need to do it in Vancouver, on June 15, 2011. They need to make history.
Go Canucks Go.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Two Minutes to Midnight
Dissecting last night's game is a difficult task. In trying to piece through it bit by bit with a scalpel, I almost become enraged and tempted to carve the memories of last night's game into a million unrecognizable pieces, never to be spoken of or thought of ever again. Alas, if it were only that easy.
I am once again going to offer full disclosure, something I wish many of the "unbiased" talking heads in the media would do from time to time. I'm a Canucks fan through and through, and I definitely see the world through Canuck coloured glasses. I like to think I can be a fairly objective hockey fan, but first and foremost, I am a Canucks fan.
To say I was baffled by the combination of the officials, the league and the media's approach to last night's game would be putting it delicately. I was left shaking my head after the game last night, completely frustrated with the way this game was called.
It started in the first twenty seconds of the game and it didn't let up. But let's isolate what happened to poor Mason Raymond, who has a compression fracture in a vertebrae in his spine as a result of a dangerous and awkward hit by Bruins' defensemen Johnny Boychuk. Boychuk got his stick between Raymond's legs, Raymond's head between Boychuk's legs, and then drove him forcefully backwards into the boards, ending Raymond's 2010/2011 season with his play.
I can't necessarilly blame the officials for not calling a penalty on this play (although I will blame them for a littany of other atrocious non-calls and calls in just a moment). It took quite a while before a replay even surfaced of exactly what occurred. Everyone was confused, because the hit happened away from the play as Raymond and Boychuk got tangled up going to the corner. The puck came back in and Raymond was already lying prone, unmoving on the ice, to which the Boston faithful started to chant "flopper". (I'll come back to that in a moment, too)
I do not believe Boychuk had any malicious intent. He was finishing a check. But it's a funny thing; I said the exact same thing when Aaron Rome flattened Nathan Horton, too. So how exactly is it that Aaron Rome, he who had never had a disciplinary hearing in his short NHL career nevermind a suspension, had the proverbial book thrown at him with the longest suspension in the history of the Stanley Cup Final, while Johnny Boychuk is getting off scott-free for breaking vertebrae in Mason Raymond's back?
Bias and conspiracy be damned, there is most certainly a double standard at play here. Rome was a journeyman player who hit a star, and he was punished accordingly. Boychuk and Raymond are two middling players so there was no massive outcry for justice, at least not outside of Canuck nation. Noted moron Glen Healy, of CBC, even went so far as to state--ludicrously--that Mason Raymond "had his head down" and got hit cleanly.
I beg your pardon? Of course Raymond's head was down, you pedantic little idiot. It was jammed between Boychuk's legs!
The most bitter pill to swallow here, however, is that the NHL will not be reviewing this matter further. So I ask again if this sounds familiar--a player with no malicious intent attempting to finish his check does so in questionable fashion and, unfortunately, a player got hurt. So I ask again--how does Aaron Rome get the book thrown at him while Johnny Boychuk gets nothing?
Maybe it is Mason Raymond's fault. Maybe it's his fault for not being a star player, a big point producer like Nathan Horton. Maybe if he was, there would be more outrage. But as it is right now, Boychuk is skating on free of the short, shrivelled arm of the NHL law. Hypocrisy.
I wish I could say that I felt the poor calls on the night ended there. Zdeno Chara and Henrik Sedin got tangled up a short while later. Chara sent Henrik Sedin crashing to the ice with a bodily shove. It was somewhat akin to watching a gorilla swat a fly. The whistle went and, one assumed, the Canucks would go to the power play.
Except Henrik got called for "diving". I beg your pardon? A wookie slams Henrik Sedin to the ice and he gets called for diving?
It's an interesting world. I can somewhat understand that they offset both Chara and Sedin; they are both star players, it's not taking them both off is a lopsided tradeoff. But let's flash forward to later in the game to when Brad Marchand had ahold of Daniel Sedin and proceeded to punch the NHL's Art Ross Trophy winner and Hart Trophy finalist in the face approximately seven times.
The result? No call.
Imagine if the table was turned and Alexandre Burrows or Maxim Lapierre grabbed David Krejci and proceeded to punch him in the face seven times. The outrage! The nerve! The shock!
But no, a rookie shift disturber for the Bruins slugs the NHL's leading scorer and potential MVP seven times and it doesn't even warrant a foot note in the writings and ramblings of the talking heads around the league. If a Canuck player did it, it's horrible/disgraceful/terrible, but a Bruins player does it and it's a "good hockey play" and perfectly acceptable to the officials, the league and the fans.
Not to sound like a broken record, but again, it's a double standard. Just like the Bruins fans chanting "flopper" after Mason Raymond was sent into the boards, fracturing his vertebrae. Not even a mention of the complete lack of compassion, care and class of the Bruins faithful. Not a peep. But lo and behold if it happened in Rogers Arena--Vancouver fans would be called the worst in professional sports, not just the NHL.
I wrote a piece the other day on how the Canucks were the mosted hated team and fanbase in the NHL and wrote "do we really give a damn?" The answer is still no. I really don't care if we're hated. What I do give a damn about is that the game is called fairly, and that means knocking the halos off the heads of the Boston Bruins. They have been just as dirty, cheap and disgusting as the lowest moments of the Vancouver Canucks in this series, but not a peep gets written about them.
Topping it off with listening to morons like Glen Healy talk about how "the officials have not been a factor" in this series just makes it all the more difficult to swallow. How idiot, marginal NHL players like Healy get coveted positions as "hockey analysts" is simply astounding. First we have to listen to Mike Milbury's misogynistic and sexist rantings with respect to the Sedin Twins, now we have to listen to Healy try and defend the incompetent and ludicrous officiating that has been front and center in this series.
What are these men's qualifications? In Milbury's case, he is noted for two things--climbing into an audience and beating a man with his own shoe, and being one of the worst General Managers in the history of the National Hockey League. And they let this idiot have a microphone and air time?
And Glen Healy was a marginal backup goaltender at best. Have I missed some sort of background or pedigree that qualifies him to be a TV personality?
It's adding insult to injury when the calls on the ice are pathetic enough, but then we have to top it off by listening to the inane ramblings of marginal hockey players turned worse broadcasters.
I will fully focus on the setup for Game 7 tomorrow, but today I am simply left shaking my head. I do not think the Canucks were truly awful in Boston last night. A disastrous first period sunk them, but there were positives to take away, such as outscoring the Bruins in the 3rd period 2-1. The Canucks also missed a glut of open-net opportunities, a recurring theme through this series. They seem to always miss the puck/miss the net/break the stick whatever the screw-up du jour at the moment is.
But of course, the media will continue their love-in with "likeable" Tim Thomas. Credit where credit is due--he has made some fine saves in this series, but he has also been absurdly lucky that the Canucks have not capitalized on any of the various open net chances that they have had.
One last thing that really gets my goat. It's like deja vu all over again, but it needs to be said once again: I cannot believe, for the life of me, that there are people still questioning just who should start Game 7. Do we suffer from short-term memory loss, or are we just stupid? Roberto Luongo rebounded from the two worst games of his life to take on Game 7 against Chicago and win. He did it again, rebounding after two awful games in Boston to win Game 5 on home ice in this Stanley Cup Final. All the man does is bounce back from controversy, and I am 100% confident he will do it again in the Stanley Cup Final. And for those fans who turn on him over the course of one game, step back and chill out. You don't win every game, and not every loss is going to be flattering. This man has gotten us this far, and I remain confident in his ability to bring this thing home tomorrow.
The Canucks need to salvage what they can from last night. They need to take solace in the fact that the Sedins--finally--hit the scoresheet. They need to remember that apart from a 10-minute span in the first period, they outplayed and outscored the Bruins. They need to remember that they had a littany of offensive opportunities that they simply didn't capitalize on.
They also need to remember their comrades who have fallen in this final, or on the way here: Mikael Samuelsson, Dan Hamhuis, Aaron Rome and now Mason Raymond--important foot soldiers who all played big roles to get here, but now due to a combination of injury and suspension, are unable to fight the greatest fight of their lives tomorrow night.
The Canucks need to remember all of this, in addition to the preposterous calls of the league and the media, and play the game of their lives tomorrow.
But we'll talk more about that then. For the moment, I am disgusted with the league as well as the media.
I am once again going to offer full disclosure, something I wish many of the "unbiased" talking heads in the media would do from time to time. I'm a Canucks fan through and through, and I definitely see the world through Canuck coloured glasses. I like to think I can be a fairly objective hockey fan, but first and foremost, I am a Canucks fan.
To say I was baffled by the combination of the officials, the league and the media's approach to last night's game would be putting it delicately. I was left shaking my head after the game last night, completely frustrated with the way this game was called.
It started in the first twenty seconds of the game and it didn't let up. But let's isolate what happened to poor Mason Raymond, who has a compression fracture in a vertebrae in his spine as a result of a dangerous and awkward hit by Bruins' defensemen Johnny Boychuk. Boychuk got his stick between Raymond's legs, Raymond's head between Boychuk's legs, and then drove him forcefully backwards into the boards, ending Raymond's 2010/2011 season with his play.
I can't necessarilly blame the officials for not calling a penalty on this play (although I will blame them for a littany of other atrocious non-calls and calls in just a moment). It took quite a while before a replay even surfaced of exactly what occurred. Everyone was confused, because the hit happened away from the play as Raymond and Boychuk got tangled up going to the corner. The puck came back in and Raymond was already lying prone, unmoving on the ice, to which the Boston faithful started to chant "flopper". (I'll come back to that in a moment, too)
I do not believe Boychuk had any malicious intent. He was finishing a check. But it's a funny thing; I said the exact same thing when Aaron Rome flattened Nathan Horton, too. So how exactly is it that Aaron Rome, he who had never had a disciplinary hearing in his short NHL career nevermind a suspension, had the proverbial book thrown at him with the longest suspension in the history of the Stanley Cup Final, while Johnny Boychuk is getting off scott-free for breaking vertebrae in Mason Raymond's back?
Bias and conspiracy be damned, there is most certainly a double standard at play here. Rome was a journeyman player who hit a star, and he was punished accordingly. Boychuk and Raymond are two middling players so there was no massive outcry for justice, at least not outside of Canuck nation. Noted moron Glen Healy, of CBC, even went so far as to state--ludicrously--that Mason Raymond "had his head down" and got hit cleanly.
I beg your pardon? Of course Raymond's head was down, you pedantic little idiot. It was jammed between Boychuk's legs!
The most bitter pill to swallow here, however, is that the NHL will not be reviewing this matter further. So I ask again if this sounds familiar--a player with no malicious intent attempting to finish his check does so in questionable fashion and, unfortunately, a player got hurt. So I ask again--how does Aaron Rome get the book thrown at him while Johnny Boychuk gets nothing?
Maybe it is Mason Raymond's fault. Maybe it's his fault for not being a star player, a big point producer like Nathan Horton. Maybe if he was, there would be more outrage. But as it is right now, Boychuk is skating on free of the short, shrivelled arm of the NHL law. Hypocrisy.
I wish I could say that I felt the poor calls on the night ended there. Zdeno Chara and Henrik Sedin got tangled up a short while later. Chara sent Henrik Sedin crashing to the ice with a bodily shove. It was somewhat akin to watching a gorilla swat a fly. The whistle went and, one assumed, the Canucks would go to the power play.
Except Henrik got called for "diving". I beg your pardon? A wookie slams Henrik Sedin to the ice and he gets called for diving?
It's an interesting world. I can somewhat understand that they offset both Chara and Sedin; they are both star players, it's not taking them both off is a lopsided tradeoff. But let's flash forward to later in the game to when Brad Marchand had ahold of Daniel Sedin and proceeded to punch the NHL's Art Ross Trophy winner and Hart Trophy finalist in the face approximately seven times.
The result? No call.
Imagine if the table was turned and Alexandre Burrows or Maxim Lapierre grabbed David Krejci and proceeded to punch him in the face seven times. The outrage! The nerve! The shock!
But no, a rookie shift disturber for the Bruins slugs the NHL's leading scorer and potential MVP seven times and it doesn't even warrant a foot note in the writings and ramblings of the talking heads around the league. If a Canuck player did it, it's horrible/disgraceful/terrible, but a Bruins player does it and it's a "good hockey play" and perfectly acceptable to the officials, the league and the fans.
Not to sound like a broken record, but again, it's a double standard. Just like the Bruins fans chanting "flopper" after Mason Raymond was sent into the boards, fracturing his vertebrae. Not even a mention of the complete lack of compassion, care and class of the Bruins faithful. Not a peep. But lo and behold if it happened in Rogers Arena--Vancouver fans would be called the worst in professional sports, not just the NHL.
I wrote a piece the other day on how the Canucks were the mosted hated team and fanbase in the NHL and wrote "do we really give a damn?" The answer is still no. I really don't care if we're hated. What I do give a damn about is that the game is called fairly, and that means knocking the halos off the heads of the Boston Bruins. They have been just as dirty, cheap and disgusting as the lowest moments of the Vancouver Canucks in this series, but not a peep gets written about them.
Topping it off with listening to morons like Glen Healy talk about how "the officials have not been a factor" in this series just makes it all the more difficult to swallow. How idiot, marginal NHL players like Healy get coveted positions as "hockey analysts" is simply astounding. First we have to listen to Mike Milbury's misogynistic and sexist rantings with respect to the Sedin Twins, now we have to listen to Healy try and defend the incompetent and ludicrous officiating that has been front and center in this series.
What are these men's qualifications? In Milbury's case, he is noted for two things--climbing into an audience and beating a man with his own shoe, and being one of the worst General Managers in the history of the National Hockey League. And they let this idiot have a microphone and air time?
And Glen Healy was a marginal backup goaltender at best. Have I missed some sort of background or pedigree that qualifies him to be a TV personality?
It's adding insult to injury when the calls on the ice are pathetic enough, but then we have to top it off by listening to the inane ramblings of marginal hockey players turned worse broadcasters.
I will fully focus on the setup for Game 7 tomorrow, but today I am simply left shaking my head. I do not think the Canucks were truly awful in Boston last night. A disastrous first period sunk them, but there were positives to take away, such as outscoring the Bruins in the 3rd period 2-1. The Canucks also missed a glut of open-net opportunities, a recurring theme through this series. They seem to always miss the puck/miss the net/break the stick whatever the screw-up du jour at the moment is.
But of course, the media will continue their love-in with "likeable" Tim Thomas. Credit where credit is due--he has made some fine saves in this series, but he has also been absurdly lucky that the Canucks have not capitalized on any of the various open net chances that they have had.
One last thing that really gets my goat. It's like deja vu all over again, but it needs to be said once again: I cannot believe, for the life of me, that there are people still questioning just who should start Game 7. Do we suffer from short-term memory loss, or are we just stupid? Roberto Luongo rebounded from the two worst games of his life to take on Game 7 against Chicago and win. He did it again, rebounding after two awful games in Boston to win Game 5 on home ice in this Stanley Cup Final. All the man does is bounce back from controversy, and I am 100% confident he will do it again in the Stanley Cup Final. And for those fans who turn on him over the course of one game, step back and chill out. You don't win every game, and not every loss is going to be flattering. This man has gotten us this far, and I remain confident in his ability to bring this thing home tomorrow.
The Canucks need to salvage what they can from last night. They need to take solace in the fact that the Sedins--finally--hit the scoresheet. They need to remember that apart from a 10-minute span in the first period, they outplayed and outscored the Bruins. They need to remember that they had a littany of offensive opportunities that they simply didn't capitalize on.
They also need to remember their comrades who have fallen in this final, or on the way here: Mikael Samuelsson, Dan Hamhuis, Aaron Rome and now Mason Raymond--important foot soldiers who all played big roles to get here, but now due to a combination of injury and suspension, are unable to fight the greatest fight of their lives tomorrow night.
The Canucks need to remember all of this, in addition to the preposterous calls of the league and the media, and play the game of their lives tomorrow.
But we'll talk more about that then. For the moment, I am disgusted with the league as well as the media.
Monday, 13 June 2011
Break on Through
June 13, 2011 is a day that every single person inside of Canuck Nation is hoping against hope will become a historic day for the Vancouver Canucks and their fanbase.
Tonight in Boston, the Canucks have a chance to do what their franchise has never accomplished in 40 years. They have a chance to accomplish what no team from Vancouver has accomplished since 1915. That's right. For the first time in 96 years, a hockey team from Vancouver will have the chance to win a Stanley Cup.
The Canucks enter this game coming off a roller coaster of a series that has had more than its share of twists and turns. After two gut-check victories in Games 1 and 2 that made the Canucks look like a team of destiny, they got ventilated in Games 3 and 4 in Boston by a resurgent Bruins team. Calls for goaltender Roberto Luongo not to start in Game 5 were heard, but then he bounced back in tremendous fashion by posting a 1-0 shutout victory in Game 5 to put the Canuck on the precipice of glory.
The storylines don't stop there. It's been well publicized that tonight's game could almost represent a story coming full circle for Daniel and Henrik Sedin. For it was Boston's home building, the TD Banknorth Arena, where the Sedin Twins were first drafted as fresh-faced teenagers by the Vancouver Canucks back in 1999. They now have the chance to win the franchise's first ever championship in that same building.
Meanwhile, Ryan Kesler is simply looking for a win. The 2009/2010 season wasn't too kind to Kesler. He was one of the best players on Team USA during the 2010 Olympics, but ultimately had to settle for silver as they lost to Canada in the gold medal game. His Canucks were then trounced in the second round by the arch-nemesis Chicago Blackhawks. He then went on to lose by the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best two-way forward to Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, by only a handful of votes.
Kesler needs to win something, and tonight he gets a chance to do just that. He looked rejuvenated in Game 5. It's not secret that he was injured in the climax of the Western Conference Final. While he had a strong first game of this series--setting up Raffi Torres' dramatic winner--he faded badly in the subsequent games. Yet in a must-win Game 5 on home ice, he looked like the man who defeated the Nashville Predators single handedly, the man who shut down Jonathan Toews in the first round. He didn't hit the score sheet, but he did everything else short of playing goal.
And how about Roberto Luongo? The man with one of the most bizarre love-hate relationships with fans and media that I have ever seen. His highs are so high--he becomes a media darling, is considered one of the best goaltenders in the league (if not on the planet) and the chants of "Luuuu" are sang with adoration. But the lows reach almost submarine-like levels in depth, as the questions of his mental fortitude roll in, whether or not he can lead a team to a championship, do teams win in spite of him rather than because of him, and are the Canucks better suited playing their backup and then dealing Luongo in the off-season.
All of this for a guy who, really, has proven himself a winner in every sense of the word. I've talked about his international resume before, but just to recap--a World Cup of Hockey Gold, two World Hockey Championship Golds and an Olympic Gold medal. He has also been nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender three times, twice has been a 2nd Team All-Star and he shared the William M. Jennings Trophy this year with backup Cory Schneider for the fewest goals allowed.
The guy is good. And if there was still any lingering doubt, he put a stamp on it with his performance in Game 5. But really and truly, the questions will still linger until he hoists a Stanley Cup over his head.
Which brings us back to tonight. The Canucks have been a quiet bunch when it comes to what motivates them. Be it Luongo's walks along the seawalls, Alexandre Burrows getting lost in thought thinking about his fallen teammate Luc Bourdon, Ryan Kesler wanting to win anything in sight, or Sami Salo perhaps having his last, best chance to win hockey's holy grail, they remain a tight-lipped bunch about it.
But make no mistake, they know that the Stanley Cup is in the building tonight. None will see it early in the game--it will remain hidden in the bowls of the TD Banknorth Garden, waiting to be unveiled should the Canucks emerge victorious. But to borrow a Star Wars reference, the Canucks will know it is there. They will sense its presence. To a man, no one who dresses for the Vancouver Canucks tonight has ever won that Cup. The only players on the team who have--Mikael Samuelsson and Aaron Rome--have been lost due to injury and suspension. For everyone except Raffi Torres, this will represent the first game ever that they have had a chance to win the Cup. Torres' last chance was 5 years ago in Game 7 when, as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, he lost his chance to win the grail.
The Canucks have been quiet about what motivates them, but make no mistake. They will feel the presence of Lord Stanley's mug. They will feel the presence of perhaps the most iconic trophy in the history of professional sports, the most difficult trophy in all of sport to win.
It has been a long, gruelling two month grind. The puck dropped on the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs back on April 14th, and here the Canucks are, two months minus a day later with the ultimate prize in sight.
This is what motivates them. From the first time as toddlers that they grabbed a toddler-sized hockey stick to bat a tennis ball idly around their living room. The times where they beat, battered and bruised the shins of their parents and siblings by playing around on the floor or out in the road. The times where they became rep players, got drafted to junior or college teams. The days where they were either drafted to the NHL or signed as free agents. The days where they played in their first regular season games and the days where they played in their first playoff games. The days where they missed the playoffs and the days when they were acquired by the Vancouver Canucks. The days of this Stanley Cup run of 2011...all of this has lead to this moment.
This is the day that every single member of the Vancouver Canucks has dreamt of for their entire lives. The marking slogan for the Canucks right now is "This is what we live for".
This is what they've dreamed of.
And it's within reach. So go get it.
Tonight in Boston, the Canucks have a chance to do what their franchise has never accomplished in 40 years. They have a chance to accomplish what no team from Vancouver has accomplished since 1915. That's right. For the first time in 96 years, a hockey team from Vancouver will have the chance to win a Stanley Cup.
The Canucks enter this game coming off a roller coaster of a series that has had more than its share of twists and turns. After two gut-check victories in Games 1 and 2 that made the Canucks look like a team of destiny, they got ventilated in Games 3 and 4 in Boston by a resurgent Bruins team. Calls for goaltender Roberto Luongo not to start in Game 5 were heard, but then he bounced back in tremendous fashion by posting a 1-0 shutout victory in Game 5 to put the Canuck on the precipice of glory.
The storylines don't stop there. It's been well publicized that tonight's game could almost represent a story coming full circle for Daniel and Henrik Sedin. For it was Boston's home building, the TD Banknorth Arena, where the Sedin Twins were first drafted as fresh-faced teenagers by the Vancouver Canucks back in 1999. They now have the chance to win the franchise's first ever championship in that same building.
Meanwhile, Ryan Kesler is simply looking for a win. The 2009/2010 season wasn't too kind to Kesler. He was one of the best players on Team USA during the 2010 Olympics, but ultimately had to settle for silver as they lost to Canada in the gold medal game. His Canucks were then trounced in the second round by the arch-nemesis Chicago Blackhawks. He then went on to lose by the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best two-way forward to Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, by only a handful of votes.
Kesler needs to win something, and tonight he gets a chance to do just that. He looked rejuvenated in Game 5. It's not secret that he was injured in the climax of the Western Conference Final. While he had a strong first game of this series--setting up Raffi Torres' dramatic winner--he faded badly in the subsequent games. Yet in a must-win Game 5 on home ice, he looked like the man who defeated the Nashville Predators single handedly, the man who shut down Jonathan Toews in the first round. He didn't hit the score sheet, but he did everything else short of playing goal.
And how about Roberto Luongo? The man with one of the most bizarre love-hate relationships with fans and media that I have ever seen. His highs are so high--he becomes a media darling, is considered one of the best goaltenders in the league (if not on the planet) and the chants of "Luuuu" are sang with adoration. But the lows reach almost submarine-like levels in depth, as the questions of his mental fortitude roll in, whether or not he can lead a team to a championship, do teams win in spite of him rather than because of him, and are the Canucks better suited playing their backup and then dealing Luongo in the off-season.
All of this for a guy who, really, has proven himself a winner in every sense of the word. I've talked about his international resume before, but just to recap--a World Cup of Hockey Gold, two World Hockey Championship Golds and an Olympic Gold medal. He has also been nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender three times, twice has been a 2nd Team All-Star and he shared the William M. Jennings Trophy this year with backup Cory Schneider for the fewest goals allowed.
The guy is good. And if there was still any lingering doubt, he put a stamp on it with his performance in Game 5. But really and truly, the questions will still linger until he hoists a Stanley Cup over his head.
Which brings us back to tonight. The Canucks have been a quiet bunch when it comes to what motivates them. Be it Luongo's walks along the seawalls, Alexandre Burrows getting lost in thought thinking about his fallen teammate Luc Bourdon, Ryan Kesler wanting to win anything in sight, or Sami Salo perhaps having his last, best chance to win hockey's holy grail, they remain a tight-lipped bunch about it.
But make no mistake, they know that the Stanley Cup is in the building tonight. None will see it early in the game--it will remain hidden in the bowls of the TD Banknorth Garden, waiting to be unveiled should the Canucks emerge victorious. But to borrow a Star Wars reference, the Canucks will know it is there. They will sense its presence. To a man, no one who dresses for the Vancouver Canucks tonight has ever won that Cup. The only players on the team who have--Mikael Samuelsson and Aaron Rome--have been lost due to injury and suspension. For everyone except Raffi Torres, this will represent the first game ever that they have had a chance to win the Cup. Torres' last chance was 5 years ago in Game 7 when, as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, he lost his chance to win the grail.
The Canucks have been quiet about what motivates them, but make no mistake. They will feel the presence of Lord Stanley's mug. They will feel the presence of perhaps the most iconic trophy in the history of professional sports, the most difficult trophy in all of sport to win.
It has been a long, gruelling two month grind. The puck dropped on the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs back on April 14th, and here the Canucks are, two months minus a day later with the ultimate prize in sight.
This is what motivates them. From the first time as toddlers that they grabbed a toddler-sized hockey stick to bat a tennis ball idly around their living room. The times where they beat, battered and bruised the shins of their parents and siblings by playing around on the floor or out in the road. The times where they became rep players, got drafted to junior or college teams. The days where they were either drafted to the NHL or signed as free agents. The days where they played in their first regular season games and the days where they played in their first playoff games. The days where they missed the playoffs and the days when they were acquired by the Vancouver Canucks. The days of this Stanley Cup run of 2011...all of this has lead to this moment.
This is the day that every single member of the Vancouver Canucks has dreamt of for their entire lives. The marking slogan for the Canucks right now is "This is what we live for".
This is what they've dreamed of.
And it's within reach. So go get it.
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