Thanks to all that read this in it’s short and brief lifetime, who knows, The Blue Line Stand might live once again! You can read my blogs at http://canuckshockeyblog.com

See you all there!

Coming off game three where the Canucks faced their biggest challenge in a first period throttling that saw them spend half the period on the penalty kill. That’s where the X Factor shone brightest. Johnson in particular was key to shutting down the Blues and literally surviving a first period that could have broke the game wide open and let St. Louis back into the series.

If the Canucks plan on going far in this year’s playoffs they are going to need something that they haven’t had all season, that X Factor, the third line. In the first 3 games of the playoffs so far it’s been overwhelmingly clear that the Canucks have come to play. With a handful of Canucks playing in their first career playoffs the excitement hasn’t dried up yet and that’s really paying off for the Canucks.

Bernier has been showing hustle and speed that no one thought possible from him due to his play in the regular season. Raymond who we all knew could skate like the wind has been winning most races to the puck, especially on the penalty kill, and Wellwood’s play has improved exponentially since the Canucks played game one. Also, Rypien who’s been energized from his first game back is silently doing his thing. This third line is playing better than it has all year and I think that’s showing because Vigneault isn’t splitting them up very much.

Bernier’s quick reflexes got him a goal last night against the Blues as he handled a sweet, quick pass from Sedin to put it behind Mason who had no chance at all. Raymond and Wellwood along with Bernier are the key to a long run. When you look at the way the Sedins have made a statement, the way Kesler and Burrows have played as of late, and the leadership in the tending of Luongo, the last piece of the puzzle is if that third line of Bernier, Raymond and Wellwood can pull it together and play as consistently as they have recently. Wellwood’s itching for a goal and with the way he’s playing it’s only time before he gets one in the back of the net.

With primary scoring all figured out, Luongo looking more amazing than ever, and a defense that has once again regained its edge, we’re looking at a Canucks team that is more dangerous than this city has seen in years. With the energy and speed the 3^rd line has been playing with, and the clutch play of Ryan Johnson both in the faceoff dot and on the ice (shot blocking) right now the Canucks look to be without flaw as they head into tomorrow night with a chance to sweep the Blues at home and record their first every best of 7 series playoff sweep.

In a first period the Canucks were playing with shovels not hockey sticks as they were digging themselves deeper and deeper with the never ending parade to the penalty box. St. Louis’ desperation got them an early goal and the Canucks frustration led to a few penalties. I don’t remember so many 5 on 3 power plays for both teams in one game, well, ever. The interesting thing is after the Canucks made it out of the first period ONLY down one it seemed like the momentum was in the Canucks favour even though they’d been dominated all period and were down one.

The refs who seemed against the Canucks all game leveled the playing field with a series of calls in favour of the Canucks and the Canucks went to work. Special teams were the story of tonight. The Blues powerplay just couldn’t solve the Canucks no matter how many chances they got, no matter how many 5 on 3 chances they got. The 3 stars of the game should have read 1. Johnson, 2. Johnson, 3. Johnson. Ryan Johnson was easily one of the best Canucks on the ice and shot after shot he was going down and sacrificing his body as he saw 16 minutes of ice time which was amongst the Canucks minute loggers on the night.

Sundin was a healthy scratch in tonight’s game due to a “lower body injury” and as a result rookie Jannik Hansen got to lace up. Last game Kesler notched his first career playoff points and tonight Kevin “Boom Boom” Bieksa and Kyle Wellwood notched their first career playoff points on assists to powerplay goals by Ohlund and Daniel Sedin. The Canucks made good on their chances where St. Louis lacked. The Canucks killed all penalties and scored 3 powerplay goals making St. Louis pay for their mistakes. Again, their inexperience and frustration boiled over and after the go ahead powerplay goal just a minute and a half into the third period the Blues looked deflated. Their inability to convert on two lengthy 5 on 3 opportunities was their downfall. With over 5 minutes of 5 on 3 powerplay time the Blues haven’t scored once.

The Canucks go into game 4 on Tuesday against a Blues team that has their backs up against the wall. It’s do or die and Canucks fans no doubt will be out in force with the brooms hoping for a 4th straight playoff win and 6th straight win in a row.

The Canucks have never swept a best of 7 playoff series. They have one sweep in their franchise’s history and that was back in ’82 when the Canucks beat the Flames 3 games to none.

Now before this I had just had a conversation with some friends about pink jerseys. Naturally the two conversations melded and the first thought that came to mind was Luongo wearing hot pink pads.

This all started because I was rather frustrated at the number of pink jerseys I had seen while out and about. I completely understand selling pink jerseys in order to raise money for breast cancer, or donating monies raised from said jerseys to cancer research, but I can’t stand that there are teams that now market pink jerseys as “women’s apparel”.

Never has a team every had an official jersey, look at the Canucks, they’ve had their share of crazy jerseys, but there hasn’t been a singly drop of pink in any of them. (For those that want to argue it, the ’96 jerseys were red, not pink). I think the fact that teams are trying to market pink jersey’s as “women’s apparel” in an attempt to bring in a larger female fan base and make it seem ‘inclusive’ is actually counter productive. When you look at any of the fans, male or female, wearing normal jerseys of any vintage it makes the people in pink jersey’s stick out. When you Google “Women’s Hockey Jerseys” the first hit that comes up is a picture of a pink jersey. (http://is.gd/tlkH)

Marketing pink jersey’s as women’s apparel is playing on a large stereotype that many female fans (I base this on the fact that not a single female fan I know would caught dead in a pink jersey) just don’t fit into. If you want to argue stereotypes, the female that is all about being pretty in pink isn’t traditionally the female that falls into the sports fan category or hockey fan category. The female fans I know wear the team’s colours with pride. If the team colours included pink then I’m sure they’d wear pink, but until the Canucks pick pink as a colour in their jersey they’re proud to wear the team’s real colours!

At first when the jerseys were put out as a fund raising initiative for cancer research I was alright with that. A little. But now to see teams selling them as a marketing tool it frustrates me.

All that aside though, wouldn’t it be awesome to see Luongo in hot pink pads?

Believe in Blue!

87.3 – Percent of the time a team that leads 2-0 in a best-of-seven series has gone on to win. Teams that trail 2-0 in a best-of-seven series have won on just 37 occasions out of 291 times entering this year’s playoffs. The last team to rebound from a 2-0 series deficit to win was the Edmonton Oilers in the 2006 Western Conference Semi-Finals against the San Jose Sharks.

But numbers are numbers and while the odds are favorable the Canucks are going to be in tough tonight. Pavol Demitra said based on his time in St. Louis, “St. Louis is a great place to play. It was a huge fan base, always sold out, always loud.” The Canucks up 2-0 in this best of 7 series have a little less pressure on them to win tonight than the Blues do. The Canucks now have a potential 5 chances to win 2 games if they want to move on to the Western Conference Semi-Final.

Tonight the Blues are going to be desperate. In a series that has been exciting to watch so far the Blues have tried to get in the Canucks heads trying everything from chirping off at a faceoff, showering Luongo in snow and trying to push the Sedins around. This year our boys are ready, they’re on their game. St. Louis’ antics have been in vain as Luongo’s play, as he said, only gets better the more they try and “challenge him” with their attempts to throw him off his game.

Sundin made his first appearance on the playoff score sheet and a lot more is expected of the 6’5”, 231 lbs Swedish center. His early lack of success was excused because his playoff value was where the Canucks were supposed to really feel his presence. In the last few games of the regular season and the first two games of the playoffs Mats has certainly proven he’s saving the best for last. He’s been hustling with the rest of the team and if he keeps that up his veteran skill and presence is going to yield more than just his game 2 goal.

The Canucks have to come out flying and they proved they could do that in game 2 after the adrenaline had worn off so I don’t think they’ll have an issue doing that. Taking this series by the throat is in the Canucks best interest and not just because of the wrath of the bandwagon that they might face if they don’t. Paul Kariya skated practice with the Blues today and is still on pace for his return in game 4. If the Canucks give up this game, Kariya comes back and sparks the Blues to a game 4 victory then the Canucks could find themselves flying back from St. Louis in a series knotted at 2 apiece, a complete momentum reversal and the always brutal Vancouver media to contend with.

EDIT: Rumour has it Kariya might start as early as tonight in Game 3. Either way his return will spark the Blues no doubt and the Canucks need to be ready for that and come out firing on all cylinders.

“Goaltender Roberto Luongo (while getting help from some goal posts) has only allowed the one PP goal to Brad Boyes over his last four games.”

It’s quite fitting for the losing team to try and find anyway way to put down the other team, but how do you try and detract from Luongo’s fantastic play by implying the posts have helped him out so much. That’s slightly absurd because if you look at the other end of the ice Mason has been getting even more help from the post. I can’t stand people that don’t recognize players for their talent. He reeks of bitterness after the loss.

He THEN goes on to say that:

“Bieksa’s display is only one of the many ways Vancouver has cheapened the series.”

He talks about Vancouver Cheapening the series? This guy must be blind? St. Louis consistently snow showering Luongo and have been playing childish games and THEY have been cheapening the series. Their failed attempt to throw the Canucks off their game is just another sign that Vancouver is quite clearly the superior team and they can’t keep up.

You can read the guy’s article here http://is.gd/tbL1 and evaluate it yourself, but this is just another instance of ignorance and someone needs to remove this guy as a writer.

After playing a scoreless game for the first half of the game Mats Sundin stepped into the slot and tipped a puck from about waist high and got the first of the game past Chris Mason who stood on his head to give the Blues a chance and keep them in the game. The Canucks, in front of a sold out crowd of towel waving, Canuck rabid, yelling and screaming fans put on a show and did not disappoint. The Canucks played in the Blues end of the ice all night and the few chances the Blues go Luongo stepped up and shut them down.

After an arguably subpar season for Wellwood (after his hot start to the season), Demitra, and Bernier, it’s clear that the playoffs are a different story. The Canucks have been rolling four lines consistently and every single player is playing at a level they never reached in the regular season. The speed and hustle which was present in tonight’s game was a testament to that as Raymond, Bernier, and Demitra were amongst the hardest working Canucks on the night.

It’s safe to say however, that no other Canuck on the ice tonight was as hard working as the captain Roberto Luongo. He again showed that he was on top of his game and there was nothing that was going to slow him down these playoffs. While the game stayed scoreless, the Canucks defense took care of many of the Blues’ odd man rushes and anything Luongo faced he managed to turn away. He was making stops from all angles and managed to preserve the shutout with a number of acrobatics that equaled the heroics by Chris Mason at the other end of the ice. Luongo at one point in the game had stopped 134 of his previous 136 shots. His shutout marked his 3^rd shutout in his last 4 games and the first shutout by a Canucks goaltender in the playoffs since their playoff run in 1994. It was also Luongo’s first career post season shutout.

I was worried that after being high on the adrenaline overdose flowing through their veins in game one that the Canucks and Blues would skate a much more conservative game today, but the Canucks proved me wrong, and reaffirmed that they are not hoping to hit the golf courses early this year. They came out with determination in their stride and the level at which they maintained play it is clear that they’re physically, and mentally ready for a long playoff run. The Canucks now head to St. Louis for game three as they look to take a stranglehold on the series. It’s an early start 4pm PST and after some last minute heroics by Save on Foods, the games broadcast in St. Louis will be shown in HD thanks to their generous donation of $100,000 towards the rental of an HD mobile station for the broadcast of the games via CBC.

Game 2 is a different story. The rest of the series is a different story. Both teams were excited. Both teams were jumping and ecstatic and that was clear. The adrenaline was pumping through their veins like crazy but the telling part was about 5 minutes into the 3^rd period when their games slowed down a notch (not a whole lot, but a little) and we started seeing them play like the teams we saw in the regular season. Game one is over and the adrenaline is gone. The real test is now how the Canucks continue in the series. They need to take charge and dominate game 2. There is no option for otherwise. If they give up game 2 and settle for the split then all of a sudden it’s a new series and St. Louis then has home ice advantage.

GM Place was on fire, the Canucks were energized and it was awesome to see but the real test is going to come once the excitement of being back in the playoffs has waned and the teams realize the reality of their situation. It’s do or die right now and everyone needs to bring their A game. There’s no room for error. There were a lot of penalties called in the first game, but I think that was just the referees doing an excellent job more so than our team playing sloppily. The zero tolerance policy adopted by the refs is something I’m completely in agreement with and I think it’s the right way to go.

Luongo looked sharp when he needed to and it was clear that Mason was scared or nervous. You could tell he was having trouble getting his mind set and the Canucks need to use that to their advantage. The Blues inexperience was showing through their inability to control their emotions and on a team where the only person with real experience is a guy that’s playing alongside TJ Oshie who is the same age as TJ Oshie’s dad, the Blues are going to be in a world of hurt when the Canucks bring the pain.

]]> http://bluelinestand.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/adrenaline/feed/ 0 Mozy http://bluelinestand.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/northwest-division-champs/ http://bluelinestand.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/northwest-division-champs/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:41:23 +0000 Richard Loat http://bluelinestand.wordpress.com/?p=62 ]]>

One thing’s for sure. This season’s edition of the Vancouver Canucks means business. After being at the same record around the All Star Game last season the Canucks made sure that this season they didn’t tank the way they did just a year ago. Two years ago today Luongo made an NHL record amount of saves in an OT win against Dallas and it was his night again.

What was nice to see was the Canucks didn’t waste any time. After being embarrassed at home not 3 games ago, the Avalanche were the only thing that stood behind us and the Northwest Division title. The Canucks came out flying and a 15-4 lead in shots not even half way through the first spoke louder than anything. If one thing is clear it’s that the Canucks are no longer underestimating teams. Even though we lost two in a row before beating the Flames, the Kings and now the Avalanche, the losses were hard fought and not for lack of chances. (If anything this is more evidence to support my theory that the NHL rigs its season to try get the most entertainment value across)

Another thing that has impressed me slightly as of late is how Mats Sundin has picked it up. Now everyone knows how I’m his biggest critic, and by no means does this get him out of my dog house, but it’s clear that he’s elevated his game and is quite clearly ready for the playoffs. While Sundin isn’t scoring like everyone expected, he’s finally doing what I expected. People forget that Sundin is a playmaker. It’s more reasonable to expect him to rack up the assists than to rack up the goals. Either way, we need him to rack up the points. I’m glad he’s finally getting assists in the bank. Granted I don’t think he’s yet lived up to his 8 million dollar contract, I have a feeling he will break loose in the playoffs (remember, this comes from a big Sundin critic, must count for something right?)

Luongo looked good. Not great, not fantastic, he certainly wasn’t stealing the game like he did against Calgary, but it’s clear the Captain is back. Prior to the Calgary game it was clear that he was not in the zone. He was letting in bad goals, he was looking behind himself on most shots, he doubted himself and it was showing in his play. All that being said it looks like he’s finally on his game. Posting back to back shutouts and setting a new franchise record for shutouts by a Canucks goaltender in a season speak for themselves. Keep in mind as well that he missed 24 games this season. I think it’s safe to say he might have had a couple more in him.

Now that Luongo’s found his game what worries me is that the scoring has dried up. Sure we’ve won two games in a row, sure we’re rolling 4 lines and firing on all cylinders, but in 2 games we’ve won by a combined score of 2-0. Burrow’s has gone ‘cold’ as of late, but I guess that’s relative to how incredibly hot he got for that long stretch. The defense need to pick it up because other than the 2 goal performance by Ohlund they’ve been very quiet. The only other thing I worry about looking forward to the playoffs now is injury. The Canucks came out of their early Saturday game injury free which was a relief, but with news that Kevin Bieksa is “under the weather” I’m having flashbacks to two years ago when the team all got a mysterious stomach bug and the Sedins’ fell of the face of this earth and in their place skated look a like zombies that could easily have been mistaken for ghosts.

In a season filled with milestones from every angle: Everything from Henrik’s 100th career goal, to Burrows’ 100th career point, Pyatt’s 500th game, Johnson’s 600th game against his former team, to Pavol’s 300th goal becoming only the 7th Slovak to reach that milestone (and so many more). Factor in Luongo’s new shutout streak and Shutout’s in a season record and I’d say it’s been an alright season. To top it all off the Canucks hit the 100 point plateau and nailed down their 6th franchise North West Division banner. Canuck confidence must be at a peak and their time is now.

Looking at the way they played against the Avalanche it’s clear the Canucks are going into this 2009 Stanley Cup Championship Playoffs ready. Luongo is regaining form just at the right time and the Canucks seem to have turned a corner. They’re no longer sitting back, they come out flying, and they’re winning face-offs, getting shots on goal. Everything that people were complaining about at the beginning of the season, they’ve fixed. They’re going into the playoffs fully armed and healthy, and with a goalie that’s getting hot just at the right time, now’s the time for Canucks fans to get excited!

When the season started and we were rolling into the December games, everyone was doing the same thing we do as a member of the Canucks entourage of fans, we play armchair GM and are fully convinced that our combination of moves and shake ups is the winning formula to creating that perfect team to win the cup. The thing is perfect teams don’t win the cup.

Going into the All Star break the same things were coming up. We need a better powerplay, we need secondary scoring, you’ve heard it all before and you know what I’m talking about. So what has changed the team? What was it that clicked that has made this team go on the tear they’ve been on as of late? Was it Sundin? Was it the return of Luongo? When I look at it I really can’t pin it down to any one person. Sure you can say Burrows has been the catalyst and he’s the reason we’re winning and I can’t really disagree with that. But on a deeper level when you look at the mechanics of the team there was something else that changed that allowed Burrows to start playing the way he’s been playing.

After hitting what seemed like rock bottom, the Canucks were all but counted out of the playoffs and as far as everyone else was concerned there were parts of the bandwagon already writing off the playoffs. The Canucks were clutching their sticks too hard, trying to make the fancy plays and coming up on the short side of the stick of luck. Sundin came in and after winning the first game he was a part of proceeded to be rather unproductive. Luongo came back from injury and was far from stellar for a number of those games. Somewhere though, something clicked and that something starts right at the bottom. The very fundamentals of how the team played changed. The Canucks went back to basics and after playing hockey faceoff by faceoff they managed to dig themselves out of the hole they were stuck in.

When everyone blames the powerplays, and they blame the defensive breakdowns that eventually lead to goals and they blame the odd man rushes, they forget where these plays all start; the faceoff. Going back to basics with little to lose (when you’re in 11th and out of the playoffs there’s not much you can do but look up) taking it one faceoff at a time they started winning the little battles. Those battles lead to puck possession, lead to effective powerplays, and ultimately if you have all four lines consistently winning face-offs you even get secondary scoring going. Sundin found his step and became the faceoff monster we knew him to be and when you look at his numbers, yes he cost us 8 points in the 4 GWGs he’s been in the box for, but in 35 games he had 25 points which to be honest is much better than I expected him to do. Kesler and Burrows started skating harder and winning the races to the pucks and then the puck battles and from there they started to roll.

It all starts in the faceoff dot and when everyone goes on about them not winning games, lack of secondary scoring and so on and so forth, people often don’t realize that the Canucks aren’t underperforming in those areas but they’re underperforming and the sheer basics of the game.

Going into the playoffs the key to winning is going to lie in all the aforementioned previously lacking areas, but it all starts in the dot. The playoffs give teams a different mindset and defenses tighten up. The difference between winning and losing a series can come down to that single fundamental faceoff in the offensive zone in OT. Look at the game that the ducks won to eliminate us from the playoffs two seasons ago? It started with a faceoff win and gave the Ducks possession. Had they not won that faceoff their player wouldn’t have run the net, Luongo wouldn’t have tried to play referee and there could have been a game after that. Sure you can say that it’s a stretch, but one of the main reasons the Canucks have gone back to their winning ways has been because they’re hustling, doing the small things and playing simple hockey. Burrows is searching for open ice, he’s not getting lazy and as a result he’s getting opportunities that he’s converting into goals.

The Canucks are becoming a sounder team as they go from game to game. They’re getting their powerplay together, they’re getting their penalty kill going and as a result everything is starting to click. Luongo is finding his groove, and the defense will hopefully go back to playing the shutdown defense that earned them accolades as being one of the most solid blue lines in the NHL.

There’s no such thing as the perfect team. You can have the greatest players playing together and it might not result in success because there’s a lack of chemistry and cohesion. Perfect teams don’t win championships. Sound teams do.