Tagged: playoffs 2010

I’ll admit I was one of those ‘bad’ fans who left GM Place early last night. I left early, not because I stopped supporting the boys, but because it hurt to watch them get pounded into submission. In the end it was hard to watch. A Vancouver Canucks team which had entertained so royally all year literally ground to a halt, virtually every forward with any capability of an impact either injured or paralyzed with fatigue. Yes the Chicago Blackhawks were the better team and deserved to win but that most certainly doesn’t explain what happened to the Canucks Tuesday...

I like Elliotte Friedman’s (CBC) take on the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks last night. Question No. 1: What do people around the NHL think of the Canucks? Answer: A really good, potentially great, team. Definitely have the ability to win the Western Conference, if not the Stanley Cup. Question No. 2: What else do they think? Answer: An easily distracted group that beats itself through paranoia and a thin skin. A team pre-occupied with “conspiracies” against them and a perceived lack of respect. That’s why last night’s Game 5 victory in Chicago was monumental. That is...

I saw this Dustin Byfuglien celebration after his second of three goals last night, and it left me steamed. To be honest, seeing the Big Fugly not only score a hat trick, but also taunt the fans, felt like a kick to the groin after being kicked in the gut. Anyway, I post this video for two reasons: 1) to show those who didn’t like Shane O’Brien’s post-fight celebration against Wayne Simmonds what classy really looks like, and 2) to remind the Canucks that they should never, never, ever, ever allow this to happen in their own barn. (H/T to...

Almost to a man, the Canucks talked at length about playing more physically after getting beat in Chicago in Game 2. As the saying goes – talk is cheap. That the Canucks lost 5-2 and now trail 2-1 in their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Blackhawks was bad enough. That the Blackhawks won by bullying the Canucks around at GM Place should be cause for serious concern. To be fair, the Canucks, at times, generated some excellent pressure and scoring opportunities, only to be thwarted by Antti Niemi. However, for the most part, the Blackhawks threw their weight around,...

Cam Cole (Vancouver Sun) put a damper in our party after the Canucks managed a split in Chicago and grabbed home ice advantage in their Western Conference Semifinal Series against the Blackhawks. So here’s the bad news: The Vancouver Canucks, despite their Game 2 loss at United Center, still have home ice advantage over the Chicago Blackhawks in what is now a best-of-five. Pity. This means they have less than a 50 per cent chance of winning the series. Well, that’s not really what it means, but that’s what the numbers say, this spring. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ win Tuesday night...

The Canucks could’ve have had a 2-0 stranglehold in their series against the Blackhawks. They could’ve had the young, cocky ‘Hawks against the ropes. The Canucks certainly got the start they wanted, but unfortunately, didn’t have the finish. They carried a 2-1 lead into the third period, but surrendered a shorthanded goal that tied the game and the eventual game-winning goal with only 90 seconds left. To put this into context, the Canucks were 34-1 in the regular season and the playoffs when they carried a lead into the second intermission, and had outscored the opposition 112-68 in the final...

It appears the Chicago Blackhawks won’t give the Vancouver Canucks any credit for the Canucks’ 5-1 win in Game 1. Like Cam Cole (Vancouver Sun) said this morning, “It’s not you, it’s me.” The Chicago Blackhawks have done the autopsy on their 5-1, series-opening turkey against the Vancouver Canucks and have come to the conclusion that it was all their own fault. Or that’s the story — and they’re sticking to it. Like Seinfeld’s buddy George Costanza says while breaking the news to the soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend: “It’s not you, it’s me.” “I think all the goals were self-inflicted wounds last night,”...

Every day for the past two weeks, the NHL has announced candidates for each of its individual hockey awards. I’m not quite sure what the NHL’s logic was behind this daily media blitz. Why give the media something to cover instead of the Stanley Cup playoffs? Wouldn’t it make more sense to announce the award nominees when there was a lull in the playoff action, say, right before the Stanley Cup final? I’m no public relations guru but I’m pretty sure what sells hockey is great hockey, not Selke or Lady Byng nominees. Thankfully the first round featured some tremendous...