Canucks Corner

What's up, er down, with Schneider?

Watching a world-class goalie get injured during a penalty shot is a little like pretending to be homeless to score a free dinner from the shelter. Sure you’re gonna meet some interesting people, and you probably won’t need to worry about being the drunkest one there, but something about it just feels wrong.

Thanks to the previous shutout defeats at the hands of the Blackhawks, Chicago seems to get into Lu’s head, sink its hooks in, and stay there like Two Girls One Cup. No wonder Vigneault made the shocking decision to start last Sunday’s game with Cory Schneider instead.

Goalies can be as temperamental as racehorses on Zoloft and their mental state can easily cost their team a game. The fact that Luongo wasn’t even supporting his team on the bench while he was sitting out could be a testament to the funk that the Chicago Blackhawks seem to be able to put our goalie in.

Despite this, it has been stated that Luongo is set to be the starting goalie for game 7. Possibly because as perplexing as last game’s injury was, people will probably start to ask questions if it happens again. Anyone who ever skipped high school P.E. or lied to dodge a pity date could think up a better excuse than “my quad just suddenly seized up.”

However, on the off chance that Luongo gets too psyched out and would rather have a different goalie start things off, I have made a list of…

“Other reasons the Canucks could release to the press as to why they take Cory Schneider out and put in Luongo”:

    •    •    “Schneider has to feed the meter.”

    •    •    “His girlfriend just dumped him and he is sad.”

    •    •    “There’s a big spider in the locker room and Schneider is the only one who can kill it.”

    •    •    “Schneider lost a contact lens and can’t see.”

    •    •    “Schneider’s leg is gone. It just disappeared.”

    •    •    “Food poisoning.”

    •    •    “Has a tickle in his throat”

    •    •    “He has cramps.” (Oh wait, they used that on Sunday...)

When Luongo is hot, he is more than competent as a goalie, but unless he brings his game now Vancouver doesn’t stand a chance at advancing. With the recent losses, corporations that depend on the Luongo franchise for advertising are getting antsy.

Rumors are flying that even Tampax has vetoed Luongo’s lucrative endorsement deal with their company. At first the feminine hygiene company thought his sometimes emotional reputation would make him a relatable spokesperson, but they reportedly dropped him when people began to stop associating him with shutting out a period.

Whether those rumors are true or not, you will have to discover for yourselves, but the fact remains that while starting the game with Schneider in net was unexpected, Vancouver did enjoy a lead for the first part of the game.
Tuesday’s game is on home ice and is expected to be a hard fought and potentially heartbreaking battle.

Yes it’s true that the playoffs may occasionally illicit a special breed of impotent rage in Vancouverites, but at least they’re more exciting than the elections.

Are the cards stacked against us?

When you come down to a game seven situation after being up three there’s bound to be some finger pointing.

Most people point at the Canucks goaltending, some blame lack of fighting spirit and others pin it on coaching; however there will always be a few out there who spin any and all events into a conspiracy theory; even the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs (seriously).

There have been rumours following the Canucks loss to the Hawks in game six that the league does not want Canadian teams to advance. So they say by edict from the powers that be in the NHL - referees and linesmen are calling the game in favour of the Hawks. That’s a little out there, but is there any merit to such a theory at all?

Well let’s recap: puck goes over the glass, delay of game penalty for the Canucks, Hawks same thing no penalty (sure they said it went over the bench but replay showed it clearly did not). Also what was all that covering their mouths while talking between the refs, what they were afraid the teams had lip readers watching them, and so what if they did, what advantage would that give them? Unless of course they were saying something along the lines of, “Bettman says it’s not a penalty and also that we should penalize the Canucks for unsportsmanlike conduct for challenging the call.” “Oh come on we can’t do that, can we?” “Of course we can he’s the Prince of Darkness what he says goes.”

Now the Canucks were not actually levied a penalty there so perhaps Bettman isn’t the completely all-powerful evil entity some say he is. But there were still an awful lot of uncalled penalties against the Hawks. There were several would be high sticking and slashing penalties against the Sedins that went uncalled; this while Canucks landed in the penalty box (it seemed) if they even came to close to certain players on the opposing team. And perhaps most egregious of all was the non-call against Bryan Bickell when he launched himself at Bieksa’s cranium in overtime. Sure refs are reluctant to call penalties in sudden-death overtime when a power play could mean the game, and the series in the playoffs. But when it’s now 15-10 for power plays in favour of Chicago in the last three games, after the Canucks took a 3-0 lead in the series you start to wonder, is there something to this conspiracy theory after all?

And is it possible Lord Voldemor…oops, Gary Bettman would really pressure officials to swing games in favour of teams in large U.S television markets?

To be honest most officials have way too much respect for the game of hockey to be a party to such back room machinations. Which is why a new conspiracy theory has popped up: That Bettman a.k.a The Great Satan, has replaced living breathing officials with his own evil androids that do his bidding no matter how underhanded and nefarious. Okay a little out there sure, but does it have merit, let’s analyze…

There is No Joy In...

Call it the curse of the Presidents Cup, call it the classic Canuck choke, call it extremely bad luck coupled with poor officiating but whatever you want to call it it still amounts to the same thing; the greatest first round meltdown in NHL history.

Not the record the Canucks want to be known for. Although Canucks fans are used to having tasted the giddy highs of playoff possibilities only to see their hopes dashed again and again, never have fans hopes for a run at the cup been so high as this spring.

It was all coming together this year, the Sedins continued their run as bona fide superstars, Luongo had recovered his winning form, plus if anything went wrong we had a very solid back up in Cory Schneider. Plus we had a young fast team of promising talent to play behind the top line and a solid veteran in Manny Malhotra to keep them anchored. Not to mention one of the most impressive defensive corps in the league.

Not only were the Canucks the top team in the league and the team with the greatest offensive firepower, they were also the team with the stingiest record on goals allowed, we were suppose to have it all. Not to mention history was on our side; the last two Canadian cities to host the Olympics won the Stanley Cup in the following season, Montreal in 1977 and Calgary in 1989.

All of the above said to Canuck fans, ‘yeah sure we’ve had our hearts broken before, but not this year, there’s just too much pointing towards a long run for the Cup, if not a win in the final.’

Starting out it all went according to script; they jumped out 3-0 against their archrivals the Chicago Black Hawks (and for those who know their Canuck history know that rivalry goes back a lot further than three seasons). The only lament from fans was that they wouldn’t see the Canucks eliminate the dreaded Hawks on home ice.

Be careful what you wish for goes the saying, when the Canucks melted down in Game 4 the old familiar doubts already started creeping in. ‘We’ll finish them at home in Game 5 is all,’ we told ourselves through false smiles and gritted teeth.

Well there’s no reason to recap how we ended up at a Game 7.

Okay maybe that all sounds a little bleak, so lets take a look back and see what we can learn from previous Canuck playoff runs: In 2003 the Canucks fell to the Minnesota Wild in the second round after gaining a 3-1 series advantage. In 2004 the Canucks went down in the first round to the Calgary Flames. In 2009 the Canucks easily swept the St Louis Blues in the first round only to go down in six to the Chicago Blackhawks (largely due to very unsteady goaltending in games five and six).

Okay that’s not helping is it? But the Canucks playoff history does have its share of glory; take the 2007 opening round against the Dallas Stars. Roberto Luongo faced down 76 shots in a quadruple overtime game and the Canucks went on to win that series in seven games largely by riding Luongo’s stellar goaltending.

And let’s not forget the Canucks first Stanley Cup appearance in 1982 a run that defied all expectations when the 1981-82 Canucks snuck into the playoffs three games under .500 and bested the Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings and yes the Chicago Blackhawks to reach the final (the series against the Hawks was when coach Roger Neilson originated the tradition of Towel Power).

But the game that must really stand out in the minds of most die hard fan’s memories would likely be that now legendary night in April 1994. In the seventh game of their first round match-up against the Calgary Flames goaltender Kirk ‘Captain Kirk’ Mclean stunned Flames fans and made true believers out of the legions of the Canuck nation when he made ‘The Save’. Stacking his pads to stone a smooth as silk Theoren Fleury feed to Rob Reichel right on the goal line in overtime. That set the stage for a Pavel Bure breakaway and the victory that propelled them all the way to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final.

So there you go just when you think the Canucks will break our hearts again, they do have the ability to rise to the heights and make us believers again.

The Easter Weekend Tragedy...

An Easter hockey game is a great way to get out of spending quality time with aged relatives.

Unfortunately watching the Canucks lose against the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime last Sunday was so painful, I would have almost rather been listening to my Grandfather yell around a mouthful of yams about how to field dress a grouse.

Don’t get me wrong, it was an incredible relief to see the Canucks actually show up and play some hockey for a change. Vancouver out hit Chicago 37-33, as well as drawing first blood by scoring a goal two minutes into the first period.

But unfortunately, this is the NHL playoffs, not a volunteer position at an elementary school track meet. Not only is open alcohol acceptable at GM Place (instead of having to be smuggled into the schoolyard in an A&W cup just to you get through the day) but it calls for more than just participating to win the Stanley Cup.

Game 6 wasn’t a blowout loss by any stretch, but the fact remains that Vancouver still lost. Despite the impressively tight defense in the third period and the courageous shots on net, many fans are dreading that the Canucks are playing true to their traditional play-off-throwing ways. It could be the case, but all we can do is watch, have hope, and cover our cars in oversized novelty Orca whales.

Interestingly enough, statements from the Vancouver locker room after the loss were optimistic. The Canucks seemed enthused with how they played as a team, particularly in the third period, and they stressed the importance of a good attitude.

While a positive outlook can do wonders, scoring more goals than the other guys may just take precedent. Lu may have a bit of a bad rap as a whiner, and people will tell you he goes down quicker than a male flight attendant at Celebrities on Mojito Monday, but at least he knows the value of winning at all costs.

Not to be a pessimist, but the Hawks are a mean bunch of hard-skating, Porterhouse-eating Chicago boys, and an optimistic attitude will only take you so far. It is the Canucks’ resolute ability to maintain such a zen perspective that makes me suspect they have either been incorporating too much Yoga into their training, or… that they were able to read something within the cohesiveness of their play during that last period that was undetectable from the stands.

Hopefully the latter, because the thought of another shutout loss is about as depressing getting blackout drunk and hiding your own Easter Eggs.

The Sedin Twins: who laughs last…

Times are good in Vancouver Canuckland. For the first time in its history, the team is on top of the NHL standings this late in the regular season. And the Sedin twins are leading the charge. As of March 1, Henrik - AKA “the Sedin that passes” - is #1 in assists and #4 in points, while Daniel - AKA “the Sedin that shoots” - has the most points of any NHL player. This is in addition to Henrik winning the Art Ross (for the league’s leading scorer) and Hart (league MVP) trophies last season, both firsts in franchise history. What numbers don’t show is the finesse and poise of their highlight-reel passing plays.

Many in this town feel they’ve lived up to expectations and the hype heard when they were drafted back in 1999. But if you look at their numbers, it’s been a culmination of progressive development as players, having a third player on their line that can play with them, and an improved team both on and off the ice. Drafted second and third overall by the Canucks, Daniel and Henrik Sedin were seen as a big part of the Canucks rebuild after the Mark Messier/Mike Keenan Dark Ages that eventually lead to the Westcoast Express Canucks of Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Brendon Morrison.

As usual with the high draft picks, especially on Canadian teams, the expectations were also high. “...certainly by the second half of the season...these players can make an impact in our league,” said then General Manager Brian ‘there isn’t a microphone on earth I don’t love’ Burke during the preseason of their 2000-01 rookie year. It didn’t take long for the Sedins to show they were still boys playing in a man’s league. They were easily bumped off the puck and manhandled during the final years of the Dead Puck Era. Despite scoring 30 or more points each of their first three seasons, they eventually became known as “The Sisters” by locals wanting ‘good Canadian kids’ instead finesse players from Sweden.

This overshadowed just how good the Twins were. As local hockey broadcaster and former NHL sniper Ray Ferraro points out, it’s one thing to make the NHL. It’s another to be consistent. The numbers tell the story. Not only have they scored consistently each season, but point totals have also increased, especially after the ‘04 lockout. The twins benefitted from the rule changes that clamped down on obstruction and finally got a third linemate who can keep up with their sick brand of hockey telepathy. They got that first with Anson Carter in ‘05-’06 then Alex Burrows since the ‘08-‘09 campaign.

Nothing attracts good players like a winning team, a solid organization and a dedicated fan-base. Since taking over as GM in spring 2008, Mike Gillis started to aggressively eliminate the culture that has produced lackluster results for most of the Canucks’ 40 seasons. Add to that savvy free-agent signings and the twins took slight pay-cuts to stay with the team and sign 5-year contract extensions in the summer of ‘09, in the prime of their careers. To put icing on the cake, the Sedins donated $1.5 million to BC Children’s Hospital last March, to the city that has at times wanted to punish them for not being gritty enough. With Henrik’s Art Ross win last year, you don’t hear them called The Sisters anymore.

Photo from: http://intenttoblow.com/2010/08/our-1st-six-months-the-top-10-itb-posts-part-2-1-5/