Snakebitten In Vancouver

Maxim Lapierre nets the only goal in another heartbreaking loss for Boston in Vancouver.

You may understand the goal that won game 1, cool, Ryan Kesler made a great play to stay on side and a great pass that Tim Thomas had no shot on.

 

You sort of understand the goal that won game 2; Thomas was overly aggressive in handling the puck and Alex Burrows outmuscled Zdeno Chara for a wrap-around to win it in overtime. It was the good type of aggression by Burrows beating the bad type of aggression from Thomas. Fine whatever.

 

Yet after Maxim Lapierre netted the game winner that bounced off of Thomas when it looked like he got there in time, and it was the only tally in another classic 1-0 Vancouver victory, you have to wonder if maybe or not the Bruins are snake-bitten.

 

Consider this if you will; in games 1,2 & 5 the Bruins could’ve won them as easily as they lost. They out played Vancouver in game 1 had a 2-1 lead in the third period of game 2 and outshot the Canucks 31-24 in game 5. Yet lost all three games on goals that you could call either fluky or great effort.

 

In all three games Thomas has been as stellar as he was in the games in Boston. He made 3 or 4 saves that made you shake your head like he always does, yet unlike in Boston he’s been the victim of three pretty lame goals that were each the deciding tally in the game. Last night’s winner he was able to stop with his right arm before his momentum carried the puck into the night and set off frenzy at Rogers Arena. It’s hardly the way that Thomas should’ve envisioned losing a game on such a cheap goal.

 

However, its not like Bruins didn’t have their own share of chances. David Krejci had a shot at point blank range that Roberto Luongo was able to stop in the first period, as did Chris Kelly, Brad Marchand and other Bruins throughout the night. Luongo was simply amazing though. He shook of the harsh, yet deserved, criticism from the media after his two stinkers in Boston and played lights out in game 5. Luongo stood on his head and kept the Canucks in the contest when the Bruins were finding excellent scoring chances in front of him. He was back to being to being the one time best goalie in hockey and the guy that led team Canada to the gold medal last year.

The Bruins once again couldn't get a thing past Luongo.

 

We should also praise the Canucks as a team for finally taking it to the Bruins last night. For the last two games we watched Boston basically rape and pillage Vancouver without any retaliation, last night Burrows, Alex Edler and Chris Higgins were leading the charge in their physical assault of the Bruins as Vancouver outhit Boston 47-27. This time they were the aggressors and they put Boston in a bind with their physicality.

 

Which begs this question… What did happen to Boston last night?

 

Sure they could’ve won the game and they had their chances, but this didn’t look like the same Boston team that wreaked havoc in games 3 & 4. They were missing that next gear so to speak. At times in Boston the Bruins seemed like they had invented the 10^th and 11^th gear as they just kept taking it to Vancouver. Last night they looked stuck in the 3^rd gear. They didn’t have the same spring in their step and it showed in the performances from Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand who went from agitators to innocent bystanders.

 

Maybe it was the home ice advantage that boosted the B’s spirits. If that’s the case then maybe we should expect more of what we saw in games 3 & 4 on Monday night for game 6 as Boston looks to stave off elimination.

 

If they do win will they have what it takes to come back to Vancouver and close out the Canucks? We know that the home crowd can take a team to different heights in the playoffs but for Boston a possible game 7 would mean finding another gear without assistance and as of right now they seem to be a home crowd only kind of team.

 

That crowd will play a big part with the Bruins going back to Boston on the brink of losing the Stanley Cup. But if we see more of the same that we have in Boston, doesn’t mean the same for a possible game 7 in Vancouver?

 

If it does then look for another brilliant Tim Thomas performance to go to waste and another sad way for the Bruins to come up empty handed.

The Bruins Fight Back

The Boston Bruins brought the pain last night.

The crowd was rocking, the players came out fired up, the aggression was on full display as the Boston Bruins came out in game 3 looking like a team hell bent on coming back in this series against The Vancouver Canucks…

 

Then Nathan Horton was knocked out of the game and the playoffs with a concussion thanks to a dirty hit by Aaron Rome… that’s when the Bruins went more than mad, they went ballistic.

 

The Bruins didn’t just beat The Canucks last night 8-1, they didn’t just bruise their ego, they beat Vancouver so badly and so viciously that Vancouver might doubt themselves for the rest of this series as to whether they can win it or not (and yes I know that Vancouver is up 2-1, but after what I saw last night that doesn’t matter.).

 

The Bruins dominated every single aspect of this game. They were ultra-aggressive, they got whatever shot they wanted and they got most of them off clean, they treated Vancouver as if they were rag dolls and The Canucks put up no fight.

 

About every two seconds there seemed to be another Canuck landing hard on the ice after getting nailed by Milan Lucic, Mark Recchi or Shawn Thornton, every time I looked up Alex Burrows was getting nailed by Zdeno Chara or having fingers stuck in his face by Lucic or Recchi (quite possibly the funniest taunt I have ever seen in response to Burrows infamous biting incident in game 1), there was an endless wave of Bruins heading straight for Roberto Luongo and neither he nor his defense could do a thing about it.

 

It was as swift of a beat down that I’ve seen in sports all year as Boston took it to Vancouver and never let up once.

 

It was especially telling on The Canuck power play… if you could call it that last night. Daniel Paille and Brad Marchand’s sick shorthanded goals came courtesy of a penalty kill that wasn’t concerned with clearing the puck and keeping Tim Thomas comfortable, it was more concerned with scoring and keeping Vancouver on its toes and boy did it.

 

Brad Marchand's Shorthanded goal was highlight reel material.

Speaking of Tim Thomas… how was that performance?

 

Thomas was an absolute monster in net. As badly as Vancouver was beaten they did have chances to get 3 or 4 goals past Thomas and they were robbed every single time.

 

It was the best Stanley Cup performance by a goalie since Cam Ward in 2005 for the Carolina Hurricanes. Thomas was a sliding wall that stuffed any and everything that came his way. There were about 5 saves that he made where I thought Mike Emrick was going to lose his voice because he screaming so loud they were that amazing. Thomas has had some gaffs in net this postseason that made some in Boston question if he could be consistent enough to carry this team through to a Stanley Cup Final. After three games he’s allowed only 5 goals and because of him the Bruins could easily be up 3-0 instead of down 2-1 in this series.

 

Which brings us to the Vancouver Canucks.

 

How would you feel as a Canuck fan right now?

 

You just got destroyed on the road without a fight, Luongo looked like he wanted no part of Boston after the shorthanded tally by Marchand to put them up by 3, Ryan Kesler and Daniel Sedin have been non-existent and Henrik Sedin hasn’t registered a shot all series… not one.

 

Yet here you are up 2-1 with a day off to lick your wounds.

 

I believe that Boston is in their heads right now and it’s going to affect Vancouver for the rest of this series. We all know Boston’s backs were against the wall and Vancouver had to be on its heels, but to come out and get bullied like that for three periods is embarrassing.

 

The Bruins are letting Alex Burrows live down his biting incident.

Burrows especially had no lift in his game. Burrows is known for his aggressive nature and ever since he bit Patrice Bergeron in game 1 you haven’t seen it. It’s almost as if Burrows and company are scared to retaliate. When Lucic and Recchi were throwing their fingers in the faces of the Canucks and daring them to bite them you just felt that Vancouver wasn’t going to take that for much longer, but they did. It got so bad that Thomas laid a check into Daniel Sedin in the third period when he was heading for the net.

 

If Vancouver wants to hold on to their lead and win their first Stanley Cup they have to man up. The physicality has to come back into their game. Some may see this game as an aberration, but anyone knows that when you sense a fear or tepidness from an opponent then you will get exposed and they will take advantage of you. Vancouver cannot let that happen. They have to get back to playing their style of hockey and land a few punches of their own.

 

What seemed like the biggest blow of the night came when Horton lay motionless on the ice thanks to a late hit by Rome. When the stretcher came out and the crowd sat silent after being as rowdy as ever in the first three minutes the Bruins could’ve packed it in.

 

Instead they channeled their desperation and their fallen teammate and laid into Vancouver with a flurry that has them back in the series and with momentum guiding them into game 4.

 

If they bring half of the intensity from game 3 then Vancouver might as well start heading back to British Columbia for game 5 now.

The Canucks And Bruins Bring It For Game 1

Raffi Torres celebrates after netting the winner for Vancouver in an incredible game 1.

Now that’s the way to start a Championship series. If you wondered just how much the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins wanted the Stanley Cup then last night’s super competitive game 1 provided one hell of an answer.

 

Both teams and cities are absolutely starving for a cup. Last night’s classic was a match of physicality, defense and a showcase of goaltending as Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo turned in legendary performances.

 

At every turn Thomas and Luongo stonewalled every attempt from Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Mark Recchi, Nathan Horton, Ryan Kesler and any other player that was knocking on opportunities door and were turned away. It’s not really like they had a choice to deal with so many chances early on however. In the first two periods there were 12 power plays and two five on threes, which had each goaltender on their toes from the get go.

 

They can thank some over aggression for that.

 

For all of the clean hitting and great play along the boards there was a lot of extra-curricular activities and Alex Burrows and Patrice Bergeron were knee deep in it at the end of the first period and it carried over into the second as well. Those penalties as well as some others including poor high stick minors against Daniel Sedin and Chris Kelly put both goaltenders at a disadvantage early. Fortunately for each side Thomas and Luongo were on top of their game and their defensive lines helped out to keep the game scoreless.

 

Once the game carried into the period it turned into a free-flowing match of skill and the rough stuff faded away as game took control of itself. The third period was filled with uninterrupted action, scoring chances and great saves. You couldn’t look away from the tube or you’d feel like you were going to miss something important even though the score was still 0-0. You were proven right when Thomas stopped Jannik Hansen’s breakaway and kept the puck over the goal line as he was sliding into the net and his momentum almost carried the puck in.

 

(Side note: with five minutes to go I was hoping for overtime. This was on of those playoff games that you didn’t want to see end before it should’ve. This was worthy of another 20 or 40 minutes and it would’ve added to how absolutely amazing the game was and how it kept you on the edge of your seat for all two and a half hours that it was on the air.)

Tim Thomas was excellent in net frustrating Daniel Sedin and the Canucks all night.

 

With less than 30 seconds left after a missed opportunity by David Krejci the Vancouver defense cleared the puck all the way to the opposing blue line when Kesler made a great play to dodge Zdeno Chara, play the puck off of the boards, stay on side (or not depending on you view) throw it across to Hansen who then found a streaking Raffi Torres who tipped the puck past Thomas for the only goal of the game.

 

It was heartbreaking for Boston, but Thomas had no chance to stop it. It was just a great play by Kesler and it caught the Boston defense by surprise.

 

1-0 Vancouver, both the game and the series.

How should Boston feel after game 1? Their power play looked great, the penalty kill was phenomenal and they kept the two hottest lines on the planet scoreless… and still lost.

 

There are no such things as moral victories but Claude Julien has something to build on. The Bruins out played the Canucks by far and should’ve won the game if anyone could’ve gotten the puck by Luongo. If this is the way that the series is going to go then Boston should be able to win it provided if there offense can get some added pressure around the net and rattle the Vancouver defense.

 

For Vancouver you have to say that they got lucky in this one. Their offense had chances early on in the first two minutes and could’ve put Boston to sleep early on but they couldn’t capitalize. The Sedin Twins have to have a better game two and their offense needs to match their defensive intensity throughout the rest of the series if the Canucks want to raise the Stanley Cup.

 

One thing that I hope doesn’t change is the stellar goaltending of game 1. Thomas and Luongo looked like MVP’s after the first 60 minutes of the series and were certainly game 1’s number 1 stars. I don’t care how many goals aren’t scored in this series, as long as they play like this then it wont matter because each game will be entertaining as hell.

 

We have to wait until Saturday night for game 2 to commence. It’s a weird two-day layoff that should give each team time to heal after a rough first game, and the Bruins time to stew over the late goal, and Burrows biting incident.

 

If game 1 is a preview of how this series will play out then there’s no question that we have a classic on our hands. One city that hasn’t raised the cup in 40 years and another that hasn’t raised it at all. Both teams playing like it and not giving an inch. You don’t want to miss any of this.

Sharks Need To Match Eager

Ben Eager's antics were part of the reason the Sharks lost last night. But his ferocity needs to matched by his teammates.

Ben Eager was a maniac last night. He ran Daniel Sedin head first into the boards, he took more bad penalties than I can count on one hand, his yelled at the Vancouver Canucks bench, scored a goal and cursed out Roberto Luongo (by the way the Sharks were down 7-2 at that point) and start a brawl at the end of the game.

Overall Eager tallied 5 minor penalties, a game misconduct, did more harm than good for his team and for the most part looked like an idiot doing it…

And the rest of the San Jose Sharks need to get mean and angry like Eager if they want to come close to winning this series.

True, I didn’t like Eager’s antics one bit, however at least he showed some sort of caring on the ice last night while the rest of his teammates let the Canucks tap dance on their heads without any recourse. After a dead even first period Vancouver mauled San Jose over the last two periods.

The Canucks out shot them 25-18 outscored them 5-0 and forced six penalties that led to two power play goals and kept the Sharks on their heels for the rest of the night. What was worse was how the Sharks defense played. They were routinely out of position and the let Canuck forwards do whatever they wanted.

On Daniel Sedin’s goal that made it 5-2, he, brother Henrik and Alex Edler basically skated untouched in a 3-man weave behind the net while the Sharks defenders stood there and watched until Daniel Sedin knocked home a rebound from Henrik. The last two goals were virtual untested one-timers where Aaron Rome and Mason Raymond got open and had clear shots while San Jose’s defense was either shielding Antti Niemi or four feet away from the puck. It was embarrassing.

Antti Niemi would love some help right now.

In essence the Sharks are playing right into Vancouver’s hands with their style of play. The Canucks are a finesse team that relies on their forwards to handle the bulk of the work and always push the puck. The Sharks are the way except I think that it’s safe to say that Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Logan Couture are not the Sedin twins and Ryan Kesler.

What the Sharks have to do is get physical. They have to disrupt the Canucks offensive flow and knock around their top two lines. Ryan Clowe and Eager have to bruise these guys up if the Sharks want to advance to the Cup finals. As good as their offense is they cannot keep up with the Canucks and have to slow them down. That also means Dan Boyle, Ian White and company have to play better in front of Antti Niemi and keep pucks from going by them.

If not then the Sharks will be going home in four again just like last year.

(Not that it would surprise me at all. I told you that I never have and never will trust the Sharks in the playoffs until they actual win in a convincing and emphatic manner in the way that this team is built. It makes no sense that a team with this much offense, a good defense and good goaltending gets killed in the playoffs year after year.

Is it Todd McClellan? Do they need different pieces? Maybe they need to get tougher, add more physical pieces, more mentally tough players… something, anything, because I think I speak for most of the hockey fans in Northern California that this is starting to get old and something has to change and change quickly.)

Even though I think Ben Eager’s antics last night went beyond the antics of the average NHL goon, I think that the San Jose Sharks need to channel some of that anger and get tough to find a way back into this series. The Sharks are facing another disappointing ending to their season and with the way things are going it will end very soon.

Maybe that’s why Eager was so volatile, he sees it coming and wants to stop it at all costs.