Canucks Blog

Canucks' Naslund promises better

2007-05-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

There was some speculation that Markus Naslund might have been hurt and was playing hurt during the season. Ditto for Brendan Morrison. But apparently not....

VANCOUVER (CP) - Captain Markus Naslund promised Sunday he will play better for the Vancouver Canucks next season.

Naslund struggled through his worst NHL season as a Canuck in a year where goaltender Roberto Luongo became the face of the team and Daniel and Henrik Sedin finally made good on the promise of their potential.

There were many nights Naslund, 33, looked like a passenger on a train driven by Luongo, fuelled by the scoring of the Swedish twins, and kept on the rails by the Canucks commitment to tight defence.

''I know I can play better,'' Naslund said as the Canucks cleaned out their lockers and said goodbye for the summer. ''It wasn't a lack of effort, I wanted to do well. It just wasn't there.''

''I know I can do better, that's the bottom line. I'm proud of what I do. I want to show I can still perform. I'm going to come back and prove that I can play better.''

(See Naslund promises to be better next year - TSN)

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Canucks' Luongo was sick, did not have equipment problem

2007-05-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

Ah ha! Game 5 versus the Ducks might have been very different had Luongo been at 100%. The very strange "equipment problem" that prevented Luongo from starting in net in overtime was in fact not an equipment problem at all (as Kelly Hrudey insisted was the case)...

VANCOUVER (CP) - Goaltender Roberto Luongo still won't say why he was late returning for the first overtime period of Vancouver's loss to the Anaheim Ducks Thursday night that eliminated the Canucks from the NHL playoffs.

''It was not an equipment problem,'' Luongo said Sunday as the Canucks cleaned out their lockers. ''Let's leave it like that.''

''It was an illness and nothing serious.''

Luongo didn't answer when a reporter asked if the delay was caused because he was forced to use the bathroom (see Luongo won't say why he was late in OT (TSN)).

Many have postulated that whatever the "illness" Luongo had to go on intervenus support between the periods. And there was a real possibility that Sabourin would have had to finish the game.

Game 5 - Ducks versus Canucks

2007-05-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

PRE-GAME (6pm):

Tough to blog this when you know the sad outcome. I know, I predicted the Canucks would lose in 5 games. It doesn’t make it any easier to watch when you see them outplay the Ducks for most of the time since game one. But poor discipline and a totally absent power play equals many, many losses.

It’s tough; and that’s what being a fan (fanatic) is all about. I hate my emotional committment to this team... I hate the lows that come with losing. Even despite the fact this has been such a great season for this team. And I mean great. But losing sucks. It really sucks and is affecting my mood for the worse.

PERIOD 1:

I’m not going to blog every significant play. But a few comments….

Luongo looks great. Naslund looks pretty good. Salo looks quite strong. Smolinski takes a dumb penalty. Linden looks good.

The Canucks look deflated and depressed and resigned to the inevitable. There’s no chance – ZERO chance – of winning unless we get the first goal on either A) a lucky bounce or break, B) an incredible, pick-the-corner goal.

End of Period.

Vancouver 0 – Anaheim 0.

Shots on goal: Anaheim 17 – Vancouver 6. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

Hrudey and Simpson call out Smolinski for taking a bad off-side on the break out. They call out Pyatt for standing still on the back-check. They call out Bullis for a week clearing attempt.

PERIOD 2:

GOAL ANAHEIM. Predictable.

Anaheim 1 – Vancouver 0.

Naslund makes a great move to the net and draws a penalty. Two-man advantage Vancouver. The power play actually looks good. Except for Linden . Naslund looks great out there. We are putting on the pressure; we’re getting shots! Canucks hit the crossbar! But Giguere is stopping everything. And then Smolinski turns it over… on the power play!! Good lord…

PERIOD 3:

GOAL VANCOUVER. Great hustle and shift by Green, Reid and Burrows. Really, these guys have looked awful the past couple of games but they really saved the best for the most crucial time. I’m afraid though they’re only giving us false hope…

VANCOUVER 1 – ANAHEIM 1

End of Period

Heading to overtime – again.

OVERTIME 1:

One of the most bizarre openings to a critical overtime I’ve ever seen. Luongo has equipment problems… the back-up Sabourin has to come in. The Canucks completely collapsed and the Ducks pounced – peppering Sabourin with 5 shots and completely dominating the play. Then Luongo fixes the equipment and makes it back and the momentum entirely shifts to Vancouver! …until Mitchell takes a delay of game penalty, and puts the Ducks on the power play. Luongo comes up huge with big saves!

Vancouver assistant coach Rick Bowness laughs off the Luongo substitution and says it was purely an equipment problem. He insists with a smile and a chuckle that Luongo will be starting the 2nd overtime period.

Ironically, with a very strange twist, outside of the Sabourin substitution and the power play, the Canucks carry the play and had some very big chances. The biggest chance though was the streaking Getzlaf tip, and the McDonald chance, in all alone and he slides it wide under the pads of Luongo.

Hrudey praises Luongo and there’s consensus all around. Hrudey praises Naslund for his play and particularly his skating. I concur. Luongo and Naslund are playing great.

Canucks GM Dave Nonis is outside the Vancouver locker room pacing… perhaps worried about the “equipment problem” (quote-un-quote).

Wow! I’m not usually a believer in karma but there is some weird vibes going on here… I though the Canucks were out for sure. But the bizarre “equipment problem” has completely shifted the energy here. Vancouver has some jump again and it looks as if they’ve visibly retrieved their confidence and zip. The pressure now has completely shifted to the Ducks to win this and I’m not sure they will… I’m betting on either Naslund or Daniel Sedin to end it (maybe Linden). I don’t think Anaheim can win this now unless they get the LUCKY BOUNCE (the same bounce I though was Vancouver’s only saviour).

GOAL ANAHEIM

FINAL SCORE: ANAHEIM 2 - VANCOUVER 1

DUCKS WIN THE SERIES 4 - 1.

End of the season for Vancouver.

A great season indeed for the Canucks. But a season ending loss is never easy to digest. Regardless, it's a sad day for Canucks fans.

Game 4 – Canucks vs Ducks (Round 2)

2007-05-01T19:41:00.001-07:00

I think this is going to be a great game. The energy emiinnating from GM Place is great, and exciting. Bullis, Morrison, and/or Hansen are going to score tonight and may be the difference. Go Canucks Go!

PERIOD 1:

1:40 God dam, Morrison. He’s overdue; there’s no more dam excuse for him! He should have at least put that on net if not scored… dam him for playing so pathetically.

3:00 That overrated idiot Bieksa just iced the puck on the power play. And now Morrison turns over the puck on the power play. I’m sorry I like Mo, but enough is enough. Just bench him already.

5:30 Now Salo ices the puck. Perhaps I’m overzealous in my faith of this team. They look awful.

12:00 Bullis looks good, Hansen looks good. Green looks bad. Ohlund looks good. Most of the rest look invisible... Bieksa did lead one good rush

GOALLLLLL! Markus Naslund!!! Great screen by Smolinski, great work by Linden on the boards. Smoke picked a good time to make a good play.

Vancouver 1 – Anaheim 0.

15:00 Great shift by Naslund, Linden and Salo. Nice hustle.

15:30 Nice turnover by Naslund and then he made Giguere think long and hard about where he was going to shoot… right in the middle of the 5-hole and Giguere just got it which resulted in the big rebound.

18:30 Josh Green doesn’t look right. I think he could be hurt. I’m wondering about Morrison’s health too… he’s just invisible or bad.

19:00 Oh I love the hip check block Bullis put on Pronger at the point on the PK, and then he gets the puck and clears it. He is just playing superb. And I don’t’ say this lightly because I absolutely detested him during the regular season.

19:57 What a move by Perry in the dying seconds! Too bad he didn’t get the shot off.

End of period.

A very poor start for the Canucks. Thank god for Linden, Bullis and Naslund. Better in the past 10 minutes, but the game didn’t start with a team that looked like they were desperate to win.

An interesting statistic: heading into this game Smolinski was 36% in the face-off circle. Absolutely horrific. 1 for 10 in the last game! A better start tonight though for Smoke: 5 wins, 2 losses.

PERIOD 2:

Vigneault is trying to get Morrison going… he’s put him with Naslund again.

6:00 OMFG! 2 on 1 with Bullis short-handed, Giguere comes WAY out of the net, and Morrison instead of passing elects to shoot, with a SLAPSHOT – on a 2 on 1 with the goalie way out and a perfect passing lane to his winger! What the hell is going on in Morrison’s head?!?!

7:00 Great, Josh Green takes a double high-sticking minor for a careless stick to Selanne’s face. Now the Ducks get a 5 on 3. Great. Another player who continues to harm his team.

12:00 The power play is brutal. The Ducks are certainly doing a great job but really, this is brutal. Henrik Sedin looks bad tonight. I really wish they’d give Bullis a chance on the power play.

13:00 Oh yay! Morrison takes a stupid penalty!!! Nice work Mo!! You’re doing wonders for the team… please, please, please bench this guy.

13:37 Oh yay! Morrison takes a stupid penalty!!! Nice work Mo!! You’re doing wonders for the team… please, please, please bench this guy.

15:00 Another fine move by Bullis on the penalty kill.

16:00 The Ducks have the momentum now, finally. They’re controlling the play and the Canucks look like bumbling idiots. Where the hell are the Sedins?

15:00 Another fine move by Bullis on the penalty kill.

16:00 The Ducks have the momentum now, finally. They’re controlling the play and the Canucks look like bumbling idiots. Where the hell are the Sedins?

17:31 GOALLLL! OMFG!!! Brendan Morrison scores!! And he makes a great play!!! He got lucky as it bounced of Moen’s leg… very lucky because that wasn’t the greatest play on a 2-on-1 but he scored! Hey, despite his bad play he might make me look good in my prediction that Morrison had to come up big… and that was a big goal!!!! (Assists to Ohlund and D. Sedin).

Vancouver 2 - Anaheim 0.

End of Period. Not bad, but not great to be honest. We got a little lucky on the Anaheim goal
I’m a little worried. The Canucks appear to be lacking intensity. And again we’re having discipline problems again. This game is not out of Anaheim’s hands…

PERIOD 3:

3:00 Another missed shot by Smolinski… Naslund off to a good start. The team however looks way too tentative. They have to come out hitting and forechecking hard instead of protecting the lead… or we’ll lose the lead.

4:00 GOAL ANAHEIM. I hate to say I told you so… Pronger gets it from a shot through a lot of traffic.

Vancouver 2 – Anaheim 1.

6:40 Great move by Morrison to grab the puck behind the net and attempt the bank-in, and he got hammered by Getzlaf for it too. But he draws the penalty. Hey, Morrision is coming alive and making a difference!

Hughson reports that penner is riding the bench for the Ducks and that he could be injured.

Nice looking power play with Salo blasting away and Pyatt screening Giguere. That’s the way to do it! More Pyatt in front of the net providing screens for big blasts from Salo, please!

That idiot Bieksa gets burned and then takes a penalty to give the Ducks their 7th power play. We can’t keep this up…

9:00 Oh Selanne has come alive now… a good chance on the Bieksa gift power play.

12:00 Uh-oh Anaheim has really taken over now.

14:00 GOAL ANAHEIM. Uh yeah… I did tell you so. This reflects bad coaching by Vigneault. Vancouver has sat back on their ASSES instead of taking the game to the end and handy Anaheim their ass!!!! GOD DAMMIT!!!

Vancouver 2 - Anaheim 2.

16:30 Oh yay – another penalty! Giving Anaheim their 8th power play! Yay! What discipline! Let’s see a shitty power play + our incredible lack of discipline + poor coaching that allows a team on the ropes back in the game = a dubious outcome. The game is not lost, but I’d be amazed if Vancouver wins this. They don’t deserve to win and aren’t playing like it.

End of period. Heading to overtime.

Vancouver 2 – Anaheim 2.

Shots on goal: Anaheim 28 – Vancouver 26. This flatters the Canucks.

Vancouver deserves to lose. Vancouver will lose… unless they get lucky. Anaheim has taken charge and Vigneault isn’t capable of coaching his team to play the way it should. The only way we win this is if we get a lucky bounce.

Hrudey points out Smolinski to blame on his poor defence on the Pronger goal. Sopel didn’t look great either on the boards. Simpson pointed out that Daniel Sedin should have and didn’t give his stick to Salo on the 2nd goal which allowed Selanne the easy goal.

Hrudey and Simpson just cited Morrison and Bullis as the best Canucks tonight. Wow. How quickly they forget the first half of the game for Morrison.

I have to say, Bullis has been playing great. But you know what… it doesn’t mean a damn if it doesn’t lead to goals. And it hasn’t. I appreciate his fine play, but he isn’t leading to goals.

OVERTIME PERIOD 1:

Quick goal by Dallas.

Final score: Dallas 3 - Vancouver 2

I hate to say I told you so. Oh well, the better team won and will win the series. They could win the Stanely Cup, but San Jose will give them trouble.

Pre-Game Notes - Ducks at Canucks Game 4

2007-05-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

While I watched both games, I was away from the computer for the past two games. However, the Canucks had two very good games -- and have definitely been the better team.

Nothwithstanding the brutal power play (and you have to give the Ducks more credit than they're getting for their PK), I think the Canucks are playing really well. Even Sopel, Kraijeck and Smolinski have played well the past two games. In fact, Sopel had a fantastic game 2 despite is brutal performance in the series opener.

Naslund has played exceptionally well. The Sedins too. They're not getting the points but they're playing well. Except for the power play. They're even playing more disciplined in the past 2 games.

I think the key to this series very well may be... Brendan Morrison or Teemu Selanne. If Mo can play like he can and the rest of the team keeps playing as it has the past two games, we can beat the Ducks. Ditto for Selanne. But Selanne needs help in net from Giguere. If Giguere weakens, and he is an erratic goalie (brilliant at times, and head-scratching at others), then I don't believe Selanne can carry the team if Morrison, Naslund and the Sedins are playing at the top of their games.

I simply don't mention Luongo because he's so strong, and so reliable; I automatically deem him to be on the top of his game and a constant throughout.

The Canucks will win tonight... it may be in overtime, but the Canucks will win unless Anaheim gets a bunch of lucky bounces. The series is probably Anaheim's to lose, but tonight is for the Canucks and their fans.

Round 2 – Game 1: Canucks versus Ducks Game Notes

2007-04-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

Canucks have a big uphill battle and now without Salo, Bieksa, and Hansen in the opening game. I predict the Ducks in 5 or 6. I was 7 and 1 in the first round with my only wrong prediction being Vancouver.

PERIOD 1:

1:30 Great move and chance by Naslund – draws a penalty.

2:30 Terrible power play. Terrible quarterbacking by Salo.

3:00 Sedin draws the trip and the Canucks will have a 2-man advantage for 15 seconds.

3:30 Naslund looks great. Smolinski gets in his way and knocks him down! Morrison misses the net with great room! Great play by the Sedins but no finish by Linden!

4:30 Another missed shot by Ohlund! God dam we need to hit the net! But we have the momentum.

What a hit by Pronger on Cowan!

7:07 GOALLL!!!!! What a move and shot by Jeff Cowan! Highlight maker!

Vancouver 1 – Anaheim 0.

7:45 Terrible too many men penalty. Bad, bad line change. You can’t afford that against a team like the Ducks and not in the playoffs. I hope we learned a lesson about discipline versus Dallas.

8:00 Great shot by Pronger – great save by Luongo.

8:45 McDonald looks great for the Ducks. Sopel looks lost. My god Sopel is playing bad.

9:24 GOAL ANAHEIM. Sopel was completely lost. Horrible, horrible minor league shift for Sopel. He missed a chance to clear it. He didn’t clear the net. He didn’t pick up his man. He was in front of 2 Ducks at the crease!!!

Anaheim 1 – Vancouver 1.

11:02 Unfortunate penalty by D. Sedin. He was going for the puck and ended up tripping his man. Hughson remarked on the great shift by Naslund and Morrison. Naslund is our strongest forward so far (though Cowan’s shift for the goal was really great).

12:00 What the hell?!?! Vigneault has put Sopel back out there on the number 1 penalty kill! He just missed the puck!!! Luckily Ohlund was there to clear!! Fitzpatrick looks decent.

Beauchemin still has the big face guard on. I wonder if he won’t play as tough as he normally does. I’d take Willie Mitchell any day.

13:30 Great shift by Beauchemin and the move at the point to keep the puck in and then put it on the net.

14:00 Uh oh Jeff Cowan’s hurt. He finally reappears during the playoffs and now takes another lump. This Canucks team is already hurting bad.

Injured Canucks: Kessler, Cooke, Salo, Bieksa….

15:00 GOAL ANAHEIM. What a goal and play by Selanne! Oh my god, what a f—k-up by Sopel on that play… I mean seriously, is Vigneault seeing this?!?!? He looks like he couldn’t make it on my beer league team (no offense Spartans). Someone please send a text message to Vigneault’s Blackberry…

Anaheim 2 – Vancouver 1.

16:00 Fitzpatrick takes a necessary penalty. Linden looks good but Beauchemin steps-up to break-up the short-handed play. Beauchemin looks great (and he suffered a gash on his face, a lost tooth and a broken jaw 2 games ago. What a warrior.)

18:30 I just watched Sopel watch the play standing at the top of the face-off circle in the middle of nowhere… just watching the play, completely out of position.

19:15 GOAL ANAHEIM. Incredible move and goal by McDonald. A huge highlight reel maker! Huge pass by Selanne and a great first by Kunitz. Bad line change by Kraijchek.

Anaheim 3 - Vancouver 1.

End of period. No real surprises here. Anaheim is making the Canucks look like a minor league team, which is where Kraijeck and Sopel belong: in the minors. Pleasant surprise goal by Cowan and some good work by Naslund and the Sedins. What a period for McDonald by Selanne and McDonald – 3 points each. Dam I should have taken those guys in the pool.

Shots on goal: Vancouver 9 – Anaheim 9.

Kelly Hrudey makes a good point: pull Luongo and rest him. He has to be dead tired and we have no chance at winning this. Hrudey though says the Canucks aren’t really an underdog in the series heading into game one and should be given an even chance to win this because of Luongo.

Hrudey also astutely points out that Scot Niedermayer is struggling and had a terrible first period. Too bad the Canucks cannot capitalize on this.

Additional comments from Hrudey: Naslund looks great, Mitchell looks great.

My additional two cents: I hate to sound like a broken record here but there is ZERO CHANCE, let me repeat ZERO CHANCE of the Canucks winning this series if they don’t play more disciplined hockey and get more power-play opportunities AND more power-play goals than the Ducks. So far it’s a BRUTAL START in terms of discipline and power play.

PERIOD 2:

1:00 Sedins look great but Pyatt misses and fans on a shot alone in front of the net…. *sigh*

2:00 Nice shift by Getzlaf and Perry. Then back go the Canucks and Fitzpatrick can’t get the shot off on a great chance… one can only wonder what Salo or Bieksa would have done.

3:54 Selanne recovers from falling off balance to make a great shot with the screen in front. And there’s Burrows acting like a buffoon after the play. Wow, he got lucky as the only one getting the penalty is Selanne. Bad call by the ref in favour of Vancouver.

6:00 Power play looks great thanks to Naslund but Smolinski flubs two passes to him by Naslund in the slot!!! To watch the score sheet alone is extraordinarily flattering to Smolinski. He really misses a lot of opportunities that almost any other Canucks would do better in executing.

9:30 Jason Wright predicts a Smolinski hat-trick. He adds….”It might be the Labatt’s talking.”

10:00 Sedins look good on the power-lay.

11:55 Nathan Smith interferes with the goalie. No call by the ref; a bad call again in the Canucks favour.

That idiot Burrows is acting like an idiot. Selanne gets off scott-free without a roughing penalty but Burrows should have been called for the high-stick. Bad calls by the ref. Wow the reefing is bad.

16:20 The Ducks look great on the power play. That McDonald is great.

18:00 Sedins and Naslund look good on the power play but no real great shot on net. Niedermayer, what a skater. Man he’s good.

End of period. A better period for the Canucks but the Ducks were still better.

PERIOD 3:

Ducks power play looks great. This game is over.

7:00 Ducks now put on the 3-forward trap on the Canucks break-out. They’re transitioning to protect the lead creating an opportunity for Vancouver but its likely too late.

8:15 Hmmm, no trap; it’s been abandoned for an aggressive two-man forecheck. Smart.

9:30 ANAHEIM GOAL. Great goal by the young guns with Getzlaf on the end. The forecheck produces a pretty goal. Vigneault wisely pulls Luongo (who is not to fault on any of the goals but should be rested in favour of Sabourin.

Anaheim 4 – Vancouver 1.

19:08 ANAHEIM GOAL. Hat-trick goal for McDonald. Sabourin looked like a sack of potatoes on that goal. Weak, weak.

Anaheim 5 – Vancouver 1.

End of period. No chance for Vancouver if they can’t find discipline, and find a power play. Naslund and Cowan were rare lights in a weak team performance. We definitely need Salo and Bieksa back. And I wouldn’t sit Fitzpatrick, I think its been clear who I’d sit… and I was a Sopel fan prior to the last 10 games of this season.

FINAL SCORE: Anaheim 5 – Vancouver 1.

Giving credit where credit is due, Giguere had a great game in goal for the Ducks. And all-around great game for the Ducks.

Jason awards the Lanny McDonald moustache of the game award to George Parros (6' 5" and 232 pounds; played 3:43 total game time).

Game 7 - Dallas Stars @ Vancouver Canucks

2007-04-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

PERIOD 1:

Uninspiring.

Watching the opening minutes of this game and seeing yet another stupid penalty, and the lack of offensive ability versus the Dallas defence I am suffering the total lack of motivation to blog.

PERIOD 2:

Much better. Dominant in fact. Thanks to a string of penalties by Dallas there's a glimmer of hope. We still need to score though and Dallas can't keep taking these bad penalties....

PERIOD 3:

Wow. The lack of discipline and the number of penalties by Dallas is stunning. Stunning. They’ve handed the Canucks the series!

GOALLLLL! Trevor Linden on the re-direct!! Amazing!

Vancouver 2 - Dallas 1

Big credit to Trevor Linden; Trev is a champion; a hero; a warrior! What play by one of the oldest players in the league who was said to be in his final season.

I can't watch the end of this... and yet I can't turn away. 3 minutes left!!!

END OF PERIOD. END OF GAME. END OF SERIES.

CANUCKS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CANUCKS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Final score: Canucks 4 - Dallas 1. Vancouver wins the series 4-3.

NOTES:

The Canucks outshot Dallas in 4 of the 7 games (ditto for hits and face-offs).
Marty Turco might even have been better than Roberto Luongo.
Much to the chagrin of Don Cherry who doesn't like them, the Canucks opted for their old retro blue unfiorms

Linden and Luongo deserve medals for such a great performance.

COMMENTS on other performances:

Marty Turco - perhaps the single greatest goalie performance in a series loss. I remember when Ron Hextall won the Conn Smythe trophy in 1985 when he lost the Stanley Cup to the Oilers. Turco was better.

The Sedin twins - they had one off game, but otherwise they were very good. Don't interpret their lack of point production as a bad performance; instead credit Turco for such a great performance.

Markus Naslund - great during the first three games, only satisfactory for the last four. Vancouver needs more from its captain. I wonder if he'll be back with the Canucks next year if we lose to Anaheim...

Willie Mitchell - stalwart, steady, reliable and strong. Our best defenceman.

Kevin Bieksa and Lukas Kraijeck - absolutely awful.

Brendan Morrison - completely absent.

Jan Bullis and Jannik Hansen - played well above expectation. Very strong performances. What did Jan do to evil Bullis? I hated that guy... and don't miss him. Love the new, good Bullis!

Roberto Luongo - Wow. Simply awesome. He's really amazing. Bert who?

I'm happy now. The season has been a success. Anything more is a pure bonus, nothing but cake. Anaheim likely won't offer up any cake though. I predict the Ducks in 5 games. But I welcome any result that contradicts that!

Game 6 – Vancouver Canucks at Dallas Stars

2007-04-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

PERIOD 1:

1:55 Damn stupid penalty for Bieksa to take. Man, he takes a lot of unnecessary penalties. Now we’re down 2 men and give them a 5-on-3.

3:05 GOAL by Modano. Great shot by the veteran. First goal in a tight series. It’s highly unlikely that Vancouver can come from behind now. Thank you Kevin Bieksa (grow-up and play like an adult moron).

Dallas 1 – Vancouver 0

5:30 Great screen shot by Salo with traffic in front by Linden. Lindros takes an interference penalty and the Canucks on the power play.

7:00 Terrible power play by the Canucks. Morrison gets a high-stick to the face and no penalty to Dallas. Brutal power play. We are going to have our ass handed to us unless we smarten up.

8:20 Wow what a cycle by Hansen. Great shift by Bullis and Hansen.

Once again I have no idea where Morrison and Cowan are… do they know this is a playoff game and if they lose this they are likely to lose the series and be golfing in 3 days?

12:00 Great break-out by Bullis… Smolinski takes his eye off the puck so the pass hits his skate and deflects forward (sheesh).

14;50 Another great break-out by Bullis… solid shot by Kraijeck.

17:21 Oh the ref notices the slight high-stick by Ohlund but none of the ones by Dallas.

18:00 Oh the ref notices the roughing by Burrows, but completely ignores Ribeiro. What bulls—t.

End-of-period – Canucks outshoot the Stars despite the penalty kills and poor refereeing. Despite the refs, Vancouver has to play MORE DISCIPLINED in order to win!

PERIOD 2:

5:45 Solid hit and takeaway by Cowan; great pass out front.

6:30 Lindros misses a gimme but Luongo was in position and would’ve stopped him.

Bullis leads all forwards with 9:05 in ice time. Well deserved too. Canucks now have the slight edge in shots 12-11.

Hansen draws a penalty on a good shift with Naslund. Power-play for Vancouver, but 21 PPs without a goal.

9:30 A better power-play but Kraijeck made a poor shot to turnover the puck. Morrison also turns over the puck. (Sigh).

Dammit Pyatt turns over the puck on the power-play. Good pressure now. I have no idea what the time is… (Where is the CBC score board and clock?!?!? Man does this network get it?!?! The answer is: no. We can look forward to another 10 years of Bob Cole and Harry Neale even though they (while giants at their peak) should have been replaced 3 years ago. Thank god for Jim Hughson because I’ll friggin’ snap if I hear Bob Cole refer to Markus Naslund as Mats Naslund again.

13:50 Geez, Turco looks great. Another great save on Pyatt.

15:00 Vigneault now has Morrison playing on the fourth line with Burrows and Cowan. Well deserved too. I hate to say it but we need to score. We need Naslund playing with the twins again.

18:40 Both Zubov and Bieksa have gone to their own respective dressing rooms. The way he’s playing we wont’ miss Bieksa, but Dallas will badly miss Zubov if he doesn’t return.

End-of-period. Hmmm, Canucks will need a power-play goal to win this and much better discipline. Without both we have no chance of winning this series.

PERIOD 3:

Dallas goal. Whatever. This game was over when Bieksa took that dumb penalty. Furthermore the series will be easily won by Dallas unless we learn to play like grown-ups instead of idiot kids – and FIND A POWER-PLAY.

Dallas 2 – Vancouver 0.

Until next game…

Lack of talent on the Canucks

2007-04-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

“Vancouver doesn’t have any talent… they just work really hard.” What idiot coined this? How do you rate the skill of Luongo? Hank? Daniel? Ohlund? Markus? And on and on.

Truth be told this team has a lot of talent. It’s not the flashy talent they’ve had previously, and it doesn’t have the great speed of past Canuck teams, but this team has a bunch of talent – AND they work hard.

An interesting statistic… Daniel Sedin leads all NHL players with 28 shots in the playoffs and yet only has one goal….

Don’t’ tell me the Sedins and Naslund haven’t shown-up… they’ve played great. But Turco has played better (and so has the Dallas defence and trap).

Post Game 5 Notes - Canucks vs Dallas

2007-04-19T22:57:00.000-07:00

During the series:

Vancouver is 1 for 25 on the power play
Dallas have beat Vancouver on faceoffs every single game
Dallas have out-hit Vancouver every game but one
Both Luongo and Turco have a save percentage above .960 – almost unheard of

Canucks versus Dallas – Game 5 Notes

2007-04-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

PERIOD 1:

1:00 Great move, shot and chance by Smolinski. Nice to see him play with his abilities and actually get a shot on net.

2:30 Bieksa gives away the puck again – once again proves he’s our biggest liability as well as being the most improved Canuck..

3:30 Canuck power-play looks suspect… but a nice shot by Salo from the point, and a great screen by Pyatt.

4:00 Great forcheck by Bullis. Boy has he improved from the regular season.

4:30 Lindros and team crash the net and take huge liberties with Luongo. The Canucks have to be tougher at the crease.

Lindros looks very good. It’s his first playoff game in 7 years – 3rd in 9 years.

10:00 Great penalty kill by Burrows, Bullis and Morrison. Ohlund doesn’t look as good… Modano is on the left point instead of Sydor, who scored their only goal last game (Modano didn’t have a shot!). Bad coaching by Tippett… he won’t survive the post season (this team has far too much talent to be down 3-1 versus Vancouver. I point to the coaching. Mark my word about him being fired (unless they come back to win the series… 98.5% unlikely versus Luongo).

11:00 Great defensive move by Sopel to beack check on Halpern! Text book!

12:00 Great shift by Naslund and Sedins! Great forcheck by Nazzy!

Why is Dallas dumping the puck in and laying up?!?! You can’t do that versus the Canucks. Wow, Tippett is really missing the mark with his coaching. The system is all wrong… Vancouver doesn’t have the big transition game; Dallas has to come with the aggressive forcheck and more importantly skate the puck into the offensive zone and set-up the attack. Where is the desperation?!? They lose tonight and they’re done… man, this is amazingly bad coaching.

17:00 Naslund is playing sensational! The forchecks, the hits, the hustle, the passing!

18:20 Nice work by Sopel and Bullis down deep... The turnaround in Bullis’ game is also remarkable. I’m beginning the think that destiny is on the side of the Canucks…

End of Period – Shots on goal: 10 for Vancouver, 7 for Dallas. Ohlund leads all players with 8:43 in ice time.

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PERIOD 2:

2:00 What hit by Hansen on Sydor!! Who is this kid?!? I love this Dane!!

2:40 Smolinski blows the 3-on-2 without a chance on goal…

4:30 Great pass by Morrision; great move by Hansen to break out and control the puck on the partial break!

4:40 Nice steal by Naslund at center ice. Definitely the best player on the ice.

13:00 Ohlund out of position so he has to take a penalty to prevent the breakaway… Sydor back on the power play. If Dallas scores I believe they’ll win this…

16:00 Great block and kill by Bullis!! Who is this guy?!?! Man I hated this dude during the regular season… I love his new evil twin brother!!

Nice power play by Dallas. An increased tempo and pace now to the game… it’s feeling more like a playoff game. Dallas is carrying the play now, but Vancouver has their chances (not too many shots hitting the net though).

15:30 Another great shift by Naslund and the Sedins.

15:45 Great poke-check by Luongo!

17:20 Tough play for Hansen to corral that puck and get a shot off on the 2-on-1… shot grazes the post too! Wow – that’s a big league sniper play!

18:30 Holy cow – the Sedins and Naslund looked like they were on the power play.

19:00 Great shift for Pyatt and Linden…

End of Period – Big period by Dallas. The shots are one-sided in their favour but the play was more even (the power plays skewing the shots and the appearance of an overly dominant period). Continued strong tending by Bobby Lu.

Another overtime period perchance? I'm not so sure... if I had to gamble I think the Stars are going to be aggressive and will push a little harder for the third. They should come out flying and establish a fast tempo to the third... if that happens there will be some goals and likely a regulation finish.

PERIOD 3:

1:30 Dallas almost scores on itself on the empty net! The puck grazes the post! Good god… is this a foreshadow of things to come for Dallas?

9:13 Yet another missed shot by Smolinski… is anyone else picking up on this? What has to be one of the worst shots by a top 9 forward in the NHL… he’s good on the cycle but the cycle is not a means to an end.

Great pace to this game now!

15:30 What pass by Linden to Daniel! What a move by Daniel! What a save by Turco!!

Bullis has had a couple of chances, a couple of hits and a couple of blocked shots… easily the best skater on the ice tonight. Luongo is huge… and he got a little lucky too with that trickle past the net.

19:40 What a move by Daniel Sedin to the net, but a spectacular defensive sprawl by Daley to prevent the move on Turco. Huge play by Daley.

End of Regulation – Vancouver 0 – Dallas 0

Yet another overtime! And Dallas has backed themselves into a do or die against the kings of overtime. Not a comfortable position. The Stars came out a lot better in the 3rd but it might be too late. It was an exciting period though… what a difference compared to last game (game 4).

Ron McLean just predicted Smolinski to score the OT winner for Vancouver… good god. To Brian’s credit he finished with 3 shots on goal but he was only credited with 1 missed shot… that’s dam generous by the statisticians.

Overtime 1:

Yet another overtime! And Dallas has backed themselves into a do or die against the kings of overtime. Not a comfortable position. The Stars came out a lot better in the 3rd but it might be too late. It was an exciting period though… what a difference compared to last game (game 4).

Turco has been dam good too. Wow. I really feel for him since his team is very unlikely to win this now… However, if Dallas wins this, they could win the series. The next game is back in Dallas and I think it close to impossible that they lose all 3 playoff home games to a Vancouver Canucks offense.

Ron McLean just predicted Smolinski to score the OT winner for Vancouver… good god. To Brian’s credit he finished with 3 shots on goal but he was only credited with 1 missed shot… that’s dam generous by the statisticians.

Overtime 1:

3:45 Great shift by Barnes and Halpern.

I’m so impressed by Hansen and Bullis. Morrison however… I’m not sure I’ve noticed him tonight at all (zero shots on goal, zero missed shtos).

God dam Kraijeck almost killed us with that dumb ass pinch. Too many men result on the desperate line change to save the ensuing Dallas breakaway. What a dumb ass penalty for a playoff OT game. Bieksa has the puck and carries it in… why would Kraijeck risk the pinch?!?!?

6:22 GOAL for Dallas. OT winner by Brenden Morrow. A great tip and a great move to the net by the Dallas captain on the power play (assist to Kraijeck).

FINAL SCORE: Dallas 1 – Vancouver 0.

SERIES: Vancouver 3 – Dallas 2.

Good show Kraijeck. This smells like Minnesota all over again.

Turco has to be the first star. I would personally vote for Morrow as the 2nd star and Bullis as the third but I don’t think anyone will vote for Bullis.

HNIC’s 3-stars:

1- Turco
2- Luongo
3- Morrow

Oh yeah, I forgot about Luongo…

Canucks fans should be afraid, very afraid. Having said that, it was a good team performance from top to bottom. Dallas is a very good team -- they're much better than what they are given credit for (they did have afterall 107 points in a division with San Jose and Anaheim -- both Cup contenders).

Post game notes – Game 4

2007-04-17T20:19:00.001-07:00

Dave Tomlinson’s (Team 1040 radio) 3 stars:

1- Luongo
2- Pyatt
3- Turco

Defender of the game: Willie Mitchell (almost 27 minutes in ice-time and the big goal-line save).

No show of the game: Mike Modano (no shots on goal).

Vancouver out shoots Dallas 29-27.
Dallas out hits Vancouver 36-18.
Face-offs were even at 30 each.

Dallas had 21 giveaways; Vancouver had 11.

Dallas has lost 7 straight losses in the playoffs on home ice and 11 of 13 (absolutely horrid).

Game 4 Notes – Canucks versus Dallas

2007-04-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

PERIOD 1:

A huge hit by Nagy on Salo. How uncharacteristic of the guy Hrudey called “scared” during game 2 (maybe he heard about that comment). It looked like a late hit to me though… but no call.

Turco plays the puck twice in the first couple of minutes… both plays result in a turnover to the Canucks.

3:30 Great play by Naslund to come back on the play… terrible penalty for him to take. Dallas looked awful on the power play.

7:30 Not a great penalty by Sedin. Again, Dallas looks poor on the power play.

12:00 Terrible, terrible refereeing calling Bieksa on Hagman (roughing?!). Bad call on Hagman too (wasn’t a dive).

13:00 Bad move by Cowan to take that penalty off the faceoff.

13:14 Dammit. Josh Green shoots puck over glass and hands Stars a 5-on-3 power-play for nearly 2 full minutes.

Great penalty kill by Vancouver. Dallas only managed 2 shots on the 2-man advantage. Lehetinen misses a freebie; he’s look nearly invisible in this series (too bad for Dallas as he’s such a great player).

17:00 Solid shift by the Sedins and Naslund. Hagman is really playing chippy and aggressive tonight (had only 34 penalty minutes this season).

18:00 Vancouver is carrying the play. If not for all the penalties it would be a one-sided affair in the Canucks favour.

18:30 Hansen draws a penalty. I like this kid.

19:30 What a dominant power-play by the Canucks!! An incredible save by Turco on Linden! Legendary!

End of Period - A very strong period for Vancouver. Outside of the power-play Dallas looks tentative and nervous and is being outplayed by the Canucks – particularly down low in their own end (especially against the cycle mastery of the Sedins).

PERIOD 2:

2:30 Dallas continues too look “scared.” Vancouver looks like their sitting back too… but not as much as the Stars. Playoff hockey anyone? My god the arena is quiet…

4:00 A missed interference call on Dallas! Vigneault looks heated!

4:30 Dallas picking it up…

7:15 Smolinski and Turco rough it up! And now Modano takes a hook… a rare 4-on-3 powerplay.

9:15 Great power-play by the Sedins. Sopel though looks awful. Smolinski blows another shot!!! My god he sucks. How many times does he miss a shot?!

9:45 Another power-play… not so good getting set-up. And now Salo takes down Hagman. Power-play over.

12:00 Great hustle by Bullis on the 2-on-1 with Green. Josh Green doesn’t look great tonight in his first night back from injury… Marty Turco looks great tonight. So does Trevor Linden. Norstrom also looks strong for Dallas.

18:00 Smolinski blows another chance on a 2-on-1! Of all people he elects to shoot instead of pass – and take a slapshot!!

19:45 Huge saves from Luongo!!

End of period - What a yawn (except for the end). Great goaltending by Turco and Luongo (no surprise). Hrudey says Nagy is still playing scared… “that’s probably why Gretzky got rid of him.”

Where’s Brendan Morrison? Jere Lehtinen? Brendan Morrow?

PERIOD 3:

3:15 Even though the edge is in Vancouver’s favour I’m concerned that the style and pace is now being dictated by Dallas… this is their game to win. Mind you Vancouver has an incredible record of pulling out a victory.

5:30 Strong transition game by Dallas. Henrik Sedin let himself be checked on the boards rather than using his bread-and-butter cycle.

6:00 Oh god, Smolinski is on again… and turns the puck over at the side of the Dallas net. Dallas comes back 3-on-2. Note to Vigneault: Santala would look better out there.

8:00 Geez, is this really a playoff game? You’d hardly know it… this might be the most boring Canuck playoff game ever.

TV break: I bet on the Rangers today (easy money). But I also bet on Minnesota figuring they can’t be swept… uh oh. (Although I bet on Anaheim to win the series, and the Rangers to win the series.

9:46 GOALLLLLLLL! Mathias Ohlund from a bad angle on a generous back board bounce (Pyatt gets an assist. Smolinski gets an assist but that was fortuitous to say the least since he yet again badly missed the net with his brutal shot). Turco really can’t be blamed on that goal. He had a complete flat-on-the ice stretch that he had to come out of from the other side of the net. And the puck took a very generous bounce. Full credit to Ohlund for that goal because he was supremely positioned to be able to make that play with a hammer of a shot.

12:29 Dallas goal credited to Sydor. I knew that lead by the Canucks was too good to be true. Great screen by Morrow in front of Luongo which is exactly what they have to do. Naslund turned that puck over on a rushed clearing attempt.

14:29 GOALLLLLL! Trevor Linden gets a well-deserved marker! Will it hold?!?! (Assist to Pyatt and Mitchell).

17:28 God bless Willie Mitchell for that HUUUUGGGE save on the goal line! Rebeiro should have scored – a great move from him. Rebeiro has been far too quiet this series. Dallas cannot win without Rebeiro and Modano getting shots on goal.

I really think Turco, Linden and Salo have been the best players. But I think Luongo, Mitchell and Pyatt will get the votes.

19:30 Burrows should have buried that shot on goal or should have dumped and chased… (great block by Sydor though). Dallas comes back furious and they get a great chance. What a shot block by Bullis! Wow! (He also gets honourable mention for a star tonight). I’m still wondering where Morrison has been all night?

19:47 Ditto for Daniel Sedin. He misses the net and gives Dallas the faceoff back in the Vancouver zone. Morrison wins a huge draw… and Vancouver clears which will seal the game!

End of Period – Holy cow! Vancouver sweeps Dallas in Dallas for a 3-1 series strangle-hold!!

FINAL SCORE: VANCOUVER 2 - DALLAS 1.

SERIES: VANCOUVER 3 - DALLAS 1.

3-Stars:

Luongo
Turco
Linden