Canucks Looking to Kick the Bruins to the Curb

This series is looking more and more like the Canucks versus Hawks series from earlier in the playoffs.  The Canucks were all over the Bruins at the start of this match up just like when they faced the Hawks. The backlash from the Bruins was almost a copy of the Hawks comeback against Vancouver.  Now the Canucks are looking to put the knife into Boston just like they finished off Chicago.

The "Cinderella" team this year is Vancouver and destiny wants them to lift the Cup in victory.  Luongo will have to go into Boston with his A Game and character players like Lapierre or Kesler are likely to come out as heroes in a hard fought game.  The Canucks are able to win when it counts and that is the sign of a champion.   Luongo has managed to show up and play large when it counts.  This should be the case on Monday.

The Canucks are good and lucky whereas the Bruins are good and brawny.  If Vancouver can turn away from provocation from the Bruins forwards when they are fore checking, the Canucks  will see their first Stanley Cup victory.

Boston is a great team but Vancouver is well balanced.  They are winning despite the nonexistent output from many of their stars.  We expect this trend to continue as the Canucks try to put the nail into Boston's coffin.  We expect a great game tomorrow and hockey skills and character will win the day.  The fire in the eyes of Torres, Lapierre, Burrows, and Kesler will devour the Bs.   Luongo will be crowned king by the Vancouver fans but every victory has been a true team effort by the 'Nucks.  

A CANUCKS VERSUS BRUINS FINAL SEEMS TO BE IN THE CARDS

Monday night's clash between Tampa Bay and Boston was a perfect example of a good team getting lucky.  The Bruins triumphed 3-1 over the Lightning despite being outshot and out hustled.  The final score was deceptive, Boston was under fire all night but Thomas came up big as expected.

http://getrealhockey.blogspot.com/2011/05/looking-for-bruins-to-bounce-back-tim.html

The Black and Gold have got tons of character and we think the next game will be the last for this series. These guys will not let the Bolts off the hook and Tampa could come unglued in the next game if Boston manages to get an early lead.  The young stars playing for the Lightning don't seem to want it bad enough right now.   Bergenheim is done and Stamkos and the other Bolt hotshots have yet to produce to the level expected. In order to beat Boston they are going to have to score a ton of goals against Thomas and that will be almost impossible.  Tim Thomas is a clutch player and he is going to want to play for a ring.   He can taste it !!!

Now a Bruins versus Canucks final seems a definite possibility. Vancouver has got the Sharks number and we don't see them letting up. Joe Thornton fell to Raffi Thomas late in the last Sharks encounter but he has stated that he will play in the matchup on Tuesday.  This will not be enough for the Sharks.  The Sedins and Salo have come alive and the hustle of Torres and Kesler will close the book on San Jose.

 

We know have a Luongo versus Thomas matchup staring us in the face, if things go as expected. The final is going to be a barn burner.  This is going to be sweet boys and girls, so stay tuned !!!

HEROES ARE MADE IN THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS !!!

The Stanley Cup is the center of the hockey universe.  Players from St-Petersburg to Sault St-Marie grow up dreaming of winning the Stanley Cup.  It is what they do when they get that chance that separates the heroes from the footnotes in hockey history.

This year has been no different.  Some very good performances are making fans go nuts while supposed superstars are dropping the ball.  Guys like Ovechkin, the Sedins and Scott Gomez have been big disappointments.  Their 2011 Stanley Cup highlight reels will be tucked away for no one to see.  However there are players on all remaining teams which deserve a shout out for stand up play.  

Ryan Kesler has been a standout for the Vancouver Canucks.  His relentless energy has led to many crucial goals in both series that the Canucks have played.  The guy is a role model for all him teammates.  Another unlikely Stanley Cup hero for the Canucks is Chris Higgins. Chris Higgins who is a cast off of the Montreal Canadiens has come back to life and showed a lot of character during the games against Chicago and Nashville.  His play in the corners and in front of the has set the bar for his team mates to follow.

Martin St-Louis and Sean Bergenheim are carrying the day for the Bolts.  These two have been lighting the lamp for Tampa Bay at a furious pace.  Their heroics help put away Pittsburgh and Washington which in theory should have buried the Lightning.  The win against Washington was especially important given that they pounded them out of the rink in four straight.  Boston should be next to face the TB LIghtning shooting gallery.  Tim Thomas is going to have to shine like never before if Boston hopes to compete.

Speaking of Tim Thomas he is the #1 reason the Bruins are still devouring the competition in this year's Stanley Cup race.   This guy had to outlast Carey Price and just the other night he faced a barrage of 50+ shots and still took down the Flyers.  This could be the year of Tim Thomas if Boston finds itself lone wolf standing at the end of this playoff race.  Tim Thomas is the epitome of hardnosed hockey.  he is a strong competitor who wants this for the fans and his teammates.  Time will tell how things turn out but his 2011 Stanley Cup performances will last in fans memories forever.

VANCOUVER AND FLYERS FALL IN CUP PLAY - BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Saturday was another day of surprises in the Stanley Cup playoffs.   Both games played yesterday saw the favourites fall by the wayside with stunning loses. 

The Flyers were first to go down with a crushing lose of 7-3 to the Bruins.  Boston jumped all over the Flyers and never let up.  Every half decent shot found the back of the net for the Bees and Philadelphia was half hearted in trying to stop the melt down.  Tim Thomas was not nearly as good as he was against Montreal so there is hope for the Flyers for the rest of the series.  The power forwards for the Flyers can only do so much though;  the Flyers will need net minding to compete.

Vancouver was both lucky and unlucky in yesterday's match up with Nashville.  They were lucky that someone else than the Sedins' showed up and unlucky that the Sedins' didn't show up.   The Canucks led by Luongo played a strong defensive game and looked like they were going to sneak out of the building with a 1-0 victory.  The Preds kept up the pressure and just before the end they managed to tie it 1-1 and that set the stage for OT and a 2-1 win for Nashville.  This victory could be a momentum changer.  Vancouver seems help bent on doing things the tough way.  They let Chicago back into their series and now they seem ready to do the same for Nashville.  Vancouver's coaching staff needs to wake up the stars on the Canucks and get them scoring goals.  Vancouver was #1  in scoring during the season.  They need to go back there if they want to win the Cup.

The pendulum is definitely in favour the Bruins and the Predators in their respective matchups.  Their opponents will have to redraw the battle plans to keep up.  Stay tune because this will be interesting to watch.  Expect the unexpected in the 2011 Stanley Cup race.

  

“C” Back on Luongo Would Be as out of Place as Hasek Back in NHL

The question is: Should goalie Roberto Luongo remain captain of the Vancouver Canucks? Barring a trade, does back-up Cory Schneider have a shot in hell of ever becoming a starter, let alone of starting even 10 games this season?

One has to think that even if Luongo gets injured, Canucks general manager Mike Gillis would sooner enlist the help of an arthritic 45-year-old Dominik Hasek before handing the goaltending reins over to the unproven Schneider. So, the answer, in both cases, is: “No.”

Gillis has publicly acknowledged that Luongo staying the team’s captain could become a distraction and that the possibility of him giving the “C” away would be discussed next week. Considering Luongo’s performance dropped off this past season, his second as captain, both issues have come to the forefront.

Luongo is the Canucks’ $10-million man, at least this year, and even if he starts to channel Andre “Red Light” Racicot, his job is safe to say the least. The Canucks need to justify the contract, and, even if that worst-case scenario becomes a very sad and unenviable reality for the organization, Luongo will get every second chance in existence before Schneider even gets a whiff of starter superstardom. Gillis wouldn’t have it any other way, because he’s the former agent that signed the goalie to the 12-year, $64-million deal that has since become the bane of his and the team’s Stanley Cup hopes. Clearly, he suffered through a bit of an identity crisis during negotiations. But that’s in the past. In the present-day one has to question Luongo’s worth as team captain, and it isn’t very sizeable.

Luongo may be the team’s highest-paid player. On some nights, he may even be the team’s best player, but he has as much business being the Canucks’ captain as Gillis does showing in face around General Motors Place (or Rogers Arena) or even in the mirror after negotiating that contract. That’s proof positive that Luongo may very well still bear the “C” at the start of the season. By now, though, the reasons why he shouldn’t have been discussed to death:

1) Goalies cannot efficiently relay referee rulings to the bench and coach, due to their need to remain in the crease.

2) Goalies cannot conduct post-game interviews with the media, answering questions as to why the team lost 5-0, for example, without seeming as though they’re blaming every other player on the team except themselves for all the defensive breakdowns suffered during the rout.

3) Fashionably, the “C” on the jersey takes away from the statements goalies’ masks tend to try and make.

"My head may just cave in from all the added pressure."

While Luongo found a way around point #3 by putting the “C” on his mask (and not trying to make a statement with his bland-looking mask to begin with), points #1 and 2, arguably the two most important of the three, have been left unaddressed. As such, the captaincy has to be given to another player. The most realistic alternatives include:

1) Rotating the captaincy between several players, working out a schedule around the few games defenseman Sami Salo has decided to stay healthy this season.

2) Giving Daniel and Henrik Sedin half-crests and allowing them to split the “C”. I mean, how can you choose between identical twins when you would always be mistaking one for the other outside of their uniforms?

3) Giving it to Alexandre Burrows in a bid to give him more alone time with the referees, you know, to give them a chance to talk about God knows what.

4) And giving it to Ryan Kesler, who best exemplifies the characteristics of grit, hard work, and performance on a game-to-game basis.

At the end of the day, there really is one choice, and that is to give Kesler the chance to prove himself in more of a leadership role. The team really has got little else to lose after two straight harrowing post-season defeats at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks, both series ending with Luongo doing his very best imitation of a sieve.

So, the question now becomes: Are the Canucks good enough to challenge for the Stanley Cup? With the additions of Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis on defense, the back-end is now probably the deepest in the entire NHL and will likely perfectly complement the little-changed, second-most prolific offense in the league from last year. It all comes back to Luongo... can he return to his all-star form? That remains to be seen.