Canucks and Kings Call for Reinforcements; Grabner in, Williams Out for Game Two

After 60 minutes of dominating hockey, the Vancouver Canucks were finally able to come together as a team coming up with clutch plays in overtime to defeat the Los Angeles Kings and take game one of their Stanley cup playoff race.

Roberto Luongo’s clutch goal line save was just the extra kick the Canucks skaters needed after controlling the game from the third period onward. Henrik Sedin parked behind the LA goal and Mikael Samuelsson found some open space in the high slot, burying home the Art Ross winner’s pass from a certain persons “office”. Samuelsson’s second goal of the night capped off a dominating performance for the Canucks who got stronger as the game went on.

The Canucks’ domination of play and intense pressure in overtime would have been rendered irrelevant if not for Roberto Luongo’s brilliant desperation save on Jack Johnson in overtime. Luongo’s quickness and presence of mind to swat the puck off the line as it trickled towards the red line was an early indication that the Canuck captain is ready to answer the critics in the playoffs. In the duel between Jonathan Quick and Roberto Luongo, Luongo is simply capable of and has proven more as a goaltender; Thursday’s guarantee for highlight of the night is a prime example of just that.

While the shot totals indicate the Canucks handily took care of the Kings Thursday, the play of Jonathan Quick and the lack of finish from Canuck skaters pushed the game into extra time. In the NHL playoffs, the inability to burry opponents when with momentum on your side can be a killer; lucky for the Canucks their late game intensity was enough to finish the Kings shortly after 60 minutes.

Alex Edler’s dominating play Thursday night was the most impressive of all individual performances in game one. Edler’s play was not only impressive enough to draw comparisons to Nick Lidstrom, the physicality that accompanied Edler’s smooth game forced CBC commentators to comment that not even the Red Wing’ captain’s game combined such a smooth, physical style. Edler’s highlight of the night came after Drew Doughty’s coast to coast rush was ended with a bang as Edler lined up a hit just below the Canuck faceoff dot.

Drew Doughty came just as advertised in his first ever NHL playoff game, his solid defence and end offensive flair continue to impress me as I get to enjoy more and more of the younger’s solid play. That seemed to be the theme for many of the young Kings, a handful of skaters (Doughty Included) were playing in their first ever Stanley Cup Playoff game on Thursday night, a “first” that will help them re-focus in game two. Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Dustin Brown and others will be looking for a different result in their second ever playoff game.

Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting

After the rough stuff on Thursday night featuring a hard check from behind by Andrew Alberts that cost him five and a game, could we possibly see a fight out of the Kings and Canucks tonight? Rick Rypien is ready and waiting however given his record this season, I don’t see the Kings going after the pound for pound champ. Rick Rypien’s most likely opponent Raitis Ivanans is out of the lineup tonight for the Kings.

Game 2 Tweaks

Los Angeles coach Terry Murray announced this afternoon that there will be three changes in the Kings line-up tonight. Justin Williams, Raitis Ivanans and Randy Jones are out in favour of Rich Clune, Scott Parse and Peter Harrold. It’s a bold move from Murray who told reporters this afternoon “One of the hardest things a coach has to do is taking a veteran player out of the lineup.” Wayne Simmonds will take the place of Justin Williams on the Kings top line tonight.

In Vancouver, youngster Michael Grabner will get his first taste of Stanley Cup Playoff hockey tonight, taking the place of Matt Pettinger who surrendered two goals as part of the penalty kill unit Thursday night. In a role reserved for strictly penalty killing, the lack of performance from the Canucks’ penalty killing unit was a tough break for Pettinger who was brought up to take the spot of Ryan Johnson on the PK. For Grabner, the opportunity to prove himself as an NHL scorer comes against long-time rival Anze Kopitar, the two often played against each other as kids in the same Alpine League that included teams from Grabner’s home Austria and Kopitar’s native Slovenia.

Tonight’s game two matchup should follow the same blueprint as game one for the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks skill, speed and depth upfront should be the difference again tonight, Michael Grabner’s speed should add another dimension to second/third line scoring, another layer of the deep Canucks forward corps. The Canucks’ penalty kill must be better tonight, after allowing two power play goals on Thursday the Canucks will look to bounce back by minimizing the chances the Kings can get with the man advantage, which includes minimizing the amount of time spent down a man, listening Andrew? A five minute major will always mess with a team’s penalty killing statistics, however in order to burry teams like the Kings the Canucks need to minimize their time on the PK as the series progresses.

There isn’t much better than a nice Saturday night in the city to watch playoff hockey. Hockey Night in Canada, the voice of Mark Donnelly and 18,000+ and the downtown nightlife always make Saturday Night hockey a beautiful thing in Canada during hockey season.