De Ja Vu; Canucks Look to Avoid Elimination at Hands of Blackhawks Inside the Madhouse on Madison

What is it about these Blackhawks that gets to the Canucks so easily? For the second year in a row in the NHL’s second season the Vancouver Canucks have been picked apart with surgical precision by the Blackhawks. Chicago’s ability to frustrate the Canucks with their impressive play and irritating chatter after the whistle has been the theme of this western conference semi-final rematch.

The Canucks’s consistent inability to ignore the trash talk and extracurricular activity during this series is the source of many of the Canucks performance issues. Discipline has been simply ignored throughout the series, while Alex Burrows, Shane O’Brien and others were able to get into the face of the LA Kings, specifically Drew Doughty; the Canucks have been the victims consistently in the second round.

Dave Bolland has gotten to Henrik Sedin, Adam Burish continues to slander the Canucks without fear of retaliation and Dustin Byfuglien simply drives us crazy, to the point that our captain is now being referred to as “Reboundo Luongo”.  The mental state of the Canucks is on very shaky ground.

Unfortunately for the Canucks, unlike Friday’s crucial game four, this game could indeed spell the end for Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks’ season. Now that the “do or die” scenario has come to fruition, can the Canucks step up and play with the urgency and intelligence necessary to beat the Blackhawks, let alone beat them three times in a row, twice coming on the road?

“We’ve got to refocus. The series is not over. Maybe a lot of people think it’s over, but it’s been done before- Montreal did it against Washington. It’s not impossible, but to do that, we need to get everyone on the same page.”  – Roberto Luongo

Yes Captain Roberto Luongo is correct, the Canucks need to play together as a single unit tonight similar to game one. Bad penalties, poor goaltending and lazy play must be replaced with discipline, timely goaltending and an unstoppable urgency.

“It’s not similar to last year, it’s exactly the same. It’s the same type of situation and the same results. If this isn’t the last wake-up call, I don’t know what it’s going to take.” – Ryan Johnson

Playoff warrior and shot blocker extraordinaire Ryan Johnson laid it out plain and simple for the Canucks and worried fans; with their backs against the wall the Canucks must be able to respond consistently with quality performances during the remainder of this series in order to have any chance what so ever against the young and skilful Blackhawks.

In order for the Canucks to win hockey games against the Blackhawks they must follow the game plan set out by Alain Vigneault down to the very last detail, these keys to the game will decide how long the Canucks can prolong their season.

• Discipline – The Canucks have simply taken far too many penalties, allowing the highly talented Blackhawks to pick apart Roberto Luongo and the Canucks on the man advantage. With names like Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook and Byfuglien on your power play roster, two minutes is more than enough time to get the job done when up a skater.
• Penalty Killing – The intensity of playoff hockey will always create more power plays, so avoiding the penalty kill all together is virtually impossible, however when down a man the Canucks have to simplify their game and focus on shutting down the ‘Hawks stars, forcing their second and third tier players to perform.
• Goaltending – As Alain Vigneault bluntly put it following the Canucks embarrassing game four loss, Antti Niemi has been the better goaltender throughout the series, and that is simply not good enough for Roberto Luongo. Luongo shouldn’t ever be so drastically outplayed in a playoff matchup like Antti Niemi has so far in the series.
• Coaching – From preparation to in game command, Alain Vigneault has been out-coached by Joel Quenneville this series, coach Q had been able to maintain his matchups even while on the road at GM Place, a sad statement regarding the in game coaching talent of Vigneault. Coach Vig needs to have his team fully prepared for game five, and should take notes from his coaching counterpart in Chicago on how to utilize last change.
• Work ethic. On top of all the other brutal aspects of their game in the last three meetings, the Canucks are simply being outworked by the Chicago Blackhawks throughout the series. The Canucks dedication to the forecheck and finishing checks aggressively in game one has simply disappeared from their game since that first night in Chicago, the Canucks need to find their groove again and attack the Blackhawks.

The Canucks’ have shot themselves in the foot so many times this series, it is simply not possible for them to collectively harm themselves again, their metaphorical feet have already been blown right the [Gretzky] off.

Breaking down a 3-1 series lead is never an easy task, however given the tremendously terrible performances in games 2, 3 and 4 the Canucks simply cannot play any worse, and should be able to mentally hit the reset button and start the series anew.

News and Notes

• Puck Daddy’s Sean Leahy wonders if the Canucks will be able to end their parade to the penalty box in game five.
• Members of both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks have a certain connection to comedy classic “Dumb and Dumber”. Unfortunately for the Canucks, the ‘Hawks pair just look dumb, the Canucks duo are simply playing dumber.
• Roberto Luongo has shaven his playoff beard in an effort to re-focus on winning; Luongo was all business on Sunday with reporters.
• The intensity and important of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is the most important time of year to hockey fans and players, however even the prospect of the Stanley Cup cannot trump the importance of family for Troy Brouwer.
• Lineup changes for the Canucks: Pavol Demitra will draw back into the lineup on the second line, leaving Mikael Samuelsson to skate with Michael Grabner and Kyle Wellwood on the 3^rd, and Johnson, Hansen and Bernier on the 4^th line for the Canucks.
• Vancouver Canucks: familiar with the 3-1 series comeback. The Canucks are 3-7 in a series after finding themselves down in games 3-1.The ’94 Canucks completed the comeback in the first round of the playoffs against the Calgary Flames, can the 2010 Canucks do it again?
• Steve Rosenbloom doesn’t have any faith in the Canucks, he believes the ‘Hawks will finish them off tonight at the United Center.

With the Canucks up against the wall and nothing positive to take from their play other than its inability to get worse, I turn to some musical therapy to prepare myself for either a devastating loss, or the beginning of a potential series comeback. Take it away, Hold Steady.

De Ja Vu; Canucks Look to Avoid Elimination at Hands of Blackhawks Inside the Madhouse on Madison

What is it about these Blackhawks that gets to the Canucks so easily? For the second year in a row in the NHL’s second season the Vancouver Canucks have been picked apart with surgical precision by the Blackhawks. Chicago’s ability to frustrate the Canucks with their impressive play and irritating chatter after the whistle has been the theme of this western conference semi-final rematch.

The Canucks’s consistent inability to ignore the trash talk and extracurricular activity during this series is the source of many of the Canucks performance issues. Discipline has been simply ignored throughout the series, while Alex Burrows, Shane O’Brien and others were able to get into the face of the LA Kings, specifically Drew Doughty; the Canucks have been the victims consistently in the second round.

Dave Bolland has gotten to Henrik Sedin, Adam Burish continues to slander the Canucks without fear of retaliation and Dustin Byfuglien simply drives us crazy, to the point that our captain is now being referred to as “Reboundo Luongo”.  The mental state of the Canucks is on very shaky ground.

Unfortunately for the Canucks, unlike Friday’s crucial game four, this game could indeed spell the end for Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks’ season. Now that the “do or die” scenario has come to fruition, can the Canucks step up and play with the urgency and intelligence necessary to beat the Blackhawks, let alone beat them three times in a row, twice coming on the road?

“We’ve got to refocus. The series is not over. Maybe a lot of people think it’s over, but it’s been done before- Montreal did it against Washington. It’s not impossible, but to do that, we need to get everyone on the same page.”  – Roberto Luongo

Yes Captain Roberto Luongo is correct, the Canucks need to play together as a single unit tonight similar to game one. Bad penalties, poor goaltending and lazy play must be replaced with discipline, timely goaltending and an unstoppable urgency.

“It’s not similar to last year, it’s exactly the same. It’s the same type of situation and the same results. If this isn’t the last wake-up call, I don’t know what it’s going to take.” – Ryan Johnson

Playoff warrior and shot blocker extraordinaire Ryan Johnson laid it out plain and simple for the Canucks and worried fans; with their backs against the wall the Canucks must be able to respond consistently with quality performances during the remainder of this series in order to have any chance what so ever against the young and skilful Blackhawks.

In order for the Canucks to win hockey games against the Blackhawks they must follow the game plan set out by Alain Vigneault down to the very last detail, these keys to the game will decide how long the Canucks can prolong their season.

• Discipline – The Canucks have simply taken far too many penalties, allowing the highly talented Blackhawks to pick apart Roberto Luongo and the Canucks on the man advantage. With names like Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook and Byfuglien on your power play roster, two minutes is more than enough time to get the job done when up a skater.
• Penalty Killing – The intensity of playoff hockey will always create more power plays, so avoiding the penalty kill all together is virtually impossible, however when down a man the Canucks have to simplify their game and focus on shutting down the ‘Hawks stars, forcing their second and third tier players to perform.
• Goaltending – As Alain Vigneault bluntly put it following the Canucks embarrassing game four loss, Antti Niemi has been the better goaltender throughout the series, and that is simply not good enough for Roberto Luongo. Luongo shouldn’t ever be so drastically outplayed in a playoff matchup like Antti Niemi has so far in the series.
• Coaching – From preparation to in game command, Alain Vigneault has been out-coached by Joel Quenneville this series, coach Q had been able to maintain his matchups even while on the road at GM Place, a sad statement regarding the in game coaching talent of Vigneault. Coach Vig needs to have his team fully prepared for game five, and should take notes from his coaching counterpart in Chicago on how to utilize last change.
• Work ethic. On top of all the other brutal aspects of their game in the last three meetings, the Canucks are simply being outworked by the Chicago Blackhawks throughout the series. The Canucks dedication to the forecheck and finishing checks aggressively in game one has simply disappeared from their game since that first night in Chicago, the Canucks need to find their groove again and attack the Blackhawks.

The Canucks’ have shot themselves in the foot so many times this series, it is simply not possible for them to collectively harm themselves again, their metaphorical feet have already been blown right the [Gretzky] off.

Breaking down a 3-1 series lead is never an easy task, however given the tremendously terrible performances in games 2, 3 and 4 the Canucks simply cannot play any worse, and should be able to mentally hit the reset button and start the series anew.

News and Notes

• Puck Daddy’s Sean Leahy wonders if the Canucks will be able to end their parade to the penalty box in game five.
• Members of both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks have a certain connection to comedy classic “Dumb and Dumber”. Unfortunately for the Canucks, the ‘Hawks pair just look dumb, the Canucks duo are simply playing dumber.
• Roberto Luongo has shaven his playoff beard in an effort to re-focus on winning; Luongo was all business on Sunday with reporters.
• The intensity and important of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is the most important time of year to hockey fans and players, however even the prospect of the Stanley Cup cannot trump the importance of family for Troy Brouwer.
• Lineup changes for the Canucks: Pavol Demitra will draw back into the lineup on the second line, leaving Mikael Samuelsson to skate with Michael Grabner and Kyle Wellwood on the 3^rd, and Johnson, Hansen and Bernier on the 4^th line for the Canucks.
• Vancouver Canucks: familiar with the 3-1 series comeback. The Canucks are 3-7 in a series after finding themselves down in games 3-1.The ’94 Canucks completed the comeback in the first round of the playoffs against the Calgary Flames, can the 2010 Canucks do it again?
• Steve Rosenbloom doesn’t have any faith in the Canucks, he believes the ‘Hawks will finish them off tonight at the United Center.

With the Canucks up against the wall and nothing positive to take from their play other than its inability to get worse, I turn to some musical therapy to prepare myself for either a devastating loss, or the beginning of a potential series comeback. Take it away, Hold Steady.

Enjoy the game tonight fans, I still believe in Blue, we always seem to do things the hard way anyways. Remember Canucks Fans – You’ve got to stay positive. Game Time 5PM Pacific on CBC.