Burrows, Canucks complete sweep.

SWEEP! SWEEP! SWEEP! Alex Burrows nabbed two goals including the game winner with 18.9 ticks to go in OT, Roberto Luongo stood damn tall with 47 gigantic saves, and my Vancouver Canucks finished off a four game sweep against the most disappointing #6 squad in recent memory. 

What a freaking win, man. The scoring opened up at 5:20 of the first period, with my man Kyle "Dub Dub" Wellwood stealing a pass in the offensive zone and putting a move on Chris Mason to shut the fans up. The penalty calling was relatively non-existent (9 total in game- most of them going to St. Louis). Neither team scored with the advantage, but at least the Vannies only went 0 for 3. The 0 for 7 night for St. Louis capped off more proof that regular season power play percentages don't mean a damned thing when you get to the second season. Alex Burrows quieted the Missourian crowd even more at 9:23 of the second period with an amazing redirection on a Shane O'Brien shot. The sweep was in the bag. Or was it? The Blues answered with two goals of their own in the second, rebound tallies by Brad Boyes and David Perron to square us back up. After a quiet third period, we were headed to the thrilling playoff overtime. Man, Roberto was good. St, Louis peppered him with 18 shots in the OT for a game filled with 49 shots from the Blues, and he just came up huge for the Orca. After a long overtime, the Canucks made things happen to end the first round. Willie Mitchell grabbed the puck in the defensive zone and sent one of those pretty two line passes that are legal these days all the way to a waiting Alex Burrows. Could he do it? My boy AB streaked into the zone with one defensive played coming toward him, but he fired a comet-like wrist shot that just found its way into the twine for the game winning goal. Burrows celebrated briefly before getting mugged by his teammates, and the Canucks have become the first team in the playoffs to punch their ticket to the semifinal. Wicked!

The media's three stars were respectful, with 1) Luongo (47 bombastic saves), 2) Alex Burrows (2 goals, including that dramatic game winner), and 3) Andy McDonald (1 assist?). Close, but as usual, no cigar. The underrated LSF stars of the game are 1) Burrows (come on, he's my boy), 2) Luongo (you have to respect the effort of two games worth of shots in one long test), and 3) Willie Mitchell (how many times do they have to forget about this guy? Two underrated assists, including the game winning assist on a pretty ass pass did the trick). Keys to the game? El Roberto was totally savage. With some solid offense, his catalytic keeping (does that work?) can't be overlooked. The Canucks only had 1 giveaway in the game, compared to the Blues and their 11, which is also pretty huge. Basically, however, I just think that we had the major momentum and there was no stopping us. The Orca swims on. Things to keep in mind? This was the Vannies first-ever-best-of-seven sweep in franchise history. Also, keep in mind that Sami Salo (groin) was an injured scratch along with Mats Sundin (groin), and we'll need both of those guys to make things easier in round 2 (especially Salo, obviously). Wait, both of the guys have groin injuries? Bedroom injury? Together!?

With the sweep, my boys head right into the Western Conference Seminfinals. BRING IT! What a first round; makes me excited for round 2. Here is the breakdown as I understand it: If Anaheim wins against San Jose, the Canucks would play either Chicago or Calgary OR if San Jose wins, we would probably play Detroit. So, for 1) a chance to play Jon's favorite team in round 2, and 2) to play an "easier" team than the Red Wings, I'm now officially rooting for the Ducks to upend the Sharks. I know it's sad, but it's all about the easiest path to Lord Stanley folks. Right now the Ducks and Sharks are tied at 3 after 2 periods, as the Ducks try to take an unbelievable 3-0 lead. 

I love playoff hockey.