Listen to the collective sigh of relief from 7th Canucks all across both nations. Down 2-3 in the 3rd period, and hit with a 2 minute minor for tripping to Daniel Sedin, I wasn't feeling real good about my chances. I even told my wife that I felt like it would be one of those scoreless frames that ended in a loss for the good guys. To my glorious relief, I was brought luminous joy rather than suffering (4 points for the mysteries of the Rosary reference), when my boys stepped it up and polished off a solid third period effort to ride to a 6-4 game 4 win. It was (another) Mikael Samuelsson goal, a Sami Salo power play blaster as he skated in, a thrilling split the D goal from H-Bomb, and a finish 'em off empty netter from Mr. Empty Net Ryan Kesler that helped the 'Nucks to the comeback win. Have you ever seen Hank more pumped for a goal than the game winner last night? Great, great stuff.
So, after a game 4 win that was more narrow than it seems, is my confidence misplaced? The answer lies in 3 players.
Roberto Luongo: Oh Captain, my Captain! El Roberto didn't exactly stand on his head in Game 4, despite having some ridiculous saves, and he really hasn't had that standout game all series. That, leads to a little boost in confidence for me. Luongo is going to have an off the charts game in this series with the Kings, and we're just waiting for it. I wanted it in Game 3, but didn't get it. Now, I'm hoping to see Lu lead the team to victory with a crazy game at GM for Game 5. As they say in baseball, Roberto is due.
Mikael Samuelsson: Shamu has been freaking ridiculous. This is one hot Swede! After nailing down 30 goals in the season, and making the 'Nucks look like Mensa members for signing him, MS has now nailed 5 goals in the first four games of the series. He has been an unstoppable force. And, with Alex Burrows taking the role of the pest rather than the top line scorer, Mike has seen more time on the Sedin line. AV has created some kind of ultra superhuman Swedish dynamic that has been paying off. Early in the regular season, I used to say that as Samuelsson goes, so goes the 'Nucks. It seems that could be true in the playoffs as well.
Nolan Baumgartner: Don't laugh, this isn't a joke. The Orca have had a parade of #6 defensivement during the second season, thanks to the injury to Willie Mitchell. Andrew Alberts proved to be in love with the sin bin too much, Aaron Rome pulled something (his dignity, maybe) and ol' standby The Baumer filled the role. While 44 wasn't the answer to stopping to unhuman Kings power play, he did finish even on the +/-, which is good for a #6 guy. We need Baumer, or whoever fills this role for the rest of the series, to play significantly above their heads to solidify our chances for total victory.
So, heading back to BC with home ice advantage in this 2-2 quarterfinal series, I'm excited about our chances. The comeback kids from the regular season were back in action last night, snatching the guaranteed series win for the Kings with some amazing third period play. Now it's just a matter of who can win 2 out of 3. I have a hint for you: it's the team I root for.
Best of luck to Buffalo to get back on track, and a swift kick in the ass to Chicago to figure out how to play hockey and beat the Preds.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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