Ghosts of playoffs past are quickly being collected into the Ecto Containment Unit by Luongo and the gang (Do Ghostbusters references make me more of a nerd than your LOTR links?). When we looked at the chances of the Orca to go all the way to the Cup, we welcomed the chance of facing Chicago in the opening round of the playoffs. It sounds a little like a suicide mission the way the Hawks have knocked us out the last two times around. However, I considered it the perfect story that the Canucks could vanquish their playoff ghosts as a way of proving they were worthy of making it to the Cup finals. That being said, even I didn't think things would go this well.
Sure, this is a different team, and we all knew that this would be a different series than the previous two. But, didn't we think it'd be a little bit more like the last two than it has been? Roberto Luongo is focused and on fire against Chicago, and of all the players on the Canucks, he has had the most need to reverse the curse. And I don't think he could have done much more over these first three games. Last night, he stopped 30 of 32 shots en route to a 3-2 Vancouver victory.
After giving up a power play goal to Duncan Keith that was so fast Versus couldn't even get back from their replays to show it in time, he completely shut it down. After that first power play shot, he went to finish 7 for 9 on the disadvantage, looking especially on point during an intense first period 5 on 3 (by the way, lots of BS penalty calls against Vannie in that opening period). Luongo stopped Kane, Toews, and Sharp all on point blank chances, and looks like he has finally taken his playoff game to the next level. Obviously, it has a lot to do with Chicago not being as physical with him. The Hawks offense looks more like a finess team than their previous versions, and it just doesn't seem to be working. Bobby Lu is too good for that stuff to work, and unless they start getting nuts with him, they're aren't going to have an advantage against him.
The offense was there in this one as well, as Ehrhoff, Daniel, and Samuelsson scored goals. Ehrhoff's was just about completely the same as Keith's goal, scoring quickly from the blue line right off the faceoff. Daniel Sedin's goal came on a nice odd man rush with Alex Edler of all people. Daniel was so pumped up after getting the goal on Crawford, and I think that was quite an inspiring tally. Early-ish in the third, Mikael Samuelsson came in and scored on the rebound, and that was enough to push us to the victory. It was a big goal for the Stanley Cup Champion after not being able to go in game two. The Canucks looked fast out there, seemed to be much better with puck possession and smart passing than Chicago, and they still showed the bigger and more intense physical presence between these two teams.
Now, we all know that the Raffi Torres hit on Seabrook at 12:14 of the second period is the story that is getting the most play on the day after the game. While a lot of Canuck fans are saying that it was a clean hit and a hockey play, I'm here to bring a little sanity to this whole thing. What in the world was Raffi Torres thinking? His first game back after his four game suspension for a head hunting shot against Edmonton toward the end of the season, and he went straight for the head of Seabrook behind the net. I'll be the first to tell you that it was a dirty hit. He went straight for the head, he left his feet, and he knew what he was doing. Right when the refs stopped play, Torres had a silly "Who me?" look on his face, shocked that he picked up a 2 minute penalty. In all honesty, Raffi should have been handed a five minute major for the hit with a game misconduct, per the rules, and if that would have happened, the Blackhawks would have remained on the power play after scoring the first PP goal by Sharp at 12:44 of the second. How much would that have changed the game?
My other issue is for the safety of Seabrook. No, really. For some reason, he takes a ton of huge hits, especially lately. He stayed on the ice after the Torres blow, and later in the game Torres took him into the boards on a clean hit (believe it or not), and he barely got up. After that second hit, Seabrook was sent off to the "quiet room" to be assessed for a concussion. Why did they wait? He got crushed in the head without knowing it was coming, and the Hawks sent him right back out there. Coach Q said, "Well, he's a tough Western Canadian." Yeah, that's a dumb thing to say, because he could have gotten really hurt, and you're playing with a dude's life here. If I was a Hawk fan, I'd be disappointed by the response of my team.
As a hockey fan, I think Torres should have been suspended for the remainder of the playoffs. He obviously didn't learn from his four game suspension, and even more importantly, if the NHL doesn't hand out punishment, the players will. Many people around Vancouver agree that if Steve Moore would have been suspended for his hit to Markus Naslund, Bertuzzi wouldn't have gone head hunting, and he would have been injured for the remainder of his life. That being said, I'm worried that Chicago is going to go after Torres to hand out the punishment that the NHL failed to assert. It's not a fun situation, and while I don't blame Chicago if they go after him, I don't look forward to what might happen if they do.
All that being said, the Canucks have played way above the Hawks in this series. Game one was a dominating effort, and the last two games have shown that the Orca are a much better team than the last two times around. Before, when Chicago would start to assert some pressure, the Vannies would fold. This time around, the Canucks are confident and step it up when called upon, and those are both very good indicators of success from here on out. It's a 3-0 series lead, and I don't think anyone outside of Jon Davis sees the Blackawks coming back from this one (although they still do have a chance to win in 7, right?). However, while it's a comfortable spot to be in because we can lose a game or two and not be in a must-win situation, I'm really hoping the 'Nucks go hard to try and complete the sweep. A sweep would be beyond my wildest dreams, and I can't think of a more appropriate way to show these knuckleheads the door than to knock them out in four games.
We're going into the Madhouse tomorrow night, and we're coming out with a sweep. Prepare yourselves.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
0 comments:
Post a Comment