Alex Burrows sent my living room into wild celebration just past 10 pm on Tuesday night. Until that moment, he was looking like the goat of the game and therefore the series. My boy AB failed to score on a penalty shot, after a really poor attempt (can you at least throw a deke in there), and then managed to get called for a hold at the start of the extra session. It's incredible, really, how the fate of a player can change so quickly. After the Canucks killed that nerve wracking penalty early in OT, Burrows buried a wrister in the upper-left corner and won the series. Believe it or not, he and his wife ended up having a baby less than 24 hours later. What a life, eh?
He almost fell down as he was getting ready to unleash his shot, and he sure is lucky he didn't. At that moment, he became a hero for this Canuck fan base, and depending on how these playoffs go, he may have just earned himself a statue outside The Roger. That's how much this game seven win means to our organization. After two years of our high expectations ending at the hands of Chicago in the Western Conference Semifinals, we were finally able to overcome what had become our greatest demon.
It means so much to us, that we have all kind of been celebrating as if we won the Stanley Cup. If we don't go on to win the whole thing, we'll always be able to say, "well, at least we finally beat Chicago!" That's how big this was. After the game, Roberto Luongo said, "I don't know, this one might be better than the Olympics." Do you even understand what he's saying? He's talking about winning the Western Conference Quarterfinals being bigger than winning the Gold Medal for Canada in the Winter Olympics, IN VANCOUVER! It would sound insane, if it were anyone other than these two teams. Because of what this rivalry has become, it makes total sense.
Imagine if the 'Nucks would have lost, which easily could have been the case, the way that the end of the game played out. All hell would have broken loose. Alain Vigneault would have been fired. Mike Gillis would have been ousted as the GM. Roberto would have been traded for a bucket of pucks. It may have very well resulted in the blowing up of the entire team. That's all completely honest, because we would all feel that if we couldn't do it with this team, what hope was there? This is the best chance we feel we've had in the last 40 years, and we have to seize the opportunity.
If you follow the blog, you know that I've been saying that if we could beat Chicago, we would win the Stanley Cup. I still feel that way. With that win under their belts, there won't be another team in between us and the Cup that can scare off these guys. We are unstoppable.
It's amazing how close unstoppable and completely stopped can be some times.
However, the celebration must quickly come to an end. The NHL, unlike the NBA, likes to move things along rather quickly in the postseason, and the 'Nucks are welcoming Nashville to the Roger in about 3.5 hours. Did I just say the Canucks were unstoppable? Hmm, maybe I spoke too soon. Look, I'm not going to lie. I'm pretty sure the Canucks are going to beat Nashville, but during the regular season, this blog heavily documented the difficulties we had with the Preds. Over and over again, they surprised us, and we split the four game season series with them. Add to that the fact that they're coming off of a series win over Anaheim, a team I thought would have been able to beat us, and we're looking at some serious competition.
I find it hilarious that most of the major media outlets are billing this as a battle between Shane O'Brien and Dan Hamhuis. Even Jon can tell you that Shane O'Brien is pretty much a non-factor. The only thing we'll think after watching SOB in these games is, "Wow, letting him walk was a good idea." He's a #7 defensiveman who makes a career out of taking bad penalties (and showing up to practice with a hangover). The Hammer is lightyears ahead, and I only hope he can stay concussion free long enough to make the Pred supporters long for the days when he rocked the Sabertooth.
Pekka Rinne is no joke, though, people. He joins Luongo as a Vezina Trophy candidate, and rocked a 1.26 GAA against the 'Nucks this season, along with a hefty .962 SV%. He's been solid all year long, turning himself from a punchline into a hero, and he'll give the Canucks a run for their money. This game may not be about the battle between Hamhuis and SOB, but it definitely is about the battle between the goalies. They will be the story in this series. And with Sami Salo out day-to-day, we all know his slapper from the blue line and shut down defense will be missed. Aaron Rome (who is slotting in for the defensive liability known as Andrew Alberts) doesn't exactly have the same kind of ability.
So, what do we think? The Canucks are now the only LSF squad still in the NHL playoffs, and I hope that means you're all rooting for them. But, since these teams don't have a giant history, I think we are faced with a serious question mark until we actually see them play tonight. At that point, we'll probably have a better idea of how this whole thing is going to play out.
I'm taking the Canucks in 5. Yeah, I'm crazy optimistic after that Chicago win. I figure that I want them to close out the series at home, and I don't want it to go 7 games, so there's how I came up with 5. My in-depth analysis must be blowing your mind.
'Nucks Misconduct brings a little more information: http://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2011/4/27/2137848/predators-at-canucks-game-1-preview-from-a-great-height
And, they also bring a nice little letter from a Chicago fan that I think shows the respect we all have for each other: http://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2011/4/27/2136185/from-chicago-with-love
Props to Daniel Sedin for being named as a Hart finalist, along with Perry and St. Louis, and keep an eye out for Max Lapierre as an underrated force in this series. He was so underrated in the Chicago series, and hopefully he keeps up the impressive play against the Preds.
Alright, let's go get 12 more.
Go Canucks Go.
By the way, when are we going to cash in on the wager, J?
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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