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A farewell to Kings, thanks to Jekyll, not Hyde


Andrew Bucholtz

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(To view this piece with accompanying videos, go here)

The Canucks made the <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=regicide">#Regicide movement</a> very happy Sunday night, knocking off the Kings in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilien_Robespierre">Robespierrean fashion</a> with <a href="http://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2010/4/25/1444361/another-third-period-rally-helps">a 4-2 win in Game Six</a> [<i>Nucks Misconduct</i>]. With the win, <a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=2950527">they take the series four games to two</a> [<i>National Post</i>] and will move on to the second round.

It's a result that many might have anticipated at the start of the playoffs thanks to Vancouver's superior regular-season record and goal differential, but also one that looked increasingly unlikely as the series went along thanks to L.A.'s strong play and the Canucks' issues.. Consistency is not the name of this team; they can blow you away one minute and then look like a non-playoff team the next. Their rapid identity shifts in this series made Jekyll and Hyde look normal by comparison.

The Canucks got off to a good start with an overtime win in Vancouver in Game One, but quickly dropped the next two games. Going into Game Four, they were coming off a devastating loss that spawned a flood of <a href="http://canuckpuck.com/2010/04/21/theyre-out-to-get-me-or-maybe-not/">conspiracy theories</a>. Their goaltending had been average, their discipline had been atrocious, their penalty killing <a href="http://trevorpresiloski.com/2010/04/playoff-postscript-canuckskings-game-3-there-was-a-second-shooter/">had been abysmal</a> [<b>Trevor Presiloski</b>, <i>The Internet Trashcan</i>] and they had acquired goals <a href="http://canucksarmy.com/2010/4/21/gdrc-gm-4-canucks-kings">from only four different players</a> [<b>Cam Davie</b>, <I>Canucks Army</i>]. They certainly weren't dead yet, but their claims to be getting better deserved some skepticism.

Under immense pressure, though, the Canucks found <a href="http://canuckpuck.com/2010/04/22/closer-to-the-heart/">the heart they needed</a> and came through in Game Four. They followed that up with a 7-2 thumping of the Kings in Game Five, and looked more like <a href="http://canuckshockeyblog.com/?p=3483">the dominant team we expected</a> [<b>J.J. Guerrero</b>, <i>Canucks Hockey Blog</i>]. If they could keep that up, they certainly looked set to win Sunday and advance. If all depended on if Jekyll or Hyde would show up, though.

In Game Six, the early going <a href="http://www.benchedwhale.com/2010-articles/april/canucks-commit-regicide.html.">saw Vancouver's Hyde lookalikes return</a> [<b>Dani Toth</b>, <i>Benched Whale</i>]. The Kings took an early 1-0 lead and looked sure to expand upon it when Canucks' captain and star goaltender <b>Roberto Luongo</b> displayed the best leadership in action <a href="http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/posted/archive/2010/04/22/shatner-for-governor-general-page-explodes-on-facebook.aspx">this side of a certain Governor General candidate</a> [<b>Daniel Kaszor</b>, <I>National Post</i>], making a circus save off of <b>Ryan Smyth</b>.

Inspired by their captain, the Canucks bounced back thanks to goals from <b>Shane Bernier</b> and <b>Kevin Bieksa</b>, but they found ways to struggle yet again, allowing a <b>Drew Doughty</b> goal in between their two tallies. It was still tied at two late in the game, but <b>Daniel Sedin</b> came through with a 57th-minute go-ahead goal and <b>Alex Burrows</b> added his first goal of the series on an empty-netter to seal the deal. It wasn't a dominating performance by any standards, and both the Jekyll and Hyde aspects of the Canucks were on full display, but Jekyll won out in the end. We'll see if that can continue into the second round, but for now, the Canucks will celebrate just getting there.

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