Ah, nothing like water at 30,000 feet. Wait, actually, this water tastes terrible. I don't know how that's even possible. At least the cookies are good though. I'm typing this message on board a delta flight bound to San Francisco. For the next week, I get to spend my time (although most of it will be preoccupied with work) in a 'balmy' 60 degrees farenheit (about 15 degrees celcius). It was that nice in Saskatoon recently, until mother nature decided to play a cruel joke and go back to -10 and snowing for a little bit… so +15 is just peachy with me right now.

Anyway, it's about at this point where you're likely wondering why the heck I'm telling you all this. In inspiration of Canucks reporter Derek Jory somehow managing to convince the team to take him on the road to blog during the regular season (I'm still not quite sure how he did it), I'm going to try and write a few blurbs about my thoughts on the Canucks, the NHL playoffs in general, and anything else amusing that happens while I'm in San Fran that seems relevant (or not). Since I refuse to pay 13$ to get internet access for this flight, I can't read any of the latest news, so I'll just hash up my thoughts on a few things.

On the Raffi Torres hit on Brent Seabrook - This hit was legal, well, last year. The NHL has made it clear that they want to eliminate this play from the game, and I respect them from doing so. It's obviously tough on the players, as bangers like Raffi (ESPECIALLY in the playoffs) will often be put in compromising situations where they have to decide between going for the hit, and easing up or letting of completely, which may make him look bad in the eyes of the coach. I've been flying since 5:40 AM, so I haven't seen what the official verdict is. I'd like to make a disclaimer that this is only what I think the suspension will be, not what I think it deserves. The NHL will definitely want to make a statement, especially since Raffi is a repeat offender in such a short period. Suspending him for the rest of round 1 will not make much of an impact, seeing as the Canucks are already up 3-0 and this could just result in 1 game. So, my guess is that he will get suspended for the rest of round 1, and at least 2 games of round 2; but I wouldn't be surprised if he was suspended until the end of round 2. I don't agree with it, just stating what I think the league would do. Anything more than round 2 would be complete overkill in my mind.

*EDIT* Now that I'm at my hotel, I see that there was no suspension. This is great, but it still surprises me

On the Canucks success in the first three games of the series - It's not until now that you see the true value of the businessmen-like approach of the management and the team. You hear it every single game, the team takes things one game at a time. This is a great strategy, as it helps the team not get too high with the highs, and too low with the lows. I know there have been no real lows yet (as far as losing games go), but rest assured, they will happen. As a fan, I am trying to adopt this mentality. It's so easy to look ahead and say a lot of 'what ifs', for example, "What if the Canucks play (insert team) in the 2nd round?" "What if they make it to the finals?" "What if they win the cup?" I can honestly say those things have crossed my mind from time to time, but from a mental standpoint I'm remaining focused on the task at hand, which is closing out this series. One thing at a time.

My favourite playoff moments so far - Alex Edler's constant bashing of opponents, specifically batting away a hawk (maybe frolik, can't remember) like a fly when he tried to hit him. Also, Hammer's hit last night was pretty radical, I didn't think he had it in him. Another memorable moment was in the Rangers/Capitals game yesterday afternoon, where the Rangers thought they scored a goahead goal at the end of the 2nd period, only to have it disallowed because the puck crossed the goal line JUST as the clock ticked to 0.0.

Anyway, I have to go off and meet some people. I hope to make another post tomorrow, and I look forward to reading your comments! Anybody have good suggestions for places to eat in Union Square in SF?

Take Care,

CanucksAtHome