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Game 3 Recap: The Snowball Effect


TheCanuckleheads.ca

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Fortunately for the Canucks, they've been down this road before. I'm not sure what it is about this team that sees them spiral so wildly out of control on occasion. But in Games 4 and 5 against Chicago, the Canucks got complacent and then couldn't stop the bleeding. After a 5-0 shutout in Chicago in Game 4, Vancouver returned home for Game 5, only to lay another egg. The 7-2 final was ugly, and you had to wonder how a team that had played so well in building a 3-0 series lead against their nemesis could suddenly look so impotent.

Obviously, when things snowball the way they did in Game 3 last night against Boston, you have to take the loss with a grain of salt and move on. After a tremendous 1st period for the Canucks, which included a 5-minute penalty kill on the Rome major, Vancouver seemed to have weathered the storm, and if it hadn't been for Tim Thomas' continued excellence, Vancouver might have escaped the period with the lead.

But they had no puck luck throughout the game, while Boston got a pair of breaks early in the 2nd. The Ference wrister to open the scoring 11 seconds into the second frame seemed to have eyes, and it came after Edler's stick broke trying to make a pass three seconds into the period. A hard-luck goal to be sure, but a goal that got the ball rolling in Boston's favour.

The second goal came on a power-play a little over three minutes later, and it was another bounce that went Boston's way, as Mark Recchi's centring pass deflected off Kesler's stick and through Luongo's 5-hole. Then, just past the mid-way point of the hockey game and with Vancouver on their third power play of the evening, Brad Marchand scored the goal that broke the camel's back. Despite the 2-0 deficit, Vancouver had carried the play through the first half of the game. Thomas had made some fantastic saves, while Boston had benefited from a couple favourable bounces.

But the Marchand short-handed goal was a brilliant solo effort, as he took advantage of some sloppy defending from Vancouver's first power-play unit. After stripping Daniel Sedin at centre ice, the Canucks had three defenders around Marchand, but Kesler, Ehrhoff, and Edler all looked nonchalant.

Edler decided to fish for the puck instead of defend, which allowed Marchand to chip it off the boards to himself. Ehrhoff, meanwhile, was skating back at half-speed, perhaps assuming that Kesler and Edler would be sufficient defense to deal with the situation. But Marchand was in full flight, and Kesler went for a lazy poke check instead of using his body to angle Marchand into the corner, which allowed Marchand to waltz in all alone on Luongo, who also went fishing and missed. After that, the floodgates were open.

In the end, the scoreline flattered Boston. Three of the eight goals were scored in the final two-and-a-half minutes, which once again makes you wonder what in God's name Luongo was still doing in net. Considering his propensity to give up more goals once his team has fallen behind by a few, why wouldn't Vigneault put Schneider in for the 3rd. I mean, what's the benefit to keeping Luongo in when you're down 4-0? Despite the scoreline, he hadn't played all that poorly, and the potential danger is that Boston continues to light the lamp, which is exactly what happened. No goalie likes being pulled, and Luongo may have told AV to leave him in, but why is the ultra-competitive Luongo making that call rather than the coach?

Tim Thomas, on the other hand, was the reason Vancouver was kept off the score sheet until it was too late, as Jannik Hansen's 3rd of the playoffs came on Vancouver's 40th shot. So 8-1. No big deal. Vancouver outshot Boston 41-38, and there will be games where things don't go your way. But unless Game 4 plays out differently and the Canucks look like a hungry and resilient team full of confidence, the snowball will be in full effect.

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