Canucks Crumble As Hawks Win Series
Entry posted by Coreyoke
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Frustration. Disappointment. Anger. I felt all of the above after the Canucks fell 5-1 at home in game 6 to a Hawks team that took us by the throat and squeezed. That's it. Series over. You can blame a lot of people for losing this series. You can point to Luongo for his below average play through at least a few of the games. You can look at Vigneault who just can't figure out how to win in the Playoffs. You could lay the blame on Kesler or Burrows or Daniel Sedin. I, however, blame myself. I went to my Mother's to watch the game and I forgot my Canucks' jersey. They were 2-0 when I went to her house with my jersey on, including game 5. I am at fault, and now I'll go to the box for 2 minutes and feel shame.
I watched some of the interviews with the Canuck players after the game and none of them wanted to use injuries as an excuse. But realistically, they were already so thin on defence, when you have Sami Salo at 50% at best, and then you lose Alex Edler, it would take a pretty big miracle to beat the Hawks. Kesler had a right shoulder injury and Samuelsson had groin and back problems. I don't consider these excuses. These are reasons why these players didn't play at their best. They gave as much effort as they could and that's all they can do. I haven't heard about Burrows and Daniel Sedin, but I have a feeling they were also suffering from ailments. I realize that injuries are a part of Playoff hockey and I'm sure Chicago had it's share of issues as well. You just can't go into the playoffs expecting to go all the way when you know that you cannot afford for any of your top 4 defencemen to get injured. I said all along, if Salo gets injured they cannot win, and what are the odds of Sami Salo playing anywhere from 16 to 28 playoff games without an injury? Considering he's suffered 39 injuries in his career, I'd say they are not good. Having said that, you have to give him a lot of credit for even playing in game 6. Bruised balls and all.
Looking back to the trading deadline, Mike Gillis very likely knew that Mitchell was done for the year and he knew that Lukowich was out for the season yet all he came up with was Andrew Alberts. No disrespect to Alberts, I mean he would be a pretty good defenceman if he could skate faster than a glacier, but that's just not going to turn you into a contending team. At that time some of the columnists for The Province said that Mike Gillis' failing to get a quality d-man or two would indicate that Gillis realizes that this team is not that close to winning a Cup. I remember being a little upset by those comments. I must admit I can get a little defensive when it comes to my Canucks. Well it certainly appears now that those columnists were exactly right. Maybe it's a good thing that Gillis didn't give up Schneider or Hodgson or even Mayson Raymond. A good GM has to think long term and next year I expect this team to be a lot better with the likely additions of Hodgson and Schroeder. Gillis has a lot of work to do to try and get us some quality defencemen. I'm not convinced that you can go all the way in this league without a superstar d-man. History has shown that it is extremely rare. How many Cups would Detroit have won without Nick Lidstrom? Nobody can dominate a game like a defenceman. They can control games at both ends. A goalie can stand on his head but if nobody on his team can score a goal, he can't possibly win. This team has never really recovered from the tragic loss of Luc Bourdon who very likely would have been that superstar. It's time for Gillis to address this problem.
Back to game 6, I thought Luongo played a great first period and kept us in the game. It's just not realistic to expect him to stand on his head for three periods. That first goal he didn't have much of a chance on and then things quickly started to unravel, not unlike their 3 other losses in this series. I think Luongo is still learning how to play Playoff hockey and with this years Playoffs combined with the Olympics, I think he's learned a lot about staying composed and patient and relaxed. Nobody wants to win more than Luongo but sometimes that can work against him. He's been guilty at times of over-committing and getting too emotional. The best thing that could happen next season would be Luongo giving up the 'C'. It's been a pretty big disaster. He needs to concentrate on playing goal. I'd make Kesler the captain.
I think Alain Vigneault has improved somewhat as a coach this year. He's learned a little more about matching lines and giving the guys who are playing well more ice time. I wish he had better instincts about calling timeouts, and make adjustments during games when needed, and show some intensity once in a while, but I don't think he's capable of any of those. I hope that Mike Gillis decides to make a change, and I would consider Scott Arniel. Whoever it is, they need to come in and show that they are in charge. This starts with taking the 'C' away from Luongo and telling him that he's not in charge of how often he plays. They need someone to come in who doesn't play favorites. You have to earn your ice time. Maybe I'm being a little unfair, but Vigneault has coached good teams throughout his coaching career and he is 2 games below 500. Not good enough. All I ask is that Gillis doesn't make Ryan Walter coach.
The Canucks-Hawks series looked to be the series to watch in round 2 and it's been a huge disappointment. A lot of one-sided games both ways. The Canucks lost their 3 home games by a combined score of 17-7, after having the most home wins in the NHL this year. That's inexcusable. I'd be really bitter if I'd shelled out a couple of hundred bucks to go to one of those games. I don't believe the Canucks lost the series tonight, I think they lost it in game 2. They dominated from the start, got out to a quick 2-0 lead that could have easily been 4-0, and then collapsed. You can blame Luongo for a lot but the fact is that he played well enough in those first 2 games for the Canucks to head home up two games to zip. The Canucks let the Hawks into the series. The great teams find ways to win when the other team is down. The great teams go for the jugular. The Canucks still have a ways to go but I hope they learned a lot in this series. I hope they approach this as a learning experience and have the mindset that they need to improve collectively and individually. There are some really good components there and with a few good signings from Gillis, they will likely be serious contenders next year.
Whatever happens in the off-season, I will continue to be a fan. I've been on the bandwagon for about 35 years and I'm not going to jump off anytime soon. I guess I should be eating my vegetables and taking my vitamins so that I can live long enough to see this team bring that silver chalice to Vancouver. I just know in my Heart that one of these years all the stars will align and that perfect storm will blow in and this team will figure out a way to win it all. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later.
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