People on this board are critical because its safe. Its much harder to support a player than it is to call a player lousy. Its easy to see mistakes, harder to see the little things that are done right.
Passion for the local team can cloud judgement but I don't know why it, at times, breeds such negativity. Those same people can watch an out of market game (not featuring the Canucks) and find a way to appreciate those same little things done by other teams.