The Chicago Blackhawks Are Bad

After two consecutive playoff oustings, you'd think it would be difficult to find a Vancouver Canucks fan who has anything but ill will for the Chicago Blackhawks. Unfortunately, this isn't the case, as some people think the Blackhawks are all right. Yes, some people have a hard time hating a team with plenty of ties to the West Coast. Some people watched Jonathan Toews lead Canada to an Olympic gold medal, and they think he's A-okay. And some people simply have the Blackhawks confused with other things. Good things. Things for which they feel fondness.

It's time to clear this up once and for all. People, hear me: the Chicago Blackhawks are bad. BAD. If you think they are good, you obviously have them confused with something else. That thing cannot possibly be the Blackhawks, because the Blackhawks are bad.

You may be thinking of Black Hawk, the Lakota artist whose 76 colour drawings are a part of Native American ledger art history. Black Hawk is admirable and sympathetic, especially since he was killed in the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. If you feel admiration and sympathy, you're likely thinking of Black Hawk. You couldn't possibly be thinking of the Chicago Blackhawks, who are neither admirable nor sympathetic. They are the worst kind of bad. They're named after atrocities.

2011 Round One Preview: Chicago Blackhawks

Let's make sure, whatever we do, this never happens again.

For the third year in a row, the Vancouver Canucks will be facing the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup playoffs. After two ignominious defeats in the second round, this year the Canucks will get the chance to exorcise their playoff demons in round one. The match-up is one the media, fans, and players have been eagerly anticipating, but it's not exactly a pure re-match.

The Blackhawks of 2010-11 are not the Blackhawks of 2009-10. Last season, the Blackhawks were just plain better than the Canucks. In the off-season, however, due to some mismanagement of the cap by Dale Tallon, the Hawks said farewell to much of their vaunted depth. Gone are Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd, Kris Versteeg, Brent Sopel, Colin Fraser, Adam Burish, John Madden and Canuck nemesis Dustin Byfuglien. Gone, too, are both goaltenders from last season. Playoff hero Antti Niemi signed with the San Jose Sharks while Cristobal Huet was sent to Switzerland to eat chocolate, wear pocket watches, and design knives.

Who Do the Canucks Want to Face in the First Round?

With the Canucks having sewn up their spot in the playoffs via a clever combination of playing in the terrible Northwest division and being the best team in the NHL, the time has come to consider who the Canucks will face in the playoffs. With a comfortable 10 point lead on the Red Wings for first place in the Conference, the Canucks could safely go .500 over their remaining 8 games and still be guaranteed top spot. So let's look at the teams that could end up in the 8th spot and face the Canucks in the first round.

Mathematically, there are still 12 teams that could potentially finish in 8th. Still, it's safe to say that the Red Wings and the Sharks won't be taking such a drastic fall. Similarly, the Blues, Blue Jackets, and Wild are unlikely to make improbable runs to the playoffs over their few remaining games. That still leaves 7 viable teams who could wind up facing the Canucks in the first round: the Coyotes, Blackhawks, Kings, Predators, Ducks, Stars, or Flames. Which of those teams would be an ideal match-up for the Canucks? Obviously, the Canucks don't need to be afraid to face any team this postseason, but which team would be preferable?

Obama Just Got Keslurked

Oh Ryan Kesler, you so crazy. This image, taken during the Blackhawks' visit to the White House yesterday comes to us courtesy of egatti, Canucks.com forum photoshopper extraordinnaire.

Part of me wonders where the secret service is, because this is some legit incompetence. Maybe the NHL let them monitor the crowd from the War Room? I can picture it now: Hey! This isn't a live feed to the crowd, this is the parade scene from Animal House! #NHLWarRoomQuotes

And then, because it's right near the end anyway, they'll keep watching. Who can blame them?John Belushi was awesome.

Ryan Kesler Is a Quiet Leader

The opening goal of Friday night's game versus the Blackhawks is scored when Christian Ehrhoff comes off the bench and immediately steps into a slapshot on the blueline. It beats Marty Turco cleanly. But here is something you might have missed:

We see, in clip above, Ryan Kesler turn back to the bench, seemingly disinterested in the goal that was just scored. He even commits the cardinal sin of leaving Ehrhoff hanging on a high five, instead coolly gesturing to the bench. Ignoring the immense sociological ramifications of being stiffed on a high five (even Gandhi couldn't handle it), what Kesler's issue here?

Well. Kesler takes his assistant captaincy very, very seriously. No time for silly high fives when there's leadership to be done.

It's important to note that this goal happens during a line change. In the IWTG, Skeeter pointed out that Cody Hodgson starts this play when he smartly puts the puck on net, low to Turco's pad, rather than dumping it in. Immediately after doing this, Hodgson initiates a line change and Ryan Kesler replaces him. But, because it's Hodgson's line that scores, Kesler foregoes celebrating the goal to ensure that Hodgson's role in it is acknowledged and the young centre doesn't miss the on-ice goal celebration. He immediately turns back to the bench and tells Hodgson to join his linemates.

It's a small thing, but it shows the selflessness and egality of the Canucks' core guys. It's an admirable moment of quiet leadership that undoubtedly meant a lot to young Hodgson.

Christian Ehrhoff, meanwhile, is still trying to to overcome the commensurate damage to his fragile psyche. Consider his turn as flail snail later in the same game: broken, he desperately tried to high-five Viktor Stalberg's face. Ironically, he may be on the precipice of the same dark times that Cody Hodgson has recently overcome. If you see him, give him a high five. He's one short.

Hat tip to Canucks.com forum member Hodgson99 for catching this one.

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Blackhawks, February 4, 2011

Canucks 4 - 3 Blackhawks

Was that an exciting game or what? The correct answer is not "what." Chicago came out flying tonight and put the Canucks on their heels through most of this game. It can be argued that they deserved the win: a questionable no-goal call went against the 'Hawks and the Canucks' first goal was demonstrably offside. Having felt the burn of poor officiating in the past, I certainly sympathize with Blackhawks' fans. At the same time, the 'Hawks had ample opportunity to win this game and gave up two leads, so it's a little unfair to place the blame solely on the referees.

In any case, the Canucks were, arguably, outplayed in this game. But, their best players were their best players and they won. It was marvelous. I watched this game.

• We at PITB have frequently complained about Luongo's tendency to use his glove to punch pucks rather than catch them. Tonight Luongo proved that Rollie Melanson reads Pass it to Bulis. Clearly Melanson took our complaints to heart and taught Luongo the proper use of his trapper. One of his finest glove saves can be seen above, but there seemed to be dozens of slick glove stops from Lu in this game. He was very, very good. It took a wide-open all-star and two rather unfortunate bounces tonight to get the puck past him.

• Chris Tanev made up for Luongo's lack of punchiness by punching in the Blackhawks' third goal. It was an unfortunate moment for the rookie who has played remarkably well since being called up. Unfortunately, with Andrew Alberts set to return soon and Sami Salo remaining remarkably uninjured during his first game for the Manitoba Moose, Tanev won't be with the Canucks for much longer. Still, he has vaulted his way up the depth chart like an angry pole vaulter and I have a feeling we'll see a lot more of him in the future.

• The Canucks' top line combined for 12 shots on goal and had another 9 attempts blocked or miss the net. They seemed to be the only line that was able to create sustained offensive pressure. Henrik finished with a goal and two assists to earn first-star honors. His bloodthirsty brother not only became the NHL's leading scorer tonight, he also passed Markus Naslund to become the Canucks' all-time record holder for game-winning goals. Remember when people used to claim the Sedins weren't clutch?

• Cody Hodgson had a decent game despite barely playing. A big reason for Ehrhoff's goal was Hodgson's smart play in gaining the zone and throwing the puck on net, which Tanner Glass reciprocated, creating the massive rebound for Ehrhoff to blast past Turco. Discussions of the offside nature of the goal aside, that was a hell of a slapshot. It ripped a hole in time, love and space, and was behind Turco before Ehrhoff even shot it.

• On the other hand, Hodgson went 1-for-5 in the faceoff circle and only played 7:11. And he left the ice too quickly to get a +1 in his plus-minus column. Kesler, Malhotra, and Henrik made up for Hodgson's lack in the circle, going 14-for-21, 10-for-15, and 12-for-16 respectively. Unfortunately, the Canucks went 8-for-20 in the defensive zone, a big reason why the Blackhawks always seemed to be there.

• The TSN intermission crew did a great job analyzing the two controversial plays, one highlighting the fact that Ehrhoff's goal was indeed offside and one showing that Troy Brouwer did in fact make contact with Luongo's blocker on Bolland's controversial disallowed Chicago goal. Still, the fact that it was such a minuscule piece of contact means it's still a bit of a sketchy call.

• Rough night for the third line, as they all finished on the minus side of the ledger. Particularly rough for Hansen, who finished a game-low -3 as he was on the ice for all three Chicago goals. It's unfortunate for Torres, as he was very noticeable on the ice tonight, throwing a couple solid checks and blocking 3 shots. Malhotra was solid in the faceoff circle, but was thoroughly victimized by Jonathan Toews on the Blackhawks' first goal, as he was squeezed off the puck against the boards and wasn't able to recover to pressure Toews before the shot.

• Aaron Rome played a physical game: he was only credited with 2 hits, but they were big, noticeable hits. Unfortunately, he also was credited with 3 giveaways and almost cost the Canucks a goal when he tried to give Luongo a hug behind the net. To his credit, he recovered and slid behind Luongo to make a knee save on the subsequent goalscoring chance, but it was a clear sign that he has missed a few games and is a bit out of sync. That by itself is a reason to get him back into the game ahead of Lee Sweatt. An out-of-sync Rome in the playoffs would be potentially disastrous.

• Hips laid out Kopecky with a solid hipcheck, then followed it up with a picture perfect shotblock, also on Kopecky. You may have also noticed Luongo's enormous glove save on Kopecky at the top of the page. Basically, it wasn't a good night to be Kopecky. It was almost as bad as the Olympics, when the closed captioning spelled out his name as "Could Pets Ski." Unfortunate.

• Ehrhoff doesn't seem to get angry very often, but when he does, look out. He flipped out on Stalberg, flailing around like a Flail Snail. I admit, I only wanted to mention this so I could link to the Flail Snail. Seriously. Flail Snail.

• Samuelsson has been fantastic lately: he had 5 shots on goal, including this blast from the point on the powerplay that deflected past Turco. Even prettier, however, was his pass on Henrik's goal. Leading up to the goal were, of course, two Sedin backpasses, but those are so routine that pointing them out seems superfluous. Meanwhile, Kesler braved the crotch-hacking dangers of the front of the net, and set a perfect screen on Turco. So everyone was involved except Ehrhoff, who was too busy daydreaming about punching Stalberg.

• Daniel's gamewinning goal was a prime example of Wizardous Sedinerie: Daniel clearly used Mage Hand to levitate that puck over Turco. Now, since there were no somatic or verbal components, he must have both Silent Spell and Still Spell as feats. Applying both feats would increase the level of the spell by 2, meaning that Daniel Sedin must be, at minimum, a third-level Wizard.

• I'm a big fan of Ray Ferraro. He's one of the best colour commentators in the business. I don't have a joke here, I just felt like it needed to be said.

• An indication of how good a game Luongo had can be found by looking at the Blackhawks' four leading shooters: Patrick Sharp and Brian Campbell had 6 shots apiece and Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane had 7 each. Not one of them scored. Luongo answered the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything with 42 saves.

Maybe the Blackhawks Were Just Better Than Us

I've said before that Vancouver fans and media often suffer unfortunate bouts of tunnel vision when it comes to the Canucks. A Canucks' win is followed by praise, and a Canucks' loss is followed by blame, but nothing is ever attributed to the opponent. How did they play? Who plays for them? Is anybody on their team talented? Apart from gushing over Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, or tonight, Steven Stamkos, we often assume the guys who play for other teams have about as much volition as the targets in Hogan's Alley.

Recall an instance earlier this season when Alain Vigneault stood up for his defensemen following a game-winning Kings goal: "It was a simple 2-on-2 and two of their good players beat our two good defencemen and that's going to happen." It's incredible to me Vigneault needed to remind people that the Kings have players who can score, even on guys who are supposed to stop them from scoring.

Guys like Roberto Luongo, who takes blame for any goal, regardless of the circumstances. Did you know that a large part of an NHL players' livelihood is scoring on superstar goalies? They can do that.

With this in mind, it's typical that Vancouver's two consecutive oustings at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks have been painted as little more than collapses, disappointments, or failures on the part of the Canucks. It seems nobody's been willing to consider the opponent, or perhaps even utter the anathematic truth that, even at the Canucks best, the Blackhawks were just better.

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Blackhawks, December 3, 2010

Canucks 3 - 0 Blackhawks

What a relief. I was getting tired of hearing people say that the Blackhawks were in Luongo's head. Apparently, not only are they not, but we learned what is: beatnik poetry. Louie thinks he's Allen Ginsburg.

Yes, Roberto Luongo's poetry off the ice was about as bad as Vogon poetry (3rd worst in the universe), but his poetry on the ice was downright Keatsian. He made 32 saves for the shutout, including more than a handful of the genus spectacular. His padstack on Pat Kane was reminiscent of Kirk McLean, and his toe kick on Tomas Kopecky was as great a desperation save as we've ever seen him make. I'm a shortsighted guy and prone to superlative, so take this for what it's worth, but this was one of the best games Roberto Luongo has ever played. And I watched it:

• As far as I'm concerned, the intermission poetry gag actually played right into how the Canucks are beginning to approach the Blackhawks: lightly. Apart from the sleepy Voldemort game (which shall not be named), Vancouver has taken 3 of a possible 4 points in two games with the Blackhawks. Interestingly, neither game has been particularly filled with bad blood. I'll touch on this later in a guest post for Canucks Hockey Blog, but this year's Canucks seem to be playing lighter and with a lot less emotion. It's very zen. Is it the calming captaincy of robot Henrik (Robotrik)? Is is an organizational mandate from Gillis on down? I speculate that it's both. Either way, the Canucks have quietly beaten their two worst rivals in back-to-back games with calm and collected efforts. Luongo even asked mortal enemy Pat Kane if he was all right after a stick caught him in the face. That's like Wario offering Mario a fire flower. Kane seemed bemused, to put it mildly.
  
  
• Jeff Tambellini didn't net a goal last night, thereby ending his point streak, but he had a couple of incredible chances, and he led the team with 6 hits. 6 hits! I think he's earned a permanent spot in the lineup. He better have. The Canucks are now 9-0-1 when he plays, and their forward lines are considerably better.
  
  
• That includes the fourth line, responsible for last night's game winner (above). I've caught some flack for my insistence that Tanner Glass remains on the fourth line, but the truth is, as much as I don't like him on the third, I love him on the fourth. He's done some yeomanly work there considering his rotating cast, but now that he's been paired with Jannik Hansen and a center that isn't terrible, we're beginning see why the Canucks were so high on him. Speaking of yeomanly, I once played that word in a game of Scrabble. Huge points. Look out, Tanner. I'm coming for you.
  
  
• That kid from the tunnel who hit Luongo in the face (#headpokekid) is obviously good luck. Here's my proposal: Fly him to Vancouver, give him season's tickets, and let himsmear his grubby hands all over our starting goaltender before games. Apart from when Luongo comes down with weird kid sicknesses like chicken pox, head lice, mono, and whooping cough, we'll be unstoppable.
  
  
• In the faceoff circle, Manny Malhotra went 15-5 last night. You've likely heard this stat elsewhere last night, as faceoffs only ever seem to get talked about when Alternate Captain Mal has a good night. Also of note: of Malhotra's 20 draws, none were in the offensive zone, and 13 were defensive zone faceoffs. The rest of the team, collectively, took nine behind their blue line. Henrik had a rough night, only winning 5-of-15, but he took seven of the Canucks eleven offensive zone draws. There is an interesting, unwritten article about zone faceoffs, the Canucks uniquely multi-faceted faceoff trio, and Vigneault's personnel preferences. One day PITB will write it.
  
  
• The best defenseman on the ice last night: Christian Ehrhoff. I noticed him on every shift, and since he played 23:15, it was a whole lot of noticing. Ehrhoff played with a grit I've never seen and an intensity I've never seen. He even stood up for Luongo when Toews got in his crease. When has Christian Ehrhoff ever done that? On the offensive end, it was his excellent transitional work that led to the Henrik Sedin goal, and his seeing-eye wrist shot that buried the Blackhawks on the powerplay. Ehrhoff had been playing a bit spotty of late, and I was beginning to hear concerning murmurs about which Canuck defenseman was on the block. But, if Ehrhoff can play like he did last night on a regular basis, he'll be beyond invaluable.
  
  
• Keith "Hips" Ballard only played 12:45 last night, but he registered 6 blocked shots and 4 hits in that time, including one big hip check on Tomas Kopecky. Ballard appears to be finding his legs, which is more than I can say for Lady Helen Port-Huntley. In fact, the whole defense corps is rounding into form. It's about time.
  
  
• Speaking of blocked shots, the Canucks had 19 last night. Couple that with Luongo's 32 saves and you can see why the Blackhawks and their fans left frustrated. Add that to the 9 missed, and you've got 60 shots directed at the Canucks net and nothing to show for it.
  
  
• I loved Chris Cuthbert's call last night, especially when he was complaining about how many players on the Hawks had names that began with the letter B (Bolland, Boynton, Brouwer, Bickell). Cuthbert: "It's like they drafted alphabetically for four years."
  
  
• I talked yesterday about Ryan Kesler as the team's top powerplay skater. He is the catalyst for this powerplay goal, as he gets the winger win on the faceoff, and then gets to the net quickly for a perfect screen. While he doesn't get a point out of it, this one's all Kesler.
  
  
• And finally: can I gush over the many set plays the Sedins and Alex Burrows have? We all know about the one they do off the faceoff, but how about their lob pass for the breakout? We see this work for a scoring chance--usually a 2-on-1 or a breakaway--about once a game. Here it results in a goal when Patrick Sharp takes the shift off, and Henrik glides in alone to clean up Daniel Sedin's rebound.
  

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Blackhawks, November 20, 2010

Canucks 1 - 7 Blackhawks

Vancouver played tonight with a degree of poorness that I can only partially explain. Apparently misinformed about what was supposed to happen tonight, the Canucks showed up for a slumber party. Then, undeterred by the fact that their guests were playing ice hockey, our boys decided to go to sleep anyway. When they awoke, they were being soundly embarrassed by a Chicago team you'd think they would have gotten up to play.

But they did not get up; they slept. And unfortunately, both PITB and the Chicago Blackhawks were wide awake the whole time, thinking they must be dreaming when it became apparent how easily the Canucks were going to let this one go. Ugh. Yuck. Blech. We watched this game:

• I've talked in the past about how the Canucks' defense is in complete disarray, and it showed tonight. Bieksa was getting all the blame at the Forum Sports Bar (where we watched the game with fellow bloggers), but this monstrosity was a team effort. Every defenseman finished minus-2 or worse. I was remarking, on the drive home, about how nobody on the back-end is playing in their established position of strength from last year. Everybody's playing the wrong side, with the wrong type of partner. It's maddening.

• An example: in the absence of Sami Salo, Christian Ehrhoff has been asked to become the Sedins' third passing option, but he's much better playing off the rush with Kesler and Raymond. His blueline pinching isn't as heady, and his choices aren't as sound. Furthermore, he's not receiving the twins' passes cleanly even when he does it right. In the Every Goal series, I detailed how many of his goals came with the second line. He's better there. This is just one of many examples of how the defense can't seem to find a groove.

• The problem with Ehrhoff's struggles is that they affect everyone else--most notably, Kevin Bieksa, who has effectively become our no. 2 defenseman. He began the game paired with Alex Edler. Bieksa is better at pinching and keeping the Sedins' cycle game alive, and since Ehrhoff isn't scoring, Vigneault's been using Bieksa as the defenseman on the ice with Hank and Danny. The problem is that Bieksa isn't a two-way defenseman; he's a one-way defenseman that can go both ways. If he's focused on defense, he doesn't play offense, and if he's focused on offense, the puck is going into somebody's net. He seems to be playing unsure of how he's playing. But that goes for most of the defenders.

• Even Dan Hamhuis is playing poorly, and he started off the year playing so well. His foot injury came at a terrible time, and it's clearly still bothering him. It's frustrating because it's been long enough now since he's been playing well that fans are beginning to wonder if he ever was. He was. He's no has-been. He might again.

• It's hecka easy to complain after a night like tonight, so let's rag on the Sedins. Shocking pronouncement: they're underperforming. Don't let their impressive point totals, uh, impress you. The Sedins are scoring, but they're not getting any sustained offensive pressure. The problem with that is that if you can't hem your opponent in the offensive zone, the party's coming to your house. The Canucks' strength over the past few seasons has been 5-on-5 play (remember the LA series, where they outplayed the Kings 5-on-5 drastically) , but that strength is borne from two lines that cycle the puck and retain possession. The Sedins used to do it the best. Not so much lately. They're still scoring, but the puck is coming back to the defensive zone far too quickly, and that's putting too much pressure on a defensive unit that can't handle it right now. People said the Sedins were invisible tonight, and they were. But they're invisible on nights when they score if they can't establish their cycle game and eat the clock with sustained pressure.

• People were taking shots at Henrik for being a poor captain tonight. Is this fair? Here's my thinking: if we're seeing evidence that wearing the C for the Canucks makes you play worse, we should give it to Peter Schaefer. Nobody will notice. Or better yet, give it to the other team's captain, so he'll play really terribly against us.

• I was relieved when Luongo got pulled and Schneider played just as poorly. Thank you, Cory, for your part in mitigating the potential goaltending controversy. That's just teamwork. When nobody's playing well, it's best to go with the flow.

• The good news is that Luongo usually plays fabulously in the game after he gets pulled, so we should expect a win tonight in Phoenix. I was thinking to myself: if he plays so well after getting yanked, the Canucks should yank him in games before big games, so he'll win them. In fact, they should just yank him all the time, even when he's not playing. On off days, Vigneault or Melanson should call him and tell him he just got the hook so he'll play well next game.

• You know things are going awfully when people's expectations have been so tempered they're just praying the Canucks don't get shut out. Samuelsson's goal was a little like salvaging three hubcaps from a totalled car. It's completely meaningless, but it's something. And good on Ryan Kesler, the only Canuck who didn't finish the game in the minuses, for the inside-outside move he made to get that scoring chance. He was the best Canuck tonight.

• I wrote myself a letter before the game asking my future self to come back in the time machine he invents (that's happening), to warn me if the Canucks were going to get whooped. I thought we were going to win tonight because I didn't show. That said, it was probably for the best that Future Harrison stayed away. I was actually planning to murder him and steal the credit for his work. Know thyself.

• There were green children at tonight's game. The green men have reproduced, and this merits a discussion. We know there are green women after one appeared on CBC last postseason and Ron Maclean told her to take her top off. But, despite being gendered, green people are without sex organs, so how do they reproduce? I suggest asexually. Green men are like earthworms. It's possible, in fact, that one of them is actually Earthworm Jim and the green spandex is actually his next generation robotic suit.

• There is good news: the garbage play from the whole team meant Alain Vigneault could play his fourth line more. That's a minor victory, right? More ice time for Tanner Glass?

• Poor Joel Perrault was probably sitting on the bench thinking, Oh man, I am so gonna get blamed for this.

• More good news: a loss like this, at home, might be the wake-up call the Canucks need. They were bad on the road trip, but they were also playing poorly before that, when they were winning. The excuses (road trips, winning) have been quietly filtering out the evidence that they're in a genuine slump. It's patently clear now. Let's hope they get things turned around before we find ourselves in a situation where they're playing well and losing.

• And finally: how many goals do you think Alex Burrows is capable of netting this season? He has one so far. Richard Loat (@mozy19) believes he won't even hit 20. I'm not sure either. My concern is that Burrows spent two seasons in a golden zone, and this shoulder injury might knock him back to earth. My concern is that injecting a bum shoulder into the equation is a little bit like when Earth, Wind and Fire brought elements of disco to the funk.

• That last joke, translated for a non-black audience: my concern is that injecting a bum shoulder into the equation is a little bit like when John Lennon brought Yoko Ono to the Beatles. Also, The Mentalist. White people like The Mentalist, right?

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Blackhawks, October 20, 2010

Canucks 1 - 2 Blackhawks (Shootout)

I really hate the shootout. That said, I don't hate it for the reasons you think. The reason I hate the shootout is that it completely negates the facts of the game, and instead turns tomorrow's headline into a matter of wins and losses. The Canucks played well enough to win tonight and lost in the post-game coin toss. All the talk will be about their winless road record and their losing skid, but this one really shouldn't count. They deserved the two points. Unfortunately, they only got one point. It was hard-earned as all Hell, but it's one point shy of satisfying the fan's need for blood.

• Unlike the fans, who were out for blood they did not fully get, Daniel Sedin continues to reap the rewards of liquid envy. His goal tonight ties him for the league lead with Marian Hossa, and extends his 82-goal pace. Can he keep this up? No. Certainly not. But, bringing in the numbers from last season, we can see that Daniel has scored 17 goals in his last 17 regular season games. So maybe he can keep this up.
• Speaking of blood, was it just me, or was this game oddly devoid of bad blood? It was a very fluid and very clean game. It was lovely to watch, but didn't satisfy my bloodlust, like ice dancing.
• Still on blood: as much as I hate him, Jonathan Toews is a pretty tough nut. He took a puck right in the teeth, then casually skated to the bench like he needed to reapply his deodorant. There we saw he was bleeding profusely from the mouth. No big deal. He just broke his face. Whatever.
• I really wish Dan Hamhuis had played tonight, as the Kevin Bieksa-Ryan Parent pairing is more terrifying than the hallways of the Overlook Hotel (warning: clip terrifying). While they were both much better than last night, they got caught behind the play more times than they should have. Both of them gave Marian Hossa a breakaway tonight. That can't happen.
• More on Bieksa: It's gotten to a point with defensive breakdowns where I immediately check to see if it was him, and too often, it is. Tonight I officially decided I just don't like him. Every good thing he brings is offset by something detrimental. Skeeter is much more reasonable about these things than I am, so expect us to argue all season about it.
• One thing I do love about Kevin Bieksa is his gloved push-punch. He does it all the time. He and Tomas Kopecky were taking whacks at each other at every stoppage, and I saw Juice pull off a couple of cool, little jabs. Not cool, though, was an instance during the first period when Kopecky faked a slash to Bieksa's head. That's unsportsmanlike.
• Also unsportsmanlike: businesswomen.
• In tight checking games like this, it's impossible to miss what Manny Malhotra brings to this team. His stick-checking was impeccable. His faceoffs were glorious, as usual, as he was 14-for-20 in the circle. He led the Canucks to a perfect penalty kill, too. There was one instance when he came out of the defensive zone with the puck, and rather than icing it, he skated gingerly, through the neutral zone, backing the defense off before taking a slapshot on Turco. It killed ten to fifteen seconds that simply icing the puck would not have.
• Aaron Rome has increased his invisibility, which is to say he played a good game tonight. I'd prefer if he played less, but probably so would the Canucks medical staff.
• We forgot to mention this last game, but is Raffi Torres capable of making a simple pass? Every time he passes the puck, it's some complicated abortion of a pass that very rarely makes it to its intended target. There was one instance tonight where he could have chipped the puck off the glass, but instead, he feathered it across the ice in the defensive zone. The margin for error there is not unlike the distance between the earth and sun. One degree in either direction and everybody's dead. He does this far too often.
• It appears Alain Vigneault reads Pass it to Bulis, as the second line was finally reunited, just like we told him to. Sadly, the Raymond-Kesler-Samuelsson line didn't keep, primarily because Jannik Hansen played so badly on the top line Samuelsson had to be returned to it. However, when they were together they were good, creating chances and space. They had 11 shots between them.
• Though he led the team in shots tonight with five, Samuelsson suddenly appears hesitant to shoot. I never thought I'd say this, but he's holding on to the puck for too long.
• I found it interesting that the Canuck players had no idea they'd been selected for the shootout. It's a weird way to go about it, but it almost worked. I think it's safe to say that Daniel Sedin has earned his way onto the shootout shortlist with the sick move he pulled off on Turco.
• Roberto Luongo was fantastic tonight. He made several key saves, including a few breakaways. Unfortunately, he couldn't squeeze the puck in the shootout, and two trickled in after everybody thought he'd made the save. I haven't felt such intense excitement followed by shame since this dance I went to in the eighth grade.
• Know who wasn't nearly as good tonight? Cory Schneider. He didn't stop a single shot.
• Before you snicker at the shortsighted line of thinking above, consider that it's the same way this "goaltending controversy" started in the first place: opinions based on one game. Now that Luongo has played a good game, I imagine we'll put the controversy talk to bed. At least until the next time Schneider does his job as the backup and wins the game he's given.

The Game's Best Defensemen Are Always Here

Duncan Keith is pretty good. He is always here.

Vancouver Canucks fans are raw about the 2010 playoffs. They're raw because we lost to the Chicago Blackhawks--again, and because we lost in such a spectacular way: the profligate defense, the bankrupt penalty kill, the bedraggled goaltending... Pavol Demitra... Vancouver Canucks fans are raw because we thought we were better, that we deserved better. But here's the thing: we were treated to something incredible special during those playoffs--something that no other team can brag: we got to watch Drew Doughty and Duncan Keith destroy us for twelve games.

It was magical.

It's often hard to notice a good defenseman, primarily because a good defenseman doesn't make mistakes, and defenders primarily get noticed when they're beaten. NHL defense is subtle and fluid, remarkably so at the elite level. This is excepting the prodigous ones, the defensemen so good they can't help but stand out every moment they're on the ice. Duncan Keith and Drew Doughty? These guys basically glow. They do things no other defensemen can do, and you have to notice because you never see it. What's more, they do it at high-speed, with a mind-boggling grace and ease. They rush the puck like all-star forwards, they backcheck at lightning speed, they run a seamless power play, they possess the puck like no one else, and they dig the puck out of the boards while being completely unhittable.

Think about it: how many times did Duncan Keith swivel around and retrieve a Canuck dump-in? How many times did you scream, "Hit him!" only to discover the puck was already out, the 'Hawks were in transition, and the Vancouver offense was behind an odd-man rush. Duncan Keith was blink-and-you-missed it incredible all series long, and you saw it because you were exposed to him for six games.

What blows me away is that Drew Doughty was arguably better. We hated him more, because he singlehandedly carried that Kings team. In retrospect, who but Doughty made any noise at all? Other Kings scored, sure, but only Doughty made us clench our fists and pray to the hockey gods he passed the puck to someone less brilliant, less prodigous.

Keith, Doughty, it was a treat to see these guys, to have such a long, in-depth look at what makes them the best defensemen in the game. This article is to ensure that we appreciate this. Sure, one of them beat us, and the other nearly did all by himself, but despite our bias, let us understand that Duncan Keith and Drew Doughty, the Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin of NHL defensemen, treated us to something rare.

People talk about how the biggest problem with the Canucks is that we don't have an elite defenseman. We look at Doughty, Keith, and Weber, and we shake our heads, saying, "why don't we have one of those?"

I think our petty jealously blinds us to how truly jealous we should actually be.

These guys don't grow on trees. They're generational talents. Rather than demand Gillis gets us one, which is unlikely considering it would be like Gillis finding a Dragon Ball, we should bask in their rare and special greatness every time they come to town. In fact, I'm getting tired of hearing about how all the stars are in the Eastern Conference. No they aren't. Crosby and Ovechkin are. After that, it's a dead heat offensively (they have Stamkos, Gaborik, Backstrom, we have Sedin, Thornton, Kane) and defensively, we have everyone. Shea Weber, Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Nicklas Lidstrom, Scott Neidermayer. These are guys that can control an entire NHL game from the backend and control it in a way that is visible to the average hockey fan. Who in the Eastern Conference does that? Zdeno Chara, maybe? Chris Pronger? Maybe when motivated. Not every night, that's for sure.

As Canuck fans and as Westerners we should take stock of the privilege we have to watch The Sedins every night, to watch Keith and Doughty multiple times each year, and potentially see them up close and personal over a seven-game playoff series. We need to stop complaining about how the East doesn't care about us, how our geographical plight prevents us from seeing the game's stars. It's not true. During the 09-10 season, we got downright sick of seeing the game's best defensemen. We were spoiled.

Fun with Letters to the Editor: Blackhawks Whinging Edition

As a subscriber to The Hockey News, I get the digital issues delivered by e-mail before they hit the shelves. A letter in the upcoming August 2nd issue caught my eye. Mr. Scott Saxton of Lasalle, Ontario, has a rather, shall we say, innovative solution the Chicago Blackhawks off-season woes. Follow along with me!

I hate the NHL salary cap. I am not a Blackhawks fan, but what is happening to their club frustrates me as a hockey fan.

Strong words to start off with. The NHL salary cap certainly has its flaws, as has been adequately proven by the Ilya Kovalchuk fiasco of the past couple weeks, but clearly, Mr. Saxton has his eye specifically on the dismantling of the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup winning roster that has seen Byfuglien, Ladd, Versteeg, and others all shipped out of town.

The NHL should reward greatness and allow it to run its course. The salary cap only serves to dismantle progress and promote athletic communism.

Wait, athletic communism? Clearly we have leapt from the foothills of discourse into the lofty peaks of gross hyperbole. Even in the post-salary-cap NHL there are the haves and the have-nots. And yet, a team like the Nashville Predators continues to perform better than teams with significantly higher payrolls, such as the New York Rangers or Minnesota Wild.

And no one seems to be advocating “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need,” or else we might get some bizarre attempts from second-tier NHL players attempting to establish their need for a comically oversized diamond ring as if they were factory workers in Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged.”

Why punish the clubs who excel and get it right? Why not reward them?

Yes, let’s reward the Blackhawks for the absurd contracts they gave to Cristobal Huet and Brian Campbell, the ones that necessitated shipping out so many players. Huet, after all, played such an integral part of the ‘Hawks Stanley Cup run, earning every penny of that $5.625 million contract. And those bonus-laden contracts given out to so many of their young stars, giving them a carry-over cap penalty of $4.2 million is completely an example of a team “get[ting] it right.”

Example: the Stanley Cup champion could get an exemption to exceed the salary cap by $5 million during the season of their defense.

You know, like the Blackhawks did last season when they won the Cup, essentially exceeding the cap by $4.2 million in bonuses.

And really, nothing says dynasty like allowing a team an unfair competitive advantage.

This would allow them to re-sign integral parts or even further bolster a championship-caliber team. Don’t think this idea has legs?

This idea has many things, but definitely not legs. Maybe a couple armpits and half a buttcheek.

Well, at least let’s get this conversation going.

Let’s not.

Something must be done.

Something was done. The Chicago Blackhawks fired Dale Tallon.

The NHL is in the entertainment business. Watching a whole slew of middling teams slog it out each spring to see who is the best of a homogenous bunch is not entertaining.

Personally, I appreciate that the salary cap forces teams to get creative with how they build a team. With the salary cap, you can’t just fling contracts indiscriminately at free agents anymore, as if you were building a house by tossing a bunch of bricks in a pile and hoping for the best. Of course, that doesn’t stop some general managers, but building a team in the new NHL requires intelligence, foresight, and a solid plan. Dale Tallon demonstrated none of these things.

We want to see greatness. We want to see champions. The last team standing doesn’t necessarily give us this.

And yet, year after year, the San Jose Sharks have been on top of the Western Conference, the Red Wings have competed for the Stanley Cup, the Washington Capitals have exerted regular season dominance, and the Pittsburgh Penguins keep pissing off the rest of the NHL by being good, allowing for more marketing of Sidney Crosby.

Heck, even the Chicago Blackhawks have managed to keep their top-six forward unit intact this off-season, still have a formidable top-four defensive corps, and are a waive of Huet away from being neatly under the salary cap again.

Again, the reason the Blackhawks have had deal out their Stanley Cup winning team like a deck of cards isn’t because the salary cap is bad for certain values of badness; it’s because Dale Tallon gave out some terrible contracts while he was a GM. Huet was paid $5.625 million to be a backup goalie last season and Campbell was paid $7.14 million to be the third defenceman.

Don’t cry for the Chicago Blackhawks, Scott. They got what they paid for: one year with Lord Stanley. And only one.

Sharks Sign Niklas Hjalmarsson to Offer Sheet

Enough basketball. Here's some hockey news for you, from TSN.ca:


"The San Jose Sharks have signed Blackhawks restricted free agent defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson to a free agent offer sheet, signing the defenceman to a four-year, $14 million dollar contract.

Chicago has seven days to match the offer. If the team does not match it, they will receive San Jose's first and third round picks in the 2011 NHL entry draft."

Whoa! I don't feel bad for Chicago, because they just won the Stanley Cup, but this has to hurt for the fans, watching a young team that could have been a dynasty just get picked apart, piece by piece. And for those saying Dale Tallon over in Florida is a tiny god, keep in mind that he is the one who mismanaged the player salaries and timing of contract renewals, as well as overspent in free agency so perfectly as to allow this to happen. And that is why he's no longer with the Blackhawks.

Byfuglien Trade Has Glorious Karmic Factor

Short post, but I had to get something off my chest. I detest Dustin Byfuglien. As hockey players go, he's the scum of the earth. Is this a rivalry thing? Not really. Here's the thing: I believe it is beyond disrespectful to taunt the fans of your opponent when you score. And don't get me wrong. I'm no Don Cherry. Celebrate with your teammates--celebrate flamboyantly, even--but celebrate with your teammates. Don't celebrate as a show for the fans who, with that goal, you deflated and devastated. Don't revel in breaking their hearts. Revel in your success with the others that helped make it possible. I lost any respect I had for Dustin Byfuglien, even as the frustratingly talented nemesis of my team, when he taunted the fans of Vancouver. I was further incensed when he did the same to the fans in Buffalo. I wished all manner of harm upon him.

So it was, with unbridled glee, that I celebrated the news last week that he had been traded, in a massive deal, to the armpit of the hockey world, Atlanta. First of all, being traded apparently sucks, and I always sympathize for the players. But, in this case, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. where he will be expected to replace Ilya Kovalchuk and fail hilariously, be called out for having an albatross of a contract, forced to play with players that are not Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, and deal with terrible management. All of these things, in themselves, are wonderful.

But the most wonderful is the karmic factor. Look at these attendance numbers: nobody goes to games in Atlanta. They were third-worst in attendance last year. This year, without Kovalchuk, they are likely to drop a space or two. Byfuglien will be playing in an empty arena. What better justice for a player who systematically disrespects fans who pay to watch him play than to take those fans away. I am giddy.

I Didn't Watch This Game: Canucks vs. Blackhawks, May 11, 2010

It's true. I play guitar in a band and we have a show coming up, so I was busy practicing while the game was on. Harrison PVRed the game (he also had a practice with his band) and we intended to watch the game together, but the combination of exhaustion and depression kept us from doing so.

It feels like a kick in the chest right now, to have my hometeam that I care so much about out of the playoffs. I'll have more to say as a postmortem later on, but right now I'm just upset. Harrison and I will likely watch the game tonight and collect our thoughts on the season as a whole.

PiTB will continue. We're enjoying blogging and we hope you're enjoying reading. We'll hopefully be doing some video blogging to go with the writing and you might see some musical tributes to our beloved Canucks in the future. For now, let's just have a moment of silence for the '09-'10 Vancouver Canucks.

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Blackhawks, May 9, 2010

I Watched This Game is a recurring feature on Pass it to Bulis!, chronicling the observations and insights of two people who watched a hockey game.


My sincerest apologies for the delinquency of the previous I Watched This Game feature, which should have followed the Blackhawks 7-4 drubbing of our Vancouver Canucks. It wasn't so much that I didn't want to do it after such a sour loss; it wasn't so much that it was my anniversary this weekend and I didn't have the time; it wasn't even that the game was so similar to the one before it that the insights would have been identical; it was, well, all of those things.

But let's not dwell on the distant past, where we lost a couple of games by a wider margin than even the score would suggest. Let's dwell on the recent past, where the team gutted out an impressive road win and sent the series back to a game six:

• First things first: Sami's testicle. I'm sure, by now, you've seen the video, tweeted about it, and cringed along with the rest of the province. Everybody has. In fact, since last night when I made the quick post about it, PiTB has received over 6000 hits, which is more than the entire blog had received up to that point. People care about Sami's gonads. I don't have an update for you, but let me point out that when men in the media talk about putting it all on the line, they usually whisper in their hearts, "except for balls." Balls are generally exempt from the line; no one expects you to put them on it.

• My wife: Salo's got so much heart. As a ghost, he could have let the puck go right through him, but he didn't, for the good of the team. Yes, what a guy. Okay, anyway, the rest of the team.

• How about the play of Kyle Wellwood these past few games? Wellwood's been the best player on the ice since game 2, and he earned himself a third star nomination last night for his 2 assist game. Wellwood has been bearing down (what?), winning puck battles along the boards (what?) and throwing hits (WHAT?) all series and it's paying off. Wellwood's play earned him a compliment from Hughson, who talked about the Canucks' depth at center. (An Art Ross winner, a Selke candidate, and dependable ol' Kyle Wellwood.) A month or two ago and that would have been a punchline. Good on ya, Welly.

• I should point out that Wellwood always tends to play great when the team plays terribly, and vice versa, as though he's playing a different game entirely. As we often assert here on PiTB, Wellwood is weird. That's all the explanation I've got.

• The difference between the last two games and this one? Roberto Luongo's rebound control. When he swallows up pucks, it slows the game down, takes away momentum, and gives the team confidence. When he spits out rebounds, well, we lose. It's that simple. He needs two more games like that one. Can he do that?

• Shane O'Brien has sure taken his lumps over these playoffs. He's been called a clown on numerous occasions now. In the last two months, every member of the media has taken a shot at him, and every opposing player has had something to say about him. This is a bottom-pairing defenseman, you guys. Let us remember this. SOB has been a great story, and he's going to need to be even better with Salo out. He's shown flashes. We need even more.

• Game six is at home, where the Canucks are 2-3 in this postseason. Were they not the best home team during the regular season? Let's hope that's the Canucks' team we see on Tuesday night. If it is, I've got a good feeling about the outcome of this series. If it isn't, I've got a good feeling about the Phoenix Suns.
  

• The secret to the Canucks' power play? Shots from the point. Heck, the secret to everything is shots from the point. What's inside the Ark of the Covenant? Shots from the point. I especially liked Kevin Bieksa's PP goal, as it came on a one-timer. How many one-timers have the Canucks flubbed this postseason with passes that weren't crisp? One crisp d-to-d pass and it finds its way past Niema. More, please.

• Am I the only one finding Kelly Hrudey completely intolerable? He says some of the stupidest things and then stubbornly refuses to hear the other side. I fully expect "I don't care--whales are fish" to come out of his mouth soon. Between him, Milbury and the ever-slipping Ron Maclean, it's like a black hole of good content between periods.

• Good to see the Blackhawks taking the dumb penalties they've been deserving of. Byfuglien, Toews, Hossa, Bolland, Ladd, Eager... these guys have been slashing, running the goalie, clutching, grabbing, and hitting after the whistle without any calls coming their way. Finally, however, in game five, we got a few. Why? Composure. The Canucks kept their heads and it became apparent who was starting everything

• Speaking of composure, there is no better example than when Andrew Ladd punched SOB right in his temporary stitches, and The Gun Show didn't go ballistic. I would have gone ballistic. I would have been suspended for the rest of the series for how I woud have reacted. That was classless and cowardly. The word in Maple Ridge is even Ladd's mother wasn't too proud of that one. Happy mother's day, Mrs. Ladd--your son's a little puke.

• Instead of only railing on Blackhawks all day, however, I'd like to point out that Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith are incredible. The Canucks have been dumping the puck into Keith's corner and trying to get a hit in, and it hasn't happened once, because the little bugger is so shifty. That's incredible. And Toews leads the playoffs in scoring, which surprised me. I thought Crosby had about eighty-one points by now. Nope, it's Toews. These are excellent players.

• Michael Grabner has been impressive, has he not? The guy's a player for sure, and his speed caught the Blackhawks off guard two or three times for good scoring chances. Let's hope he pots one tomorrow night. In my mind, he's due.

• Can you believe Mats Sundin spent a season playing with Luongo and still doesn't know the proper pronunciation of his last name? Lalongo? Come on, man. Well, you know what they say: you can take the hockey player out of Toronto, but you can't take the Toronto out of the hockey player. Nah, they never say that.
  

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Skeeter watched this game as well:

• The Canucks put a lot of pressure on the points when Chicago was in the offensive zone, limiting the shots from the point, which is one of the reasons Luongo didn't give up as many ugly rebounds: fewer shots through traffic = fewer junky rebounds in front of the net. It's not coincidence that the 'Hawks one goal was scored from the point when Henrik and Burrows got their wires crossed and neither one pressured the shooter.

• Yes, Kyle Wellwood played an excellent game, as Harrison pointed out, but what was especially fascinating to me is that he was on the ice for the most crucial time of the game: when the Canucks were up 3-1 at the end of the third and the 'Hawks pulled Niemi for the extra attacker. He was on the ice from 18:07 until 19:15, when Burrows scored the empty netter (from a Wellwood assist, natch). Ostensibly it was for faceoff insurance, but I think it speaks more to how much AV trusts Wellwood defensively. Look for a post later today on the burgeoning defensive abilities of Kyle Wellwood.

• Ryan Johnson only lost one faceoff last night. He was 89% in the faceoff circle. Henrik won 63% of his faceoffs, one of which led directly to a goal. On the other hand, Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland were brutal at 36% and 15% respectively. When it's not called "hockey," possession is the name of the game.

• Surprisingly, with Salo out after the first period due to ball-distress (now will it burn when he pees?), it wasn't Ehrhoff who was the big minute-muncher. That honor goes to Edler and Bieksa, who played 27:23 and 27:04 respectively.

• According to the Team 1040, the story of the game was Luongo shaving his beard and refusing to talk to the media on game day. That's a pretty lame story.

• Big credit to Shane O'Brien for not even missing a shift after he was turned into a blood unicorn by an errant high stick. He played a solid 19:29 in the absence of Salo and was a +2. If Salo is out next game, SOB will be called upon to play bigger minutes, especially with Alberts only playing 10:38 with no extra shifts after Salo left the game.

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Blackhawks, May 5, 2010

Please Burr, may I have some more?

I Watched This Game is a recurring feature on Pass it To Bulis, chronicling the observations and insights of two people who watched a hockey game.

Another day, another Canucks loss, and what an anxiety-inducing sixty minutes this one was. The Canucks made it close a few times, but they could never tie the game back up. And let's be clear, right off the top: the Canucks lost this game. I'm going to moan about reffing later on, but this game was lost where the Canucks have earned every playoff loss: on special teams. Theirs wasn't working, the Blackhawks was. So let's get into it:

• As I said, this game was lost on special teams. The Blachawks went 2-for-7 and we went 0-for-4. How the Blackhawks were given seven power plays to our four, I'll never know, especially considering I know that the refs and I were watching the same game.

• Speaking of which, can you believe that goaltender interference hasn't been called even once in the losses? Not once. Two of tonight's goals were the direct result of goaltender interference. It's a great strategy, interfering with the goalie so he can't make the save... but it's against the rules, isn't it? I guess not.

• I'm reading all over about how great Dustin Byfuglien played last night, and yes, he was very, very good, but it's also pretty good to be an excellent basketball player if you're not expected to dribble it. Byfuglien's great game was unencumbered by any rule enforcement whatsoever. His hat-trick goal was a clear-cut case of goaltender interference, and his after the whistle runs directly into Luongo need to be called. So does the stick slash, specifically, and the fact that he was the instigator for nearly every scrum. But, if he's allowed to run around and play a game outside of the rules? Then yes, he's going to have a great game.

• How infuriating that, after all the garbage the Blackhawks were starting, Alex Burrows was the player who took a reputation call? I don't want to keep harping on refereeing, but, come on, man.

• The Canucks lost their composure tonight. I lost my composure. Any sane man is going to lose his composure when he realizes basic rules aren't being enforced. But you're going to hear a lot of about the Canucks losing their composure, and they did. I also lost my composure that time a boss mocked my mother's cancer. A lack of decorum will typically lead to a lack of composure.

• Enough sour grapes. The Canucks had more energy tonight, they were faster than the Blackhawks, but they seemed offensively out of sync and it cost them.

• I thought Kevin Bieksa played another sloppy game. He needs to stop being the direct cause of goals against. That's bad defending. Let's hope he gets things sorted out for game four.

• Roberto Luongo's rebound control has been a problem all playoffs. Before last night, he had five good games in a row, but almost every goal has been a result of him not being able to hold onto a rebound. Yes, sometimes you can't help it, but we need you to do that, big guy.

• I thought Kyle Wellwood was fantastic tonight, but all of his stickhandling and puck control needs to result in more than a drawn penalty. I've been hot and a cold with Welly all year, because he needs to produce in order to be effective. He tends to wow us without doing much of anything.

• Her'es hoping Alex Burrows' goal gets him going. He needs to start running Niemi the way the Blackhawks are running Luongo, but he hasn't been nearly as effective this playoffs as he was during the regular season. But how can you not be motivated after last night's trainwreck? I am confident that Burrows will show up on Friday.

• Don't panic, Canucks fans: we were down 2-1 last series and we won in six. In fact, that series and this one have unfolded almost identically. The special teams problems, the net-crashing, the offensive defenseman playing lights out. But we all know the Canucks adjusted and sorted it out in game four. Plus! Losing last night's game means that it's not unfolding the same way as last season's Chicago-Vancouver series, so at least we won't have to hear about the "startling similarities" to last year. This one's a whole different bird. Don't panic, Canuck nation, we've been here before.
  

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Blackhawks, May 03, 2010

At least Mason Raymond showed up last night...

I Watched This Game is a recurring feature on Pass it To Bulis, chronicling the observations and insights of two people who watched a hockey game.

Harrison rarely has anything to say after a Canucks loss - he gets all despondent and mopey - so it falls to me to make the I Watched This Game post this morning.

What an incredibly frustrating game to watch. My initial reaction was that the Canucks fell into the same trap as last season, getting an early one-goal lead and then falling back into defensive mode, trying to protect that lead for 40+ minutes, but on closer inspection, that's not what happened. The Canucks didn't let up offensively; in fact, they continued to press on the forecheck, continued to direct shots towards the goal (though few made it through), and didn't sit back to defend the lead. The problem was that they tried to play Chicago's game, letting the Blackhawks dictate the pace of the game instead of setting the tempo themselves and controlling the play instead of reacting to it. They let the game become a series of end-to-end rushes and were unable to sustain any pressure in the Blackhawks' zone.

Still, there are some positives to take out of this game and plenty of reason to believe the Canucks will respond with a better effort at home in Game 3. Some quick points:

• The Sedins and Samuelsson, other than a beautiful 5-on-3 goal, were invisible. The issue was that they were never able to set up and create good goalscoring opportunities and tried to force the puck through on low-percentage shots. Then, when they were on the powerplay they did the opposite, trying to set up the perfect play with too many passes when just getting a shot and a rebound might have been more effective. Frustrating game for the top line.

• The second line, on the other hand, was great. Alex Burrows finally started to look effective and it was while he was doing the simple things: working hard along the boards, protecting the puck, and getting it to the front of the net. Ryan Kesler continued his strong defensive play, backchecking effectively and creating turnovers. Still, it would have been nice if he had done more with that 3-on-1...more on that later.

• Mason Raymond was a beast. I reffed a soccer team a few days ago that had two sisters that looked almost like identical twins. I didn't realize there was two of them at first and thought it was just one girl dominating the game, appearing everywhere on the field. That's what it was like watching Mason Raymond in this game: he was everywhere, offensively and defensively. The goal he scored was an atypical Raymond goal, created by getting body position in front of the net rather than with his speed. He was easily the best Canucks player on the ice.

• Brent Sopel looked like Brent Sopel last night. There was a lot of talk after the Nashville season about how amazing he was on the penalty kill. Didn't see it last night. That 5-on-3 goal doesn't happen if he keeps his stick on the ice. As soon as he lifted it, Henrik slid the pass through to Samuelsson.

• There will be a lot of talk about the Canucks physical play (or lack thereof) after this game, but in one area I appreciated it: the Canucks did not respond at all to the cheap shots and smack talking after the whistle (other than one ill-advised run at Dustin "Feather-Ryfuglien'" Byfuglien by Rick "I'm Much Better at Punching" Rypien). The highlight was SOB gazing skyward as Burish tried to get in his face, as if SOB was contemplating the miracles of the universe.

• Besides, the hits were only 38 to 31 in favor of the 'Hawks. It wasn't the physical play that did the Canucks in, it was their inability to play their game and get set up in the offensive zone.

• According to Kelly Hrudey during the first intermission, Luongo showed a "different energy" while entering the arena for games 1 and 2 of this season. Apparently, to Hrudey, teal = energy. Also, what was with his half-assed paisley tie? If you're going to wear paisley, wear paisley. Don't wear a tie that's only a partial paisley.

• Bieksa had an awful game. Just awful. Beyond the Henrikian pass he made to Seabrook for the Blackhawk's first goal, he was out of position all night, letting Chicago players just waltz in on Luongo like they were in Vienna. The third goal happened because Bieksa left his feet on a 3-on-2, dropping down to block a non-existent shot instead of staying up and taking the man.

• SOB, also awful. Poor choices in defensive coverage, weak clearing attempts, and just all-around sloppy play. His worst moment was when he thought he was a winger and made a blind drop pass while entering the offensive zone, directly leading to a Ben Eager breakaway. Luongo had to make a ridiculous save to preserve the one-goal lead.

• On that note, Luongo played a great game. But did the officials think he was embellishing all game? Is that why no goaltender interference penalties were called?

• Does it amuse anyone else that Jim Hughson refers to Patrick Kane as "Pat Kane?" It's as if trying to make him sound more like an adult, rather than a punk kid. But we all know he's still just a punk kid.

• Special teams? The penalty kill was good, the power play was not. That about sums it up. You can't be giving up odd-man rushes shorthanded. The Canucks were far too casual on the power play and didn't display any hunger for the net.

• Speaking of shorthanded odd-man rushes, Kesler wasted a good 3-on-1 opportunity with an ill-advised shot. Harrison seems to think he made the right decision, but the fact is that the goalie and the defenceman were playing the shot and he had two wide open teammates to pass to. Niemi made a decent save, but he would have had no chance if Kesler had fed the puck across.

• As an aside, who was the doorknob 'Hawks fan that threw a hat on the ice after Patrick "Pat" Kane's empty net goal? Newsflash: hats are for hattricks.

• After all that negativity, I'm still optimistic about the Canucks through the rest of the series. It's now a best-of-5, with the Canucks having the home-ice advantage. The Canucks were dominant to start the game and could have easily been up 3-0 early if not for some unfortunate bounces. I'm enough of a believer in Kevin Bieksa and SOB that I believe they will bounce back from this game and lead the charge physically in game 3.

The Dangers of Smugness: What the Blackhawks Have in Common with the WCE-Era Canucks

Hockey players will often tell you they don't follow the media. It's bullcorn--of course they do. Remember Ed Jovanovski, calling in to the radio station every now and then, like a random listener, just to prove a point? Trust me. You can't avoid the media, and most of the time, I think it fuels the players' motivation to hear what the media are saying.

But not today. Lets hope the Canucks are as out of touch as I am when the Shaw signal drops out, because the city of Vancouver is way, way ahead of itself. The current Team 1040 poll question: If the Canucks win tonight, do they win the series?

Well, no. That's just simple math.

Overconfidence and smugness are the reason the Chicago Blackhawks gave up home ice advantage without much of a fight, and the lack thereof might be the Canucks' greatest weapon going into every single game of the playoffs.

Let's not forget that the Vancouver Canucks of the West Coast Express were known far and wide as a smug team, and it cost them. The WCE era was a great era for the Canucks for 82 games a year, but that's as far as it went. They never made it past the second round of the playoffs, they were shocked and embarrassed by a Minnesota Wild team that they underestimated (remember Bertuzzi's pompous mockery of Minnesota fans? after the collapse, he was mocked by a ten-year old kid with a sign that read, "Hey Bertuzzi, have a nice day"), and they were brought to their knees and eventually dismantled by an arrogant unwillingness to play two-way hockey. The Vancouver Canucks team of the early aughts was smug and overconfident, and while they were good enough to accrue wins aplenty in the regular season, playoff success never came, partly because they couldn't step up the work ethic.

The Chicago Blackhawks are suffering from a similar attitude, and it's not hard to see why. Their core is remarkably young, and they've seemingly all been NHL superstars since they laced up the skates. Everything's come easy to this group so far, and they've nearly admitted as much. "Maybe we thought this was going to be an easier series," Kane said after game 1. As Jason Botchford said in today's Province article, "Easier than what, we're not sure." It's a stupid thing to say.

Pat Kane has shown through his actions and his soundbytes that he's still got a lot of growing up to do. Even his playful playoff mullet betrays a character deficiency, in my opinion (it's about team unity whether or not you can personally grow a beard). Add this to the fact that the Blackhawks play a high octane offensive style, heavy on the flash and skill, and that they were joined this season by disloyal, team-hopping, Marian Hossa, and you have a recipe for a disease of arrogance. Even Quenneville's unwillingness to admit they were outplayed in game 1 by a competent team speaks to this. ("Self-inflicted wounds?" Henrik has 112 counterpoints. 113, if you count the trophy.)

The Canucks, on the other hand, have gone about everything the hard way. When Mike Gillis took over this team, he preached a desire for a roster imbued with such qualities as integrity and character. Mind you, the job was half-finished by then.

Daniel and Henrik Sedin have had to scrape and claw for every inch of respect they've ever gotten. They've been manhandled by defensemen and the media since day one (Recall, "Sedin is not Swedish for...", etc.).

Alex Burrows is the consummate story of hard work, maybe second only to Rudy in terms of storybook heart.

Ryan Kesler earned his respect as a player by playing a dedicated defensive game, confident that the offense would come if he just worked his tail off and stuck to what he was good at.

Roberto Luongo toiled on bad teams for years, desperately trying to carry them, and has been publicly questioned ever since he landed in Vancouver. He's had something to prove since 2006.

These guys knew what it took, and Gillis added skilled players with everything to prove after the bubbles of their early-career success burst. Kyle Wellwood, Steve Bernier, Shane O'Brien--each one of these guys was questioned for a lack of work ethic and refashioned as a lunchpail guy with a role expected of him. Pavol Demitra's had to work through injury troubles. Ryan Johnson was signed for his willingness to put his body on the line and really nothing else.

Then Gillis added Mats Sundin last season, perhaps more for his experience than his skill, and Mikael Samuelsson this season for the same reasons.

Even Canucks rookie Michael Grabner has been toiling away in the AHL, coldly held back until he improved his defensive deficiencies and consistency.

Maybe the Canucks don't go on to win this series, maybe they do. But one thing is for certain: They are smart enough to know not to get ahead of themselves. The Chicago Blackhawks team? The Vancouver media? The jury's still out on them.

Round Two 2: Round Harder

Jonathan Toews looking a lot like his infamous mural

For the second consecutive year, the Vancouver Canucks are playing the Chicago Blackhawks in Round Two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's time for a sequel!

The typical sequel ramps up everything that was successful in the first movie: bigger action, bigger villains, bigger explosions, and bigger box office returns. How does the second-round sequel of Canucks vs. Blackhawks stack up?

Bigger action?

The Canucks enter the series with the highest goals per game of the playoffs and boast the Art Ross trophy winner (and Hart nominee) in Henrik Sedin and the playoff's leading goalscorer in Mikael Samuelsson. With the ability to score throughout their top three lines highlighted by Steve Bernier's 4 first-round goals, the Canucks have one of the most potent offences in the NHL.

The Blackhawks feature the high-flying Patrick Kane, hard-working Jonathan Toews, and the no-Stanley-Cup-winning Marian Hossa. Top that off with a mobile defense corps and free-wheeling style and there will certainly be plenty of action from Chicago.

The Canucks will look to protect their home turf better than Wolverine did in X-Men 2 and hopefully steal a couple games in Chicago, if only to avoid having to hear "Chelsea Dagger" too often.

Bigger villains?

Dustin "Feather-Rufflin'" Byfuglien (I don't expect that nickname to stick) is the main villain in the minds of Canucks fans and possibly in the mind of Roberto Luongo. With the announcement that Byfuglien will be moving back up to forward for the Hawks-Nucks series, the media is already abuzz with Byfuglien vs. Luongo talk.

From the Chicago side, there is no bigger villain than Alex "André" Burrows (yet another nickname that won't stick). Rest assured, they still haven't forgotten the infamous hair-pulling incident.

On the plus-side, it is extremely unlikely that any familial revelations will come out from either of these villains. And cries of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" will be kept to a minimum unless Stephane Auger is called upon to ref.

Bigger explosions?

How about the bad blood brewing between Andrew Ladd and Ryan Kesler?It's bound to explode at some point in this series and the potential for a brouhaha is high. If any game in this series turns into a blowout, look out.

Look lots more of these throughout the series, though hopefully without the Luongo face-punching, fish-hooking, and hair-pulling. And, hopefully, no nuclear explosions akin to Terminator 2.

Bigger box-office returns?

There's a reason this series is starting on a Saturday: the CBC knows that this series will be their moneymaker, as the Canucks are one of two Canadian teams left in the playoffs, so they threw their weight around to get a Saturday night game for HNIC.

Combine that with the marketing potential of 5 Olympic medal winners, the storylines mentioned above, and the star status of players like the Sedins, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Roberto Luongo, and you have a (near) Summer Blockbuster.

Will it make over 1 billion dollars like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest?

No.