How badly do the Vancouver Canucks wish that the Dallas Stars had won their final game of the regular season?
The last two games in this series reek of a team that is overconfident.
Sure, the Canucks deserve to have an air of confidence within their locker room. The problem occurs when it spills on to the ice and the humility leaves their game.
The first two games were perfect examples of how the Canucks have transformed themselves into winners, from choke artists. The third game contained good play from both sides and a hit that has changed the momentum of the series.
Watching the 1st and 8th seeds play each other, it's easy to favour the underdog. It is impossible to say that Chicago is an underdog in this case, as they are, in fact, the reigning Stanley Cup champions. They deserve more respect than pundits -- myself included -- game them going into this war.
Now that I've watched the Raffi Torres hit Colin Campbell-style from every angle and with every possible situation in my mind, I'm certain that it was a dirty hit, at an inopportune time. Chicago took exception to it as did the league. What Torres didn't realize as he smugly accepted his one-game suspension from the series, was that it would be totally effective in bringing Chicago back into the fold.
Chicago is playing like a team possessed, like a wild animal that has gone unfed and unloved for a week and they have decided to take matters into their own hands.
Vancouver eliminated Seabrook from the lineup and don't have to face him, but they have to deal with the wrath of the reigning Norris trophy winner Duncan Keith, who, by-the-by, if you didn't watch the game last night, dropped four points on the old nemesis. Every time Kane-Toews and co touched the puck it was panic stations for what appeared to be a very weary Canucks team.
So what happens from here? It's difficult to say. Momentum: Chicago. Motivation: Chicago. Better team: still Vancouver, but they're not playing like it.
The Roberto Luongo we've seen in the last two games has been utterly and pathetically reminiscent of the Luongo of the '09 and '10 playoffs, whom was chased at will from his twined cage like a scared dog. He did the same in the last two games, and was given a vote of confidence from Alain Vigneault that probably won't do all that much for a very stretched and frayed Canucks team.
At this point, it's worth looking back at teams who went down 3-0 in a series but then won two games in an attempt to make it all look respectable, before bowing out and assuming the position in game 6. I remember in Detroit's Cup from from a few years back, the plucky Dallas Stars lost the first three games to the Presidents Trophy winners, then came back to upset the Wings in games 4 and 5, before losing the 6th game in total blowout fashion.
I remember a re-stocked and re-tooled Colorado Avalanche team, who had a certain Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne on their team, looking to bounce an up-and-coming San Jose Sharks team from the playoffs. San Jose won the first 3 games of the series, before Colorado attempted to bring some respectability into it. They managed two wins, and were dumped.
Those are two recent examples (though the Colorado one might be at least 6 years old). It's not often that a team can crawl out of a hole like that, but if any team can do it you'd have to point directly at the Chicago Blackhawks.
One final point on them: can you imagine what it will do to the rest of the conference if they managed to make it out of this series? Nobody will want to play them, and they could go all the way to the 7th game of the conference final without losing any shred of respectability from anyone. One of the best 8th seeds you will ever see.
The other two big games last night contained upsets of sorts. For me, this Boston and Montreal series was over if the Bruins came out flat. They won game three and four on the road, negating any momentum the Canadiens had by upsetting the Bruins on home ice. Now, the Bruins have all the momentum going back to Boston where they can truly put Montreal on the ropes. This series is destined for 7 games, but at the end of the day if the Bruins manage to pull out the series victory you'd have to fear them going into the next round.
The fact that Marchand only really got going last night, as did Bergeron and that Krejci and Lucic haven't really hit their stride yet: things could get dicey for any other Eastern conference opponents. The Canadiens have got to look at themselves and Carey Price, who was unbeatable in the first two games and now looks as if he's been punched in the stomach.
The other match was something of a predictable one. The Sharks, having completed that remarkable comeback the other night, decided to put on a goalscoring clinic. They are reminiscent of the Red Wings a little bit. The perfect amount of grit, goalscoring, a good offensive defense and above average goaltending that is getting them through games. I thought maybe the Kings would be better after that excellent game in San Jose where they tried to shut up their army of naysayers. In fact, they've lost it all and now they go back to the Shark Tank where the Sharks will look to shut them down for good. That five-game prediction is looking pretty smart right now.
So those are the reviews. A few other quick points:
Joe Thornton -- step up son. Your first goal was last night, and that's lovely for you, but you've got to lead by example and that means scoring more points and being involved in the play more.
Corey Crawford -- you're a rookie, and you're getting lucky. I watched his play last night and he scrambles far too many. You want focus? See: Carey Price. He's so calm, it's scary. There were so many 'almost' goals last night that rolled wide, couldn't be redirected or just missed the open net. Crawford made some nice saves, granted, but I wouldn't give him a vote of confidence going into another round where he'd play against Detroit or San Jose, because they will expose him with prejudice.
That's all! Enjoy the games tonight.
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