By Kat
We’re just one more sleep away from the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the start of another two months of hockey drama. Last year’s playoffs were laden with rivalries, upsets, near-comebacks and Game 7s for the ages; parity in the league has only grown since then, so I would nothing less than the excitement from last year to repeat itself. Read More
It seems appropriate that on the anniversary of the Vancouver Canucks winning the Western Conference Final that sent them to their last Stanley Cup Final they do a repeat performance. That’s right, after 17 years the Canucks will be in the Final. Not only that but like their 1994 Canucks counterparts, they also won the game in double overtime.
The fans seemed a little out of it last night, not cheering like they typically do. I figure everyone was just holding their collective breath to see if the Canucks would end it here or if the San JoseSharks would survive to go on to Game 6.
The game itself can be highlighted by numerous great saves by Roberto Luongo, who made 54 saves including 20 in overtime. There were far fewer penalties this game that we saw in Game 4.
First period saw Alex Burrows scoring the first goal of the game at 8:02, with a Sedin to Sedin assist. Vancouver took hooking and slashing penalties, putting Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler in the box for two minutes each.
The Sharks tied it up in the second period on a power play, with Dan Boyle getting it in on a wrist shot. Kevin Bieska was in the box at the time for high sticking. The Sharks’ Torrey Mitchell took a penalty for tripping, and three minutes later Raffi Torres got it for too many men on the ice.
Twenty-four seconds into the third period, Devin Setoguchi put the Sharks ahead against the Sedin line. Luongo foibled badly, coming too far out of the net to possibly stop the goal. It seemed like the end for the Canucks, until literally the last few seconds of the game Ryan Kesler managed to score. 13.2 seconds to be exact. Despite a lower body injury that made him leave the game for a while in the second period, the doctors patched him up and he came back.
This lead to two sudden death overtimes. The first was relatively quiet, with more great saves by Luongo. The second had a near miss for Chris Higgins, who had a beautiful breakaway but couldn’t quite get it past Antti Niemi. Then in a move that nobody else saw (literally, Canucks and Sharks alike had lost track of the puck), Bieksa landed a knuckle puck right in the net with 9:42 left in 2OT. “It was probably the ugliest goal of my career, but the biggest.”
Henrik Sedin accepted the Clarence S Campbell Bowl on behalf of the Vancouver Canucks, now the Western Conference Champions.
The Stanley Cup Final games won’t be scheduled until we know who takes the Eastern Conference Final (who will it be… Bruins or Lightning?). But check back here as I’ll keep you updated when tickets go on sale.
One problem with having friends from around the world is that there’s one clear thing we don’t get along on: Hockey. I’m sure any hockey loving fan knows how that goes. You’re best of friends until the NHL playoffs start, and then it’s time to poke fun at them as your team kicks their team to the curb (because of course your team will always win, right?)
This playoff season has been interesting for me, because the Vancouver Canucks have gone up against teams that some of my friends are actually fans of.
In the Western Conference Semifinal, the Canucks faced off against the Nashville Predators. Originally from Tennessee, my friend Matt currently lives in Alabama. Though admittedly we don’t talk hockey a lot, it was still fun to poke fun as the Preds lost 4-2.
Now with the Canucks up against the San Jose Sharks, it’s my friend Jeremy and I going head to head as he’s from the San Francisco area. He’d gone out of town for a week for holidays, but secretly I think it’s his way of avoiding my hockey chatter.
I do admit I’m a good sport about it, and my friends know it’s all in good fun.
For the Eastern Conference, my friend Kathy is a big Philadelphia Flyer fan. She lives, eats, breathes the Flyers. Being knocked out in Round 2 against the Boston Bruins, she’s had to focus her attention on one of her favourite former Flyers players: Simon Gagne. Such a fan is she that when Kathy comes to visit me here in Vancouver in two weeks she’s planning on wearing her Gagne jersey – despite whatever reaction she might get from Canucks fans.
Has love for opposing teams gotten between you and your friends?
Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals happens tonight here in Vancouver. Puck drops at 6 pm PDT.
Game 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Finals in San Jose this past weekend were such a stark contrast between on another.
Game 3 of the Western Conference Final game me a heart attack. I get home by the end of the first period to see that Vancouver is trailing 3-0. Second period seemed to stall for both teams, as they traded power plays. The third period was kicked up a notch as the Canucks managed to come back with three goals. Despite their surge in momentum, the Canucks lost 4-3.
Game 4 on the other hand can be be summed up in one word: penalties. When it comes to power plays, the Sharks don’t appear to know what they’re doing. In the first period they failed at scoring despite having 5 consecutive power plays. When they had penalties, they couldn’t kill them like the Canucks. In their last 13 man-advantage situations, the Sharks have only scored once.
Vancouver used that weakness to their advantage, despite being grossly out shot by the Sharks. They scored three goals in two minutes during one of their many 5 on 3 power plays (an NHL record) during the second period.
Sami Salo played a huge role in the Canucks win, finally back from rupturing his Achilles tendon over the summer (an injury that could have seen the end of his career). He did his part in killing off the five straight penalties the Canucks took in the first period, not to mention setting up Ryan Kesler’s goal, and then scoring two of his own.
The Canucks also fought back against Sharks player Jamie McGinn (who knocked out Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome), when a hip check from Keith Ballard sent McGinn into a head over heels flip. Neither Ehrhoff nor Rome are expected to be back yet for Game 5.
In front of a packed HP Pavilion in San Jose, the Canucks won Game 4 with a score of 4-2.
Game 5 is set to take place tomorrow Tuesday, May 24th at 6 pm PST at Rogers Arena. Get your ticket and cheer on the home team!
With the Vancouver Canucks taking the lead in the Western Conference Final – and in the last game blowing their opponents away with a 7-2 win – the San Jose Sharks fans are wondering what happened to the team that kicked the Detroit Red Wings in a gutsy Game 7 win.
The team simply imploded last game, after the fight between Kevin Bieksa and Patrick Marleau halted their energy. Trailing 3-2 in the last period, the Sharks gave away four goals in the last nine minutes of the game. They just gave up.
Now heading to home ice, the Sharks will need to come out fighting if they want to prevent the Canucks from taking a 3-0 lead. The Sharks have lost five of their six last games since taking a 3-0 against Detroit.
With both teams down key players, Canucks losing Mikael Samuelsson to injuries and Sharks down Jason Demers, both teams are going to need an extra push tonight.
So what are your predictions for tonight’s game? Puck drops at 6 pm in San Jose.
After a game like last night’s there’s only one name on the lips of Vancouverites: Kevin Bieksa. He cleaned up against the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
In the middle of the second period with the score tied 2-2, Bieksa put the Canucks back in the lead. A few minutes later he thumped Patrick Marleau in a gloves-off brawl. Marleau dropped gloves first, a fact that the bitter Sharks players are currently overlooking.
This was the momentum the team needed to go on and score three more goals.
It was a Gordie Howe hat trick extraordinaire for Bieksa– goal, assist, fight – when he scored on an assist with Chris Higgins in the third period.
The final score was 7-2.
Game 3 happens Friday, May 20th at 6 pm in San Jose.