Stanley Cup Playoff Pick'em 2010

[Ben Kenobi]

I thought not.

Thanks asher, and goodnight.

Look, I just want a fair game 5. Nice and clean. Let the ****ing players play. Heaven knows there's enough players on both teams to put on a real show.

[Asher]

You got fair game, the Canucks got outworked, outplayed, outscored, and in general dominated.

You need to grow the **** up.

[Ben Kenobi]

So you do think the Sedin 'crosschecking' call was correct?

[Asher]

I honestly don't recall it, not that it matters. You lost by more than 1 goal. The Canucks didn't play well enough to even come close to winning, even IF it was a bad call (which I suspect it was fine anyway)

I grow tired of your patheticness again. It was good to see you cry though. I did enjoy that.

[Ben Kenobi]

It sucks having to admit that I'm right about something, doesn't it? Pretty funny, how you know everything about the whole game, except that penalty.

Dodge, dodge, dodge, spin, spin, spin.

[Asher]

You've never been right about anything, which is precisely why I know you're not right about the Sedin crosschecking being bull****. As I said, I don't recall it and I'm pretty sure I didn't see it as I didn't stay infront of the TV the whole game.

The fact that you are fixating on that one penalty tells me you know you've no chance on the others, which means it was probably borderline. Which means you're still scapegoating.

Face it -- the Canucks sucked. Luongo sucked. The defense sucked. The PK sucked.

Suck.

[-Jrabbit]

It's so nice to see you two talking again...

Ben, while I'm no hockey expert by any means, blaming this loss on the officiating is ridiculous. The crew on Versus didn't question these calls, and I didn't see anything I haven't seen all season. Even if the Sedin call was soft, it's just one penalty -- and the margin of victory was 3.

If one team is committing more infraction, they will and should be called more often. And if they don't have adequate penalty killing... the results are obvious.

I've been unable to find any online media, anywhere, that claimed the refereeing in this game was below standard. From the Vancouver Sun -- which is obviously horribly biased against its home team:

VANCOUVER — We are not all Canucks. Not this way, not with this team.

The Vancouver Canucks have been many things in 40 years, but until Friday they were never as close as they became to reprehensible.

It's not the losing. Honestly. Anyone who walked the earth in British Columbia between 1970 and 1990 became accustomed to that. The last 20 years, the Canucks have been pretty good. This decade, only five National Hockey League teams have more wins than Vancouver. So it's not the losing. There has been a lot more losing in some other places even if 16 years without a Canuck conference final is difficult to take. Discouraging, heart-breaking as the losing seems at times — like now, for instance — it's still only hockey. Yes, kind of a Canadian religion, but still a game.

But in four decades, the Canucks have rarely lost the way they did Friday, or Wednesday, when a raft of talent and potential was sunk by its passengers knocking holes in the hull with a lack of composure and discipline and resolve.

The Chicago Blackhawks, who must have been laughing all the way home, allowed the Canucks to self-destruct Friday with a series of mindless, self-indulgent penalties and a complete lack of restraint or cerebral activity.

Chicago scored four power-play goals and accepted a 7-4 gift from Vancouver that would have been embarrassing in September but was shameful in Game 4 of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs when the Canucks had pledged their best in pursuit of a win desperately needed.

The Blackhawks took a 3-1 series lead back to Chicago for Game 5 on Sunday.

“It's mind-blowing,” Canucks veteran Ryan Johnson said — a perfect summary. “We're talking about a team that went through this same thing last year. We stress every day to not lose the focus and ability to control ourselves.

“It's losing by way of everything we've talked about, not just in the playoffs but in the regular season and pre-season, too. To go into any series and take this many penalties and still expect to win, you're kidding yourself. It's mind-blowing.”

Yes, Johnson said it twice, and still it seemed an understatement.

Shane O'Brien, who lacked the sense not to declare publicly his intention to pulverize Dustin Byfuglien, took first-period penalties for twice hammering Chicago's man-mountain — actually, it was five times because the Vancouver defenceman hit for the cycle on one occasion — and the tone was set.

Somehow the Blackhawks failed to score on one of the two early power plays and Canucks coach Alain Vigneault benched O'Brien for his stupidity. But it was an impossible standard to uphold for Vigneault on a night when his players were so negligent.

The worst culprit was Daniel Sedin because so much better is expected.

There have been few finer gentlemen or players to wear a Canuck uniform than Daniel and Henrik Sedin, who epitomize the class, unselfishness and absolute dedication we hope for. If you're lucky enough to get these players, you hold on to them for life.

And yet for the second straight game, Daniel was at least as concerned with settling scores as creating them.

In a span of 140 seconds in the middle of the game, Sedin took penalties for running defenceman Brent Seabrook into the Chicago goal and cross-checking Kris Versteeg after a whistle.

The Blackhawks scored on both power plays and that was the game. A 3-2 Chicago lead turned into a three-goal advantage.

“It ended up costing us the game,” Sedin said. “Discipline-wise, it's not good enough.”

The Chicago power play finished 4-for-8 and has scored seven times in this series. Including Vancouver's first-round adventure against the Los Angeles Kings, Canuck penalty-killing has been scorched 17 times. No playoff team is remotely close to that level of special-teams ineptitude.

“The best penalty kill is discipline,” Johnson said. “Don't put yourself in that situation.”

It's no shock the Canucks are on the verge of elimination halfway though the second round. The surprise, in hindsight, is that they've made it this far playing so badly.

But then, that speaks to how good this team could be, what they might be capable of if their heads and hands worked at the same time. The Canucks haven't come close to their potential since the series opener. The Blackhawks haven't had to work for two of their three wins because the Canucks never gave themselves a chance.

“I agree,” Daniel said.

And what of O Captain My Captain, Roberto Luongo, whose complaints about refereeing and stated desire that Chicago goalie Antti Niemi should suffer as he has did nothing between games to focus his team? For the second straight year, Luongo failed utterly to deliver the goods when they were critically needed.

He whiffed on Seabrook's five-hole shot 18 seconds after the opening faceoff. Almost as alarming was the employment of his stick a couple of minutes later as an axe against Byfuglien, whom the Canuck goalie then tripped without penalty. It seemed obvious to all that Luongo's brain was occupied on something less essential than stopping the puck.

Few Canucks were focused on the right things Friday. They'll have plenty of time to focus on that this summer.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/V...#ixzz0nLkX5onH

[-Jrabbit]

Here's one. Cam Cole, in the Vancouver Sun:

When Toews scored his second, 23 seconds into the middle period — an absolutely awful holding call on Sami Salo, who in no way deserved it, having given the Hawks another power play — it was the blow from which the Canucks never rebounded. Indeed, they quickly degenerated into morons, and it was the beginning of the end.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/h...#ixzz0nLrGeUko

It's commonly said that losers fold under adverse conditions, while champions rise up to overcome them. From what I've seen, the Canucks -- obviously a very skilled offensive team -- are easy to categorize.

This series isn't over, but it will take a huge change in execution and discipline for Vancouver to claw their way out of the hole they've dug themselves into.

[Fake Boris]

For those interested, here's the list of non-calls against Pittsburgh (Thursday) compiled by HNiC.
There were some non-calls against Montreal too, but it wasn't as bad IMO. You will also note that the tripping/holding against Subban at the blue line directly resulted in a 2 on 1 and a goal.

[Guynemer]

As I said before, the officiating has seemed more capricous than usual this season, but I've yet to see any evidence that the officials are favoring any one team over any other. They've been universally awful.


For what it is worth, of the remaining eight starting goalies, Luongo is last not only in GAA, but in save percentage as well. (The aforementioned Jimmy Howard is tied for third in sv%.)

[Asher]

Here's one. Cam Cole, in the Vancouver Sun:



It's commonly said that losers fold under adverse conditions, while champions rise up to overcome them. From what I've seen, the Canucks -- obviously a very skilled offensive team -- are easy to categorize.

This series isn't over, but it will take a huge change in execution and discipline for Vancouver to claw their way out of the hole they've dug themselves into.

I'm still sticking with my Chicago in 6 prediction.

I think Chicago, by virtue of being young, will take the foot off the gas on Sunday with Vancouver on the ropes...and Vancouver will be playing for pride.

[-Jrabbit]

Could happen. I'm hoping that the seasoning they got last year, plus the addition of a playoff vet like Hossa, will keep them on track.

For you to be right, the Hawks will have to sweep the 3 games in Vancouver - against the team with the best home record in hockey.

That would be sweet.

[Asher]

Luongo said in an interview "rebounds are impossible to control"

Someone just made this video, a parody of the current (awesome) NHL Playoffs commercials. It is awesome also:

[Asher]

Canucks players listen to a song and provide their opinion on it.

(It's "Chelsea Dagger", the Chicago goal-scoring song)

[-Jrabbit]

Awesome piece of video! Kudos to the guy who thought of that and pulled it off.