| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Guest6816
( )
|
 Posted - 04/27/2011 : 09:04:42
|
Poll Question:
Looking to the second round. Who will win the series Vancouver or Nashville?
|
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 09:39:34
|
Talk about a completely different opponent. We go from facing the Hawks - a dynamically offensive team with plenty of firepower up front, to NSH - a defensively minded team with a great goalie and no player over 50pts in the regular season scoring. It will be interesting to see how this one goes.
I pick VAN in 6 - now with some legs under them after playing the greatest game of the year and beating their nemesis, they *should* settle down and play the way they need to. |
 |
|
|
Guest4693
( )
|
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 09:53:51
|
| With Vancouver having so many probs against the Hawks I have to say Preds in 6 ...This well be another hard fought battle... |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 10:02:35
|
Against a defence like Vancouver's, I really don't see how anything past Mike Fisher playing like Ovechkin will give the Canucks any problems. Canucks will be playing with a totally new mindset, I think.
'Nucks in 5.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 10:32:57
|
Can you tell me if the Sedin's are going to show up before i vote?
It sure ain't gonna get much easier for them going up against Weber/Suter, but i have to assume they'll find their game.
I'm going with Canucks in 5. |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 11:22:02
|
5 is gonna be tough. NSH did just beat a highly rated ANA team pretty handily, and scored a lot of goals doing it - so they're not slouches. I hope VAN doesn't take them too lightly.
But I agree, it will be easier to defend against them - easier than CHI anyway. CHI had 3 solid scoring lines and 2 great defensive lines to protect against, which is hard. NSH does not have the attack abilities of CHI, and we should be able to concentrate more shutdown effort on less players. |
|
|
|
Oilearl
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
268 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 12:12:02
|
the key is Nashville has a great coach and solid goaltending both are going to be key in this matchup. The hawks exposed weaknesses that the Preds will try to exploit. Van is deeper and has the advantage on offence for sure but so did Anaheim.
If Vancouver doesn't look past them they should win but again I predicted Vancouver out second round so I will say Nashville in 7.
 |
|
|
|
Beans15
Moderator
Canada
8286 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 12:13:07
|
I think Nashville is in too tough. Ultimately, Anahiem is a team that is (IMO) as skilled offensively as Vancouver but not as good defensively. As Nashville struggled with Anaheim, it really should be a quick win for the Canucks. I say should be. There are some questions around Vancouver still. Did they run the tank dry taking care of Chicago?? Will Luongo play like he did in games 1-3 and 7 or like he did in 4-5??
I think I will be forced to see either Detroit or San Jose take care of Vancouver in the next round. Damn it! |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 13:07:46
|
Beans, its certainly a concern - this would not be the first time a team has won an emotionally charged series, only to come out flat in the next one. Game 1 will be key, we'll see where the Canuck's heads are after a very taxing CHI series.
As for conference championships, should VAN get through I would very much like to see them play DET. That would be a fantastic series IMO, 2 highly skilled teams playing solid hockey. |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 14:14:57
|
Beans.....a Van / SJ or Van / Det matchup is all good with me. It'll save me $50 Maybe once the Canucks take care of the Preds, i can take the $50 off my hat???
|
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2011 : 20:55:25
|
wow.
Absolute domination over NSH in every respect, except for the scoreboard - as expected, Rinne was fabulous tonight and was the only reason this wasn't 4 or 5 nothing.
It has been a while since I've seen such a lopsided game this deep in the playoffs. NSH came alive in the 3rd period and pressed, but after 2 periods VAN was outshooting them 26-10, and had a 30-4 faceoff record or something crazy like that, spent 3/4 of the time in the NSH zone. And VAN was supposed to be the team worried about having a mental letdown!
I hope for Nashville's sake that they play the rest of this series like the 3rd period and not the first 2, otherwise this could be over fast. |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2011 : 21:54:13
|
I can see it now. Canucks sweep!
1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0
Man, Rinne looked awesome! What a glove! As soon as they scored, i looked at my buddy and said, this could very well end 1-0. Amazing that neither team could even muster a PP goal, though there were some chances!
I think Vancouver will win the next one somewhat easier but drop on in Nashville before wrapping this up in 5. But, my predictions are never very good, so don't go bettin' on me and my predictions!!! |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 04/28/2011 : 22:11:22
|
| chances galore, and quality ones too - I think the Canucks had 15 shots in total on the 4 PP's that they got, they were literally all over Rinne. Just couldn't get it by him, he is really good when he's on his game. |
|
|
|
Statman
Rookie
Canada
125 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2011 : 00:29:29
|
| I found it really interesting to see the difference between the two dressing rooms before the game. The Canucks were incredibly loose and having fun while the Preds looked like they were about to be marched out to the gallows pole. |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2011 : 04:57:04
|
Statman - I also found it interesting that Nashville looked SO tight . . . everything in their demeanour suggested to me that they were extremely nervous, holding their sticks too tight, and uncomfortable.
I do expect a better game from the forwards of Nashville, but they can't seriously expect Rinne to put on a show like that every night. The Canucks defence absolutely dominated, and the Canuck forwards showed everyone that Nashville's awesome defence is based on Rinne's glove hand!
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
|
|
|
Guest2712
( )
|
Posted - 04/29/2011 : 08:23:51
|
| Nashville will be better next game, but it still won't be enough. the series may get stretched to 6 games, though i don't see Vancouver being as overworked as they were against Chicago. they should be able to confidently put themselves into the 3rd round. |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2011 : 10:44:05
|
| nux......what'd you think about the call on Ballard for the hip check? Clipping? Never even knew it existed, but i have to say, it looked like a pretty darn good hip check to me! |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2011 : 11:40:47
|
clipping was a tough call, I haven't seen that called in ages, I was surprised it still existed as a penalty.
I didn't like the call, but only because Ballard has been laying that hipcheck all year long with no problem. Tootoo was certainly fair game given he had just let go of the puck, however, the refs probably made the call based on how low Ballard had to go - Tootoo is only 5'9, so Ballard did have to bend deeply and get close to the ice. If Tootoo was 6foot+, that doesn't get called.
I love that hipcheck though, its become his trademark this season and he does it very well. It never fails to get the crowd into it. |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2011 : 16:05:47
|
This was discussed in length today on the Team1040. Not a single guy on there had even heard of "clipping" as a penalty in hockey. BMac, Rintoul, Pratt, Moj, etc. NONE of them had heard of it, and i can add my name to that list!
After reading and hearing about the rule, it was pretty borderline and if that's called, pretty much any head over heals hip check would be the same!
Not a big deal, didn't affect the game in the end and isn't clear cut one way or the other really, just a strange call.
They wanna get hits to the head outta the game and still allow some physical play? Well, they'd better be careful on how they call this in the future! |
|
|
|
nashvillepreds
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1053 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2011 : 21:41:24
|
I'm going with Vancouver in 7. I see most of you guys are just getting your first taste of Nashville, since you say Vancouver is a deeper team? Vancouver has more firepower, yes. Nashville takes them over in the depth department though, with Sullivan and Dumont playing on their 4th line.
Rinne has gotten back to his regular season form. It was the first time in a while watching the game that I wasn't worried about goals being scored. The Canucks weren't giving him too much trouble since about 2/3 of the shots went right into his chest. That being said though, Vancouver completely owned the game. They made the Predators look like the Milwaukee Admirals. I expect a better game 2 from my team, but in the end, unfortunately this will be the Predators last series played these playoffs.
Colin Wilson- The future |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2011 : 10:03:34
|
quote:
Originally posted by nashvillepreds
The Canucks weren't giving him too much trouble since about 2/3 of the shots went right into his chest.
Really? Cuz the other 2/3's were into that unbelievable glove of his!
Oh wait....that's 4/3's...... |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2011 : 12:17:50
|
quote:
Nashville takes them over in the depth department though, with Sullivan and Dumont playing on their 4th line.
Just because you have 2 potential scoring threats on your 4th line does not make the rest of your forward lines even deeper.
I'm interested to hear some reasoning behind your belief that the Preds 4 forward lines are deeper than the Canuck 4 forward lines. I don't see it myself. |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2011 : 21:33:34
|
another nail biter tonight, but in the end the better team won the game, phew. The way VAN played, it would have been crushing to have lost that game.
100% of this series has been tied or a one-goal lead only - its gonna drive me to an early grave. In fact, HNIC mentioned the Canucks have been within a goal (1 up, tied, or 1 down) since game 6 vs CHI. |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2011 : 21:55:15
|
Yup, certainly was another nail biter! Def happy with the result, and the Canucks did deserve to win having outplayed the Preds once again, but i didn't like the way they won it. More specifically, the penalty on Weber in OT. Sure, his stick is up in Kesler's midsection, and that's often called, but at the same time, Kesler was pretty much keeping it there, without actually "holding" it with his hand. You could tell he had pressure on it from his arm and was content with it there in hopes of the penalty. Either let this slide (at this point in the game), or call offsetting penalties, if they can actually call that "holding the stick"?
The announcers seemed to think it was a makeup call for the one they didn't call right before that as Smithson hit Bieksa from behind (at the other end). I had no problem with that hit as Bieksa tried to stop and looked to me, throw himself into Smithson. In the very least, he stopped dangerously early and Smithson had no other choice. Again, the announcers said that would prob be called back in the first period, but i don't think it was an infraction at all.
In all, another boring game tonight even though the Canucks threw a lot of pucks at the ice. This Preds team is really boring. Reminds me of the Wild from a few years back!
|
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 05:21:00
|
Observation #1:
What the heck is with the yellowish/orangish shirt giveaway in Nashville? Weird. Frankly, this is what seperates real fandom in Canada, as opposed to manufactured team support in the non-traditional markets. To me, it's sort of . . . weird, and not my bag, baby. Seriously, if I am a real fan . . . I want to wear what I want to wear.
Observation #2:
Nashville is playing great. Weber is a great player. Rinne is an awesome player. We sort of, but never really, knew this - no disresepct to the team, but we just don't see you very often.
Good on them, and if Rinne keeps it up, this could go 7 games, it's really that tight.
BTW, I didn't stay up for O/T, sadly, so I missed the call on Kesler. But good on him for scoring in the overtime, looks like he finally broke out . . . he had certainly been getting his chances, so I suppose it was inevitable.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 07:52:02
|
Slozo....
The color def was a little "off" if nothing else. I know they have gold in their jersey's but like you, my wife looked at me and said "those orange shirts are ugly!". They might have looked better supporting the Flyers? I don't mind a "giveaway" like this though, to generate fan support. Most rinks do something of the sort, especially this time of year. The Canucks have been giving out the little white towels you see everyone waving. They've been doing this for years come playoff time.
To your point about Nashville playing "great". Are they? I guess it depends what you define "great" as and if it's "play to the best way that suits your team", then you're bang on! It may be boring as can be to some (me included), but when you've got an incredibly good/hot goalie behind you, it's not a bad idea to try to play defensively. However, if that's what they're doing, they're giving up an awful lot of shots. It was only after they went down a goal that they actually played some offense. In the first period, they trailed 10-1 in shots. In the 2nd period, they didn't get a shot registered till the 17 min mark, and that was a tip in from center that happened to go on net and get counted as a shot!!! I dunno, i've seen them outplayed overall in all three games and are only in the series thanks to their Vezina nominee!!!
As for the call on Weber, have a look at it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-uNmVchkk
The clip starts with the Smithson/Bieksa hit and after seeing it again, i still say there was nothing wrong with it! Looks much worse than it was because of the way Bieksa is upended. If this is why they called the Weber penalty, shame on the refs!
I see two guys engaged in a great battle for the puck. Stick is up around Kesler's midsection and can be considered hooking i suppose (but in OT?  ) however, you know he was part of the reason it stayed there and therefore couldn't the ref have called "holding the stick" giving offsetting penalties? I wonder how they'd have called it if Weber had let go of his stick which in hindsight, is prob what he should have done??? |
Edited by - Alex116 on 05/04/2011 07:53:37 |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 08:52:41
|
quote:
What the heck is with the yellowish/orangish shirt giveaway in Nashville? Weird. Frankly, this is what seperates real fandom in Canada, as opposed to manufactured team support in the non-traditional markets. To me, it's sort of . . . weird, and not my bag, baby. Seriously, if I am a real fan . . . I want to wear what I want to wear.
I've already decided to lodge a complaint with the NHL regarding the the yellow shirts. Awaiting Bettman's warning now...
|
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 09:04:05
|
I do think that the Weber call was a makeup call, and I do think that they should have called the Bieksa hit. We have the advantage of slow-mo to see that hit, and on replay it doesn't look *that* bad. But at full speed, when it happened, that looked atrocious - Bieksa flying headfirst into the boards from 3 feet out. I was surprised that the refs did not call that, its a penalty at any stage of any game in today's NHL. And even more unfortunate for NSH, as losing Weber later in the makeup call was way worse for them.
Alex, I agree with you about Nashville's play, they're playing an odd game. They seem to play tentative and highly defensive hockey while the game is tied or they have a lead, but once they're behind, they seem to turn on some kind of extra power and start to suddenly forecheck - its a noticeable change. Its as if they are actually trying to win by 1 or get into OT and go for the one play. The play noticeably changed as soon as NSH scored the first goal, and changed again the instant the Canucks went ahead 2-1, and then went back to the hyper defensive shell as soon as they tied it.
One wonders how successful NSH could be if they were to play that aggressive hockey for a full 60 minutes...
Rinne - I said it before the series started, and I say it again...this entire series is going to hinge on him. The Canucks have officially run into a Hot Goalie, and its going to be a tough series IMO.
|
Edited by - nuxfan on 05/04/2011 09:05:16 |
|
|
|
Statman
Rookie
Canada
125 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 09:33:10
|
Here's my problem with the shirt giveaway (aside from the crappy mustard colour).
The point of the whole thing is that your fans are clad in your colour to show support for the team. However, it is supposed to be them that goes out and gets the jersey or shirt (also generating income for the team in the process by buying their merchandise). When you just give the shirts to people it loses all of its meaning. It's not the fans that have showed their solidarity by getting the team's colours, it's the team that says "Hey, while you're here do you mind wearing our colours so it looks like our fan base is committed?".
I realize they do give out towels for people to waive in Vancouver, but it's just not the same thing. |
|
|
|
semin-rules
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1915 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 09:59:55
|
Did anyone see the green men? They travelled there to watch the game, and they sat nice and quiet 
it was weird seeing them, looking like actualy fans, and bieng normal haha, kinda sad. |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 10:29:42
|
Exactly my point, Statman. Even from a team and marketing perspective . . . that would mean, I'd think, thousands and thousands of lost potential revenue from people going there to buy a shirt to wear. And frankly, for every team's fans, I like seeing the different syles of shirts, jerseys and player names, old logos and past players represented among the stands.
Giving people shirts (as opposed to waving towels or other such paraphenalia, which I am certainly not opposed to) sort of kills all individualism, kills merchandise revenue, and kills the fun a fan (and the tv camera) can have scanning neat old jerseys or funny pseudo jerseys. The only plus is that the stands are a uniform colour of . . . in this case, baby puke.
Ugh. I can only think of a couple of other colous more ugly (lime green, pink). Someone needs to be fired from Nashville's marketing arm.
To Alex: Yes, they really are playing great. I think Chicago was the toughest and best first round losing team by far (by the way they played), and I think the Canucks are playing fantastic - any other team might be down 3-0 with wider margin scores at this point, IMHO. You have to compare and contrast how really good your opposition is by taking into account how good the other team is playing as well.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 13:38:16
|
quote:
Originally posted by nuxfan
I do think that the Weber call was a makeup call, and I do think that they should have called the Bieksa hit. We have the advantage of slow-mo to see that hit, and on replay it doesn't look *that* bad. But at full speed, when it happened, that looked atrocious - Bieksa flying headfirst into the boards from 3 feet out. I was surprised that the refs did not call that, its a penalty at any stage of any game in today's NHL. And even more unfortunate for NSH, as losing Weber later in the makeup call was way worse for them.
When i originally saw the Smithson hit on Bieksa, at full speed, i immediately thought they made the correct "non call". Bieksa throws on the brakes way before most guys chasing a puck towards the end boards do. I guess it could be argued that at no point before contact did Smithson attempt to slow down, but that's not to say he wasn't going to had Bieksa not stopped early. Still don't think it was a penalty in that game, nor any game, playoffs or not! Just my opinion of course.
Statman / Slozo..... Great points, and i now see what you (Slozo) were getting at. I thought you were implying that even the towel giveaways and such were bad. I agree with what you're saying and i think Statman did a good job of expressing it.
Semin Rules....did you see the brief interview with the Green Men between whistles? Had nothing but nice things to say about their experiences in Nashville. I did find it funny that Glenn Healy defended himself and said he "liked" them right after that? |
|
|
|
Beans15
Moderator
Canada
8286 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 20:25:02
|
The issue with the calls is not which one should have or should not have been made. The issue I have is how inconsistent the calls have been. Weber, to me, was not a penalty at all. Not even a little. Horrible call.
The hit on Bieksa, so close. Couple of things with this hit is Smithson is the hitter and Bieksa the hittee so Smithson has the responsibility. However, I don't see Bieksa as 'vulnerable' as he clearly sees Smithson coming and even back towards the hit. I would have been fine with a call but also fine with no call.
IF it was a make up call of any kind, it was garbage. At least use an actual penalty as a make up call, not a defensemen playing a tough game but breaking no rules. |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 22:06:29
|
Not even a little? One hand on the stick, stick around the player in the midsection, player having a hard time moving forward - that's technically hooking. That being said, a lot of players embellish this call by grabbing a stick to make it stick to the midsection to make it look like hooking, but it gets called pretty regularly in the regular season. But in the playoffs, in OT with a series 1-1, with the game being called the way it was, I agree that should not have been called.
I can only think that the ref felt that if Kesler could have gotten free he would have been able to setup a possible scoring chance, or the ref felt that the hook went on too long. Or it was a makeup call.
It'll be pretty interesting to see what the reffing is like in tomorrow's game - both coaches and GM's will be sure to be watching closely. |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 22:55:19
|
nuxfan, couldn't agree more! It's def a penalty as his stick go into Kesler's midsection, was horizontal to the ice, etc. Beans, we see less hooks called during the regular season! As nux said though, too minor of an infraction at that point in the game when the refs had let so much go. In that sense, i agree with you (Beans) that they were extremely inconsistent!!!
Like i said before, call a hook, but call the "holding the stick" as well, as Kesler was guilty of that!
Another part i didn't like, was that Trotz came out and said the Canucks were embelishing / acting. If that was the case there, wouldn't Kesler have fallen down / taken a dive? All i saw was him staying with the puck, fighting to keep control of it and still trying to look for a pass.
I get it, Trotz has done similar to what Gillis did in round 1. I have no problem with that. As i said when Gillis did it, coaches and GM's do it all the time to get an edge. It looks to have worked for Gillis, perhaps it'll get Nashville an extra call tomorrow night??? |
|
|
|
Beans15
Moderator
Canada
8286 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 05:20:25
|
When I heard what Trotz was saying, the embelishment example was Luogo flipping his head around acting like he was hit with a high stick. I can't argue with that either. When the media played the video clip over Trotz speaking, he was dead on.
I still don't see it as a penalty. Not the way the games have been called anyway. Techincally it was hooking, I won't argue that. What I see that call as more than anything was Weber was simply stronger than Kesler. And Kesler is a tough dude. To that matter, Trotz saying there was an embelishment there was not too far of a stretch. Much like Forsberg used to do, he was impossibly strong on the puck and would fall over from a gust of wind without the puck. Kesler is stronger than that/. Weber should not being able to toss him around like that.
|
|
|
|
Guest7889
( )
|
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 06:42:47
|
Obviously I don't frequent this board - as evidenced by the anon name - but just wanted to comment.
To say the tshirt giveaway affects revenue is a stretch. When I was there, the two main stores were rammed, and the kiosks always had people at them. They were running out of jersey tshirts (there were NO Fisher jshirts in the building). A HUGE number of people had Preds jerseys, and 99% of the people had some kind of Preds wear. I’ve been to ten different NHL venues and I was so impressed with the support shown by the fans and the local businesses.
I loved the colour of the shirt giveaway - it was original and people will remember it. I thought at first we were getting Sham-wows as towels, so that was a bit of a let-down (j/k) but I loved that even the hawkers were wearing the giveaway shirt.
These fans may not be as knowledgeable as others in more traditional markets, but it does not take away from their enthusiasm. And for the sake of just sayin', these people are some of the friendliest folks I have ever met. Last year, walking to the arena with a friend wearing Chicago colours, someone leaned out of the car and yelled "GO PREDS! BOOO Hawks!" and then quickly followed with "Thanks for visiting Nashville, have a great time!"
I hope Nashville wins, but I think Vancouver will take it in 6.
|
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2011 : 11:04:24
|
Guest 7889:
Thanks so much for dropping by and giving us that insight, since it sounds as if you really were there. We welcome with open arms any thoughtful posters such as yourself, and we'd love it even more if you signed up.
I have heard that Nashville is a super friendly town, actually - it has a great reputation for it, and the mid-west in general is pretty congenial.
* * * * *
The only caveat is, it still hurts me as a Canadian fan to know that this same Nashville franchise could have been Balsillie's Hamilton Preds, and they could have just finished another sell out regular season, making money for southern Ontario hand over fist during the playoffs. Plus, we'd have had three of seven Canadian teams in the playoffs, and the Preds would probably be meeting Boston for the Conference final.
Just sayin'. 
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
Edited by - n/a on 05/05/2011 11:04:59 |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2011 : 20:25:29
|
well thank God for that! I could not have taken a game 7 in this series, its been far too close all the way through.
The team played the way they had to tonight, a close game in tough ice conditions on the road against a determined team. Good team effort all around, I thought VAN were icing 3 solid lines tonight. Kesler was once again easily the best Canuck on the ice, 2 assists, 18-for-29 in the faceoff circle, a monster in the offensive zone and PK wizard, but he had good support from all around tonight, and Luongo played a great game.
And with the Canucks 2-0 lead in the first period, I think we got up to nearly a full period with a 2-goal margin for any one team in the entire series. |
|
|
|
Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2011 : 22:16:14
|
You hear that Kesler was in on 11 of the 14 goals the Canucks scored (or something like that?). Unreal!
I couldn't take another game, in fact, even this one was tough to stomach. Not just what it meant, but the fact that it was really dull! Not the most entertaining series ever, that's for sure! |
|
|
|
nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2011 : 08:17:28
|
it was dull, but on the edge of your seat dull, if that makes sense... 
It was not the most entertaining series ever, thats for sure, and every once in a while you run into one of those pesky teams... the last one like this I recall was the 2003 or 2004 series vs the trap-happy Wild, when they came back from a 3-1 defecit to win in 7. Boring hockey to watch, but every game a close affair which made it nerve racking - you knew all game long that NSH was one lucky bounce away from a gamebreaker.
Kesler's stats were unreal in every sense - yeah I heard about the 11 out of 14 goals. He's averaged about 23 min/game in ice time during the series, and was a very solid 59% in the faceoff circle in the series (he is 58% overall this postseason, and has taken 100 more faceoffs than the next person), playing in every situation and on the ice at all times with the game on the line. He made Weber and Suter look pretty ordinary more than once.
At least once a game, I think back to the thread from last year about whether or not he was worth the contract he signed... |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Nashville vs Vancouver 
