The NHL Buzz

Top Ten Hockey Movies of All-Time

With the impending release of “Goon”, a new hockey movie starring Seann  William Scott, let’s look back at some of the best hockey movies to ever hit the big and small screen.

10. “The Sweater”- 1980

Even though it’s only a ten minute animated short, this NFB produced film had huge impact to any Canadian kid growing up in the 80’s. It was a regular staple in between shows on CBC, and still holds up.

9. “Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story” – 2010

A two part mini-series that aired on CBC is a bit schmaltzy, but what else would you expect considering he’s still working for the company and it’s directed by his son. It’s still an interesting look at the life of the sometimes controversial coach turned commentator.

8. “Les Boys” – 1997

Was a huge hit in Quebec that actually produced three sequels and even an English TV series. This is the original, and although it’s very Quebecois, most people will probably get the humour even without the subtitles.

7. “Youngblood” – 1986

It’s a hockey movie starring Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze. Do you need any other reason to watch this super cheesy 80’s flick?

6. “Idol of the Crowds” – 1937

John Wayne? In a hockey movie? This movie is actually an interesting look at the hockey world as it was back in the 1930’s. Exaggerated? Sure, but it’s the only hockey movie that’s worth watching that’s older than 1977.

5. “Mystery, Alaska” – 1999

Sport movies all have their clichés, and the underdog story is the most common of them, but it’s the best one. This one stars Russell Crowe and Burt Reynolds of all people.

4. “Gross Misconduct” – 1993

One of the most intriguing stories of a hockey player that you may have never heard of: Brian Spencer. His story is riveting and it got excellent treatment from indie-film maker Atom Egoyan that was surprisingly aired on CBC even though it’s rated R.

3. “Miracle” – 2004

The ultimate underdog story is slickly made and Kurt Russell gives a great performance as Herb Brooks. Kind of suffers because the story is so well known, so there really isn’t any suspense, but as far as hockey movies go, it’s right at the top.

2. “The Rocket” – 2005

The classic hockey scenes alone make this a top notch movie, but it chronicles the story of a player that many of a new generation may have forgotten, making this a must watch for every hockey fan.

1. “Slap Shot” – 1977

Would there be any other as the #1 hockey movie of all-time? It has such great rewatchability, and is so quoted, and referenced which is as good as a barometer for a classic as anything. The presence of Paul Newman really does give this movie its staying power though, he lends instant credibility to a pretty blue movie.

Cracking the Laraque Code

Can you smell what Laraque is cooking?

The answer of course is steroids. Even the NHL isn’t immune to the dirty “S” word and in Georges Laraque’s new book he says the drug was a commonplace for years in the NHL. While he doesn’t name names, he does leave a trail of bread crumbs for us to determine who shot JFK, I mean themselves with Roids. Here’s an excerpt from the book:

“I can give you some clues here that will help you identify the ones using steroids, if you really feel like it. First, you just have to notice how some talented players will experience an efficiency loss as well as a weight loss every four years, those years being the ones where the Winter Olympics are held. In the following season they make a strong comeback; they manage a mysterious return to form.”

So with some clever sleuthing you may be able to decipher who Laraque is pointing to. So we’ll use a couple of different criteria to determine those names. First being players that played with Laraque in those Olympics years, being 1998, 2002, and 2006. We’ll leave out 2010, because even though that was Laraque’s last year in the NHL, he would have never seen the subsequent year of which he alleges is the key. We are also only going to assume players that Laraque played with, assuming that he may have witnessed first hand these players taking the drugs.

Here are the 4 different teams that Laraque played for during those times and some potential names. Now there’s no proof that any of these players took steroids, and in no way is this list evidence that they did. This is merely a list of names that fall into the category of which Laraque is pointing, and they may be potential candidates for steroid use, but should be taken with a severe grain of salt.

4. 1998 Edmonton Oilers

Laraque’s first year in the NHL was also the first year of their involvement in the Olympics, and while he only played 11 games in 97/98, he would have been exposed to some Olympians like Doug Weight and Boris Mironov. Two names though that fit the criteria are Bill Guerin and Josef Beranek. Guerin had a miserable year in 97/98, a year that he played for the US Olympic team and finished the year with only 29 points, but had a big bounce back year in 98/99 with 64 points. Josef Beranek was actually playing in Europe in 97/98 and played on the Czech Republic team that won the Gold Medal. He signed with the Oilers the next year and had a career year with 49 points.

3. 2002 Edmonton Oilers

By 2002 Laraque was a regular on the Oilers 4th line, a team that didn’t feature a whole lot of Olympians. For one, Tommy Salo may be a candidate for someone maybe needed some steroids, as he had his best year as a pro in the 2001/02 season with a 2.22 GAA, and .913 SP. After his debacle in the Olympics however of letting in the long shot against Belarus, Salo never regained form in his career. One player that does fit the Laraque code is (gasp) Captain Canuck Ryan Smyth. Smyth had a down year in 01/02 with only 15 goals, but was able to bounce back the following year with 27.

2. 2006 Phoenix Coyotes

When it comes to motivation for Laraque’s allegations you may look to his time in Phoenix. Even in his book Laraque slams then Coach Wayne Gretzky as being one of the worst that he played for. The team was also an odd assortment of aging veterans who may have all had incentive to dip into some drugs to lengthen their careers. There’s guys like Jeremy Roenick who were well past his prime, but still seemed to hang on for a few more years, and guys like Owen Nolan who was out of hockey and then came back in 06/07 with 40 points. As for candidates for the Laraque code there’s Ed Jovanovski who had just signed as a big free agent. He was selected to the Olympic team but couldn’t due to injury. We do see a pretty big jump in point totals the year following in 07/08 when he went from 29 points to 51. Same goes for Shane Doan who was under scrutiny when he was selected for the Olympic team because a Quebec MP wanted him off the team for an alleged slur against Francophones. Doan also saw his point total take a big rise the following year in 07/08 from 29 points to 51.

1. 2006 Pittsburgh Penguins

Laraque didn’t last long in Phoenix as he was granted his wish to get traded and was dealt to the Penguins mid season where he would have run across another set of candidates. The first being Sergei Gonchar a main stay on both the Penguin and Russian power play. His point total was 58 points in the Olympic year, and jumped to 67 the following. Another candidate was one that hadn’t quite made it to the NHL in 05/06 but did play in the Olympics: Evgeni Malkin. He broke into the league the next year with a solid 85 points as a rookie.

Of course these are just numbers derived from clues that George Laraque has laid. There is no proof (yet) that any of these players have taken illicit drugs, but time may sort out all these clues and perhaps the Laraque code will be brought up again when looking for candidates, and when it does you’ll know where to look to smell what Laraque was cooking.

Top Five Trades Between Vancouver and Florida

When teams make big trades, the trades where you give up valuable players for other players, teams quite often look to the other conference to trade with in order to not have that player come back to haunt them. That’s why you rarely see trades between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames, but we have seen a few significant trades between the Vancouver Canucks and the Florida Panthers. Geographically, these two teams are the furthest apart in the NHL so perhaps it’s no surprise that these teams look for each other when they want to ship players out. Here’s a list of five significant trades these two teams have made.

5. David Booth, Steven Reinprecht for Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm
We’ll start with the most recent trade that has Booth being the main player. Florida felt the former 30 goal scorer was expendable with a 4mil/year contract, but at 27 years old he should be entering the prime years of his career despite coming off a nasty concussion a few years ago. The common thinking here was that Panther GM Dale Tallon acquired Samuelsson and Sturm to gain some experience for a young team trying to make the playoffs, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens then to determine who the winner of this trade is.
Verdict: Push

4. Chris Higgins for Evan Oberg and a 3rd Rounder
A trade made at the deadline last year was kind of a gamble for Mike Gillis, but the price wasn’t that high with Oberg a minor prospect, and a 3rd rounder for a player that gelled with Kesler on the Canucks second line that advanced all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Verdict: Canucks

3. Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich for Steve Bernier, Michael Grabner, and Quinton Howden
Another risky trade by Gillis has turned out to be almost a total bust for Florida. Ballard struggled last year coming off a knee injury and Oreskovich did get some playing time during their playoff run. Meanwhile Grabner was immediately put on waivers where he’s started to blossom on the Islanders, and Bernier is out of the organization too. So it all rests on Howden for the Panthers to win this one, but until Ballard finds his game we’ll have to go with another team for the winner.
Verdict: Islanders?

2. Ed Jovanovski, Dave Gagner, Mike Brown, Kevin Weekes, Nathan Smith For Pavel Bure, Bret Hedican, Brad Ference and Robert Fried
The original big trade between the two teams featured Pavel Bure who had been sitting out demanding a trade. This would be the beginning of the end of the late 90’s dark era for the Canucks as Jovanovski instantly becoming a leader on their strong teams of the early 2000’s. Bure had two good seasons with the Panthers, but it was mostly marred by injuries, and the Panthers were never able to have any success as a team. Hedican did go on later to win a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes but it’s Jovanovski who’s been the best player overall.
Verdict: Canucks

1. Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, Sergei Shirokov for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, Alex Auld
If the Bure/Jovanovski was the original big trade between these two teams, this was the original fleecing. Bertuzzi desperately needed to go someplace far away after the Steve Moore incident and found a home in Florida where the Panthers sent Luongo, who’s only been nominated once for the Hart Trophy and the Vezina trophy three times. Despite all the hullabaloo this year about Luongo’s slow start, this trade has long been a blowout win for Vancouver.
Verdict: Canucks

Top 10 Past Hits That Would Be Suspendable Today

10.Bobby Clarke on Valeri Kharlamov – 1972

Now this isn’t so much a hit as it is a vicious slash that breaks Kharlamov’s leg. I’ve included it in the list to show how a lot of these vicious hits happen in the biggest games. Back then and even now there’s a notion to “let them play” when it gets to the biggest stage, and there was no bigger stage in hockey then the 1972 Summit Series. Clarke would probably get a long suspension now for what would probably be perceived as a premeditated act of violence.

9. Patrick Kaleta on Paul Kariya – 2009

This hit is a significant one because A. It ended Paul Kariya’s career, and B. It was one of the driving forces to institute a head shot rule as after Kariya retired. He blasted the NHL with their slow reaction to the issue, because as you’ll see, this won’t be the last time you see Kariya on this list.

8. Evgeni Malkin on Willie Mitchell – 2010

Now Malkin was penalized for the hit on the play, but with the new rules they would go further. Just because you’re not carried off in a stretcher doesn’t mean it’s not serious. Mitchell never played another game that season so it’s this very type of play that they want to get rid of, and the only way to do that is to suspend the player for more than a couple games. No matter how big the star player, they have to send a message, and this year they probably would.

7. Mark Bell on Daniel Alfreddson – 2008

The date is significant on this hit because 2008 doesn’t seem that long ago, but now with what we know about concussions, watching this hit will make you feel revulsion. Especially with the way the crowd and commentators seem to act like patrons at a Roman Coliseum calling for blood. This hit will no longer be tolerated and Mark Bell would be suspended this year.

6. Chris Neil on Chris Drury – 2007

This hit is significant for what followed right afterwards. A brawl ensued on the very next play which included an infamous fight between the two goaltenders Ray Emery and Martin Biron. The brawl happened because Coach Lindy Ruff and the Sabres decided to take matters into their own hands, after a grinder went after one of their star players. The days of brawls are over in the NHL and no longer have a place in the game. With the new rules Neil would have been kicked out of the game and suspended just for the hit, which may have prevented the silliness that followed.

5. Scott Stevens on Paul Kariya – 2003

The Scott Stevens era is turning into a bit of a controversy these days, as the NHL looks back at these hits to determine if they’re illegal or not. The NHL has used Stevens hit on Lindros as an example of one that is legal, his hit on Langkow probably falls in that same category, but this one is a bit different because Kariya is far more vulnerable than Lindros or Langkow. The problem is that many people look back on this play in a different light because Kariya came back later in the game to score a crucial goal that would send this Stanley Cup Final game to Game 7. As we know now it was probably this hit that would be the beginning of the end of Kariya’s great career.

4. Colby Armstrong on Trevor Letowski – 2006

Now the hits are getting really gruesome including this one where you can see Armstrong actually jumping to make sure that he hits Letowski, who’s obviously in a prone position.

3. Mike Richards on David Booth – 2009

Similar to the Armstrong hit, many will say it’s not fair to label it illegal because Booth just passed the puck and he’s going right up the middle of the ice. Richards though engages in the hit and makes Booth’s head his target which is both disgusting and now illegal.

2. Mark Messier on Mike Modano – 1994

Here’s another hit where the player comes from the blind side and makes the head the primary target. What’s noteworthy is that this was the year the Rangers would go on to win the Cup. Who knows how their season may have been affected if Messier had been suspended for any length of time. Make sure you watch till the very end of the video, for one of the most surreal moments in live televised sports.

1. Matt Cooke on Marc Savard

The granddaddy of all what was legal but now illegal headshots was performed by the master of all dirty hits. Incredible that even given Matt Cooke’s repeat offender reputation, the NHL recoiled and let Cooke off the hook. Luckily the rules are in place now to put Cooke out of the game for a while if he ever does it again.

THE 69 OF JUSTIN BIEBER & SELENA GOMEZ AT WINNIPEG JETS GAME

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were in Winnipeg Friday to perform a show and they took advantage of their stay in this wonderful city in Canada to watch the Jets - Hurricanes game.

They had no real choice. What else is there to do on a Saturday in Winnipeg? The Jets won 5-3 by the way. This young couple ultracélèbre walked around the arena, but I think the place they liked the most was their box. Moreover, I find it sick that Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez have decided to take the # 6 and # 9 to # 69 a, and then give themselves a field day with a big session frenchage in their box. It makes you wonder if a 69 was not completed during the Jets game was taking place.

PS Nooonnn. Selena Gomez is not the sister of Scott Gomez. Do you really think that Scott Gomez Selena look like a girl?

Posted by: jtutah

Game 7: For All of the Marbles, Glory, and Sanity

At the time of this writing the following Match Odds/Moneyline (Inc. OT) were: Boston Bruins (2.34 +134) and Vancouver Canucks (1.72 -139).

Regular time match odds were: Boston Bruins (2.98 +198) and Vancouver Canucks (2.26 +126) and Tie (4.3 +330)

So this crazy series has come down to this. It’s a winner take all game in what has turned out to be one of the most brutal series in league history.

It’s been brutal in many senses of the word: on the ice, off the ice, in the league offices, in the media, and in the history books. You should know all about what’s happened so far, alleged biting, taunting, dirty plays, a unprecedented suspension, more dirty plays, more taunting, in what has become a crazy series that has been dominated by the home team. The latest incident from Game 6 is at least consistent enough with the league’s view on this series in how they have been completely hypocritical.

At the beginning of the game Johnny Boychuk hit a prone Mason Raymond, a player who didn’t have the puck into the corner fracturing his vertebrae. Sound familiar? In game 3 Aaron Rome hit Nathan Horton a player who was prone and didn’t have the puck and was given the worst suspension in Stanley Cup History finals. Either concussions are more serious than fractured vertebra or something else is going on. It’s consistent because all of the leagues actions off the ice have been consistent with their bias of wanting the Bruins to win the Cup.

They are a big American market, and a fickle one, so from their point of view it benefits the league if they win over the Canadian market, which will support the team and the league no matter what. Off the ice even media and fans have weighed on this crazy series with extremes we’ve never seen before with articles like the “Canucks are the least deserving Champions in League History”. Yes that article was actually written by a veteran NHL writer if you can believe it. A statement that basically says that a team with the best record in the NHL during the regular season, a team that staved off their nemesis in the first round in a grueling series, and a team that has overcome injuries galore to make it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final are undeserving to win the Stanley Cup. If anything, I think it’s clear that this series has officially reached its saturation point of analysis.

For Game 7 you have to look to the basics to try and figure out what’s going to happen. The home team has won every game in this series, but the games in Vancouver have been toss ups, so in that regard you’ll give the edge to Vancouver, but only slightly. In the history of Game 7’s in the Stanley Cup only 3 out of 15 have been won by the road team, so give the edge to Vancouver again. After that it’s almost impossible to analyze anything else, because now it just comes down to sheer will. There is no mental edge for either team, because it’s a Game 7, they know the Stanley Cup is coming out onto the ice no matter what. The League has made their position clear, but that shouldn’t affect the game too much, because it’s the officials that will dictate the game, and they don’t want to be a factor so they’ll probably be quite lenient. Evidence of that was shown in the Canucks Game 7 against Chicago. A series that was called quite tightly suddenly became a wide open game where players played on the edge, but were careful not to go over it because any penalty may be costly.

With those numbers the Canucks will be slight favourites everywhere. A gamble on Boston may make you some money, but perhaps a better bet would be to go for a tie, as this game has all the possibilities of being the third game 7 overtime game in League history. In both previous cases, the home team won, but would it surprise you if this game gives us something we haven’t seen yet in this wild series? Almost assuredly this may be the most watched game in the modern era of television.

Originally posted at betfair.net

Bringing It All Back Home

At 5:40pm on Monday, June 13th, looking around at the faces on the streets and in the bars of Vancouver, you could tell exactly who the die-hard fans were, and who was around simply to take in the festivities. One of these groups was already talking about game 7, a fact that seemed inevitable a mere 10 minutes into the first period. The others, the ones who have obviously been waiting 17 years for redemption, had their heads buried into oaken tables, playoff towels covering their heads in the vain hope that, once they re-emerged, the realities of this hockey game would somehow be different.

But things didn't really change for the Canucks last night. They came storming out of the gates like wild stallions and instantly put pressure on Thomas The Tank Engine, who made some truly outrageous saves to keep the Canucks from getting any early momentum.

Then the dominoes began to fall: Brad Marchand shelves a wrist shot that sails over Luongo's shoulder, Lucic finds room through the 5-hole thirty seconds later, then Ference from the point a couple of minutes afterwards.

That would be Lou's curtain call.

Schneider came in with a little over 10-minutes left in the first, and was almost instantly scored on. It took the Canucks a while to shake this off, but they eventually did. They created a few scoring chances before the period was out, and if you really want to look for silver linings: they held Boston to a scoreless 2nd period!

What happened to this game? The Canucks lost their composure for no more than 5 or 7 minutes, but that's all it took. By the time the shock of being scored on so often, in such a small space of time, when so much was at stake wore off, the damage was already done. Vancouver played some decent hockey throughout the remainder of this game, but the fact still remained that they would have to beat Thomas at least 4 times, which is asking a lot these days.

Tim Thomas is going to win the Conn Smythe trophy tomorrow night. It doesn't even matter what the outcome of the game will be; he could let in 18 goals, and he'd still be the MVP of these playoffs. And he completely deserves it, too.

It's impossible to explain in words just how valuable Tim Tam has been to the Bruins this year. Boston could never have made it this far with an 'above average' goaltender, they need an outstanding keeper of the net, and they've got it. Thomas must be a distant descendant of Buddhist Monks, because he shows up to the games so focused and seems to remain so calm that it hardly even looks like he's trying at all.

What is it about Boston that completely disintegrates the possibility of a close hockey game? Could it be the rhapsodious roar of the Bruin crowd? I doubt it. Vancouver is used to playing in lots of noise, albeit, that noise is usually lending them incredible support.

The CBC reported earlier in this series that the temperature on Boston ice is 6 degrees warmer than what is considered 'normal'. There might be something to this. As far as hockey players go, the Canucks are fairly privileged. Having hosted the Olympics only one year ago, it's probably safe to say that the ice at Rogers Arena is the best in the world; the fastest, the cleanest, the perfect rigidity to the surface of play. Is it possible that the Canucks are spoiled by their perfect, home-ice wonderland?

Even if they are, it shouldn't matter. An NHL hockey team can't expect to win the Stanley Cup without winning a few road games. Unless they're the Canucks.

Vancouver was the only team coming into these playoffs that could be sure that they'd play more home games than away. And they've taken

advantage of that, for the most part. The Canucks have only lost 3 home games these playoffs, and the last one was well over a month ago.

But these things don't matter anymore. The missteps, the faults, the ups and downs don't mean a thing. All it comes down to now, is one, single game of hockey.

This is something most Canadian kids dream and yearn to be a part of: game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. At home, no less. The stakes couldn't be higher, and the prize couldn't be bigger.

I know many of you were hoping to avoid the gut-wrenching anxiety that comes with a team you really, really love, playing for their lives in an all-or-nothing showdown. But man, this is the stuff that makes champions. This is the essence of hockey!

One of the greatest things about sports is that it allows us a stage to challenge ourselves, to dig deep and see what we're really made of.

In this modern society, you simply don't get that opportunity very often. Imagine if you showed up for your cashier's shift at Office Depot as stoked and ready to go as a professional hockey player, or even a fan for that matter? You'd likely scare the crap out of your employer, and a vast majority of your clientele. You'd almost certainly get fired. In our day to day lives, we are obligated to be 'nice and normal'. Where do we go to satisfy the animalistic side of ourselves that wants to run as fast as we can, hit as hard as we can, and test these skills against another tribe that has been training and practicing just as hard as we have?

These are the virtues of professional sports. They might be 'useless’ in the tangible meaning of the word, but the things we get out of good, healthy competition are far more valuable than a steady paycheck.

Tomorrow night, 38 men (39 if you count Schneider) will don their battle gear and take part in the purest form of competition we have in this country. Each one of them will be asked to give every ounce of energy within their being, all at the same time, and all for the same purpose.

Anyone that thinks that the Stanley Cup is nothing but a silly silver trophy, a decadent drinking mug, needs to take a good look at their surroundings. Can you remember any one event (aside from the Olympics, since that too, was mostly about hockey) that has brought such a massive community together with as much passion and excitement as the Canucks' 2011 cup run?

Thousands upon thousands of people will gather tomorrow to watch the final game of the 2010/2011 NHL season. They will celebrate together, or they will weep all over each other's shoulders. So pick your head up off that bar table, impassioned Canuck fan, there's still one game to go.

Your boys are coming back to their palace, their playoff coliseum, for one last clash against an admirable foe. Where we will find out who wants what, and how much they want it.

Unlikely Heroes Get'er Done

Are you ready for some Stanley Cup hockey? Eh? How does it feel to potentially be 60 hockey-minutes away from a championship? Is it so close you can taste it? Can you imagine drinking from that hefty, nickel-alloy mug and letting luxuriously extravagant champagne pour down the sides of your mouth and down your back and chest? Billions of tiny bubbles exploding on your skin and tongue, like a fireworks celebration for the epidermis!

It could happen tonight, or it might have to wait until Wednesday.

I know this might sound painful to any die-hard fans, but I'm hoping for seven. As much as it might bring me a tiny bit of masochistic joy to see Canucks fans stretched to the absolute limits of near cardiac arrest, this is not my reasoning for wanting this thing to go to seven.

No, I want this series to come back to Vancouver simply because hockey is better here. Who can deny that games 1, 2 and 5 weren't immeasurably more entertaining and intense? Put aside the fact that the Canucks happened to win those 3 games; they were all close fought battles, decided by 1 goal(often scored in the dwindling seconds or minutes of the game).

Even all of that blatant and shameful diving seemed to peter away in game 5. It was still rampant in the first period, fairly evident(yet considerably subdued) in the second, and by the time the third period came around, these guys were way too focused on the game to consider falling to their knees for the sake of a two-minute man advantage.

The air in Boston must be infected. What other explanation could there be? Could the yankee hate actually fill the air and affect the play of these competitors?

I am certainly no scientist, and I doubt I could convince someone to take on the responsibility of trying to prove such an outlandish claim. But it seems obvious that the Puritan colony of Boston is wrecking the sportsmanship of our beloved game.

I would love to say that Vancouver will stomp into Boston and destroy Tim Tam and the Slovakian giant tonight, but I just don't think that's going to happen.

But what do I know? Anything can happen tonight.

Stanley Cup Final Shifts 4000 Kilometers West for Game 5

After 4 games of the Stanley Cup Final, two teams that only played each other 4 times in the last 4 years previously now are very familiar with each other after 4 intense games. The first two games in Vancouver showed two defensive minded teams, the difference being Vancouver is a puck control team that works well when they can get their speed game going, meanwhile for Boston, Tim Thomas was brilliant, and the only reason the games were decided by one goal. When the scene shifted to Boston, the game changed in the heat wave stricken East Coast, which meant for a slower game more suited to the Bruins, and once again Thomas was great, stopping 40 and 38 shots in Games 3 and 4.

The Bruins also changed tactics when the scene shifted to Boston and that was to channel the likes of Terry O’Reilly and Mike Milbury and play as chippy as possible before and after the whistles. It’s what most good teams do but up to a point. Bruin coach Claude Julien (and many others in the hockey world) called some of the Canuck players out for after the whistle shenanigans. Julien even stated that he wouldn’t allow “that sort of behavior” on his team, yet Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic were seen with ridiculous taunting antics that seemed to go against what their Coach was saying. When asked about it after Game 3 Julien said that he had only said that to the press, and not to the players, but had told them after the game he didn’t like it. Then in Game 4 Brad Marchand was seen doing the same thing. So is Julien lying when he said he talked to his players, or are they just not listening? Perhaps the players are just taking things into their own hands and playing the only game they know how to play on the biggest stage. The NHL apparently has been very concerned about the antics and warned the teams before Game 4 that it wouldn’t be tolerated, but once again, they either lied, or the on ice officials just refused to listen as Marchand was seen doing the exact same things after every whistle, and no matter how much the Canucks tried to ignore it, it was impossible to. Marchand is playing just over the edge on every single shift, and perhaps because the officials were afraid of calling penalties on him every single time in the hostile Boston atmosphere, he got away with it. The type of respect the officials are giving to Marchand is unprecedented especially for a rookie, and the officials are in danger of letting this series become a mockery of the game.

One thing is for sure, the only way the Canucks can really put a stop to Marchand and the Bruins is to score on the power play which is 1 for 18 in the series. If the Canucks can find potency on their power play, it will put an end to that Bruin tactic and this series could end quickly. The Bruins have played the last two games with the knowledge that they’ll be without their top scorer in Nathan Horton, so they’ve responded by playing desperate, chippy, and aggressive hockey. Back on Vancouver ice, the Canucks could regain some momentum if they can score first, which will put Boston in a position they’ve only been in briefly this entire series and that’s playing from behind. Boston also has not had to travel that much all year playing on the East coast, and hasn’t had to much in these playoffs, playing all their games in their own time zone, so the travel veteran Canucks should have the advantage. With a little boost of confidence from the home crowd, an early goal, or some saves from the maligned Luongo (who can’t be blamed for either loss), the Canucks could roll to a victory in Game 5.

History has shown that in the past two years of the Stanley Cup Final the home team has won each of the first five games. The home team has won the first four games, and should win the fifth.

orriginally posted at betfair.net

Bloodsports and Warzones: No Room For Drawing Penalties

From where I sit, Boston does not seem like a nice place to stay for a few days during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Did you hear the thunderous roar of that crowd in the second and third periods? When you're down 4 goals in a finals road game, and that ravenous crowd starts screeching for the cup, I can't help but wonder what the Canucks were feeling at that moment: annoyance, or absolute dread?

I'd bet on the latter, but then again, I'm no pro athlete. Neither are those who flew all the way to Boston to support Vancouver, only to be spat upon, and have beer poured on them by Boston's elite citizenry. I also wonder what was going through their minds when they opted to stash their Canucks jerseys inside the hotel's dresser, to avoid being ruthlessly harassed and drenched in foreign bodily fluids.

I get this information from one of the CBC's lackey's. Since he's a small player in the broadcast team, I can't recall his name, but he told us this last night, then tried to remind us that "it is only a game, after all." Well, that's where you're wrong, Bubba. This series has completely spilled over the brim of sportsmanship, and now, it's war. That might sound a little melodramatic to some, but make no mistake about it, the atmosphere in our fair city is about to thicken drastically.

It all started out so well for Vancouver. Seconds into the game, Kesler put Bergeron on his back. Right out of the face-off, as though Patrice were no more than a mutt, a nuisance to be cast off to the side while the men took care of business.

This was good for Vancouver, at least in theory. It established that they weren't going to be pushed around by the big bad Bruins.

The Canucks continued to outshoot, and generally outplay Boston throughout the first. But they still gave up that vital first goal. Letting concussed Horton's replacement, Rich Peverley, careen down the boards and slide rubber through Luongo's 5-hole.

Vancouver outshot Boston in every period of this game. And got fewer penalties, too. Which goes to show that the harder and deeper you look into statistics, the less factual they become.

Nearly all of Vancouver's shots in the second half of the game hit Thomas right in the 'B'. By then, they were so utterly desperate to get one past him, I'm a bit surprised they didn't try to take him out.

Yes, indeed. Who will be the one to break Tim Tam's spirit? What if he doesn't let another goal in all year? Considering the way he's been playing, it doesn't even seem all that unreasonable.

Tim Thomas(I can't stress enough how painful it is for me to praise Thomas, but it's simply unavoidable at this point) looks like the only one who's actually competing for a Stanley Cup. His tending has been near super-human, and he's risen above the petty bickering of this series with all the grace and civility of a lazy brown bear coming out of hibernation.

Why are hockey's elite diving all over the ice like a bunch of Brazilians? At a time like this! Where are the bygone days of noblesse, when hockey players at least respected each other enough to settle their scores between whistles?

Obviously, those days are over.

These days, we slash everyone in sight, we beak each other off(probably a large percentage of this beaking is geared towards the opposition's mothers), we slap each other, and spend more time trying to catch the referee's attention than actually playing hockey.

What is this crap, the NBA? Gary Bettman must be responsible, somehow.

He just might be, too. Does it not seem completely ridiculous to anyone else that the league is amending the rules of the NHL during a Stanley Cup final? This time, they want to take the word 'blindside' out of Rule #48, the one about not trying to decapitate someone. If all these fat-bellied hacks want to do is sit around conference tables in luxurious hotels and talk about the specific wording of rules, that's fine. But there should at least be a deadline on changing the rules; and it should be no later than the trade deadline. If the NHL doesn't want the teams doing any last-minute wheeling and dealing during the playoffs, I'm sure the players don't want any tweaking and twoddling of the rules at the last-minute, either.

But all that is beside the point. It ultimately doesn't matter if the word 'blindside' appears anywhere in the rule book or not. These guys know, or at least should know, how to play hocker properly.

Frustration is a definite factor. The Canucks seem to only be able to handle about 25 or 30 minutes of not scoring before they start to unravel, at least recently. Getting that first period goal is going to be crucial to Vancouver's survival in this series. They need that goal. Or, they'll need to learn how to cope in a scoreless chess match.

Vancouver's mistakes in the first half of game 4 were fairly minor, but they cost the Canucks dearly each time. A missed hit, a bad dump, and some horrible fumbling behind their own net. Suddenly they're down 3-0. Vancouver made a pretty good push at the end of the second, but couldn't secure a goal. The momentum would not even look in their general direction for the remainder of the game.

After the brutal bounce that gave Peverley his second of the night, watching the rest of game 4 was like seeing a loved battle a slow-spreading, yet crippling and deadly illness. Even the announcers gave up on the game.

I have to commend the CBC for their outstanding coverage of these playoffs. The ability to live stream almost any game has brought me no end of joy. And their work with the city to setup those fan zones, essentially centralizing a hardcore base of fans that can watch the game for free, has been nothing short of miraculous. But last night, their announcers acted like a bunch of embittered old men. Which they probably are, so that makes sense. But they should at least have the decency to keep it off the air.

With an astronomical 14 minutes left in the third period of game 4, the CBC's version of Statler and Waldorf completely gave up on calling the 'action'. For the better part of the following 3 minutes, Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson talked about whether or not Luongo would start on Friday. This conversation was as inane as you'd imagine. Fortunately, they were forced to do their jobs when Mark Recchi got a high-sticking penalty with 11 minutes left.

Why is every aspect of Canadian hockey folding over itself before the games are even over? I can at least understand that the Canucks are fed up with (statistically) outplaying a team, only to be brutally slayed in the span of a few minutes. But what excuse do those grouchy old balcony dwellers who are supposed to announce these games have?

It's a pretty sweet gig to be able to watch, and call a hockey game. Hughson and Simpson's (or Statler and Waldorf, as they'll be referred to from now on) performance in the late stages of last night's game was absolutely pitiful. It enrages me to think that hockey analysts flooded the dressing room last night to criticize the Canucks' play; when 65 feet above their heads, the two muppets doing the play-by-play quit on the game long before the Canucks did.

But all that is in the past. We're coming back home. Far from the flying beers and loogies of Boston. We (and I do mean we: you, me, all the Canucks, and all the fans in the stands and in the streets...even Statler and Waldorf) must come together to crush the only force that could keep the cup out of Vancouver: Tim Tam. Damn that Tim Tam. In Boston, he is king, he is God. But here, half a world away, he's noting more than a pest.

I'm not saying we should spit at the Bruins, and I'm certainly not saying we should waste our beer on them. That would be ridiculous, and un-Canadian. Bostonians think they're loud and tough, eh? Let's show the definition of loud. Brick walls are erected and taken down each and every day. It won't be easy, but the Canucks must crack Tim's bricks, and we'll shove him off his rocker...by sheer volume.

What It Takes To Trounce A Canuck

Coming into game 3 on Monday night, Tim Thomas had something to prove. He may have been able to dismiss some queries as to whether he should shift his strategies in tending the goal. Even if he ‘doesn’t care’ what others say or think about his play, he still had to come up with some sort of stellar performance yesterday. As we all know by now, that’s exactly what he did.

As for Vancouver, coming into game 3, at least; they’d been able to squeeze out two wins at home that were both nothing short of miraculous. With almost the entire city behind them, just waiting to go totally pucking ape-shit, the Canucks took games one and two with 1) seconds remaining, and 2) seconds into sudden death. Vancouver fans are indeed waiting to completely lose it.

There seems to be no doubt in any fan’s mind that Vancouver will take the cup this year. Considering the team’s breakdown in play and composure in the dying minutes of last night’s game, they’d better come out focused on Wednesday. Not only focused, they’ll have to be downright dominant. Canucks fans were still in good spirits after their team’s slaughtering, but I doubt they can handle two more of those. As long as your team still has the edge in the series, as the Canucks do, it’s easy to dismiss such a blatant abortion of sportsmanship and general competitive play.

If Vancouver loses tomorrow, as they very well could, I imagine fans will still be confident, and even more excited that the series will have suddenly become close. But if they lose game 5, at home, a sense of terminal dread is almost certainly going to fall on this city. But we’ll get into all that later, let’s take a look at this game.

The hit. It’s unavoidable to talk about. You saw it, I saw it…it was pretty shitty. Coming down centre ice on a two-man rush, Nathan Horton passed the puck off to the wing (I think he passed it to Lucic, but I seem unable to confirm this), and 0.75 seconds later, was absolutely annihilated by Aaron Rome.

This hit was nothing short of horrific. Some will argue that it was a blind-side hit, but that’s foolish. Rome kept his feet on the ice, connected solidly with the shoulder, and put Horton down like a stray dog.

Considering it was an open ice hit, happening right at the blueline, the blind-side rule doesn’t even factor in. The only thing wrong with this hit, is that it happened a quarter of a second too late. Watching the hit again, it’s seems like it was only a beat too late…one, and…CRASH! I sort of feel sorry for Rome. In such an intense situation, those are the kind of hits you want to lay out in the first few minutes of the game. But his timing was off. There’s absolutely no denying that is was a late hit, and the devastating consequences will be felt for the remainder of this series.

Nathan Horton, as of this writing, will not return to the Bruins lineup this playoff season. He was watching the puck, and then was bulldozed (at least in his perspective) from nowhere. The second his crushed bones hit the ice five minutes into game 3, everyone watching knew he was pucked up.

The only motions coming from Horton’s body after he was demolished were: a) the motion of his chest desperately struggling to take in oxygen, and b) his left arm. The raised arm seems like such a symbolic gesture. Could it have been his undying devotion to keep playing the game? Just a last ditch effort, or rather a reflex, to get up. But that was all he could muster: hopelessly raising his left arm as either a call for help, or an ill-fated attempt to stand. I can get up, I can get up…I…I…I can’t breathe.

That’s how Monday went for ole’ Nate. There was a look of focused panic in his eyes after the hit. Forcing yourself to stay calm when you can’t move or breathe is tough, and that’s what Nathan Horton was going through at twenty minutes past five o’clock last night. His left arm raised to the heavens, suspended in mid-air, hoping to snatch back those last few seconds before the hit. He, unfortunately, will no longer be a factor (at least not tangibly) in the Bruins’ 2011 cup run.

Neither will Aaron Rome, for that matter. He’s been suspended for 4 games, meaning he won’t be skating competitively unless this series goes to seven. 4 games sounds like a lot. In times of doubt, I always turn to Canadian television’s version of the everyday hockey dad, Bob Mackenzie. According to Bob, “the NHL has very strict rules regarding what is and isn’t considered a late hit.”

That strict guideline is set at ½ a second after the puck leaves the victim’s stick. “We’ve (TSN analysts) have looked very closely at this hit…[it] happened 0.75 seconds after Horton passed the puck.” The boys from TSN all agreed that the Rome hit merited a suspension, but nearly all of the panelists agreed it should be no more than 2 games. Well, the NHL didn’t agree, and gave him four. Following strictly mathematical logic, that’s 1 game for every 0.06 seconds past the half second threshold.

We can argue all day and night over whether or not this is a fair suspension, and I’m sure many sports journalists will be paid handsomely to do this. I, unfortunately am not one of them. There’s nothing any of us can do that will cause the League to go back their decision. So let’s leave it at that.

Following that hit, both Thomas and Luongo went save for save throughout the first period. The rest of the first went over as a hard-fought, clean battle.

I missed most of the second period. This is pretty much where Boston took control of the game. The Canucks still outshot the Bruins 16-14 in the period. But as I wrestled with Vancouver’s transit system, Boston steadily pummeled the Canucks’ confidence. First by scoring (ominously enough) 11 seconds into the second.

They did again 3 minutes later, and when Brad Marchant scored a beautifully unassisted short-handed goal, I can only assume that many minds began shifting their thoughts towards the inevitable butchering that was to come. I’m sure nobody could have known just how badly the game would turn for Vancouver.

I’d like to make one thing clear: I absolutely loathe the 2011 incarnation of the Boston Bruins. I hate that Mark Recchi won’t quit, and I hope Zdano Chara trips over his own skates and breaks his face on a turnbuckle. This is mostly due to fact that I am a passionate supporter of the Montreal Canadians. But I also despise Tim Thomas, and this has nothing to do with my fanaticism for the Habs.

Tim Thomas, in my mind, is as dull as the colour beige. He follows the fundamental rules of goaltending, and as such, makes every save seem unimpressive. He’s soft-spoken, seems polite enough, and generally acts like a humble, aging man who’s genuinely glad to be able to make a living playing goalie. Although these qualities might make up a fine individual, as a person, these are not characteristics I look for in hockey players. Plus, he’s a damned ginger.

But even I can’t deny that that squirrely shithead was an absolute WARRIOR last night. I hold onto the above-mentioned conviction passionately. But I couldn’t help but feel complete and total admiration for Tim Tam last night. His hit on Henrik Sedin completely baffled me. It seemed to go against his entire style of play. Not only did he stand on his head and shut the Canucks down at nearly every opportunity, his hit justified the aggressive player-chasing that he’d been lambasted for just 48 hours prior.

After the utter shellacking of half the Sedin-duo, I respected the mortal shit out of Tim Tam. Goalies are given a very small amount of space to call their own on the ice, and very large amount of responsibility to guard that space. Thomas was, to me at least, a Spartan in the third period of game 3. A selfless warrior who would stop at nothing to make sure his boys won. Even when the puck wasn’t in his end, Thomas would skulk around the ice with all the majesty and impending dread of some mythological creature that doesn’t come to mind at the moment; effortlessly gliding over his terrain, guarding his team’s most prized possession: the virgin mesh of the goal.

Almost as soon as I began to look at these hockey players like legendary gods, ruthlessly battling to bring a symbolic silver cup to the community they’re representing, they began acting like a bunch of tantrum-throwing children. It all seemed so epic there so a second. Vancouver had a couple of good chances, but everything deteriorated when Burrows slashed Thomas on the hand. None other than Milan Lucic came ‘round to slap Burrows like the little bitch he was. While he was on his knees too! At this point in the proceedings, I was certain there would be a throwdown of biblical proportions. You just don’t let a team member get humiliated the way Burrows did. But nothing happened. At least not right away, when it should have. Instead, all skaters on the ice paired up with a member of the opposing team and did a little waltz for the crowd. I believe this is where the Canucks went horribly wrong.

In a Stanley Cup final that is becoming more and more bitter and desperate by the minute, your team’s integrity is almost as important as the endless skating drills it took to get here. Just like your dad used to say when you were a kid, “[Insert your full name here], you should never start a fight. If I get a call from your school and find out that you’ve been picking fights, I’ll make you wish you hadn’t even looked at the kid. BUT, just like not picking on people for no reason is important, it’s even more important not to let anyone push you around. You have to stand up for yourself, even if you know you’ll get beaten up. Because if you never stand up for yourself, people will push you around and take advantage of you for the rest of your life.”

The Canucks let themselves get pushed around by the Boston Bruins.

It occurred to me a few seconds after Lucic gave Burrows a couple of love taps to the face, that Vancouver doesn’t even have anyone who’s capable of stepping up to the plate in such a situation. I expected Bieksa to come barreling out of nowhere and make an honest effort to turn Lucic’s face into mush. I could have respected that. Instead, everyone seemed content to let things stay the way they were. It was a couple of minutes later that Kesler and Seidenberg beaked each other off all the way down the ice, then threw their helmets and gloves to the ice to take part in one of the most pathetic attempts at playoff fighting in recent memory.

The whole spectacle reminded me of WWE Monday Night RAW. Everyone was expecting it to go down, and I feel like Kesler and Seidenberg took part simply because it was expected of them. The fight immediately fell to the ground, and Kesler finished by pushing Seidenberg, who was already laying on the ice; just like a bitter 3rd grader would have done after a pitiful schoolyard brawl.

After that, the Canucks simply got embarrassed.

Now we’re left to imagine what Vancouver will come out with on Wednesday night. Boston knows that they’re still 1 game behind. They also know that they’ve dealt a devastating blow to the Canucks confidence, and as mentioned earlier, their integrity as a team. Vancouver will, no doubt, try to revert back to the style of play that got them where they are today. Sports shows across the country will be filled with players saying that “we just need to put this game behind us and come out strong on Wednesday.” Boston, on the hand, will “try to carry this momentum into the next game.”

So what’s going to happen Wednesday night? Vancouver will try to forget being humiliated so thoroughly, and Boston will do their best to remind them. Every moment of every game is absolutely crucial from this point on. If Boston tries to push the Canucks around, Vancouver must fight back; either with punches, or with bone-crushing, legal hits. If they don’t stand their ground, proudly and united, the Bruins will continue to bully them for the rest of the Stanley Cup finals. Just like papa said.oH

Rome Becomes Scapegoat for a Befuddled League

It’s been a rough year for NHL disciplinarians. After a few years of skirting around the head shot issue, the dinosaurs of the NHL finally came around and tweaked the rules. Unfortunately the way that they passively handled the issue has only created more confusion for not only the fans, but for the players playing the game as to what they are allowed or not allowed to do. In the big picture of making the game of hockey better, it shouldn’t be about taking away “head shots”, but about taking away dangerous plays out of the game of hockey that lead to concussions and other serious injuries. The most recent incident has come on hockey’s biggest stage with Vancouver Canuck defenseman Aaron Rome knocking Nathan Horton out with a hit. If you ever grew up watching Don Cherry’s Rock and Sockem tapes, you will recognize this hit, especially in the early years of the series, as one that was regularly celebrated by the infamous CBC commentator with his catch phrase “Keep Yer Head Up!” Think back to one of the more famous hits by Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils on Eric Lindros and you’ll see similarities, but the game has changed, and that once celebrated hit is now part of the lengthiest suspension in Stanley Cup history.

How the league has got to this point has been the result of misguided leadership and stubbornness. The NHL top brass can sometimes feel like an old boys club, so when it comes to radically making rule changes, it can be a bit difficult. It all starts with a guy who should have never been in the job in the first place and that’s Colin Campbell. Talk to executives and most will tell you about Colly “the good guy”, but that “good guy” just happened to police a game in a league where his son plays. This happened five years ago when Gregory Campbell became a regular in the NHL, but no one really seemed to notice or care, until emails were leaked that showed Colin Campbell actually acting like every other “hockey dad” out there, and showed that he clearly couldn’t be nonpartisan. Yet he kept his job, and the calamity of errors continued. The issue has blown up this year because Gregory Campbell got traded to the Boston Bruins, a team with not only had a shot at the Stanley Cup, but one that still plays right on the edge of the rules like they did in the ‘70’s when the aforementioned Don Cherry was the Coach. So in effort to keep things fair they gave any calls involving the Boston Bruins to his buddy Mike Murphy. It’s like for some reason you’re not allowed to drive across one bridge to get into the city, so you give the keys to your friend who’s nervous because he doesn’t know your car too well, so he drives it cautiously not wanting to do any damage. Murphy predictably was called upon many times this year, and almost seemed to fumble the calls every time. Sucker punching became a big issue when Todd Bertuzzi clocked Steve Moore back in ’04, and ever since the league seemed to come down hard, yet Murphy conveniently turned an eye when Milan Lucic suckered Freddy Meyer. Murphy’s biggest gaffe however came when couldn’t find reason to suspend Bruin captain Zdeno Chara when he shoved Max Pacioretty into a stanchion breaking a vertebra in his neck.

With the no call on Chara they seemed to be saying that even with a catastrophic incident that causes injury, they don’t want to always jump on a suspension based on injury but on incident. Both Chara and Rome got 5 minute majors for interference and game misconducts, and both Pacioretty and Horton will miss time, but it’s only Rome getting suspended, a historic suspension at that. It shouldn’t be any clearer that there is an egregious bias happening when it comes to these Boston Bruins, and it has nothing to do with trying to police head shots or clean up the game, but has to do with the incompetent and inconsistent NHL top brass. They have waited all year, and have waited until Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final to make their statement and unfortunately Aaron Rome will have to be the scapegoat even though there were previous incidents when the league could have done something significant. The thing is Murphy shouldn’t even have been in this position; it wasn’t his job to do. Faced with a crucial decision on Rome, Murphy called the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs Brian Burke for his opinion. The train of incompetence just keeps rolling. Even though Burke used to be the head disciplinarian of the NHL, he’s also a rival GM that may have a vested interest in the outcome of this Stanley Cup. Sure if the Bruins do win the Cup, one of his first round picks will go down from 29 to 30, but more likely, Burke would want nothing more than to see the Bruins beat the Aquilini Family owned Canucks who ran Burke out of town in 2004.

The Aaron Rome hit is one that many people believe should be worthy of a suspension, but consensus is showing that 4 games is too much. Perhaps it was just an easy decision because Aaron Rome is a depth defenseman and no one is really going to miss him. Rome’s play was not inherently dirty, it was just a late hit, if Horton has his head up, there’s probably not even a penalty on the play, but the result was a concussion which is unfortunate, and something Rome should know all about. In Round 3 for the Canucks facing the Sharks, there were two dirty hits from behind that didn’t warrant any suspensions. One was Ben Eager on Daniel Sedin and the other was Jamie McGinn on Aaron Rome which resulted in Rome missing two games with a concussion. Two more dirty plays that the league didn’t feel were worthy of suspensions.

It’s gotten to the point where it has become impossible to figure out how the NHL will rule on suspensions. Isn’t it supposed to be as clear as penalties on the ice? When we have multiple angles on every play, it should be clear to everyone with sufficient examination time for everyone to figure out how many games a guy should or shouldn’t get. There has never been a time that calls for a committee of people to oversee suspensions than right now, so that it doesn’t fall onto one person. Not surprisingly the league has given the job to one man in Brendan Shanahan, a player who has played with or against the majority of the players in the league. So there won’t be any chance of any more bias, right?

Originally posted at Betfair.net

CBC Hates the Green Men

Sully and Force are awesome.

Why is it that the CBC seems to categorically detest the Green Men?

First, Glen Healy called them out in the middle of a game calling them “side-show freaks”. Then Don Cherry yesterday went on the Jim Rome show and said “I don’t like those jerks”. He cited them stroking the cut out photo of Carrie Underwood wearing a Canucks jersey they brought to the game while husband Mike Fisher sat in the box (Fisher afterwards admitted he thought it was hilarious and if it hadn’t been a playoff game he would have kissed it). Cherry then expressed the deluded notion that the guys in the box are “violent men” and are in a bad state of mind when they take a penalty in the playoffs and an altercation could occur.

Once again, the ineptitude of CBC sports knows no bounds. What is the highest rated program on the CBC right now? That’s right, Vancouver Canucks games. By a mile. The Green Men are exceedingly popular in Vancouver and this venom being spit at them from every angle is offputting for Canucks fans.

The Green Men, for their part, have played fairly nice. The NHL asked them to stop touching the glass which essentially banned their signature handstand move. They obliged and even had some fun with it by bringing a cut out photo of the handstand and posed completely motionless during one penalty. Their highly anticipated act for Shane O’Brien was hilarious. One held a sign saying “Which way to the Roxy?” while the other mixed a fake martini. This is of course in reference to Shane’s party-boy act in Vancouver (see Olympic break, 2010) while he was here for each of the past two seasons. O’Brien was popular with Vancouver fans and this is clearly just some friendly jabbing to a former player.

Yet the CBC’s on-air personalities continue to pile on Vancouver’s first fans. We all know Cherry is losing it a bit and Healy did backpedal on his comments after the Green Men called him out in an interview with Scott Oake during game 3 in Nashville. But this is the station’s biggest draw and their staff do nothing to enamour themselves to Vancouver’s viewership. I’m not suggesting that the CBC put a muzzle on anyone but professional sports coverage is about engaging the fans. It’s entertainment and the Green Men provide that. Hockey Night in Canada should embrace them in all ways and thus endear themselves to the Vancouver fan. With all the nonsense fans have had to endure with non-functioning penalty timers and video feed problems the least they could do is not put out their viewers even more.

But all of this is just a microcosm of the Canadian sports broadcasting landscape. CBC makes all of these bumbling, amateur mistakes time and time again while their competitors do not. TSN has an extremely high quality broadcast in terms of both video and commentary. Their discussion is on point, includes top analysts and player guests, and is genuinely funny at times. TSN, owned by media giant Bell, has infringed on the CBC’s dominance in the past few years. First, they cracked the CBC’s monopoly on playoff hockey by first acquiring the rights to series featuring American teams and eventually one first round Canadian playoff series, when enough Canadian teams qualify for the playoffs. Then they struck right at the heart of the CBC by buying the Hockey Song when the rights came up a few years ago. The CBC could not come close to the offer.

The CBC`s current contract with the NHL expires in 2014 and TSN will no doubt be trying to pick it up. If the NHL makes the move, many fans will pine for the nostalgia of watching games on channel 3 on Saturday nights, Coach`s Corner, and all the like. But the young, fickle sports fans who make up the most important demographics to broadcasters have little attachment to that and will make the change seamlessly. They will be drawn in by a more professional broadcast and the expanded coverage that the country`s top broadcaster could offer. The fact that TSN is not a part of basic cable could hurt their chances but they could easily show games on sister station CTV which is, as was the case for Canada hockey games during the 2010 Olympics.

Bruins Try to Rebound After Late Loss Against Canucks

At the time of this writing the following Match Odds/Moneyline were: Boston Bruins (3.65 +265) and Vancouver Canucks (1.93 -108), and Tie (4.3 +330).

With Game 1 in the books, there are a few interesting trends to analyze going forward for this series. The Boston power play while gaining more shots still doesn’t look very dangerous, and with another 0 for 5 game, it’s a nasty trend that doesn’t look like it’s going to change very soon. Even though the Canucks power play didn’t score, if the games are going to have this many power plays you have to like Vancouver’s chances to capitalize, they just have more weapons at their disposal than Boston does. This really seemed like a game that Boston needed to win, it was a gritty, tight checking game, and Tim Thomas was standing on his head. The one area that Boston was supposed to thrive on was 5 on 5, but in the third period, when there was finally some flow to the play with no penalties, it was the Canucks that took over the game, with numerous chances before Torres finally ended it. So it appears that Boston’s advantage 5 on 5 may be nullified by the speed of the Canucks forwards. Boston hasn’t had to play this type of game all playoffs, and in the third period, their defense was constantly being turned around.

This series for the Canucks looks a lot like the Nashville series. All the games are going to be low scoring with lots of hitting, and great goaltending. The Canucks are facing the other Vezina candidate in Tim Thomas, and he was worthy of that nomination in Game 1 with several huge saves. For Boston to win games in this series they’re going to have to continue to rely on that goaltending and somehow get more traffic in front of Luongo. Unlike the Nashville series however, the Canucks are more motivated than they looked in that Game 1 in which they also won 1-0, and probably will be for Game 2 as well. In that Game 2 Nashville attacked the Canucks more in what was probably the real let down game after the Chicago series, and Boston will have to do the same if they want the same result. Nashville won that game 2-1 in double overtime, and it’s not a big stretch to see a similar result happen again in Game 2 of these Stanley Cup playoffs.

Some key personnel issues for the Canucks will be if Dan Hamhuis can return to the lineup after he left with what looked like either a knee or a hip injury. Hamhuis has been a key shut down guy paired with Kevin Bieksa, so the Canucks will miss him dearly although they do have the luxury of a few days off before the next game on Saturday, as well as the option of going to a veteran in Keith Ballard if he’s not able to go. The other player that people have been talking about not being available for Game 2 is Alex Burrows who allegedly bit Patrice Bergeron. Now while the video evidence shows that he does bite down on his glove, it’s not as egregious as the Jarrko Ruutu bite on Andrew Peters a few years ago, and the league didn’t suspend Marc Savard last year when he allegedly bit Dan Carcillo. Now it’s the type of business that doesn’t belong in the game, and Burrows should face a fine of some sort, and because he already received an extra two minutes on the play, that should be enough punishment, especially in the context of the scrum when Bergeron kept going at Burrows and shoving his glove in his face. It’s just a couple of scrappy francophones going at each other, so there’s no need to suspend Burrows. If they league somehow decides to suspend him it will be udder hypocrisy because they’ve already shown that it takes a lot to get suspended in the playoffs, and they already turned an eye on Nathan Horton when he threw a water bottle at a fan after Game 6 against Tampa Bay, a very suspendable offence.

(UPDATE: Burrows will not be suspended.)

We know these games are going to be low scoring, and overtime is a big possibility, so a Tie bet may be good one. Boston are huge underdogs in this game at this point and if the Canucks are without Hamhuis and Burrows that’ll be an edge for Boston, so playing the Bruins on this game might not be a bad bet. With Vancouver going 8-0 over the past three years in Game 1’s, the money should have been on Vancouver in Game 1, but with both teams going 2-1 in Game 2’s’ this year, it’s more of a toss up. The series won’t be won or lost in Game 2, as the big games won’t happen until the series shifts to Boston, but a bet on Boston, a Tie, or an Under are all smart bets.

Originally posted at betfair.net

A Team, a City, on the Precipice

Tonight marks the beginning of a defining moment, to be played out over two weeks, in the history of the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks stand on the doorstep of the first championship in the history of the franchise. Fitting that now, in the 40th year of the team's existence, the Canucks will take one of two paths.

The first is that of a franchise, and a city, coming of age. The Olympics last spring were a real coming out party for Vancouver on the world stage. They were a culmination of both the economic and cultural maturation that has occurred here on the Wet Coast. The athletes, the organizers, and the city all performed admirably. Yes, Vancouver has grown up a lot in the past 40 years.

So, too, have the Vancouver Canucks. They have gone from a perennial loser with a few sporadic finals runs and spells of success to one of the league's model franchises. The Canucks, while often failing in the playoffs, have been a consistent contender in the West for the past ten years. As an organization they have excelled as well. Operated by private, local ownership the Canucks are leaders in ticket sales, corporate sponsorship, and in the oh-so-coveted Social Media frontier.

If the Canucks were to win the Stanley Cup it would be the feather in a city's already enviously-stylish cap (purchased on Robson for $300).

However, if they don't, the picture isn't quite as rosy.

While 40 years without a Cup is by no means unheard of (ah-hem, Leafs) it certainly isn't anything to write home about. The longest Cup drought ever was 53 years by the New York Rangers which ended in 1994 at the hands of, oh right, the Canucks. The second longest was that of the Chicago Blackhawks who went home winless in 47 straight years until last year when they too lifted the Cup - making sure to beat the Canucks along the way in the second round, for the second straight year. Currently there are two longer cup droughts (St Louis and Los Angeles) and another that stands at 40 years also (Buffalo too entered the league in 1970). That's not exactly impressive company.

Canucks fans can only take so much heartbreak. The die-hards will always be there but there is a certain fickle element of the fan base (the "bandwagoners" that Toronto ex-pats love to point out as they walk the Seawall in February in a t-shirt) that might be reaching it's breaking point. I went to a game in the '94 run against Dallas. I remember the end of game 7 against New York. There is a good portion of the Canucks nation that remembers being swept by the Islanders in '82 as well. Losing in 2011 to an inferior (on paper!) Boston team with home-ice advantage and after taking home the Presidents Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy (Daniel Sedin), and nominations in 6 of 10 NHL Awards might just be the last straw for a lot of people.

No matter what the fans end up thinking, 40 years is a long time for a team to be around and some conclusions can be drawn from the observed patterns. After this season the Canucks will either be a team with a championship in the bag, sound management, and key players locked up for the long term or a mature franchise with a resume of losing.

Should be a fun two weeks.