Rob The Hockey Guy

Ok, before I upset the hockey gods again, let me first state that this series isn’t over. It’s not even close to over.

Ok, with that out of the way, the Canucks need to keep their momentum going and not let up on the Nashville Predators. The Canucks looked dominant in game 3, yet needed a borderline penalty call in overtime to beat these plucky Preds. There’s very little margin of error when you play Nashville, which is why focus must be at an all-time high.

Finish Them

It’s very important for the Canucks to try to finish off the Predators as quick as possible. That goes without saying, but it’s heightened even more when you consider that two of the three games in this series have gone to overtime and the fact that the San Jose Sharks look like they may sweep the Detroit Red Wings. Couple that with the fact that the Lightning have already swept the Capitals and the Bruins are up 3-0 on the Flyers, it means round 3 could start quickly after the Predators-Canucks series. The Canucks are no doubt a beat up team right now and could definitely use the rest.

With that said, it will take everything the Canucks have to beat the Predators, just make sure you bring it in game 4 and 5.

Lineup Changes

Sami Salo is expected to return for game 4. That means that Andrew Alberts will be out of the lineup and Keith Ballard is even further from getting on the ice. For Nashville, Steve Sullivan is injured and will be gone for the series.

Questionable Calls

The Predators are pretty pissed off about some of the penalties in game 3. In some ways I agree with them. In others? I don’t at all.

Jarred Smithson’s penalty for high sticking Luongo was weak, I’ll give them that. It’s questionable whether he touched Luongo’s mask, and if he did, it was still embellished by Luongo. At worst, it should have been 2 minutes for high sticking and 2 minutes for diving.

As for the overwhelming complaints about Shea Weber’s penalty in overtime? Give me a break. The Predators played almost two full overtime periods in game 2 and were outplayed. How was it that they didn’t get a single penalty in that time? There were borderline penalties that weren’t called. In game 3, the Preds’ luck ran out and they didn’t get the benefit of the doubt.

Was Weber’s penalty legit? Of course it was. Kesler did help keep the stick in a precarious position, but that has been a penalty all year. Might I also add that Weber could have been given a penalty for holding before that:

What’s Wrong with Henrik?

Obviously 5 points in 10 games isn’t good enough for Henrik Sedin. He might be injured, he might not be, but I think he’s ready to break out. He had the “third assist” twice last game, and they were excellent passes. Don’t believe the negative publicity he’s getting. Look for a big game from him tonight.

Take it away Mats!