The Canucks lost another game in the shootout on Thursday night, losing the game 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings. While they didn’t deserve to win the game based on their play in regulation time and overtime, the shootout is a different animal. It usually has very little to do with the run of play. They lost the shootout because Detroit is a much better shootout team than the Canucks.

The Canucks are one of the best teams in the NHL but they are one of the worst in shootouts. One would think that a team that boasts a Vezina trophy finalist and a lineup filled with offensive talent would be good in shootouts. Instead, Vancouver has a 3-5 record, are 19th in shooting percentage and are 5th worst in save percentage. And this is not a new problem for the Canucks, it has gone on a few years. They were 4-5 last season and 4-4 the year before and 3-7 the year before that. So what gives?

No Go-To Guy

The shooters that beat Roberto Luongo on Thursday night were Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Hudler. That should come as no surprise, as these are the Red Wings’ go-to guys in the shootout. The Wings have played in 6 shootouts and Datsyuk and Hudler have shot in every single one of them. If they needed a 3rd shooter, Todd Bertuzzi would have been called upon.

The Canucks quite simply don’t have a go-to guy in the shootout. Mason Raymond and Alex Edler were given the assignment on Thursday, but they don’t shoot all the time. Alex Burrows and Cody Hodgson have shot most often, but they have only shot in 5 of their 8 shootouts.

Alain Vigneault

Alain Vigneault does not stop pucks or score goals, and if he had a guy like Pavel Datsyuk in his lineup he would get questioned a whole lot less. But with that being said, Vigneault has done a poor job of giving his team the best chance of winning in the shootout.

Vigneault needs to recognize who his best shootout performers are, and stick with them. Too often he has played hunches or given opportunities to players just because they are having a good game. What he ought to be doing is identifying his top guys and turning them into shootout specialists. The Canucks’ shooters were never more consistent than when Kyle Wellwood and Pavol Demitra were trotted out in each game, despite their play in regulation time. Last year AV failed to recognize Jeff Tambellini as his best shootout option, as he didn’t select him every game despite his excellent career shooting percentage.

This year, Vigneault needs to realize that Cody Hodgson and Alex Burrows are his two best shootout specialists. Burrows and Hodgson are each 2/5 in the shootout this year and consistently put forth a great effort. A lot of fans and media have been suggesting that Vigneault give Daniel and Henrik Sedin another chance. Perhaps Daniel should get the odd opportunity (after Hodgson and Burrows), but Henrik has put forth some of the worst shootout attempts I have ever seen (including this one).

Roberto Luongo

Quite simply, Roberto Luongo needs to be better. He is too good of a goalie to perform this poorly in the shootout. Luongo has a respectable career shootout save percentage at .663. Currently this year, Luongo has a .476 SV% in the shootout.

Luongo is 49th out of 57 NHL goalies in save percentage. He appears lost in the net, biting on every fake and getting beaten by any decent shooter. But it didn’t used to be this way.

In Luongo’s first season in Vancouver (2006-07), he was pretty good in the shootout. He had the 25th best shootout save percentage out of 71 goalies. Lu was even better the following two seasons (07-08, 08-09), but has seen his shootout save percentage drop in each of the last three seasons.

It appears that either Luongo’s reactions are starting to slow down with age, or shooters have a book on him.

Luongo might want to consider shifting the way he approaches the shootout. Unlike some other goalies, Luongo treats a shootout attempt the same as a breakaway. He stays reactive to the shooter and doesn’t make the first move or keep the shooter guessing. While this is probably the best way to play a breakaway, it leaves him prone to shootout attempts when players walk-in with pre-planned moves in mind. A lot of the successful shootout goalies keep the shooter guessing by utilizing the poke check or mixing up their positioning.

Shootout Philosophy

As I have already outlined, I believe the Canucks should identify their top shootout players, and run with them. This should be done with at least 2 of their first 3 shooters. Even though the Canucks don’t have a stud in the shootout like Pavel Datsyuk or Jonathan Toews, they can still identify a specialist or two.

Maybe above all, the Canucks need to treat the shootout seriously. That means practicing it and scouting it. The Canucks ought to be scouting goalie and shooter tendencies. It boggles my mind every time I see Alex Burrows walk-in and score with the same old move on opposing teams. I mean, if I know the move he’s going to do, how is it that NHL teams don’t?

Perhaps the Canucks already do a lot of scouting for the shootout, but it doesn’t appear so.

The good news out of all of this is that there are no shootouts in the playoffs. But the shootout can be the difference between finishing first, second or third in the conference, and that can be the difference in who hoists the Stanley Cup in June.

Alain Vigneault announced his starting goalie today, and for the sixth straight time Vigneault will be giving Cory Schneider the nod. Giddy sports writers immediately hopped up and down at this news, with the prospect of the hottest controversy in this town since the Dickenson-Printers saga.

While I can certainly understand the giddiness of the media, this situation is a little different from the Printers-Dickenson situation the BC Lions faced in 2004-05. At least initially.

For now, Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider are saying all the right things. Luongo has been very complimentary to Schneider and vice versa. Luongo had this to say about Cory Schneider:

Cory has unbelievable talent. He has been working his bag off for the last two years. He never complained and was always 100 per cent behind me so same thing goes for me. He deserves what he’s getting right now.

Cory Schneider getting six straight starts is a big deal in Vancouver because something like this has never happened to Roberto Luongo before. Of course, he’s never had a backup like Cory Schneider before. Luongo missed the first two games of this streak due to injury, but he’s been healthy for almost a week now. Schneider in the meantime has been exceptional, save for the Chicago game.

So head coach Alain Vigneault has decided to ride the hot hand, giving Luongo another night off against Columbus tomorrow night. If you ask me, it’s the right decision, and Schneider should be kept in until he loses or isn’t exceptional between the pipes. It’s not an unheard of philosophy and you only need to look at the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

Last year Marc-Andre Fleury of the Penguins got off to a terrible start. He lost 6 of his first 7 games and had to watch Brent Johnson start a lot of games because of it. Brent Johnson started 8 of 12 games in late October/early November before Fleury finally turned his game around and had an exceptional season. Fleury ended up with great numbers and was a big reason the Penguins fared so well despite the absence of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

What Alain Vigneault has to figure out is if he ultimately will do everything possible to try to ensure that Roberto Luongo is playing at full capacity by the time the playoffs roll around. It’s all fine and dandy to give the keys to Cory Schneider in November and ask him to carry the load while he’s playing well. Luongo gets some rest and has a lot of time to get in the groove before the playoffs start. But what happens if Schneider is outplaying Luongo in February or March? It’ll be then, not now, that the real tough questions will have to be answered.

Late last night I received an email from my friend Darin. Darin is a die hard Canucks fan, about as die hard as you can get. He watches every game, analyzes every play. He loves the Canucks. But he also takes losing pretty hard. He last ranted this hard during the Chicago series last year. He was remarkably quiet during the first round this year, but after last night, he needed to rant.

Enjoy:

What a game that was! The Canucks won game 2 by a score of 7-3 and looked like the powerhouse team that won the President’s Trophy during the regular season. That was the best the Canucks have played in the playoffs this year, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Their top three lines are all producing, and their defense is jumping into the play. Roberto Luongo is steady in between the pipes, and making the big save when he needs to (in both game 1 and 2, he made a key save in the third period while the Canucks were trailing or tied). And their defense, judged by many to be the best in the entire NHL, is looking like it. There’s still a long way to go, but they are firing on all cylinders right now.

But now to the real story of game 2…

The Flash

They’re now the most famous boobs in British Columbia, and brought a little more colour to this series. I’m not really sure what the reasoning for it was (it’s not exactly penalizing Ben Eager is it?), but I’m guessing the CBC is pining for the days of the Green Men’s handstands now. This young lady is now a Twitter sensation and numerous mainstream media outlets are trying to identify/interview her. Holly Conway from the Beat 94.5 spoke to her through email, apparently she was drunk (duh) and is a little embarrassed about it.

The Gordie Howe Hat Trick

Kevin Bieksa is playing amazing right now. This guy was one of my favourite players when he burst onto the scene a few years ago, but like many Canucks fans I absolutely hated the way he played the past two seasons. But Bieksa is an absolute stud right now. Yesterday he had a goal (and a breakaway at that), an assist and a fight against Patrick Marleau. What a beast.

War of Words

The San Jose Sharks are whining again. They were upset at the Canucks diving in game 1 and now Ben Eager is running his mouth. He said that Daniel Sedin turned on purpose before he hit him from behind (Daniel turned after he bobbled the puck), that his slough foot on Mason Raymond wasn’t the appropriate call and that Kevin Bieksa picks his spots. More from Eager on Bieksa:

He was a coward then, and that hasn’t changed

Calling Kevin Bieksa a spot picker is a little ridiculous. To start with, he fought Ben Eager two years ago. Secondly, Bieksa is not simply a fourth line goon, which means he’s allowed to be a spot picker! Did Mark Messier fight any old fool that asked him? How often did Brendan Shanahan turn down fights? I’m guessing quite often. Kevin Bieksa is a leading minute guy for the Canucks, so it makes sense that he would only fight another talented player. Further to that, Patrick Marleau dropped his gloves first!

Surprisingly, head coach Alain Vigneault has been the most outspoken Canuck, sarcastically referring to the Eager hit on Daniel Sedin as “embellishment” and placing some blame on Todd McLellan for Eager’s antics.

Ben Eager is trying to rile the Canucks up, and it’s not working. That sort of stuff carries a lot more weight and frustrates teams a lot more when you’re winning the series, not when you’re trailing.

This series just got interesting.

The biggest game the Canucks franchise has played since game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup finals did not disappoint on Tuesday night. It wasn’t easy, but the Canucks finally got their revenge over their arch rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks. It took good goaltending from Roberto Luongo, a smart defensive corps and a gritty effort by their forwards to edge the Blackhawks, 2-1 in overtime.

While the victory was a great team victory for the Canucks, in many ways game 7 was the Alex Burrows show. Burrows, who up until game 6 had many wondering if he simply didn’t have an extra gear for the speed of the Stanley Cup playoffs (due to his lack of production in the playoffs in his career), was all over the ice. He scored the first goal after a great power move by Ryan Kesler. He took a penalty shot in the 3rd period (which I think if he used his patented forehand-backhand deke, he would have scored). He was the one who gave the puck away at centre ice which lead to Jonathan Toews’ improbable game tying shorthanded goal. He was the one who took the ill-timed penalty in overtime. And of course he was the one that scored the clutch goal in overtime to send the Canucks to the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Adjustments

Head coach Alain Vigneault kept his new look lines from game 6 in tact for game 7 and it paid off. The Kesler-Burows-Raymond unit was their best line. While the Sedins struggled with Mikael Samuelsson, the 3rd line (Lapierre-Higgins-Hansen) was a pleasant surprise. The fourth line was a rough and tumble line, and looked capable despite limited minutes. Of course, he also started the right goaltender in game 7: Roberto Luongo.

I noticed a different style of play from the Canucks in game 7. There was a clear direction from the coaching staff to not get too spread out through the neutral zone. Even early in the game, the Canucks were loathed to chase the Blackhawks when one of their defencemen brought the puck up the ice.

Home Ice Advantage

I was a little worried that the pressure of the home crowd might work against the Canucks in game 7 but clearly it didn’t. I was impressed with the constant noise from the home crowd. More importantly, I was impressed that the crowd didn’t sound nervous at all.

The Overtime Power Play

Thank goodness Roberto Luongo was able to stop Patrick Sharp while shorthanded in overtime because otherwise the Canucks would be left to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions. The Canucks played a great game in game 7, but their lack of finish almost allowed the Blackhawks to pull off the upset. Had Sharp scored, Alain Vigneault likely would have been fired and Roberto Luongo’s reputation as a big game choke artist would be solidified. The Sedins (no points in game 7) and Ryan Kesler (no goals in the playoffs) would also be called into question. Every aspect of this franchise would have been unglued, had one more shot gone wrong. But Luongo made the save, the team killed the penalty and Burrows made Chris Campoli pay for a poor clearing attempt and the rest is history.

Where was Gillis?

Were you wondering where Mike Gillis was during the overtime winning goal? Well, he was in the washroom!

History Books

Luckily the Canucks avoided being added to the list of teams to blow a 3-0 series lead, because that would have lived on forever. Instead, for the first time in team history, the Canucks won a game 7 in overtime at home. Of course, the only time they’ve won a game 7 overtime came in Calgary on a breakaway goal by Pavel Bure (kind of ironic that one of the lyrics to Kyprios’ song is “Burrows, looking like Bure”). As far as where this goal will sit compared to the other great goals in team history, well that will all depend on how far this team goes. Congratulations boys, the job is 25% done. And the job only gets tougher.

For the first time in the Canucks-Blackhawks Trilogy, we will have a game 7. And it will happen in the most improbable way. As you must know by now, the Canucks have squandered a 3-0 series lead and now face elimination on Tuesday night.

A few of my observations from last night’s game:

-I wasn’t a fan of the Cory Schneider start in net, but he played well… Apart from his two major puck handling blunders. In many ways, those two errors cost the Canucks the game.

-Despite losing 4-3 in game 6, the Canucks were the best team on the ice last night, but the best team doesn’t always win.

-Kevin Bieksa had the best game of his career last night. He logged over 36 minutes of ice time, had a clutch goal and was a plus 2. Every decision he made seemed to be the right one, and he wasn’t playing a conservative game by any means.

-Bieksa had to play big minutes in part because the Canucks lost Sami Salo to injury. It’s the playoffs so nobody is saying what is wrong, but I wouldn’t count on him playing in game 7. In true Sami Salo fashion, he injured himself simply skating up the ice.

-Maybe with Salo injured we will see Keith Ballard inserted back into the lineup. It makes absolutely no sense to me why he has been benched time after time. He’s clearly better than Andrew Alberts and Aaron Rome. Why this isn’t clear for Alain Vigneault is a mystery. To make matters worse, Alberts was a central figure on the winning goal, as his mobility was an issue dealing with Marian Hossa.

-Alex Burrows arrived last night. It was his best game of the series by far, as he picked up a goal and two assists.

-I thought the referees absolutely shafted the Canucks last night and Mike Gillis agrees. Somehow, with the Canucks carrying most of the play, they were given only two power plays. I’m all for letting the players play, but on two occasions there were ‘automatic’ penalties that were overlooked. The first came when Daniel Sedin was high sticked on an offside call, the second came when Henrik Sedin’s stick was slashed in half.

-Roberto Luongo is getting some heat for his play in game 6 and I think it’s unwarranted. Sure, he looked a little shaky coming in cold in the third period, but the bottom line is he only let in one goal and you can’t blame him for it. He needed to make an acrobatic save on a deflected shot. To expect great rebound control or to make the second save is asking a lot.

Lineup Changes

-Bryan Bickell is injured and will miss game 7. Tomas Kopecky appears ready to return from injury, he’s traveling with the team to Vancouver.

-Sami Salo will likely miss game 7 as well, perhaps he will be replaced by Keith Ballard.

-It will be interesting to see if Alain Vigneault decides to play Cody Hodgson in game 7. Personally I think he should play Maxim Lapierre on the 3rd line and re-insert Tanner Glass at 4th line centre. We probably won’t find out until game time.

-Of course the biggest lineup change is the starting goalie, Roberto Luongo.

Keys to Game 7

A quick start. It goes without saying that the first goal is important, but perhaps more important will be the second goal. If Chicago gets the first two goals, the pressure will mount.

Special teams. It remains to be seen how many penalties will be called in game 7, but the Canucks will need to be better on the penalty kill and power play. I would love for Alain Vigneault to put Alex Edler back onto the first unit power play in place of Mikael Samuelsson. I know he reads this blog, so that should be no problem…

Pressure. There will be lots to go around, especially for the home team, especially for Roberto Luongo. How he and the players in front of him deal with that pressure will absolutely be the biggest key to the game. They need to harness the energy from the home crowd and play smart with controlled aggression.

History

This will be the 10th game 7 in Canucks history, the first without Trevor Linden. They’re 5-4 in game 7s, 3-2 in game 7s at home. The Blackhawks will try to become just the fourth team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-0.

This game is one of the most important games in franchise history and undoubtedly the most important game in franchise history that didn’t take place in 1994. It may well define the legacy of Alain Vigneault, Roberto Luongo and the Sedins. If they are unable to win this series, serious questions will be asked and Vancouver will have a very grim summer. On the other hand, if they win this series this propel this team to greatness.

In advance of game 6 in Chicago, the Canucks must find some way to re-find their form, just as the Chicago Blackhawks did before game 4. Chicago was inspired by their fallen teammate, Brent Seabrook, and used it as a rallying point. Well then, Alain Vigneault, I have something for you. Check that, I have something for the bulletin board.

Steve Rosenbloom from the Chicago Tribune offered up this article on Friday:

The Blackhawks will not practice today. The Vancouver Canucks, I believe, were being tended to by all the king’s horses and all the king’s men.

Or should we be calling them the Vanquitter Canucks after the way they’ve rolled over easily the last two games?

Or maybe the Panicouver Canucks, what with the fire drill going on in places where the players’ brains and hearts used to be.

Then again, the way this comeback is unfolding, the way one team is halfway to accomplishing an epic choke, maybe we should call them the Vancouver Cubs. I mean, if you didn’t know better, you’d think Roberto Luongo is Alex Gonzalez (not Steve Bartman because Bartman at least got a glove on the ball).
Admit it, Hawks fans: You’re giddy. You’re imagining the improbable four straight wins after those first three losses.

Can’t blame you. I’m the same way after the Hawks utterly destroyed their stupid and heartless opponent for the second consecutive game and forced Luongo to make the skate of shame for the second consecutive game.

The Canucks had a burst early and drew a power play, but got nothing. And then the Hawks got everything.

They raked the Canucks in every area — power-play, penalty-killing, even-strength, loose pucks, board battlesm you name it — prompting memories of last spring’s dominance. Duncan Keith had two goals and four-point night. Marian Hossa scored twice. Yes, THAT Marian Hossa, the one who was MIA the last two weeks and had scored only three goals in 26 Hawks playoff games before Thursday night. Hossa’s power play goal at 5:54 of the first period beat Luongo to the glove side. Same goes for his second goal. About half the Hawks’ goals have gone that way in their two wins. It’s so obvious that even the people in Panicouver should be able to see it.

The Hawks were faster, tougher and better, just like the Canucks were in winning the first three games. Doesn’t that seem a long time ago?

The Hawks looked like the puck-possession version of the Globetrotters again. They have played that way since Brent Seabrook got that cheap shot from Raffi Torres or since they went down three games, take your pick. Perhaps they finally got mad and motivated, or perhaps they relaxed to their default setting of a skating-passing game when they had nothing to lose.

The Canucks, meanwhile, are paralyzed. The’ve played tight and bad. They are unwilling to do whatever it takes to get the most difficult win. The Canucks didn’t want to skate unless they could throw a cheap shot in Game 5. Stupid and dirty must be two of their four major food groups. Vancouver turtled again, even earlier than in Game 4.

I guess the Hockey Gods don’t like quitters. Heart, brains — do the Canucks have anything when it matters, or just in the regular season?

It could all go bad for the Hawks at home in Game 6 on Sunday. It has gone bad at home during this season, especially in the third period. That would be a killer. Jeez, after the last two games, losing this series would be a killer. It’s like the Canucks made the Hawks to get out of the chair and bring the leather belt with them.

But I know it could go bad because that’s what happens in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It happened to the Canucks justlikethat when they were playing as brilliantly as the Hawks have the last two games, scoring 11 of the last 12 goals in this series.

So, this isn’t a free pass to the second round. There are still two games to go. But I’m giddy over the way the Hawks are turning Vancouver into the Can’yuk-yuk-yuks.

So there you go AV. Post that up on the bulletin board and watch the boys come out with a fire lit under their ass. If that doesn’t inspire you to shut up your critics, nothing will.

And if you need EVEN more inspiration, this should provide it:

Just when you thought the trade deadline was going to pass with Canucks general manager Mike Gillis doing nothing, he pulled off a pair of deals. The Canucks sent Evan Oberg and a 3rd round pick to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Chris Higgins. Gillis also acquired Maxim Lapierre and minor leaguer MacGregor Sharp (part of the all-name team) from the Anaheim Ducks for Joel Perreault and a 2013 3rd round pick.

Both of these deals caught me off-guard, as both of these players don’t seem to fit the Gillis mold for 4th line players. With that said, lets take a closer look at who these guys are:

Chris Higgins:

Age: 27

Position: Left Wing

Contract: Last year of a deal that pays him $1.6 million. He’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Stats this year: Higgins has had a very underwhelming season. He has 11 goals and 12 assists in 48 games.

Career year: His best came 3 years ago, during the 2007-08 season with the Montreal Canadiens. That season he scored 27 goals and 25 assists in 82 games.

Playoff Pedigree: He doesn’t have a lot of playoff experience, playing in 22 games with the Canadiens. He has a respectable 11 points in those 22 games.

What he will bring: At the moment, I’m unsure. At the moment he is injured with  broken thumb and should return in about two weeks. Once he returns, he’ll likely see time on the 4th line as a centre or on the wing (he has played centre before). It’s possible that he gets a chance to supplant Mason Raymond on the Canucks second line, but I doubt it.

Verdict: I’m afraid I don’t agree with this trade. I guess he presents a good insurance policy, but to give up a 3rd rounder for insurance? Seems a bit much. He just strikes me as a player doomed to be an underachiever. He doesn’t really play a 4th line type game, which is where they need the most help.

Maxim Lapierre

Age: 25

Position: Centre

Contract: Last year of a $900,000 contract. He is a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Stats this year: Splitting time between the Canadiens and Ducks, Lapierre has 11 points in 59 games.

Career year: He is not that far removed from his best season in 2008-09 with the Montreal Canadiens. That year he had 15 goals and 13 assists in 79 games.

Playoff Pedigree: He has 3 goals and 4 assists in 35 career playoff games, so he has some experience. He was on the Habs team that went to the Eastern Conference finals last season.

What he will bring: He will fill the void as the team’s fourth line centre and is an agitator. Canucks fans haven’t seen a sneer like his since Jarkko Ruutu left town.

Verdict: I love the fact that he’s a centre with some grit for the fourth line. The puzzling part is that he plays like Alex Burrows did a few years ago, he’s an agitator that takes bad penalties and dives. Gillis/Vigneault will have a hard time getting him to buy into not taking dumb penalties. Lapierre played for Alain Vigneault in junior, so that’s a good sign, they obviously know what they’re getting into. Overall I like this deal for this season and he’s a restricted free agent at the end of the season which means he’s not a rental player.

The better team won. Face it. I have heard lots of whispers from the Canucks players and from fans that somehow the Hawks aren’t the better team, which boggles my mind. They were the better team during the last two regular seasons, they were the better team the last two playoffs. Sure there were some mitigating factors. Willie Mitchell’s injury sure hurt. Playing game 6 with a less than 100% Sami Salo and losing Alex Edler made things difficult. Lots of the Canucks forwards were banged up. Injuries ARE excuses, legitimate excuses. Injuries don’t mean you automatically lose, but they make things more difficult. These injuries meant that the Canucks had to be extra good, seeing as how they were underdogs to begin with. In the next few days I’ll take a retrospective look back at the Canucks season that was, but for now, lets concentrate on what happened in the deciding game, game 6 versus Chicago.

The Start

The Canucks got off to a terrible start in game 6. The shots on goal and the score were very misleading stats after the first period. The Blackhawks got probably the best five chances to score, but were stonewalled by Roberto Luongo. Luongo was positively in vintage form in the first period and gave his teammates a mulligan for a terrible start. Despite the bad start, his big saves got the crowd really involved, who were much more into the game than they were at the start of game 3 and 4 of this series.

‘Balls of Steel’

Canucks fans are normally known for unimaginative, lame cheers. You know the ones, “Turrrrrrrrrrrcoooooo!” and “Calgary Sucks!”. Well, we took a giant step forward with the “Balls of Steel!” chant for Sami Salo in game 6. Salo did indeed play, and was clearly under distress. He showed great courage, and should have provided a boost for his teammates.

Edler gets Byfuglien’d

The beginning of the end came in the first period when Alex Edler got hit into the boards by Dustin Byfuglien. Edler fell awkwardly on his leg and suffered an injury, which knocked him out of the game. Edler was the Canucks’ best defenceman in the playoffs, and given the depth on defence, he was probably the player they could most ill afford to lose.

Bad Bieksa

In the game preview yesterday, I asked the question of whether we would see the good Bieksa or the bad Bieksa. In game 5, we saw the good Bieksa. In game 6, not surprisingly, we saw the bad Bieksa. His unbelievable misplaying of the puck in the neutral zone which lead to Chicago’s second goal was a huge moment in the game. It kind of summed up his season: too casual.

Demitra’s Grand Finale

Demitra decided to roll the dice on a play at the blueline and he crapped out. His giveaway which lead to David Bolland’s breakaway goal made it 3-0 going into the second intermission. It was an absolute dagger. Alain Vigneault wasn’t impressed and benched him the rest of the game. That play will be Demitra’s last as a Canuck.

The Comeback

Could they? Would they? They didn’t. Shane O’Brien’s goal early in the third made things interesting, but only for a moment.

The Nail in the Coffin

Patrick Kane’s goal to make it 4-1 all but sealed it up. Another Canuck blunder, the Blackhawks made it look easy. Despite the fact that the Canucks stayed almost completely out of penalty trouble, the Hawks waltzed into GM Place and had their way. Nevermind the home ice advantage, the crowd, having last change. None of it mattered because the Blackhawks were too fast, too strong, too mean, too skilled, too good. There’s no shame in losing to the Blackhawks, they were the better team, but to lose in that fashion, was an embarrassing way to end the season.

Skate and go to the net, presumably that’s the message from Coach V to his troops tonight. Alain Vigneault has a few lineup shuffles in mind for tonight’s contest. Pavol Demitra and Rick Rypien will sit out tonight’s contest in favour of Michael Grabner and Tanner Glass. Here’s what the Canucks lines are expected to look like:

Sedin-Sedin-Burrows

Raymond-Kesler-Grabner

Hansen-Wellwood-Samuelsson

Glass-Johnson-Bernier

I like the idea of them shaking it up. You’ve got to give the Hawks a different look, make your team unpredictable.

Power Play

The Canucks power play clearly needs to be better and Alain Vigneault has decided to shake that up also:

1st PP Unit:

Sedin-Sedin-Burrows

Bieksa-Salo

2nd PP Unit:

Wellwood/Bernier-Kesler-Samuelsson

Ehrhoff-Edler

Once again, I like the sounds of this. The mandate sounds like they want more point shots with a net presence. If they do that, it’ll open things up for the Sedins down low. It’s no different than having a three point threat helping your post players in basketball.

Burish Bullsh*t

Adam Burish had a few choice words for a few members of the Canucks. Here are a few excerpts:

“The thing that upsets me about O’Brien and Burrows is they go and target [Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews],” Burish said Friday morning. “The clown Burrows goes after [Brian] Campbell in the middle of the ice.

“Give me a break. If you want to target someone, come find me or [Ben Eager]. You guys want to pretend you’re so tough, and yet you go and try to pick a fight with those guys. If you want to hit them and play hard, fine. But those clowns are pushing them after the whistle and punching them.”

“We call O’Brien a ‘spot picker,’ ” Burish said. “He picks his spots pretty nice. He knows who’s on the ice and when he can be a tough guy and when he kind of has to shut up.”

To me this is nothing more than Burish trying to throw the Canucks off their game. I don’t know if it will work or if it will just motivate the Canucks, but I do know that those are tough words for a guy who got his clock cleaned by O’Brien last season: