Next Year – A Statement synonymous with the Vancouver Canucks. Especially when it comes to second round defeats. Every Year its the same story with this franchise. In 40 years as a fan of this team we have seen them advance twice past the second round, only to be defeated in the Finals. This is becoming the same story too many years in a row.

Every year Canuck fans get the hope that this is THE team this is THE year only to see them fail again in a more deplorable fashion.

This year may have been the worse. From being the best Western Conference Home team and the 2nd best in the NHL the Canucks won 2 out of 5 games on home Ice in the playoffs. In the Chicago Series? NONE…. 0-3 they also did it in the most embarrassing way. they were outhit, outshot and outscored 17-8. ON HOME ICE. In the now infamous game 6 the Canucks whimpered away onto the golf course for an other year of no Stanley Cup. The Canucks have NEVER won a second round series when trailing in the series. The Last 2 that they have lost in (Both to Chicago were BLOW OUTS)

The Canucks never stood a chance in this series. Luongo never found his game and the lack of Depth on the 3rd and 4th lines and the defense gave Chicago the advantage the whole series. With Luongo playing his worst hockey of the season the Canucks were forced to try to match the Hawks player for player something that couldn’t be done last year and was not addressed in the off season by Mike Gillis.

The Canucks were simply outplayed in every fashion and out coached. Isn’t that what better teams are supposed to do? Luongo really needed to steal games from the Hawks something he just couldn’t do. The Hawks were coached very well and had an answer for every Canuck on the roster. Canuck fans are calling for the heads of AV, Gillis, Luongo, the Sedins are sisters again apparently according to some of the stupid fans in our city even though they had the best seasons they have ever had and showed a new grit and Emotion not seen before in them, but hey they didnt satisfy the “What have you done for me lately” group. What needs to happen is the entire team, and fan base just need to step back breathe and enjoy another early summer in Vancouver and at least remember some good things this year.

- Burrows had 35 goals
- Samuelsson had over 30 goals
- Henrik Sedin won the Art Ross and was nominated for the Hart and Ted Lindsey trophies
- Daniel had a Career year despite missing almost 20 games
- Mason Raymond had a career year and a 20+ goal season
- Pavol Demitras contract is finally over
- Kesler had a Career year
- Luongo is signed long term and no matter how you feel about him that is a good thing at a $5.2 M cap hit there are options in that deal and allow trades but that is a subject for another time and one I do not believe should happen.

Shine up the clubs again…..

Congrats Chicago you WERE the better team. I see you going to the Finals.

GO CANUCKS GO

The Canucks did the unthinkable. They skated into the United Center and beat the Hawks with a near perfect game… Well maybe not near perfect but they played a solid Team Game. Now the question begs…

Can they do it again? Vancouver needs to be even better on home ice where they have only won 2 games and have not extended a best of 7 series to the last game when down 3-2 in their History of second rounds. The Hawks will be pissed off. They will be hungry to end this and not put it into a game 7 situation where anything can happen. This will be a game for the ages for the Canucks they will need to continue to do the little things in order to control the game and get the bounces.

It will be harder should Sami Salo not be able to nut up…. terrible pun, terrible injury. The Severity of his injury is unknown but being taken to the hospital surely bolds well for Chicago as Aaron Rome will slot back in the lineup as reported he was healthy as of yesterdays game.

Roberto Luongo was finally able to fight through the traffic and bodies and make the saves when needed. The Canucks were finally able to fight through the non calls and soft calls to get the game they wanted to play. This combination is good for the Canucks but again they will just need to be plain better.

The Question Also Begs: Was Bieksa on the verge of greatness last game or pure disaster. The plays he made in the neutral zone repeatley got lucky bounces that if the hawks got the puck it surely would have seen several breakaways or odd man rushes. Does Bieksa need to play like that in order to be able to produce? Getting 3 goals in one game from your Defensemen will win you LOTS of hockey games at this time of year. A Perfect PK (4 for 4) sure helps alot too.

Hey Daniel/Henrik – Stay out of the box… Never thought I would be saying that.

GO CANUCKS GO

Not every team that faces a elimination in game 5 needs to hang their heads in shame? The Red Wings and Flyers both had games that could have gone either way and did not. They simply got some bad bounces and made minor mistakes that cost them. They should not be going into a game where they needed to look themselves in the mirror.

The Canucks are not in the same boat. They need to look long and hard and search deep into their very beings to understand the embarrassment that this loss will encompass this franchise! Its not losing that will hurt what this team has tried to accomplish this past season, not at all, losing is part of the game everyone understands that going into a playoffs that anything can and generally will happen that the team that finds the “zone” fastest will be the one that plays the longest and probably wins the last game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If the Canucks lose this round they will go out with the most disappointing loss in Franchise history.

Yes the most disappointing, you see the Canucks had become the most unravelled in a series that this fanbase has every seen. They have lost 100% composure in the most critical time of the year. This team prided itself on being able to handle every situation this year. They became a team that saw them come back from 3rd period deficits 12 times, 12, that is impressive. They had won their 3rd division title in 4 years, that is impressive. They had advanced to the 2nd round for the same time period. However that is where is stops. They lose, they find a way to lose when they shouldn’t. The year they lost to the Ducks was expected, the Canucks were in the playoffs with a newer team and the Ducks were unstoppable, they only lost 4 games in the playoffs that year, they dominated everyone. Last year we lost on being outplayed in the crease. We know it wasnt all Luongos fault however that game 6 was a below average game that should not be seen in a playoff.

This year is all different, there is not ONE player that you look at and go man he was a huge reason we lost? This was as big a meltdown as any have seen. They have lost, fallen apart, melted down, collapsed as a team and its not just in how they played. Its how they have acted. They came into this series talking about swagger, confidence, being the better team, learning from last year, and they failed completely…. Well not YET.

The Canucks still have a chance at redemption, a very slim one but they have one. Until that 4th game is lost the Canucks still have life. The Blackhawks are 13-0 when leading 3-1 in the 2nd round, the Canucks have never come back from a 3-1 deficit in the 2nd round but again this is not the same players from the past. These are players that have a chance to change history, these are players that have a chance to redeem themselves, Lose like this and the memory of this playoff will last maybe the longest of them all.

Find your glory Canucks, Find your HEART.

GO CANUCKS GO

If the Canucks continue to let the Hawks get into their heads (Refs as well) we wont be playing past Sunday.

That was TERRIBLE. The officiating was horrendous and our control of the panic button pathetic. This team is not mentally tough enough and are very fragile or at least are showing these signs. In our opinion they have to win 3 straight to win this series one Hawks win and it will be incredibly difficult to beat them in 7.

Worst part is the Hawks are doing it without kane, toews and hossa. When a team has no answer for a scrub like bufflin we are in trouble. its frustrating.

We predicted this series would be determined by the 3rd and 4th lines and theirs are FAR superior to ours. We have to find a way to get through their pests and move buffalo man out of Lou’s crease. Win tomorrow or face heading back to Chicago with a almost insurmountable 3-1 deficit….

GO CANUCKS GO