Canucks past playoff blowouts

[nucksflailtogether]

I was watching the Lightning game today and it brought to mind watching past playoff embarrassments for the Canucks, when it suddenly occurred to me...has any other team suffered even close to the amount of absolute eggs the Canucks have laid in the playoffs? And I'm talking about single game shalackings, not series sweeps. I mean every playoff team has a game get away from them here and there, but with the Canucks were talking about a serious record of futility in this regard.

Here's a list of them off the top of my head, since my first playoff year as a fan in 2001:

2001:
Avs 5 - Canucks 1 game 4 - caps off a sweep. This one honestly wasn't too bad.
2002:
Wings 4 - Canucks 0 game 5 - Cloutier melts down, Canucks crash back to earth
2003:
Blues 6- Canucks 0 game 1 - pretty shocking effort, coming off the heals of losing division on the last day.
Wild 7 Canucks 2 game 5 - WTF?
Wild 6 Canucks 2 game 6 - WTF?
2004:
Flames 4 Canucks 0 game 4 - series turning game, Canucks go on to lose in 7
2007:
Ducks 5- Canucks 1 game 1 - not shocking, best team in the league vs. a tired Canucks team
2009:
Blackhawks 6 - Canucks 3 - game 2 - not the worst, this year didn't have too many notables, which is probably why I remember it with less shuddering than I remember other years
2010:
Blackhawks 5 - Canucks 1 - game 6 - awful effort in an elimination game
2011:
Hawks 7 - Canucks 2 - game 4, we get a mulligan right?
Hawks 5- Canucks 0 - game 5 - anyone home?
And then you have the Stanley Cup final, featuring 4 brutal blowouts. A generational level of suck/injuries/reffing/suspension/whatever.
Bruins 8 - Canucks 1 - game 3 - awful
Bruins 4- Canucks 0 - game 4 - great response
Bruins 5 - Canuck s2 - game 6 - two late goals make a 4-0 down after 1 game look somewhat respectable when it was really just trash
Bruins 4- Canucks 0 - game 7 - Should we have been surprised?
2012:
Fine, no single game blowouts. Just the first PT winner to go down so quick ( 5 games)
2013: Can't recall that series, too depressing to watch after losing the first 2 at home.
2015: Games 3 and 4 were horrific, can't recall the exact scores, maybe not 'blowouts' but yeesh...

Anyways I might've forgotten a few, or exaggerated how bad it was, but does anybody have any memories that stand out from these games? And any reason to hope that our up and coming core can stay in games when we do (hopefully) end up crawling out of the basement?

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[Fire Benning]

Those blowouts against Boston still haunt my nightmares.

 

[TruKnyte]

Those blowouts against Boston still haunt my nightmares.

I still remember when the Canucks were up 2-0 in the series and my friend who isn't a Canucks fan said it was in the bag. I was like, just wait we'll f*** it up.

 

[Dissonance Jr]

1986 was rough. Edmonton swept us in three games: 7-3, 5-1, 5-1. Not sure I'd call any of those losses embarrassing, though. More like preordained. I mean, those were the Gretzky-era Oilers at their peakiest. While we were 21 games under .500 and only straggled into the playoffs because they let nearly every team into the playoffs back then.

 

[RandV]

Since the new millennium it certainly feels like we're at the top of the league in this regard, giving up playoff blowouts regardless if our goalie is an average starter or future hall of fame inductee.

What's always left a bad stench for me with these games is when our team is dominating possession putting on the pressure to know avail then some plug like say Darby Hendrickson rushes the puck back the other way and rips a slapshot top corner as if he's Alex Ovechkin.

 

[Paulinvancouver]

I don't know why you stop at 2000. this franchise has been terrible for 49 years. Minus perhaps one or two.

 

[nucksflailtogether]

In addition to my OP, I was also wondering if a team has blown as many series/game leads since the turn of the millennium.

2002: 2 game series lead to Detroit
2003: 3-1 series lead to Minnesota, 2 goal lead in game 7
2004: 1-0 and 2-1 series lead to Cgy, blow a 4 goal lead in game 6 before Morrison saves them in triple OT
2007: Attempt to blow 3-1 series lead to Dallas, throw a 2-0 lead against Ducks in gm 4
2009: Chi series, three straight blown leads to bow out. Game 4 being the most painful.
2010: Chi series, 2-0 lead in game 2, turns the tide of the series
2011: A whisker away from that 3-0 collapse, including a 1 goal lead in game seven where we give up a shorty with under 2 minutes to go. 2-0 and 3-2 series leads to Beantown.
2015: Cgy game 6, throw a 3 goal lead to lose the series.

This franchise is more painful to follow the deeper you look into it.

 

[Jyrki21]

I don't know why you stop at 2000. this franchise has been terrible for 49 years. Minus perhaps one or two.

By this standard everybody is terrible because it’s the dumb “how many cupzzzz” canard.

In objective terms, the Canucks were easily an above-average franchise from the 1990s through the Gillis years, and that’s with the Keenan years in there. They had a particularly and unusually long run of form from the beginnings of the WCE until Tortorella arrived.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Since the new millennium it certainly feels like we're at the top of the league in this regard, giving up playoff blowouts regardless if our goalie is an average starter or future hall of fame inductee.

What's always left a bad stench for me with these games is when our team is dominating possession putting on the pressure to know avail then some plug like say Darby Hendrickson rushes the puck back the other way and rips a slapshot top corner as if he's Alex Ovechkin.

That 2003 series against the Wild is so frustrating. If we have any other goalie, we are probably off to the Conference Finals.
Cloutier had other playoff performances that weren’t as bad - seriously, getting lit up by the 2001 Avs or the 2002 Wings puts you in good company. But him getting ventilated by that Wild team like he did was his most brutal moment.

 

[Hit the post]

That 2003 series against the Wild is so frustrating. If we have any other goalie, we are probably off to the Conference Finals.
Cloutier had other playoff performances that weren’t as bad - seriously, getting lit up by the 2001 Avs or the 2002 Wings puts you in good company. But him getting ventilated by that Wild team like he did was his most brutal moment.

Look how easily the Wild were dispatched in the next series. Scored a grand total of ONE goal. Jeebus, back in 1975, we put up a better fight against a team full of legit HHOFers (Habs / Canucks playoff series) than the Wild.

 

[Zombotron]

	Opponent	Losses
2001	Colorado	4 - 5 1 - 2 3 - 4 (OT) 1 - 5
2002	Detroit	1 - 3 2 - 4 0 - 4 4 - 6
2003	St. Louis Minnesota	0 - 6 1 - 3 1 - 4 2 - 3 2 - 7 1 - 5 2 - 4
2004	Calgary	1 - 2 0 - 4 1 - 2 2 - 3 (OT)
2005	--------
2006
2007	Dallas Anaheim	0 - 2 0 - 1 0 - 2 1 - 5 2 - 3 2 - 3 (OT) 1 - 2 (OT)
2008
2009	St. Louis Chicago	(sweep) 3 - 6 1 - 2 (OT) 2 - 4 7 - 5
2010	Los Angeles Chicago	2 - 3 (OT) 3 - 5 2 - 4 2 - 5 4 - 7 1 - 5
2011	Chicago Nashville San Jose Boston	2 - 7 0 - 5 3 - 4 (OT) 1 - 2 (2OT) 3 - 4 3 - 4 1 - 8 0 - 4 2 - 5 0 - 4
2012	Los Angeles	2 - 4 2 - 4 0 - 1 1 - 2 (OT)
2013	San Jose	1 - 3 2 - 3 (OT) 2 - 5 3 - 4 (OT)
2014
2015	Calgary	1 - 2 2 - 4 1 - 3 4 - 7

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[ScottishCanuck]

It's a good point. The question is: How do we manage to connect this to Benning? It must in some way be his fault, surely?

 

[Hit the post]

Tough to blame a guy for bad playoff performances CDC smart guy (other than hiring an career AHL coach who didn’t understand the concept of line matching & get schooled by Hartley) when the GM is so competent, he can’t manage the team to get INTO the postseason for four consecutive seasons while spending around the cap limit.

 

[bossram]

It's a good point. The question is: How do we manage to connect this to Benning? It must in some way be his fault, surely?

Can't choke in the playoffs if you never make the playoffs my dude.

 

[vanuck]

2009: Chi series, three straight blown leads to bow out. Game 4 being the most painful.
2010: Chi series, 2-0 lead in game 2, turns the tide of the series

Man, watching us blow lead after lead in that 2009 series against Chicago was just so frustrating. What was even worse was AV getting scared to death and trapping it up with a 1-0 lead for the majority of Game 4 which was a losing strategy. I still think we could've beat the Hawks had we been a bit better at holding a lead and gone onto the conference final, though I don't see us getting past the Red Wings that year...

 

[Hit the post]

Man, watching us blow lead after lead in that 2009 series against Chicago was just so frustrating. What was even worse was AV getting scared to death and trapping it up with a 1-0 lead for the majority of Game 4 which was a losing strategy. I still think we could've beat the Hawks had we been a bit better at holding a lead and gone onto the conference final, though I don't see us getting past the Red Wings that year...

2010 was tougher in that it looked like Sundin was putting it all together.

 

[Jyrki21]

2010 was tougher in that it looked like Sundin was putting it all together.

Sundin was only on the team in 2009.

 

[Hit the post]

Sundin was only on the team in 2009.

I plead temporary insanity.

 

[EpochLink]

Games 3, 4 and 6 in Boston......Never have I swore so loud in my life.

 

[Vancouver_2010]

We are officially worse than the 40 years old virgin.

 

[timw33]

Games 3, 4 and 6 in Boston......Never have I swore so loud in my life.

Honestly should have given Schnieder Game 4 or 6 in his hometown Boston.

 

[nucksflailtogether]

Look how easily the Wild were dispatched in the next series. Scored a grand total of ONE goal. Jeebus, back in 1975, we put up a better fight against a team full of legit HHOFers (Habs / Canucks playoff series) than the Wild.

The 6-0 opener vs the blues should've been the red flag. The WCE era is defined by these moments of choking on the biggest stage. The Canucks did manage to come back and barely win the series after St. Louis apparently caught the flu. But that team was seriously lacking clutch. Bertuzzi somehow only scored 4 points in 14 games, even though nazzy had 14.

 

[Hit the post]

The 6-0 opener vs the blues should've been the red flag. The WCE era is defined by these moments of choking on the biggest stage. The Canucks did manage to come back and barely win the series after St. Louis apparently caught the flu. But that team was seriously lacking clutch. Bertuzzi somehow only scored 4 points in 14 games, even though nazzy had 14.

Well as can be seen, you need more than talent to win (look at the effect of adding a legit franchise player like EP did; team was still a lottery pick team).

 

[nucksflailtogether]

Well as can be seen, you need more than talent to win (look at the effect of adding a legit franchise player like EP did; team was still a lottery pick team).

The downward bert spiral from his height as premier power forward to lazy cocky idiot was generationally fast. If he could've stayed what he was for even 3 or 4 seasons then we might've won something.

Petey isn't enough to turn the dial and never was. A great start and a refreshing change he is. In 2 to 3 years if he hits his ceiling, this team will have to be Oilers bad to miss out.

 

[Hit the post]

Petey isn't enough to turn the dial and never was. A great start and a refreshing change he is. In 2 to 3 years if he hits his ceiling, this team will have to be Oilers bad to miss out.

Watch him hit another level (my opinion) IF Hughes hits his potential. Course this team still needs D that actually can defend well to go anywhere in the postseason.