Pre-Game Talk: GM 4: Vancouver Canucks @ San Jose Sharks - May 7 - 7:00PM PST - TSN

[Taelin]

I just made this gif after listening to the bieksa comments.

Clear as day dive

Guys, it's no laughing matter! Henrik clearly shot Couture with a hidden pistol.

 

[Henrik To Daniel]

I blame these awful playoff avatars two years in a row, its getting us nowhere!

Jokes aside, I except to lose tomorrow but if they win..i'll be shocked and amazed this lazy sacks of **** can pull it off.

These playoff avatars are the best ones to date

 

[David71]

they gonna lose. end the misery now. changes are cominggg hopefully. no more hockey talk until the fall.

 

[BoHorvatFan]

We don't have the right to complain about dives/theatrics. As pathetic as that Couture one was we have had equally bad ones.

 

[Hammer79]

These playoff avatars are the best ones to date

We really aren't faking... and that's the problem.

Maybe the Canucks needs to start embellishing and diving like the Sharks, seeing as the officiating has been so bush league.

 

[CanadianPirate]

Seriously some of you are blaming effort? How does it make sense that they aren't trying when they are hitting the **** out of the sharks? They are playing very hard but aren't getting any bounces, are getting called on every single thing that they do and (most importantly in my opinion) have a terrible game plan that is playing to the strengths of the sharks. Blame lack of offensive skill, blame poor defense pairings (as well as the other things I outlined earlier) but don't blame lack of effort.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

they gonna lose. end the misery now. changes are cominggg hopefully. no more hockey talk until the fall.

In Vancouver? The Canucks will still be talked about through the summer. This ain't a sports town, son. It's a Canucks town. Let's face it. And even when the going is tough most of the people get down on the team.

 

[Hammer79]

Seriously some of you are blaming effort? How does it make sense that they aren't trying when they are hitting the **** out of the sharks? They are playing very hard but aren't getting any bounces, are getting called on every single thing that they do and (most importantly in my opinion) have a terrible game plan that is playing to the strengths of the sharks. Blame lack of offensive skill, blame poor defense pairings (as well as the other things I outlined earlier) but don't blame lack of effort.

Game 2, they kept the scoring chances fairly even. I don't buy into the narrative that the Sedins did nothing, and Kesler was putting the team on his back. Kesler's line has been getting badly out-chanced, while the Sedins are getting way more scoring chances than they allowed while on the ice. Kesler got lucky with the chances he generated, while the Sedin line was snake-bitten. Overall, they definitely deserved a better fate in Game 2, I felt the effort level was there.

In game 3 though, the team got out-chanced by a wide margin. You could say they gave up after the 4-1 goal, which is why the scoring chances became lopsided, but they really didn't generate many chances in the first two periods either. They had no business winning game 3.

 

[Bure All Day]

don't understand people's obsession with putting kassian on the top line with the twins... its just not a match at all

 

[Pip]

Game 2, they kept the scoring chances fairly even. I don't buy into the narrative that the Sedins did nothing, and Kesler was putting the team on his back. Kesler's line has been getting badly out-chanced, while the Sedins are getting way more scoring chances than they allowed while on the ice. Kesler got lucky with the chances he generated, while the Sedin line was snake-bitten. Overall, they definitely deserved a better fate in Game 2, I felt the effort level was there.

In game 3 though, the team got out-chanced by a wide margin. You could say they gave up after the 4-1 goal, which is why the scoring chances became lopsided, but they really didn't generate many chances in the first two periods either. They had no business winning game 3.

I agree with what youre saying here, this is why I wasn't too critical of the team after game 2, I also thought we deserved that one, and would of been happy with the same performance in game 3, but it wasnt there. So much overrating of Kesler based on game 2

 

[vanuck]

I get that we have a reputation with the zebras, but there was no excuse not to call Desjardins for closing his hand on the puck while it was in the crease. Even if they ignored every other blown call, that alone had to be a penalty. The fact alone that it wasn't tells you everything you need to know about the way the officials are reffing this series.

In almost every series loss we've had crappy reffing but I don't think it's ever been this bad, nor as blatant. Not saying we've been particularly disciplined either but turning a blind eye to it doesn't help our cause, and it's not like anyone was embellishing anything on that play - it's not subjective and not up to the refs' discretion to call it or not. The difference in the benefit of the doubt being afforded between both teams is staggering. Whether or not you think our reputation is deserved, that should be a ****ing automatic penalty shot every damn time.

FWIW, I think we should just stop with the hitting. It's not like it's done anything for us, and may actually be hurting our offensive output as our players seem to be looking to make the hit more than retrieving the puck. All the hitting in the world won't help if you can't score.

 

[rgb63]

I get that we have a reputation with the zebras, but there was no excuse not to call Desjardins for closing his hand on the puck while it was in the crease. Even if they ignored every other blown call, that alone had to be a penalty. The fact alone that it wasn't tells you everything you need to know about the way the officials are reffing this series.

Did either of the refs actually see it happen though? It's not a reviewable play AFAIK.

 

[vanuck]

Ever since the Boston series loss, the Canucks have approached every playoff game as if they were playing a dirty team like Boston again, in round 4 of the playoffs, where the refs hardly call anything...

They don't seem to grasp, they are in round 1... They can still approach the games as if hard fought regular season games... It is not yet no-holds-barred... The refs will call penalties, in round 1...

The message should be simple... Approach the game as if you are playing Boston or Chicago in the regular season...

We understand, Henrik Sedin, you and your brother won't get pushed around in the playoffs again... Now go do your Sedin magic, and keep "Dirty Sedin" under wraps until the later rounds! Pull out your whips and chains after the kids go to sleep... (yes, I realize the chance for a later round is real slim this year)... You don't pull out your hardcore toys at a PG-13 party... It's just not appropriate... You will get punished...

Brilliant stuff.

 

[vanuck]

Did either of the refs actually see it happen though? It's not a reviewable play AFAIK.

Is it? With one ref usually around the goal area once there's a scramble or loose puck in the crease, I should certainly hope so...

 

[vanuck]

don't understand people's obsession with putting kassian on the top line with the twins... its just not a match at all

Not sure what game you're watching - he was good when given shifts with the Sedins.

 

[vanuck]

Since Burrows isn't going, I'd put him with Higgins and Roy:

D. Sedin - H. Sedin - Kassian
Raymond - Kesler - Hansen
Higgins - Roy - Burrows
Ballard - Lapierre - Weise

Hamhuis - Bieksa
Edler - Garrison
Alberts - Corrado

Luongo
Schneider


At this point, you might as well put Raymond with Kesler so at least you can have Kesler's unit be a defensive line that can still score. Gives you two lines that do have chemistry (1 & 3) rather than muddling up the chemistry of the top 3 lines all at once. Ballard up front for insurance on D and he's showed well at forward this year too. Although I wouldn't mind either way if Sestito was kept in there. Both better options than Ebbett either way.

And I liked what I saw out of Kass with the Twins in the 3rd period. Give the man some PP time dammit!

That said, why am I even wasting my time when we all know the coach will put out lines that make no sense?

 

[YogiCanucks]

well only good side to bowing out first round is better draft picks.

hopefully they realize the sedins are 2nd line players now.

Doesn't really get that much better since we won the division. We can hope two non division winners make it to the finals and Washington makes it to round 2. Then we would pick 22nd

 

[YogiCanucks]

The series has been a lot closer than the 3-0 series lead has indicated. I think the Canucks can extend this series, but it all starts with next game. They've got to take it one game at a time.

uh oh.... this is all you hear from fans of teams that just got swept... it's like the GO TO line..

 

[JA]

Who's the awkward player who puts this on in the dressing room before the game tomorrow?

 

[YogiCanucks]

I just made this gif after listening to the bieksa comments.

Clear as day dive

That's not a dive, it's an embellishment. What Henrik did was wrong and should be a penalty, Couture made it look worse than it was.

 

[Bleach Clean]

Who's the awkward player who puts this on in the dressing room before the game tomorrow?

That gif has me laughing hard right now. Good work to find it. LOL.

 

[JA]

That's not a dive, it's an embellishment. What Henrik did was wrong and should be a penalty, Couture made it look worse than it was.

In any event, if the referees were sharp, the result would have been the same even without the embellishment: two minutes in the box for Henrik.

 

[Tiranis]

That's not a dive, it's an embellishment. What Henrik did was wrong and should be a penalty, Couture made it look worse than it was.

No, it's pretty much the perfect example of a dive. It's exactly the type of diving that people hate about soccer. Couture got a light tap on the head which in reality wouldn't be enough for his head to snap back, let alone to throw up his arms in the air, lose control of his legs, and fall down like a sack of potatoes. Then he proceeds to lie on the ice as if he was injured. That was as bad of a dive as any soccer dive out there.

This is as bad as the time Chris Osgood 'killed' Mike Ribeiro.

 

[absolute garbage]

Yup, every time a team loses it's due to a lack of effort.

Ah the good ol' lack of effort. Better blame that when you have no idea what's going on. It's easy.

 

[Eddy Punch Clock]

uh oh.... this is all you hear from fans of teams that just got swept... it's like the GO TO line..

The one time that was actually true was a few years back when we swept the Blues. Three one goal games, one in overtime out shot 10-1 in the first overtime period.