The Sky Has Fallen

What was that? I'm talking about the game plan to go to the rope-a-dope mode and try to let a 1-0 lead hold up.

It's bad enough the Nux got only 15 shots on goal but has Yogi Bear lost his mind? The Detroit Red Wings are THE model on how to play to win...CONTROL THE PLAY!

The Nux have the ability and talent now to pin teams deep in their own end, if the coach would just let them. He does at times allow his players to freelance a bit offensively (and this season has been better than last on that score), but the bottom line is this is the most boring series of the four still in progress. Do you really want to cheer on New Jersey West just because it says "Vancouver" on the front of the jersey? Win or lose, this is not the way to play hockey.

All can be rectified in Game 5 but when you have a so-called "world-class" goalie, methinks you can take more chances offensively and you'll be better off. I get why the Nux are afraid of a Chicago team that finished tied for 3rd overall in scoring leaguewide, but I guess winning on the road in Game 3 may have created the disastrous result in Game 4.

Game 3, though, had the Nux up 3-0 and then the rope-a-dope makes some sense. Up 1-0 in Game 4 when there was more than half a game left to play made zero sense.

I know the white towel is the Canuck symbol now but it doesn't mean the team has to throw it in by trying to live by the 1-0 soccer scoreline sword.

Is It The Goalie Or The D?

Supposedly Joel Quenneville is a good coach but isn't coaching all about getting the right matchups? So explain to me how after a very average first round vs. the Lames that Coach Q has stuck with Nikolai Khabibulin through the first three games of this series.

Not that Roberto Luongo's one good game out of three excuses him but the Blackhawks have a perfectly good backup in Cristobal Huet who has a 3W 0L record, .914 save pct in '08/09 vs. the Canucks. All Joel had to do was look at Khabibulin's '08/09 record vs. the Nux 0W 2L, .800 save pct. to realize starting Khabibulin was the wrong move.

The Chicago D has certainly done its job limiting the Nux to an average of close to 23 shots a game so, if you want to change the course of this series, Huet better be in goal for your team come Thursday.

Speaking of D, there is a lot of hype over Anaheim's D. Any team that has given up an average of 39 shots per 60 minutes of play is not good. I'm sorry but anyone who saw the non-goal (thanks to a brutal refereeing mistake with a premature whistle) last night that Detroit "didn't" score would have noticed the much ballyhooed Scott Niedermayer giving the puck away behind the Ducks net.

Yes, Niedermayer and Chris Pronger both contribute offensively and are probably two of the better defensemen in the league, but this Cup run the Ducks are currently on is due to one man alone not being a piece of Swiss cheese. Jonas Hiller, take a bow.

Can A Team Be Too Rested?

The Canucks look anything but Cup contenders through two games vs. the Blackhawks. More worrying that Roberto Luongo's .871 save percentage, which you know won't last, is that the three injured players from round one are all on life support.

Sami Salo has been terrific with two goals, including the third period winner in Game 1, but he's now hurt. And, as we all have seen, the Canuck D is only as good as Salo's health is.

Willie Mitchell (who looks like he's still wearing those weirdly tight jeans out there) as he is a -2 so far in the series and gives the Nux zip offensively anyway.

Mats Sundin is back and has 3 assists yet is a -3.

So did all this rest help these three players at all?

Game 3 and 5 will be the key to seeing where this series is headed and really given the shaky goaltending at both ends, the Nux main goal should be matching Chicago shot for shot. Being outshot 62-47 through the home games here on the Great Wet Coast was puzzling given the home ice advantage of being able to match lines. In the United Center's cauldron of noise (not scoreboard induced like here in Vancouver) coach Yogi Bear is going to also have to be better at getting the right matchups.

Add to this Duncan Keith (of the pointless rd. 1) has found his game with 3 pts and a +3 so far and the Blackhawks are riding a high.

Plus this article suggests maybe Dustin Byfuglien is having a greater impact on the series than we thought.

Let's hope the team Luongos brings them down from that high tonight with some inspired roadwork.