Facing elimination, the Canucks either pull off a reverse sweep tonight or go down in a fiery ball of fury. Vigneault decided to change things up, and go with the lines that had worked so well this season. Kassian got the start with the twins, while Burrows was bumped to Kesler's wing with Raymond. Higgins and Roy were finally reunited on a line together, playing with Hansen on the third. Pinizzotto stepped in for Sestito on the fourth with Weise and Lapierre.
For the first time in a while, Hamhuis and Bieksa were reunited as a defensive pair. They were followed by Edler and Garrison on the second pairing, with Alberts and Corrado bringing up the rear.
As I said earlier, these lines have all been proven to work well (except the fourth - but who's counting?). If Kassian and Raymond both play to their max potential, the first two lines will kill San Jose. Higgins and Roy have had amazing chemistry the few times they've played together, and promise to form a great physical, yet talented, third line.
Hoping to get an early goal, the Canucks came out charging. Unfortunately, an unlucky bounce put them down early. Just 2 and a half minutes in, Hannan's shot from the point was tipped by Burns, and took a funny skip before bouncing past Schneider. Not to be outdone in a measly 4 games, Vancouver came storming back with more pressure. 5 minutes after the Burns goal, Vancouver caught a break. Raymond's point shot hit Stuart in front of the net, and trickled over Niemi's shoulder before entering the net. Later, on the power play, the Canucks had a great chance to take the lead. After a nifty passing play, Raymond ended up with the puck and a wide open net. Raymond couldn't get any height on the shot, and Niemi was able to make a pad save.
Just over 5 minutes left in the opening frame, and Roy went for a hit on Stuart by the benches. Stuart was already pinned by Hansen, and Roy's hit went shoulder to shoulder. Stuart fell to the ice, and went straight to the dressing room. On the ensuing power play, the Sharks struck again. Marleau's point shot was saved by Schneider, but the rebound went right to Pavelski. Pavelski snapped the puck off the post and in, catching Schneider gliding in the wrong direction. That'd do it for period 1, Sharks up 2-1, Canucks leading the shots 13-12.
If Vigneault gave a pep talk between periods, it didn't show. Schneider was forced to make some big saves early on, and the team didn't get any real chances. At about the midway mark of the second, Hamhuis got his stick up on Wingels, and earned himself a double minor. Vancouver managed to kill off the penalty, a good all around effort from the penalty killers. Schneider was only forced to come up great a few times on 6 minutes worth of power plays, all in the final 10 minutes. When he couldn't come up big, the defenders were there for him. First time we've seen this all series long. End of the 2nd, still 2-1 Sharks. Shots 29-17 also in favor of the Sharks.
Knowing this could be the final 20 minutes of their season, the Canucks gave it all they had. Just a few minutes in, Edler's point shot bounced to Daniel, who had a wide open net. Daniels shot not only didn't go in, it hit the opposite post. He missed a 6 foot wide opening. It seemed that the Canucks kinda gave up after that, as they simply gave the puck to San Jose every time they asked for it.
But fear not, for Kesler coined the phrase "compete like bastards" during the intermission. And compete like bastards they did. With 10 and a half to go, Vancouver struck on the power play. After winning the battle along the boards, the whole power play unit started moving the puck so fast the Sharks couldn't keep up. Daniel received the puck at the side of the net, and dished it to Burrows at the front, who tapped it past Niemi.
2 minutes later, Raymond pursued a dump shot in the San Jose zone. Raymond got to the puck, and managed to fend off 2 Sharks before Burrows arrived. Burrows pulled the puck away, and shot a 40 foot pass to the point, where Edler blasted in past Niemi. With 5 minutes left, Bieksa took a stupid cross checking call behind the net, and the Sharks made us pay. After Thornton's shot from the faceoff circle was stopped, the puck bounced to Pavelski, who had a wide open net. Pavelski made no mistake, and buried it before Hamhuis could get to him. Both teams had great chances in the final few minutes, but no one could put the puck to the back of the net.
Off to overtime, with the Canucks season on the line.
To start the extra frame, the lines were put back to what they were in game 3. Hansen wasn't on the bench, so I'd assume the changes were to compensate for his absence. Burrows was back with the Sedins, Roy centered Raymond and Kesler, Lapierre took Kassian and Higgins, while Weise and Pinizzotto were extras. Good pressure from both teams in the opening minutes, but San Jose had the better pressure. After a solid 5 minutes of end to end rushes, play settled down into zone play.
With 10 minutes left, the Sharks were dominating play. More that once, they had the Canucks on their backs, but couldn't finish it. With 7 and a bit left, Daniel Sedin was called for a dangerous hit on Wingels. On the ensuing power play, Thornton's shot on the rush dribbled behind Schneider, and Marleau tapped it in.
Sharks win the game 4-3, and win the series 4-0. They deserved the win, we played terribly.
Tidbits:
- PP: 1/3 Managed to finally make the puck cycle work, paid off. Still chasing the puck around, but what's new? Can't complain, I guess.
- PK: 3/7 As good as it has been all series, but that's not saying much. Canucks knew Sharks power play was trouble, had no discipline.
- Lapierre: Stayed away from scrums, wasn't his usual lippy self. Must've gotten a lecture.
- Roy: Almost invisible. Not making a case for his sought after $6 million extension.
- Raymond: Has been invisible, but stepped up when he needed to. Good hustle, not afraid to go into the corners, played a crucial role in multiple Canuck goals.
No comments:
Post a Comment