[Rookie]

Vancouver Canucks against the LA Kings Round 1,tonight.

 

[Rookie]

2-2 right now,third period about to begin.

Clearly Henrik Sedin was highsticked for about at least 5-7 seconds in front of both benches but no call!

 

[VICE™]

Clearly Henrik Sedin was highsticked for about at least 5-7 seconds in front of both benches but no call!

Missed high sticks happen every game. Lidstrom got high sticked last night and needed five stitches because of it. Not much you can do about it, just forget about it and move on.

 

[Rookie]

Late response:Canucks win in overtime over the Kings with a feed by Henrik Sedin to Samuelsson.

Sedin brothers had a hand in every goal.

Game 2 tonight.

 

[Rookie]

LA Kings defeat the Vancouver Canucks due to a penalty of too many men on the ice,leading to Kopitars goal,which went off the paddle of luongos stick . We have to improve a bit for penalties,Alberts should not play the next game. LA Kings win in OT 3-2.

 

[Kirill]

Looks like that Nolan Baumgartner will be replacing Andrew Alberts tonight so we should be fine.

 

[Rookie]

Looks like that Nolan Baumgartner will be replacing Andrew Alberts tonight so we should be fine.

Hopefully will do us good. Edler should play like he has for the past two games and we will be good in the defensive area. Offensive area: Alain swapped lines,Raymond up to second line,and Demitra put on fourth line.

 

[Bags2]

Didn't catch much of the game tonight. What happened Rookie? Looks like the nucks dominated.

 

[Rookie]

Didn't catch much of the game tonight. What happened Rookie? Looks like the nucks dominated.

I think it's fair to say they did. It was the Swedes leading the way as the Sedins, Samuelsson,Edler) put on a show. Also Bernier and Demitra pinched in. Bernier looked back on his game with sharp instincts,so did Demitra with the defense pinching in. Alberts didn't do much but that was good for us. Luongo was sharp and ready. The Canucks wanted this one badly. Hopefully they will play as hard and as good like this on Sunday.

Doughty was the target of the game(possibly series) whenever the Canucks had a chance at him,they'd hit him or rough him up a little. He roughed up Daniel Sedin in the beginning but a few seconds after that Daniel actually gave a hit along the boards. Then Bieksa threw Doughty onto the ice after a short scrimage. Was a good game with Canucks taking it 7-2. You should tune in to the next game in case LA loses.

 

[Bags2]

I think it's fair to say they did. It was the Swedes leading the way as the Sedins, Samuelsson,Edler) put on a show. Also Bernier and Demitra pinched in. Bernier looked back on his game with sharp instincts,so did Demitra with the defense pinching in. Alberts didn't do much but that was good for us. Luongo was sharp and ready. The Canucks wanted this one badly. Hopefully they will play as hard and as good like this on Sunday.

Doughty was the target of the game(possibly series) whenever the Canucks had a chance at him,they'd hit him or rough him up a little. He roughed up Daniel Sedin in the beginning but a few seconds after that Daniel actually gave a hit along the boards. Then Bieksa threw Doughty onto the ice after a short scrimage. Was a good game with Canucks taking it 7-2. You should tune in to the next game in case LA loses.

Sounds like Vancouver really dominated. If the Kings want to force this to 7 games guys like Brown, Kopitar, Simmonds, and Handzus have to show up. Because when they play 2 way hockey it makes for a much better series.

 

[Rookie]

Sounds like Vancouver really dominated. If the Kings want to force this to 7 games guys like Brown, Kopitar, Simmonds, and Handzus have to show up. Because when they play 2 way hockey it makes for a much better series.

Yeah,they weren't horrible but not so great. They will have to improve because they are the key guys for LA if they want a shot at this series.

LA has what it takes to defeat the Canucks but they need to improve.

I'm still rooting for the Canucks though.

 

[Rookie]

Canucks win game 6,4-2. Also win series 4-2.

Next round here we come!

 

[Rookie]

Canucks will face the BlackHawks in round 2 starting on Saturday at Chicago. Let the rematch begin!

 

[Rookie]

VANCOUVER — Ryan Kesler strolled from the Vancouver Canucks’ players lounge into the main dressing room Tuesday, settled against a wall and waited for the media interrogation to begin.

First on the docket: The Feud. Kesler and Chicago Blackhawk winger Andrew Ladd. The cheap shot in last year's playoffs. Kesler calling Ladd a coward this year. Ladd nailing Kesler in the face when they fought. Ladd mocking Kesler, pointing to the welt on Kesler's cheek where the punch landed.

Nasty kind of stuff. But totally beautiful entering round two of the Stanley Cup playoffs, beginning Saturday in Chicago. No need to manufacture any emotion when it's this real.

“You had to bring that one up, did you?” Kesler responded, smiling at his questioner. “I'm not too worried about him. I'm more worried about winning the series and trying to get even that way. So, no, no payback at all.

“It's a team game and we're focused on the main goal here. There are no selfish guys on this team who are going to try to close up an individual battle and make the team suffer.”

Sounds like the feud is over. Maybe it is, or maybe Kesler is aware another inflammatory remark could wind up taped to Ladd's locker. This isn't pro wrestling where there is a script and the outcome has been pre-determined.

“Ladd is a guy who plays hard,” continued Kesler, suddenly going complimentary. “I don't think there is any rivalry there. What's done is done. We fought and that's the end of it.”

Kesler did concede there is a team rivalry, though, one borne of last year's second-round series won in six by the Blackhawks. Vancouver led it 2-1 before dropping the final three. The Canucks haven't forgotten.

“I don't know if the Hawks don't like us but they knocked us out last year and I think that has a lot to do with the reason why we want another crack at them,” Kesler explained. “It's good that we to have this do-over again. I mean, you watch the video after Game 6 last year and you see some pretty down guys in this locker room.

“We played the best through three games last year and then kind of fell apart. We all remember that feeling and we're very motivated not to feel that way again.”

Kesler also remembers that his family, who drove four hours from Detroit to Chicago for the action, were given a rough time by the fans at the United Center. He doesn't want them to experience the hostility again and instead plans to fly them to Vancouver for Games 3 and 4.

“I don't want to put them through the way they were treated last year in Chicago,” Kesler said. “They weren't treated well. I want them to see how we're treated here. I'd rather have them come up here and just see the atmosphere and how the people react because it's completely different than the regular season. The energy and the atmosphere in this arena during playoffs is crazy.”

Meanwhile, Roberto Luongo also claims he doesn't have a feud going with any individual on the Hawks. Winger Patrick Kane lit him up in Game 6 last spring, netting a hat trick. Luongo famously told Kane following the Olympic gold-medal game he'd see him in the playoffs. Now he will.

“I don't have anything against Kane,” said the Canucks’ captain. “He's a great player. It's the Blackhawks against the Canucks. That's the only rivalry we're concerned about. It's nothing malicious, as far as I'm concerned.

“It's great that we're playing them. It's exciting. It's going to be fun and I'm looking forward to playing Game 1 in Chicago. It's a great building to be in during the playoffs.”

Kevin Bieksa can scowl with the best of them, but he'll be scowling at the entire Blackhawk roster, not any one player.

“I have no personal feuds, this is not a personal thing for me,” he said. “It's a series. I don't know what to expect after the whistles. Between whistles, I know it's going to be very intense. I know there are going to be a lot of finished hits. It's going to be physical. We obviously don't like them and they don't like us so it's going to be entertaining.

“They ended our season last year and it was a sour feeling. It's nice to get another crack at them.”

GOALIE RECALLED: The Canucks announced today that goalie Cory Schneider has been recalled from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

The 24-year-old Schneider played in 60 games for the Moose this season, posting a 35-23-2 record. He registered four shutouts and recorded a .919 save percentage. In two games with Vancouver this season, he recorded a .915 save percentage. He was the AHL’s goalie of the year in 2008-09.

Schneider’s Moose were eliminated from the AHL playoffs on Sunday.

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© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/...eud+with+Hawks+Andrew+Ladd/2958307/story.html

 

[Grizzly Adams]

In the blue corner weighing in at a 5 ton chip on the old shoulder, Da Nucks! Gonna be some carnage in this series I think. goin 6 or 7 for sure.

 

[Rookie]

CHICAGO The desperation eventually came.

Just in time for the Chicago Blackhawks to even their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.

After dropping the opener and then falling behind by a pair early in Game 2, the Blackhawks finally hit the gear needed and claimed a 4-2 win to tie the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series at one apiece.

With just 90 seconds left in regulation, Kris Versteeg finished off a wild series of action to raise the roof.

He was parked at the left faceoff dot when the puck came across from defenceman Duncan Keith.

Versteeg, the Calder Trophy finallist last season, fired the shot into the top corner for his first goal of the playoffs.

The series switches to Vancouver for Game 3 Wednesday night.

Coming off a dreadful performance in the opener, the Blackhawks vowed to start the clash with the energy, enthusiasm and determination which was lacking in Saturday's 5-1 loss.

Didn't happen.

Not even close.

Once again the Canucks jumped out to the lead because they simply outplayed the hosts in the early going.

The notes from the raucous version of The Star Spangled Banner were still reverberating throughout the United Center when Mason Raymond opened the scoring just 82 seconds into the affair.

Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi stopped Ryan Kesler's opportunity, but Raymond was on the spot to lift the rebound over the once-again besieged netminder for his third goal of the playoffs and second of the series.

Things went bad to worse for the Blackhawks, whose boisterous sellout crowd of 22,142 was becoming antsy when Mikael Samuelsson had an easy tap-in on a five-on-three powerplay to double Vancouver's lead.

With both Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook in the sin bin for delay of game infractions, Henrik Sedin sent a perfect pass across the crease to Samuelsson, who collected his eighth playoff marker.

At its worst, the shot clock was 9-1 in Vancouver's favour.

But the Hawks made good with their second shot on net, thanks to Brent Seabrook's first goal of the playoffs before the midway point of the opening frame.

Seabrook drove from his point position at the time Dave Bolland sent a pass to the front of the net. The puck missed its intended target Kris Versteeg but Seabrook was on the spot to deposit the puck past Roberto Luongo.

Finally, the Blackhawks were awake, and rode the momentum back into the game.

Luongo was called upon to make a handful of great saves to keep his team ahead through the middle frame, but Patrick Sharp tied the game with a shorthanded goal early in the third period.

Sharp was sprung on a two-on-one, and scored on a nifty backhand.

Late in regulation, Sharp had a shorthanded breakaway, but fired his shot over the net.

Patrick Kane iced the game with an empty netter.

Niemi continued his trend of rebounding with a win after a loss. He's won the next game after losing all three times in the playoffs and posted a 24-save performance.

Luongo stopped 30 shots for the Canucks.

Source:http://m.torontosun.com/13813821.1?fullscreen#news

In the blue corner weighing in at a 5 ton
chip on the old shoulder, Da Nucks! Gonna be some carnage in this series I think. goin 6 or 7 for sure.

Going to 5 for sure now.

 

[Rookie]

Blackhawks take this one 5-2. Lead series 2-1. One of the Blackhawks goals should have been disallowed. Byfgulien played an awesome game,both in getting into the skins of the Canucks and scoring his first playoff hatrick. Canucks had a hard time sustaining pressure in the offensive zone due to the great defense of Chicago and goaltending by Neimi. Luongo was good but should be better for Game 4 on Friday.

 

[Rookie]

VANCOUVER -- Ryan Kesler can't imagine a worse injury to try to play through. Shane O'Brien wanted to cross his legs as he spoke about it.

Canucks defenseman Sami Salo is a game-time decision for Game 6 Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET, VERSUS, CBC, RDS) at GM Place against Chicago after taking a shot off the, well, most delicate area on the male body late in the first period of Game 5 two nights ago. He had to be taken to a Chicago-area hospital via ambulance, and it originally was reported that he had suffered a ruptured testicle, two words that should never be used in hockey -- or really anywhere else in life.

However, Salo was on the ice with the Canucks for their pre-game skate Tuesday morning, and despite skating gingerly, there's a chance he could play in the must-win Game 6. Chicago leads the best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinal series, three games to two.

"Yeah, he took it pretty hard last game, and if he can go he's a warrior," Kesler said. "He's battled through a lot of injuries throughout his career, but he's a warrior, man."

The mere sight of Salo, who was not made available to the media, on the ice at the morning skate served as motivation to the Canucks, who know they have to play better at home in Game 6 than they did in Games 3 and 4, when they were outscored, 12-6, and lost their composure.

"Obviously no one would say anything if he didn't even skate today and took a couple days off or a week off, but Sami has been here a long time and he wants to win," O'Brien said. "Only he knows how much it hurts, and if he can go, he'll go."

The Blackhawks don't know what to expect, but Adam Burish said that if Salo can go, that he would have to bump up against him and hope that maybe some of the toughness would rub off on him.

O'Brien, though, doesn't know if anyone should believe Burish, a player he called, "that rat." He wouldn't be surprised if Burish was the guy that tries to hit Salo where it hurts.

"He might do it," O'Brien said. "I wouldn't trust that guy for a second. That would be Burish's first hit of the series if he rubbed up against him."



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›O'Brien at least can hold out hope that the Hawks don't think about hitting Salo where the sun doesn't shine. Enough damage has already been done.

"That's gutless if they did that. That's guy code, isn't it?" O'Brien said. "Stanley Cup is the best thing to win in the world, but I think you draw the line there. Stitches are fine and cuts and this and that, but if you're going to go after a guy that has a little problem down below, you have to take a look in the mirror and realize … I don't even know what to say."

All that aside, if Salo is healthy enough to play even close to his usual 22 minutes a night for the Canucks in Game 6, it would give them a huge lift. The drop-off from Salo to the next healthy defenseman on the depth chart, AHL regular Lawrence Nycholat, is significant.

Salo is a 12-year veteran who plays big minutes in all phases.

"You've got to play through things and he's going to help us big time if he can play because he's one of our top guys back there," Henrik Sedin said. "He's had some fluke injuries. I mean, he's a tough player, mentally and physically. Over the years he may not have been able to show that because he's had some tough luck, but he's as tough as it gets."

Should Salo play in Game 6, all the Canucks agree that it would be the definition of toughness.

"Seeing Sami out there shows you what we're playing for," O'Brien said. "That's some serious pain."

source: nhl.com