Ugh. Ryan Kesler mentioned a bubble of positivity in the Canucks' locker room on Sunday, saying that the world is full of negativity and the Canucks were having no part of it. But let's call a spade a spade here...BULLSHIT! I thought Kesler and his line were fine tonight, even though they finished an even zero and 2 assists. They showed a lot of hustle generally. But where in the blue hell was everyone else? The Canucks will rely on the top line for scoring on most nights, but they were hardly a factor tonight, finishing a -3 with 8 shots and no points.
The Blues' power play finished 1-for-3. The Canucks were terrible with the man advantage and 0-for-4.
The 2nd period curse reared it's ugly head again tonight, where the Canucks were outshot 14-7 and outscored 2-0. There is your game right there. Where was the Canucks' wheels? In a scrap yard somewhere. Their character, after shutting down and beating the Capitals on Friday now remains in question. They failed to get a playoff spot once again. Their record against Central Division teams is 1-7. Fail. Fail. Fail! And just like that, the Blues are no longer in the Western Conference basement.
My 3 Stars:
1. David Backes. 2 goals and over 19:00 played
2. Ty Conklin
3. Paul Kariya. He was a force in the first half of the game.
Kevin Bieksa: Go away!
Kyle Wellwood: Hit the waiver wire!
I don't care about Alex Burrows' botched "kick in" call. The team wasn't in it.
I'm out.