| CANUCKS |
KINGS | ||||
 |
AT |
 |
|||
| Time | 7:00 PM PST |
TV | CBC, Versus |
| The Enemy | Jewels From The Crown, Battle of California | Scoring Leaders | Samuelsson: 3-0-3 Kopitar: 1-2-3 |
| Canucks |
Category | Kings |
| 2.50 |
Goals Per Game | 2.50 |
| 2.50 |
Goals Against Per Game | 2.50 |
| 3.0 |
5 On 5 GF/GA | 0.33 |
| 28.6 |
Power Play % |
44.4 (damn) |
| 55.6 (ass) |
Penalty Kill % |
71.4 |
| 35.0 |
Shots Per Game | 29.5 |
| 29.5 |
Shots Against Per Game | 35.0 |
| 0 |
Winning % When Scoring First | 0 |
| 0 |
Winning % When Leading After 1 | 0 |
| 0 |
Winning % When Trailing After 1 | 100 |
| 0 |
Winning % When Leading After 2 | 0 |
| 0 |
Winning % When Trailing After 2 | 0 |
| 54.1 |
Faceoffs % | 45.9 |
| 16.5 |
PIM's Per Game | 9.0 |
| +2 |
+ / - GF/GA (see here) |
-2 |
Update: The Canucks lines for tonight (h/t to Chuckles):
D Sedin-H Sedin-Burrows,
Raymond-Kesler-Samuelsson,
Grabner-Wellwood-Bernier,
Glass-Demitra-Hansen
Also, Alberts is out, Aaron Rome is most likely in, but remains a game time decision. Dan Murphy tweeted that Rome was practicing with AA this morning, while Baumgartner was practicing with Bieksa. So nothing solid yet, except that Alberts will not play.
****************************************
To me, the loss in Game 2 wasn't much of a bummer. I waited for the angst to set in but it never happened. I thought maybe it was the fine alcoholic buzz I had going on, but woke up Sunday morning to the same mellow feeling. I think there are a few reasons for this.
1. Every series is or has been tied at 1-1 at some point. Everybody is having their struggles.
2. I have a new-found "unwavering" faith in the Canucks. I believe they can beat the Kings.
3. The series is still young, but game 3 is huge. So the outcome of this game may change my hippie state that I'm in if things go awry.
Vancouver will have to remedy it's lack of identity on the road really quick. They finished 19-20-2 away from GM Place during the regular season. I was reading somewhere that the only playoff team with less regular season road wins was Ottawa. There is some positives to pull out of that road stat though. The Canucks did finish 8-5-1 on the 14 game road trip from hell. It's not like they don't know how to get the job done. Plus, these are the playoffs. There's no room for uninspired road games in the playoffs.
Down to the nitty gritty:
-I hope Aaron Rome is ready to go, for obvious reasons.
-4 of Los Angeles' 5 goals scored against Vancouver have come on the power play. The Canucks handed the Kings 6 power plays in Game 2, the most crucial coming in overtime. I'm not going to get into that too many men call. It just seems like there is a bit of panicking and loss of assignment from the Canucks when they go a man down sometimes, and it's costing them. The last thing they need is an insecurity complex hitting them when down a man.
Speaking of insecurities, blowing a 2-0 lead isn't healthy either. The Canucks did just that in game 2. This isn't 2007 anymore, boys! The Canucks' game is based on puck possession and offense. 5 goals in 2 games isn't going to cut it. Sitting back on 2-0 leads isn't going to cut it either. Attack damn it! The other issues are hitting the net (AV believed his team missed the net 15-20 times last game), or just shooting more, but we've already kicked that dead horse.
Sure, it's only 2 games in, but there are several Canucks who are in the zero point club in these playoffs:
-Alexandre Burrows: +/- 0 and 5 shots.
-Mason Raymond: +/- 0 and 6 shots.
-Bieksa, Edler, Hansen: combined +1 and 8 shots
The Sedins were checked hard in game 2 and it will only be potentially worse in L.A. given that the Kings get the final line change for matchup purposes. The secondary scoring needs to build on what we saw from them in game 2.
For the Kings: They will not change their lineup from Game 2. They will try putting Michal Handzus, Brad Richardson and Freddy Modin against the Twins as much as possible.
That is all. Hakuna matata!
GO CANUCKS GO!