'Nucks IceMan

Written by: Larry “The Nucks IceMan” Johnson

Anyone that has watched the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks play during the regular season, could have easily predicted this type of low scoring series. There are two Vezina Trophy nominees playing in goal and a Nashville team that plays a structured type of system (read trapping).

Trapping is not uncommon for any team in the NHL and especially in the play-offs. Every team is trying to clog up the neutral and the checking and space on the ice is intense and tight.

What you do expect is for your best players to be able to rise to another level and still lead during these trying times. This has not happened for the Vancouver Canucks with Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and to a certain extent, Ryan Kesler.

Sure Daniel is tied with Alex Burrows for the Canucks points lead with 5G, 2A, but he hasn’t scored since game six against the Hawks, which was April 24^th.  Not only that but he hasn’t had any points in the last three games and is a +/minus 2.

Henrik, the Canucks captain, has no goals in these play-offs (9 games), 5 assists, is a +/minus 4, which is tied with Christian Ehrhoff for the team lead, was only 38.7% in the face-off circle in the last Nashville game and overall in these play-offs is 47.8%, last amongst the Canucks centres.

I hate to be repetitious, but these players are still a liability in their zone, look like they’re skating with lead weights tied to their skates, are soft in the offensive zone and are not even contributing any leadership on the ice. Just why have these players disappeared and why are they so ineffective?

Of all people on a team to play so poorly you do not expect your captain to be in that category. Think of the previous captains, excluding Roberto Luongo, who have played for the Canucks and their performances in the play-offs.

Trevor Linden was always a warrior and seemed to save his best games for the play-offs, likewise for Stan Smyl. Markus Naslund, on the other hand, had two play-offs season where he had any success and that was 2002/03 (14GP, 5G, 9A) and 2003/04 (7GP, 2G, 7A).

The Sedins, who many of the media have commented on possessing intelligence of the game, have yet to come up with an answer to the tight checking, speed of the game or lack of space on the ice. They themselves are not going to create space, which then would be left for their line-mate to do so.

They miss Alex Burrows, who has suddenly found his game with Kesler, but does coach Vigneault split up that line, which has become the number one line for the Canucks. You can’t switch Mikael Samuelsson, who has only 1G, 1A and is a +/minus 2, for Burrows, without weakening the Kesler line.

Vigneault doesn’t seem to have any faith in Jeff Tambellini as a replacement for Samuelsson or he would have played him by now, and there’s no one down in Manitoba to call up. This does not bode well for the Canucks, who are in a tight series with the Predators.

The Nucks have suddenly found themselves last amongst the teams left in the play-offs in goals scored per game with a measly two. When you look at Nashville who has scored three goals per game, I think you can see the problems the Canucks will have in advancing any further in these play-offs, unless the Sedins, Kesler or someone on the third line starts to produce.

With the last line change in Nashville, you can all but say that the Sedins won’t get a sniff at any goal production unless it’s from the power play. But sorry folks, with the Canucks at 16.7% and fifth amongst the teams left, their power play is a far cry from the number one ranking they held during the regular season.

Roberto Luongo

It looks like the only way the Canucks can win this series, is if Luongo outplays Pekka Rinne. He will have to steal a game in Nashville just like Rinne did in Vancouver in over-time.

In trying to remain optimistic, I have to remember that scoring does go in cycles and that the Sedins and Kesler, among others, are due to break out. It’s just in a short series; will that be in the next four to five games?

My prediction was the Canucks in six but I can see this going to seven the way these games are being played. Now I’m not so sure, because Rinne could steal this series, the same way Jaroslav Halak did for the Montreal Canadiens last season.

Let’s also remember that Nashville was up 2-1 in games with Chicago last play-offs, and lost game six in over-time, or else they would have taken the Hawks to a game seven. The Predators also outplayed the Hawks in a couple of games they lost. They just couldn’t finish.

So this Nashville team, who have a bit more scoring depth in these play-offs, could beat the Canucks and it shouldn’t be looked at as an upset. This team is every bit as physical as Chicago, has a structured system that can negate the Twins, frustrate the rest of the Canuck players, a Norris Trophy D-man in Shea Weber, a Vezina Trophy nominee in Pekka Rinne and a Jack Adams Trophy nominee in Barry Trotz.

Let’s give them credit for being a good team built for the play-offs.

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Goggle Images and Yahoo Sports!

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Filed under: Vancouver Canucks