Done May 6, 2013

There’s always next year.

That is the mantra for every fan when their team is eliminated from the playoffs, with the unfortunate exception of when your team is relocated. The Vancouver Canucks are not officially eliminated, but the writing is on the wall after dropping their third straight game against the San Jose Sharks in the playoffs. Now, the Canucks are down 3-0 in the series and have nothing going for them. I don’t have any hope of a miraculous comeback; this team just does not have it. All the troubles that plagued the Canucks in the first two games came back to sink the Canucks once again.

No Discipline

The Canucks have been guilty of taking way too many penalties in general during this series, but the number of unnecessary, dumb penalties has been astounding. Vancouver needed a good start to have any chance at winning this game and they did. They were even able to draw a penalty early and have some 4 on 3 power play time. They must’ve felt generous after that because Dale Weise and Dan Hamhuis took two absolutely bone headed penalties that led to a very long Sharks 5 on 3. Weise decided to muck it up in front of the Sharks net and was called for roughing after pulling down Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Then, Hamhuis decided to slash Joe Thornton on the penalty kill. You except Weise to take some dumb penalties, but Hamhuis is the rock on the Canucks defense and he should not be taking that penalty. The Sharks were able to eventually work the puck into the slot, Logan Couture made a nice pass to Joe Pavelski, and it was 1-0 Sharks. The Canucks cannot score themselves out of these kinds of problems; this team just doesn’t have the firepower to score a lot of goals. They need to be smart and limit the chances of the opposition, but they didn’t. They were playing dumb.

Special Sharks

Remember when the Canucks had the most feared power play in the entire NHL? That seems like a 100 years ago and today’s Canucks have nothing close to that unit that almost carried the 2011 team to the Stanley Cup. The Canucks’ power play is slow, inaccurate, and a momentum killer. Conversely, the Sharks’ power play has been effective this season and feasted on the Canucks in game 3. It’s laughable to try and compare both units. The Sharks move the puck quickly, they are able to get shots on net, and don’t just rely on point shots for their chances. The Canucks’ power play has zero down-low play, which is a disturbing trend because the Sedins used to score a lot of their goals with short passes across the net. Now, teams don’t allow that anymore and collapse, leaving the Canucks to only shoot from the point and most of their shots either go wide or are blocked. It’s very frustrating to see a unit that includes almost every player from the famed 2011 power play, but can’t even get close to scoring. The Canucks had a glorious chance to open the scoring in game 3 with a 4 on 3 power play, but could not even muster up a grade A chance. The Sharks’ power play went to town on the Canucks and was at a 50% success rate before the Canucks took a slew of frustration penalties to finish the game. A good power play isn’t always about the number of goals, but about scoring timely goals. Unfortunately, the Canucks had neither.

Roy for Naught

A lot of Canucks fans, myself included, were very excited when the team acquired Derek Roy from the Dallas Stars. First, the team didn’t give up much in the deal and more importantly, they finally got the centre they desperately needed. Except for hitting the crossbar in game 1, Roy gave the Canucks nothing in the series. He wasn’t able to spark the second unit power play to get any significant chances and did very little 5 on 5. During the series, he was never able to get above 40% in faceoff wins and was terrible in game 3, only winning 23% of his draws. Roy is an unrestricted free agent and there have been rumours that Roy is looking for something in the $5-6 million range for next season. With albatross contracts such as the David Booth (still have hope in him) and Keith Ballard (healthy scratch in all three games, can you say amnesty?) on the roster, it is not wise for the Canucks to pony up that kind of money. Unless he is willing to take a major discount, the Canucks should move on.

Body Injury

Goaltending was not an issue during the first 9 periods (including OT) of the series. Roberto Luongo was the best Canuck on the ice and played very well. Cory Schneider finally got over his body injury and started well in game 3. Despite the Canucks being down 2-1, he was not the reason for the team trailing. Then the third period started and the roof collapsed on Cory. He let in a stinker from Couture to start the third period after the Canucks had killed the majority of a penalty. Then the team fell apart around him and Patrick Marleau, who has a point in every playoff game against the Canucks in his career, scored the spine breaker and the rout was on. Cory let in another weak goal from the point that went through his legs and his night was over. Now the speculation is on and many fans will be questioning why Coach V swapped Luongo for Schneider after Luongo had a terrific game 2. We’ll never know how the game would have played out if Luongo had been the starting goalie. With game 4 on Tuesday, the focus will be on which guy will get the start. I’m all for giving Schneider another chance to start so he can just build up experience and get more playoff reps. However, Coach V knows it may be his last game as the coach of the Canucks and will be trying everything to keep the season alive. I expect Lu to get the start in game 4.

I have a friend who used to tease me that the 2011 Canucks were like the 2007 Ottawa Senators, a team that peaked with a loss in the Stanley Cup Finals and that core group of players would never get close again. As I watched game 3, I couldn’t shake that thought from my mind and now it seems like it is coming true. Our Cup window is only open a tiny crack and the Sharks are ready to slam it shut. It makes me sad and frustrated that this group of players, most of whom were drafted and developed by the organization, will never be called champions. Facing a second consecutive year of being down 3-0 in a series and staring at another early playoff exit, I can only say one thing right now.

There’s always next year.