A year to the day the Vancouver Canucks bow out in their second round series against the Chicago Blackhawks in game 6. Although it sounds like a familiar chorus the truth is that circumstances were a lot different this time around despite the eerie similarities of the loss.
For one thing, anyone who saw last year's game six would be hard pressed to say that the Canucks deserved to lose that game. They held the lead three times in that pivotal game but were unable to maintain any momentum and the Hawks persevered in the end. Last night although the game was very even after one period, the visitors were able to pull away early in the second and never really looked back.
Last season Roberto Luongo took the brunt of the blame for the loss, this season despite the fact that his numbers were similar it's much harder to place the blame at the netminder's feet. Injuries and other factors played a much more pivitol role in the Canucks exit this season, the most obvious being the Canucks having to use a patch-work defence against one of the league's deepest teams. Of course the loss of Willie Mitchell may have been the most obvious since he would have been matched up against Byfuglien but it was obvious to anyone who watched the series that Salo likely shouldn't have been playing although he showed a TON of heart and others were obviously slowed by various ailments.
One of the biggest reasons, however, may have been that the Canucks were simply out-coached. In his post-game interview Roberto Luongo stated that the Hawks made the changes they needed to make after game one and that his team never responded in kind. Was that a commentary on the players in the room? Sound more like a touch of putting some blame behind the bench but time will tell how that plays out. Maybe the injury situation made changes difficult, but adjustments need to be made throughout any series and Quenneville consistently seemed a step ahead after game one.
At the end of the day it was a great season for the Canucks who captured the division title once again but are left with the spectre of what could have been as they fall once again to the Hawks in the second round.
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I still maintain that Roberto Luongo shouldn't have the captaincy. He's obviously the leader of the team and their best player and a goaltender has enough on his plate on a daily basis so it's ridiculous to add to the stress. No-one would ever question whether or not Martin Broduer was the leader of the Devils but he didn't have to have the added responsibility of being the captain. You simply don't need a designation to be a leader and I think that he puts enough pressure of himself and has enough drive to not need the extra responsibility of being designated as the captain. Let someone else take on the letter and let Roberto lead as he always did without the added stress.
Have a great day!
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Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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