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Vancouver Canucks: Rangers & Blackhawks Bring Back Memories, Comets, U18s |
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Saturday's NHL playoff games certainly dredged up some Canucks memories for me.
First, we had Alain Vigneault's New York Rangers bowing out of their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games. Just two years after reaching the Stanley Cup Final and one year after winning the Presidents' Trophy, the Rangers are now at a crossroads—loaded up with big, long-term contracts and a limited prospect pool as they've dealt away big chunks of their future in an attempt to capitalize on a winning window while Henrik Lundqvist was at his peak.
What will happen to AV now that it looks like Lundqvist's peak has passed? The netminder may have been hampered by his Game 1 eye injury against the Penguins, but his regular-season numbers weren't as spectacular as usual this year, either. The best days for the great King Henrik might be behind him.
To my eye, it also looked like Vigneault got out-coached. The farther the series went along, the more Mike Sullivan's speedy Penguins were able to find ways to exploit the Rangers' defense.
You know what else? That Phil Kessel's a pretty good playoff performer. He went 3-3-6 in the five-game series and now has 27 points in 27 career playoff games.
Meanwhile, over in Chicago, the in-house DJ at United Center cranked up Chelsea Dagger on repeat as the Blackhawks stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to win Game 6 by a score of 6-3 and force Game 7 with the St. Louis Blues.
And yes, it was Dale Weise who scored the game-winning goal for the Hawks.
I'm seeing talk that this series resembles Chicago's first-round run against the Canucks in 2011, when they came back from the 3-0 deficit but fell in Game 7 thanks to the heroics of the Dragon Slayer.
For me, the series looks more like Blackhawks-Canucks in 2009, when Vancouver went up 1-0 and 2-1 before crumbling to lose in six games. Of course, at that time Jonathan Toews and company were a bunch of young upstarts, experiencing the NHL postseason for the first time. Now, they—and their fans—know what it takes to win, while the Blues look like they're cracking under pressure once again.
I can't help but admire the Blackhawks' ability to find ways to win.
The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the Utica Comets. Cole Cassels opened the scoring in Game 2 of their playoff series against Albany, but the Comets ultimately fell by a score of 5-1. After just two days, they'll be facing playoff elimination when the series resumes in Utica on Monday.
I feel like the Comets' success in the Utica market is proving to be a bit of an albatross for the Canucks organization as the AHL moves west. Last summer, the California and Alberta teams all relocated their minor-league affiliates closer to home. Last week, the Arizona Coyotes did the same, purchasing the Springfield Falcons with the intention of moving them to Tucson.
The Canucks certainly faced some challenges this year when dealing with the logistics of injury callups. I'd also suggest that the organization is missing out now that its minor-leaguers play against the affiliates of Eastern Conference clubs rather than the division rivals that they see most frequently at the NHL level.
The Canucks have said before that they're pleased with their situation in Utica and they're in it for the long haul. The market has done a wonderful job of supporting the team, but I wonder if the situation will be reassessed this summer?
I have to run—starting my live blog of Game 6 of Washington-Philadelphia momentarily.
Don't forget, Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers face elimination later in their Game 6 against the New York Islanders—game time, 4 p.m. PT.
And it's the last day of the U18 tournament in Grand Forks. Canada plays for bronze against the U.S. at 1 p.m. on TSN, then the Finns and Swedes face off at 5 p.m. for gold.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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