BY CAM COLE, VANCOUVER SUN COLUMNIST

Transcription

1 Canucks 'All About Cory?' Actually, much to-do about Lou Schneider may be team's MVP, but the spotlight was squarely on Luongo in wake of weekend's season-ending collapse BY CAM COLE, VANCOUVER SUN COLUMNIST APRIL 29, 2013 VANCOUVER The Vancouver Canucks No. 1 goaltender and MVP had to edge past the outskirts of a vast scrum of reporters surrounding Roberto Luongo to get to his locker Monday. Cory Schneider understood, illogical as it was, that the story of the day wasn t his return to practice, or whether he would be healthy enough to play Game 1 of the playoffs Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks (7:30 p.m., TSN, Team 1040), but rather how Luongo was feeling... you know, psychologically. Schneider hadn t been on the ice with his teammates other than to walk on in a suit to accept the team s MVP award last Thursday since a week ago when he was mysteriously hurt (the now-famous body injury ) in a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. He had been a rock down the stretch for a team bent on winning yet another Northwest Division title. And in the two games Luongo played at the end of the regular season, the Canucks had been outscored Monday ought to have been All About Cory. But the egg the Canucks laid in the finale, a 7-2 loss Saturday in Edmonton, had ended up all over Luongo s face, and coach Alain Vigneault had left him in to surrender the entire converted touchdown leading, as these things always do in a town hyper-sensitized to the ever-changing situation between the pipes, to a fairly shrill criticism on the public airwaves of Coach V s handling/mishandling of the debacle. How could he do this to Luongo, the good soldier, when it might be the last game he ever plays for the Canucks? Could he not have pulled him after the fourth goal, the fifth? Why wouldn t he give him a mercy hook and put rookie Joe Cannata in for the mop-up? How upset was Luongo afterwards, rushing out of the room and onto the team bus in record time, without talking to reporters? How would he and Vigneault ever patch things up? Or had the goalie himself run up the white flag at some point in the late third-period barrage, when the Oilers scored five times between the 13:17 mark and 16:52 to blow open a 2-2 tie? Was it perhaps not entirely the fault of the lineup Vigneault iced, laced with minor-leaguers, for a meaningless game? Yeah, I was pretty upset, Luongo said Monday, of his hasty exit. I just want to apologize for taking off on you guys. That s not my style usually, but I had a moment there, and I just needed some time to myself.

2 It wasn t, he said, that he was upset at being left in. No, I was upset with myself. It s tough to get embarrassed like that. It s happened one too many times for me, and I was really fuming and it was better for me to just sit on the bus than say some things I would have regretted later on, Luongo said. Would he have gladly taken the hook, had Vigneault offered it? That s not how I play the game, he said. I don t look to the bench to come out of the game. I want to play, I want to fight through things. Whether you stay in the game or come out, it s still embarrassing. I just had to find a way to stop the bleeding there. Vigneault did not look amused that the issue was still simmering Monday, with the playoffs two days away and no decision yet on whether Schneider can play. First of all, Roberto is a true professional. He s real strong mentally, and he s had some nights like the last one and he s battled back in incredible fashion, Vigneault said. But yesterday I did ask him, Schneids and Rollie (Melanson, the goalie coach): What are we supposed to do here? It s a 2-2 game, six minutes left, team s playing pretty hard in front of him, he s playing real well. And then all of a sudden, they score a third goal and then he mishandles the puck on the fourth goal now there s a little over four minutes left. I m not expecting them to score any more, and I m sure he s not. So I asked them: What can we do here? Do we bring him to the bench with two-three minutes left? And both of them said they d want to fight through it. I didn t need to have the conversation (for Luongo s sake) because I know how Louie is. It was for my own interest. I ve been coaching a few years now. I ve seen this happen early in games where bang-bang-bang and it s an easy decision because there s 50-some minutes left. I ve rarely seen what I saw in Edmonton, where five goals go in on five shots, or six shots, with a couple minutes left. Asked if he had been offered the chance to say no to the start because of the likelihood of getting lit up with so many marginal players in the lineup, Luongo didn t answer directly. I didn t play many games this year, so I was actually excited to play that game, he said. You know, it s a hockey game, and I thought we were playing some great hockey for most of it, unfortunately those last few minutes kind of ruined the night. But no, there is no way I would not have played that game. Oh, and about that other guy... Schneider, who s officially day-to-day, seemed to handle the hour-long practice just fine, but he said how it feels Tuesday (whatever it is) will tell the tale. I hate to be vague and not very specific for you guys, but that s our team policy right now. I m just doing what I m told, said Schneider, who assured reporters that it wasn t simply a ruse to allow him to rest.

3 I know when I was injured, but I don t know if the team wants me to let you know, so I m not going to say. He was on the ice for half an hour with Melanson on Sunday Really controlled, nothing too fancy, he said and if he has no setbacks, would have two practices and a morning skate under his belt before Game 1. I d love to play, he said. This is where the fun part of the year starts, and I ve felt good about how I ve been playing lately. So if I feel I m healthy enough to do that, I will. And if not, it will be yet another slice of irony in a season liberally slathered with it: the goalie who couldn t be traded, reluctantly kept, starting the playoffs. I don t want to assume anything, Luongo said. You want to stay in the moment. You can t change what happened in the past or look too far ahead. Especially in the playoffs, where every shift is critical and you don t want to be too emotional about anything. Saturday night is gone. Wednesday looms. All is forgiven. If Vigneault needs him to face down the Sharks, he said, he expects Roberto Luongo to be good. Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun Netminder mystery continues Speculation rife as starting goalie remains mum about recently suffered injury BY JASON BOTCHFORD, THE PROVINCE APRIL 30, 2013 When wig-wearing Joe Pes-ci is wildly ranting in Oliver Stone's JFK, he sums up the craziness by describing the assassination this way: "It's a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma." He happened to be paraphrasing Winston Churchill in the scene, but he could have been summarizing the Canucks' current goaltending situation. Cory Schneider returned to the ice Sunday but was on his own. He was with the team for the first time in a week Monday. He stayed out late, looked quick and appeared well on his way to starting Game 1 of the playoffs Wednesday. Off it, he looked gassed. Maybe that's because he spent five days away from the rink. Then again, maybe he has the flu; or mono; or maybe even the bubonic plague. He pretty much got asked about all of it.

4 Schneider last played a week ago against the Chicago Blackhawks. There was no obvious sign of an injury. Did he feel something pull or tear during the game, later that night or the next day? "I don't know, to be honest with you," he said. "I'm not going to answer you, because I don't know." Wait, he doesn't know when he was injured? "Well, I know when I was injured but I don't know if the team wants me to let you know," he said. "So, if I don't know, I'm not going to say." OK, then. Schneider was asked point-blank if he was sick. He said no. He was asked if he had mono. He said no. He was asked if he lost weight. "If anything, not skating every day, maybe I put on a pound or two," he said. The speculative questions make some sense. Schneider was sick and missed an April 10 start in Calgary. He was sick on Feb. 24, which is apparently why Alain Vigneault left Roberto Luongo out for all eight goals in Detroit. Anyone think about the bird flu? Behind the scenes, Canucks' management remains incredulous with those who have suggested Schneider didn't suffer an injury. But they sure don't mind the information vacuum fuelling this mystery, which has left everyone guessing, including the San Jose Sharks. If people are going to report Luon-go will likely start Game 1, and they have, all the better for the Canucks. It gives the Sharks more to prepare for, and the credo leading up to the playoffs is generally that the more confusion you can create, the better. The Canucks are adamant that Schneider was hurt. It's a minor injury and the team was overly cautious in keeping him off the ice for five days. It's always remained likely he'd start Game 1, but it's never been guaranteed. Schneider needed to progress through several steps, which began Sunday with a controlled 30- minute skate supervised by goalie coach Rollie Melanson, to test "it." "We didn't do a whole lot," Schneider said. "(Monday) we put it through a more rigorous, you know, put myself through a more rigorous workout to see how it responds."

5 It means any reports on Schneider's health before Sunday were entirely premature. Luongo wasn't ready to play doctor, but he did say Schneider was "feeling pretty good." None of this changes Luongo's seat this postseason. It's essentially in limbo. He has to act like he's still going to be the starter. But before he could get to that, he had to get over what happened Saturday night, when he was embarrassed for six goals in the third period and stormed out of the rink, refusing to do post-game media for the first time in his Canucks career. "I want to apologize for taking off," Luongo said. "That's not my style usually. I had a moment there and needed some time to myself. "I was upset with myself. It's tough to get embarrassed like that. It's happened one too many times for me. I was fuming, that's the right word, I think. It was better for me to sit on the bus rather than say some things I would have regretted later on. "I felt if I were to stand there and say a few things, something wrong would have come out." He chose not to elaborate, making it unclear on which topic he was concerned about saying something he'd regret. But head coach Alain Vigneault was worried enough that he approached Luongo, Schneider and Melan-son Sunday to ask them all what he should do when he sees his goalie is getting ventilated. The goalies told him they want to stay in, and that's what goalies always say. But Vigneault could have pulled Luongo, say, after the fourth goal, and it probably wouldn't have taken him two days to recover mentally. Luongo acknowledged it took him a relatively long time to be in a position where he was able to turn the page on Saturday night. "Not until (Monday) at practice," he said. "I had a good practice and that's usually what it takes to move on. You get on the ice, and you feel good about yourself again. Then, you move on. It's tough to sit on a game like that. (Sunday) was not my best day." jbotchford@theprovince.com twitter.com/@botchford

6 Copyright (c) The Province Canucks: Roy s offensive game centres on playmaking BY BEN KUZMA, THE PROVINCE APRIL 29, 2013 Derek Roy owns a Ferrari 599 and his obvious need for speed requires quick shifting, a deft touch with the steering wheel and knowing just when to feather the brakes. Kind of like what the centre needs to apply on the ice in the Stanley Cup playoffs, that open for the Canucks on Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Arena. If a Western Conference quarterfinal matchup against the physical St. Louis Blues or Los Angeles Kings would have been like NASCAR, then the more free-flowing Sharks series should be like what? It wouldn t be skating around in circles, said Roy. It s guys with a lot of agility and quick movements and it will be quick maybe F1. The Sharks not only won all three games against the Canucks in the season series, they can ice Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski as centres, which will require an adjustment. The first came Monday in practice, when Ryan Kesler was back in the middle between Chris Higgins and Zack Kassian, while Roy centred Mason Raymond andjannik Hansen. If there s a trickle-down series effect, Roy against Pavelski could be pivotal because the Canucks trio has the potential to be good in transition and may attract a third defensive pairing. That could allow Roy to do what the unrestricted free agent has done best since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Dallas Stars for minor-league defenceman Kevin Connauton and a second-round 2013 draft pick. Higgins had two goals and 18 shots in four games with Roy before the winger was sidelined by a knee strain for six games. His advice to Raymond and Hansen was simple. Find open space because he ll get it to you, said Higgins. One of the things we were missing was a true playmaker, and he can take a harmless play and turn it into a very dangerous one because he gains the blue-line, finds his wingers and delays well enough to draw two opposition players to get someone open. Roy, who turns 30 on Saturday, has a pretty good playoff pedigree and understands what it takes to excel. With Buffalo, he advanced to an Eastern Conference final series in 2007 after the Sabres won the Presidents Trophy. He s also been bounced twice in the first round and failed to play past the regular season on four occasions.

7 It s a good feeling to be back in the playoffs and I had a smile on my face today, said Roy, who has seven goals and 18 assists in 41 career playoff games. I pretty much know nothing about the Sharks and I haven t played them much, but it s going to be good to battle. I ve played against Pavelski and they (Sharks) have good centres. We ve just got to move through the neutral zone with a lot of speed and get pucks toward the net. Nothing too fancy. You look at playoff goals and it s battling for rebounds. We re just trying to spread it out and it doesn t matter who you play with. Nobody is looking for anything selfish. There s no need to. The Sharks had the second best faceoff percentage during the regular season (53.4) and the Canucks were ranked 25th. Some of that is skewed by Kesler missing 31 games in rehabbing offseason surgeries, then fracturing his foot, and Manny Malhotra placed on injury reserve for the season after appearing in just nine games. But controlling and moving the puck as well as Roy does will be imperative. It s going to be a battle of making plays and Derek can make them in a short space, said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault. It s one of the reasons we picked him up and hopefully he comes through for us. You can say the same about Kesler. When healthy, he s a multi-dimensional weapon with effectiveness at even strength on the power play, penalty kill and especially in a shutdown role. He s had epic battles with Thornton and it s hard to imagine that won t be the case at some point in the series. In the opener, it could be Couture. If I m playing centre, chuckled Kesler, who had been on the wing with Roy to load up two lines. It s always a battle and we ll see a lot of different lines and matchups. All our lines are pretty dependable defensively. I feel confident in every one of them. I m not saying they (Sharks) don t have skill, but I have faith in our forwards. Kind of like the guy behind the wheel of that Ferrari. Those tall Texas tales of speed sound more dangerous than they actually are. If you know how to control it, it s kind of like a go-kart, said Roy. You ve got to kind of respect the car. Copyright (c) The Province Kesler's play will be pivotal

8 Forward aims to become team's difference-maker, again BY BRAD ZIEMER, VANCOUVER SUN APRIL 30, 2013 A lot can happen in two years and in Ryan Kesler's case, it hasn't all been good. There was the hip surgery in the summer of 2011 and then early last summer he went under the knife to repair shoulder and wrist problems. He finally returned in mid-february following a lengthy rehab only to break his foot while blocking a shot in his first game back. But he's healthy again - knock on an old Sher-Wood - and that gives the Vancouver Canucks hope as they enter the playoffs. A healthy Kesler can be a difference-maker as the Nashville Predators discovered two years ago. It was during that second-round playoff series in 2011 that Kesler delivered a virtuoso performance. In what was a six-game series, Kesler had five goals - two of them game-winners - and six assists. All Nashville coach Barry Trotz could do was shake his head. "He was a force the whole series," Trotz said. "We used multiple people against him. He had one of those series that is absolutely remarkable for one player." It was vintage Kesler, but the trouble is hockey players don't always get better with age and Kesler's health battles have left him with a 28-year-old body that has lots of miles on the odometer. The Canucks have their fingers crossed that Kesler can remain healthy and return to the kind of form he displayed back in when he scored 41 goals and won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward. This season, they won their fifth consecutive Northwest Division title largely without him - Kesler played only 17 games this season - but the Canucks know they need a significant contribution from Kesler if they are to make serious noise in the Stanley Cup tournament. It is not a stretch to suggest that Kesler is one of the biggest keys to playoff success for Vancouver. "I don't see it as pressure, I see it as opportunity," Kesler says of those lofty expectations. "I think some people don't understand it's a team game and I am a piece to the puzzle. We need 20 guys playing their best. Any given night, any given series, there (are) going to be guys that play up and above and I definitely want to be one of those guys." Kesler thinks he still can raise his game to the kind of level we saw in that Nashville series two years ago.

9 "Yeah, I was feeling it for sure," says Kesler, allowing himself to reminisce for a moment. "It felt like anything I shot, anything I did, I seemed to contribute offensively. "In the playoffs it really doesn't matter who scores or who plays well, just as long as you get the win. Ask anybody in here. If Hank and Danny don't score a goal in the playoffs or I don't score a goal and we win the Cup, I'll be fine with that." Ask anyone in the Canuck dressing room how important Kesler is to the team and they'll tell you. Kesler is a big part of everything they do. He is an integral part of both the power play and penaltykill and it's probably not a coincidence that both have been better since he returned from his foot injury. Kesler also takes some pressure off the top line of Henrik and Daniel Sedin and Alex Burrows. With a dangerous second line, opposing teams can't just focus on stopping the Sedins. Kesler also excels in the faceoff circle. Daniel Sedin certainly hasn't forgotten that Nashville series. "He took over that series," Daniel said. "In every situation, power play, five-on-five, PK. That is what he brings to our team. He is strong in every part of the game.... That is the one thing you can say about him, he brings a lot of things to the table." Kesler still doesn't know exactly how coach Alain Vigneault will use him in the playoffs. Vigneault has been experimenting with Kesler on the wing with Derek Roy and Chris Higgins as he attempts to load up a second line. Kesler is more comfortable in the middle, but understands the reasoning behind the switch and how it should benefit the Sedins. "They (the Sedins) are pretty good at handling the pressure but teams can't focus just on them, especially with Derek and Chris and the way we are playing, it's going to be really tough for teams to have two lines going at them. "I think it gives us different looks. Whatever (Vigneault) decides... We can go with three lines (with Kesler and Roy both at centre) or we can have two stacked lines. It's really up to him." Kesler acknowledges he is going through a bit of a learning curve playing on the wing. He likes to carry the puck and doesn't see nearly as much of it on the wing.

10 "Derek's pretty crafty with the puck, he's a guy who is always looking to pass," Kesler says. "My job is to get open for him and use my shot." Defensively, Kesler says not much changes with him on the wing. "I take most of the draws still and if I am the first guy back I am going low, so it really doesn't change too much," he says. "It's still hockey out there and it's still the National Hockey League. I'm just having fun doing it. "Obviously, going into the playoffs healthy it feels good. It feels good to be able to focus on playing the game and focus on helping the team win." bziemer@vancouversun.com Twitter.com/bradziemer Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun Canucks coy about lines, strategies against Sharks Burrows, Kesler, Roy will likely stick to centre BY ELLIOTT PAP, VANCOUVER SUN APRIL 30, 2013 What you see is usually what you get from Vancouver Canuck head coach Alain Vigneault - unless it's playoff time. Ask about line combos during the regular season and Regular Season AV is happy to oblige. Now ask the same question during the post-season and you get Playoff AV. He hopes we all understand. The Canucks and San Jose Sharks play Game 1 Wednesday at Rogers Arena. "As you know," Vigneault began following practice Monday, "when we get into the playoffs, I don't get into exactly what our lines are." Fortunately, practice was open to reporters so there was visible evidence. The Sedin twins were with Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler was between Chris Higgins and Zack Kassian, while Derek Roy was centring for Mason Raymond and Jannik Hansen. Max Lapierre was back on the fourth line with Andrew Ebbett and Dale Weise. There was no other confirmation. "I'm not going to get into the specifics of what we're going to do, just like I don't do it health-wise," continued Playoff AV. "I think, at the end of the day, I'm pretty good with you guys. I can give you the Torts in New York (Ranger coach John Tortorella) and not say much. But I do give you a little bit more. I think, considering the fact it is so tight and there is so little separating the teams, you should be able to understand that.

11 "At this time of year, sharing information about who is playing with who and what we're going to do, is probably not the right things to do." A glance at the San Jose lineup seems to indicate a need for Vigneault to play his three natural centres - Henrik Sedin, Kesler and Roy - on separate lines to counter the Shark threesome of Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski. Roy figures this is the way it will unfold. "Yeah, I think so," Roy responded. "San Jose has three good centremen, or four, and a balanced attack. So we're just trying to spread it out and try to make it work that way. It's going to be up to the coaches, obviously, who is going to play against who and what matchups they want, but it doesn't matter who I play against. I've played against Pavelski and Couture and those guys and I know how good they are and their playmaking abilities." Kesler, meanwhile, was less forthcoming on the Wednesday lineup. He wouldn't even concede he'll start at centre. "I don't know where I'm going to play," Kesler said coyly. "We'll probably have a bunch of different looks. I don't know what we're going to go with for Game 1. We'll see. That's the way practice shook out today, but who knows? Tomorrow might be something different. "All our lines are pretty dependable so I personally feel confident with every single one of our lines going out there against any one of their lines," he added. "I'm not saying that they don't have some really good skill. I'm just saying I have faith in every one of the forwards on our team." The wild card in the combos deployed Monday is Zack Kassian. The hulking winger hasn't been able to establish any consistency and finished the season with just two goals in his last 32 games. Nonetheless, he thinks he's ready for a primetime role alongside Kesler. "First of all, I have no idea if I'll be on that line," he said. "Nothing is written in stone. You know that. But, yeah, if I do get that opportunity, I'm very excited for it. If I'm playing with those two guys, if it happens, I'll be ready." Hansen says he'll be ready, too, and ready to be on a different line by the second period. "That wouldn't surprise me," he said, shrugging. "There is no unfamiliarity. I've played with all four centres and I've played with all four left-wingers and even some of the right-wingers. There has been so much rotation here the last couple of years that it's no issue." epap@vancouversun.com Twitter.com/elliottpap Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

12 Good, bad and ugly playoff moments under Vigneault's watch BY ELLIOTT PAP, VANCOUVER SUN APRIL 30, 2013 This is Alain Vigneault's seventh season behind the Canuck bench and his sixth in the playoffs. His first five postseason campaigns produced some memorable games, from the good to the bad to the ugly. Here are seven that stick out... April 11, In his first ever playoff game behind the Canucks' bench, Vigneault was there almost forever as the Canucks and Dallas Stars went deep into the night and then early the next morning before Henrik Sedin, from Daniel and Mattias Ohlund, scored at 18: 06 of the fourth overtime period for a 5-4 Canuck win. The Canucks were outshot Complicating matters for Vigneault was the loss of two forwards to injury during the game as Matt Cooke left in the second period and Alex Burrows in the first overtime. Also scoring for the Canucks in that game were Daniel, Ohlund, Markus Naslund and Bryan Smolinski. "I'm going to bed," quipped Naslund in the winners' dressing room sometime after 12: 30 a.m. April 21, For the first and only time in franchise history, the Canucks swept an opponent in a best-ofseven series. Alex Burrows scored at 19: 41 of the first overtime period as the Canucks bounced the St. Louis Blues in the minimum four games. Burrows scored twice that night in a 3-2 victory. Kyle Wellwood had the other. Roberto Luongo finished with 47 saves. "Roberto is the best, that's all I can say," declared Canuck defenceman Shane O'Brien. "He's a warrior. He's our best player, our captain, everything. He's unbelievable." May 11, After leading their second-round series 2-1 against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Canucks lost Games 4 and 5 and were facing elimination in Game 6. Down 3-1 midway through the second period, they rallied to take 4-3 and 5-4 leads in the third, only to have everything fall apart in the final seven minutes as Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Kane again ventilated Luongo for a 7-5 Blackhawk win. Luongo surrendered all seven goals on just 30 shots and was in tears following the loss. "I think I let my teammates down tonight and that's going to take a while to get over, I think," he said. May 11, Exactly a year to the day they were eliminated by the Blackhawks, the Canucks were again facing elimination by the Blackhawks. Coach Vee's skaters won the opening game of the series 5-1 in Chicago but then dropped the next three by a combined 16-8 margin. They rebounded 4-1 in Game 5 to stay alive but were trounced 5-1 two days later to end their Cup chase for another year. Luongo faced 35 shots, stopped 30 and attempted a little gallows humour postgame that went over like the proverbial lead balloon. "I kept it under seven goals," he said. "So improvement was made." It was the pre-strombone1 era and nobody laughed. April 26, After squandering a 3-0 opening-round series lead against the now despised 'Hawks, the Canucks were facing the humiliating prospect of being the fourth team in NHL history to gag on a 3-0 series advantage. Alex Burrows scored early in Game 7 and the Canucks were still leading by the razor-thin 1-0 margin late in the third when Duncan Keith went to the penalty box for hooking. The Blackhawks had no choice but to go for the shortie and Jonathan Toews did exactly that, tying the game at 18: 04. Burrows then took a holding penalty just 24 seconds into overtime and Luongo made a stupendous save on Patrick Sharp on the

13 ensuing power play, setting the stage for the dramatic Burrows "Slay the Dragon" series-winner at 5: 22. "We didn't make it easy on ourselves," said Burrows the hero. "I think it feels even better getting it done this way." May 24, Up 3-1 on the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference final, the Canucks were looking to put away the Sharks in a tidy five games. Things appeared bleak late in the third with Vancouver down 2-1 but Ryan Kesler deflected a Henrik Sedin shot past Antti Niemi with 13.2 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime and then double overtime before Kevin Bieksa won it on a knuckle-puck shot that almost nobody saw. "When you watch the replay, the officials didn't know where it was, Niemi didn't know where it was, Vancouver, San Jose, nobody knew where it was," lamented losing coach Todd McLellan. "It came right to Bieksa. One more bounce he probably whiffs on it and we're still playing." June 15, Tied 3-3 with the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final, the Canucks were one home-ice victory from the their first ever championship. The Canucks had been dominant at home throughout the playoffs and entered the game on a six-game win streak on Rogers Arena ice. Sadly for them, they couldn't close the deal and were soundly defeated 4-0 by the Bruins, who celebrated wildly on the playing surface while the Canucks commiserated just metres away in their dressing room. Meanwhile, on the streets, a riot was underway. "This is the toughest thing you can go through," captain Henrik Sedin said of the loss, although he could have meant the riot as well. Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun Blue-line corps finding form at the right time BY IAIN MACINTYRE, VANCOUVER SUN APRIL 30, 2013 It wasn't the big shot or the right-handedness that the Vancouver Canucks missed most after Sami Salo left as a free agent last summer. And it sure wasn't his medical record. What the Canucks missed was Salo's reliability, poise and ability to calm those around him. Exhibit A is Alex Edler. The National Hockey League team's most talented defenceman, shepherded by Salo in Vancouver, was erratic for most of the 48-game season as he adjusted to new blue-line partners and the periodic switch to the right side from his natural position on the left. Without Salo to lean on, Edler looked less sure of himself and made a lot of mistakes. That's partly why another Western Conference coach, when asked during the season for his thumbnail assessment of the Canucks, said he really liked the team when its forwards controlled the puck but thought Vancouver vulnerable when its defence had it and was pressed. To some degree, every NHL team has the same issue. But Edler's risk, given his importance to the Canucks and the minutes he logs, was noteworthy. So was the risk involved with Canucks defence-man Kevin Bieksa, who was having a good season until a groin injury in late February took him out of the lineup for seven games.

14 Edler and Bieksa were partners for the second half of the season, mostly because Dan Hamhuis and Jason Garrison were so good together the coaching staff left them alone. As the Canucks prepare to open the Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks, there remains the question about Vancouver's defence and its ability to safely pass the puck while under pressure. Edler, however, has been much better the last three weeks - more confident and more physical. And Bieksa, thrown back into the lineup Saturday in Edmonton after missing another five games, has been inching back toward his form of the first month. The defence also has been bolstered by the steady play of 20-year-old call-up Frankie Corrado, a right-sided rookie who has done well enough in three games to push veteran Keith Ballard off the third pairing. The Canucks defence suddenly looks a lot less vulnerable than it did a month ago. "I think our defence is extremely strong," Garrison said after Monday's practice. "There's a lot of guys who can play a lot of roles and have a lot of experience. As a group, we expect a lot from ourselves. "I think the pressure (on the forecheck) is going to be a step up from regular season, but the guys in here know what to expect. We've got to make sure we get back to the puck first and make plays. The game plan doesn't change." When the Canucks went to the Stanley Cup Final two years ago, the defence was Hamhuis-Bieksa, Edler-Salo and Aaron Rome-Christian Ehrhoff. For Game 1 against the Sharks, it's likely to be Hamhuis-Garrison, Edler-Bieksa and Andrew Alberts-Corrado. It may not be quite as good as it was two years ago, but it's close. "Those two (Hamhuis and Garrison) have had a great season together," Bieksa said. "They found some very good chemistry and they're playing some good hockey for us. The other four of us have to elevate our game to match theirs. "I felt really good to start the season, and then something happened and I broke down. But I'm feeling good again, though, and I'm trying to get my game back. Health-wise, I feel like I'm back. There's no excuses come playoff time. We need everybody's best. And we need my best."

15 Even without the puck-carrying Ehrhoff, who left the Canucks for a retirement contract from the Buffalo Sabres in 2011, Vancouver continues to have one of the most active and productive defence corps in the NHL. Edler and Garrison scored eight goals each and Vancouver's 28 goals from the blue-line were second in the NHL to the Montreal Canadiens' 29. "I've got confidence in our group," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "We're almost as healthy on the back end as we have been. Frankie coming in gives us a little more depth as far as right-handed personnel on the defence. So I like our blue-line." Vigneault thinks Edler has elevated his game. So does Edler. "I think I've been a bit better here at the end and that's obviously good for me and the team," Edler said. "I just feel like I've been doing everything a little better lately and being more intense. That's helping me, too." TANEV ON THE MEND: Steady defenceman Chris Tanev, who has missed 10 games with a sprained ankle, was still in a walking boot Monday. When Vigneault saw him outside the dressing room, he bellowed: "C'mon, Tanny, stop milking it!" Tanev could return during the first round. Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun Statistically, how do the San Jose Sharks stack up against the Vancouver Canucks? April 29, :00 pm Section: The White Towel The punishment for the Vancouver Canucks failing to threepeat as the top team in the National Hockey League is a lesser first round opponent compared to the previous two seasons. Granted, that s not to take anything away from the San Jose Sharks of They re a formidable opponent. But last season the Canucks ran into the eventual champion Los Angeles Kings who became the best puck-possession team in hockey after their Jeff Carter acquisition. In 2011, the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks somehow managed to get into the 8-seed despite having a +33 goal differential that was 3rd in the conference and 6th in the NHL. In San Jose, the Canucks face their weakest opponent in three years, but on the surface, not a pushover. They were sixth in the NHL in score-tied shot differential after 48 games but have improved since the deadline. While Sharks general manager Doug Wilson was viewed by many media commentators to be a seller after shipping out Michael Handzus, Doug Murray and Ryane Clowe it s worth noting that those three were some of the worst Sharks for pushing the play forward when on the ice. Sharks blog Fear the Fin posted it s weekly Score-Adjusted Fenwick rankings on Sunday, a ranking system that weights team s shot differentials based on different score stats (up by 1, up by 2, tied). The Sharks were 9th, one spot ahead of the Canucks. Blogger Patrick D. noted that the Sharks had the 3rd best change insaf since the deadline and to not forget that last year s Stanley Cup winners also featured such a streak. The 2012 Los Angeles Kings traded away black hole Jack Johnson for dynamo Jeff Carter.

16 So while the Sharks come into the postseason with a pedestrian 5-5 in the last ten games, that s not particularly what counts. Typically, Cup winners have worse records in their last ten games than they did in the first 72 likely because they sat stars or played their last few games to avoid injury when the games stopped meaning something. So the Sharks have been playing well. They re in fine form and have a goaltender who will likely be in the top five in Vezina Trophy voting. For the second straight year, the Canucks will face a scary good low-seeded team. How are the Sharks built? Like the Canucks, it s presumed the Sharks think analytically and outside the box when putting together the roster. Like the Canucks, and unlike Washington and Philadelphia, good regular season teams that suffered post-season defeats, they haven t torn apart their roster which still has excellent veteran players in Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle. Like the Canucks, they ve also had trouble scoring this season, and have had to rely on goaltender Antti Niemi to play like a Vezina-calibre tender to make the playoffs. The Sharks were 27th in the NHL in shooting percentage at 5-on-5 this season at just 6.6%. For three years or so, they ve been going down that defensive route as Thornton and Marleau enter their twilight years. Thornton led the team in points, but had his lowest per-game rate of his career. He s played lately on a second line with TJ Galiardi and converted-defenceman Brent Burns. Since the switch, Derek Tanabe of Fear the Fin notes, the Sharks goals per game increased from 2.16 to Where they differ from the Canucks is that coach Todd McLellan prefers to match power-on-power, while Alain Vigneault likes to match his players based on the faceoff. It s tough to say how McLellan will answer Vancouver s top two lines the Canucks have yet to play the Sharks with either Ryan Kesler or Derek Roy in the lineup. if [the Canucks] can match Roy and Kesler against Thornton i think they ll be able to win that matchup, suggests Tanabe, although during the Canucks lone home effort against the Sharks this season, the Canucks were able to avoid McLellan s preferred Marleau-on-Henrik Sedin match. Wisdom is that if Marleau and the Sedins score in even numbers, which is likely, Vancouver has a slight advantage if they play a loaded second line against Thornton. Unless his shooting percentage explodes in the series, the Canucks could score a few crucial goals in that matchup enough to win the series. It would then hinge on hoping the Joe Pavelski or Scott Gomez lines don t get going offensively. On defence, the Sharks have been known to use Matt Irwin and Dan Boyle with the Thornton line to get them going offensively and recently their shutdown unit has been Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun. It s worth noting that Vlasic, who has played with both Braun and Jason Demers this season has done great with either. He s listed at sixth in NHL shot differential at behindthenet.ca among top pairing defenders this season and was eighth last season. Tanabe notes that the Sedins could make quick work of the Sharks if Vigneault manages to get a lot of ice-time against Scott Hannan and Brad Stuart, a notably slow third pairing who are poor in possession statistics. It should be a very tactical series, each team has four usable lines and lack depth on defence. The Canucks should have an edge in forward matching, but ultimately this could be one decided by goaltending, more reminiscent of the Canucks 2007 series against the Stars than a repeat of the explosive five-gamer the teams played two years ago. Schneider returns to practice; status uncertain APRIL 29, 2013, 7:11 PM

17 VANCOUVER Vancouver Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider returned to practice Monday, but his status for the first game of the Stanley Cup quarter-finals against the San Jose Sharks remained uncertain. Schneider was injured April 22 in a win over Chicago, when he played the whole game without any apparent discomfort. He had not practised with the team since then and missed Vancouver s final two regular-season games, but worked out briefly with an assistant coach Sunday. Coach Alain Vigneault reiterated that Schneider s status remains day to day. Many hockey observers had speculated that the 27-year-old netminder from Marblehead, Mass., was not injured. But Schneider said his undisclosed ailment prevented him from playing. It wasn t really a rest issue, said Schneider. It was a day-to-day injury, and I had to take some time off. Schneider said he knows when he was injured against the Blackhawks, but declined to elaborate. He has been making progress in his recovery and hopes to play against the Sharks at some point. I d love to play in the playoffs, said Schneider. I ve felt good about how I ve been playing lately. Schneider earned victories in his last two regular-season games to finish with a record. He had an impressive 2.11 goals-against average and five shutouts. He was ticketed as Vancouver s playoff starter months ago after displacing Roberto Luongo in last spring s firstround playoff loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Meanwhile, Luongo, who has tried to say and do all the right things all season long since an expected off-season trade did not come through, apologized for ducking reporters after a 7-2 loss in Edmonton on Saturday. I was pretty upset and I have to apologize for taking off on you guys, said Luongo. I was upset with myself. It s tough to get embarrassed like that. It s happened one too many times for me. Luongo said he needed time to cool off after allowing six third-period goals including five in a span of three minutes and 35 seconds. I was fuming, said Luongo. It was better for me to sit on the bus than to say some things that I would have regretted. Luongo would get the start on Wednesday if Schneider is not ready to return.