Game #4 - Canucks 3 - Blues 2 - Game Notes

The Vancouver Canucks have swept the St.Louis Blues, the first seven game series sweep in franchise history.

It took a little luck and even a little controversy, but in the end the Canucks were just too deep and too experienced for the Blues. The Blues had their best game in game four, but it wasn't enough as Alex Burrows ended the series in the final seconds of the first overtime. On to the game notes...

• The Canucks penalty kill was the difference throughout this series and that continued in game four. Ryan Johnson and Willie Mitchell were outstanding and when the Blues found a scoring chance Roberto Luongo was there to close the door.
• Mattias Ohlund really stepped up his game in the playoffs and played his best hockey of the season.
• Shane O'Brien's playoff honeymoon ended in a hurry on the first Blues goal. First he gave the puck to the Blues when the Canucks had possession, then he gambled and lost trying to intercept a pass and finally he failed to come back and pick up Brad Boyes. He also took a terrible cross checking penalty early in the game. O'Brien had a very strong series overall, but he needs to step up his game for round 2.
• Jannik Hansen had his best game since his injury. Every facet of his game was much better and he was within an inch of ending the game in overtime.
• The Blues may have caught a bad break on the disallowed goal, but they only have their power play to blame for losing this game and series. The Blues had a whopping 12:22 of PP time, almost 4 times as much as the Canucks.
• More to come later...