Some quick notes before a pivotal game 4...
- The Canucks penalty kill has been beyond terrible in this series. The PK is at the point where they may as well just concede a goal and save themselves the 2:00 off the clock. Vancouver absolutely needs to be better on the PK or they are done, simple as that.
- And the guy who can help the PK get it done is Roberto Luongo. Just when I thought Luongo had turned a corner he comes up with another brutal performance. That fourth goal, no matter how poor a play it was by Wellwood, is inexcusable from the supposed leader of the team. I don't want to see Luongo take one look or have one conversation with an official. Focus on the puck and stop the puck.
- The Canucks power play was just as bad as the PK. Christian Ehrhoff was awful and showed none of the strong play we saw in the regular season. He handled the puck like a grenade and could not handle the pressure.
- As strong as Wellwood has played down the stretch and even in the first two games of this series, the fact that the Canucks have a 3rd line centre who does not produce offensively and cannot kill penalties is really hurting then right now.
Finally the disallowed goal... The best part about the NHL replay system is it's consistency. Whatever game you are watching when you see a goal reviewed the vast majority of the time you know what the call is going to be. In the past they have always been consistent - the puck might be across the line but if you can't see it on video it's not a goal etc. etc. - that's why this decision is so aggravating to Canuck fans. This same play has been called a goal over and over and over, that was until Monday. The fact that the decision overturned the on-ice call, favoured a large US market team and was made by an ex-King, and now has Colin Campbell claiming he actually made the decision even though it was pretty clear it wasn't his decision (yes the same guy who supposedly "investigated" the Burrows-Auger incident) - well it really brings into question the credibility of those involved.
The Canucks are behind in this series because they haven't played well enough, but it's hard to ignore the fact that they have had two calls go against them even though those calls directly conflict with the language in the official rule book. The explanation of the Sedin non-goal was ridiculous. It's debatable whether Sedin even saw the puck come off Burrows' stick let alone attempted to kick the puck. But I guess by slowing the replays down enough and by looking at all the angles Mike Murphy somehow managed to get inside Daniel Sedin's head and determined that yes he intentionally kicked the puck in.
But hey it must have been the right call right? Otherwise why would you have to take the unprecedented step of having to go on hockey night in canada to defend a video review call immediately after the game?
