OOTS 11/12 playoff edition

[CaptainTrev]

First Anaheim, now LA.

Does this mean that "geography" is officially off our cop-out list?

[Aaronp18]

First Anaheim, now LA.

Does this mean that "geography" is officially off our cop-out list?

Nope, Vancouver is still north of the 49th.

[Arachnid]

I don't know where this LA team was all year, but they would have stomped Boston last year. This is one of the most dominating playoff performances I've ever seen. Not only is LA not going to lose another game... I don't think they're going to let in another goal. I'm finding this beatdown to be quite watchable, like a pack of wolves pulling down a deer.

I watched the OT in game 2, and LA was getting stomped in their own end. But...they were clutching, grabbing and interfering like a mofo, and not even twitch from the refs or linesmen. I saw at least 4 penalties in one 45 second shift. LA was not dominant at all in OT. If the rules were enforced, they'd have been in the box for about 90% of that OT.

You sound like a whiney Canuck fan...

[CaptainTrev]

First Anaheim, now LA.

Does this mean that "geography" is officially off our cop-out list?

Nope, Vancouver is still north of the 49th.

Is that you, Gallagher?

[KeyserSoze]

So the Kings have a chance to win the cup with a 16-2 playoff record.

This 16-2 would tie the 1988 Oilers for the best playoff record ever in a 16-win format

[Cousin Strawberry]

Here's to Willie Mitchell getting his name on the cup.
Too bad he was run out of Van like that...Grew up cheering for the Nucks and cant help to think he would've been a huge help to us when he plays like he has. I think he's around 6'3" and 220 Lbs...a big body with an active stick, always in position.
Not sure what he makes in LA but he probably would've signed for a bit less to stay a Nuck.

[Jovocop]

Here's to Willie Mitchell getting his name on the cup.
Too bad he was run out of Van like that...Grew up cheering for the Nucks and cant help to think he would've been a huge help to us when he plays like he has. I think he's around 6'3" and 220 Lbs...a big body with an active stick, always in position.
Not sure what he makes in LA but he probably would've signed for a bit less to stay a Nuck.

There are lots of what ifs:

1) if Malkin did not hit Mitchell from behind, Willie would not be concussed and missed that season.
2) if the League did not pretend to go with offense instead of clutch and grab, Gillis might want to extend Willie's contract.
3) if the League did more to prevent the headshots, Daniel would not be concussed and would have made a big difference in the first round.
4) if the League called penalties as they should in the playoffs, the Kings might not be in the finals or at least not as easy as they are right now.

The NHL is at least consistent with one thing, inconsistency.

[Blob Mckenzie]

The way Mitchell is playing right now is the same way he played pre-concussion.
I wonder if we had him instead of Ballard we could have beaten the Kings.

yes because Ballard was the reason Vancouver lost to LA.

He was in on the killing of the dead hookers with Pickton....he helped Donald Hay kidnap Abbie Drover and he likely started the Chicago Fire.

I'm going to blame the dumb fuck for the riots in 94 and 2011.

FUCK ME !!

[okcanuck]

The way Mitchell is playing right now is the same way he played pre-concussion.
I wonder if we had him instead of Ballard we could have beaten the Kings.

yes because Ballard was the reason Vancouver lost to LA.

He was in on the killing of the dead hookers with Pickton....he helped Donald Hay kidnap Abbie Drover and he likely started the Chicago Fire.

I'm going to blame the dumb fuck for the riots in 94 and 2011.

FUCK ME !!

I wasn't blaming Ballard for anything, I just think Mitchell is a big part of LA's success in the play-offs. Mitchell off the Kings and onto the Canucks might have tipped the scales in our favor .

[Arachnid]

The way Mitchell is playing right now is the same way he played pre-concussion.
I wonder if we had him instead of Ballard we could have beaten the Kings.

yes because Ballard was the reason Vancouver lost to LA.

He was in on the killing of the dead hookers with Pickton....he helped Donald Hay kidnap Abbie Drover and he likely started the Chicago Fire.

I'm going to blame the dumb fuck for the riots in 94 and 2011.

FUCK ME !!

Blobbers left nut just exploded

[Island Nucklehead]

I wasn't blaming Ballard for anything, I just think Mitchell is a big part of LA's success in the play-offs. Mitchell off the Kings and onto the Canucks might have tipped the scales in our favor .

I'd rather have Dustin Brown... we needed goals.

Willie has played well and it'll be nice to see him win it. I can't fault Gillis for moving away from him. If the game was called the way it's intended to be, Willie's footspeed would be a detriment. Clutch-and-grab-and-pick hockey is back, and slow d-men are allowed to prosper once again. Ultimately we offered him a deal based on his serious concussion, he turned it down. I'm over it.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Agree with I.N. 's opinion above. We needed a gamebreaker like Brown ( and still do) far more than a veteran D-man to kill penalties. The lack of forwards on this team to get that big goal and go to the greasy areas to get it are a huge issue for the Canucks moving forward.

I like Mitchell..........a lot. I would take him at 3- 3.5 million to anchor a 3rd pairing on the left side way before Keith Ballard. I think Ballard can play and he has clearly gotten a raw deal from the coaching staff in Vancouver. That said ,at 4.2 million he is being paid to be a top 4 D-man and he won't be one here as long as Edler and Hamhuis are here. It was a failure of the teams pro scouting that they didn't know that KB 4 was a mess on the right side. Some posters on this board would lead us to believe that the Canucks pro scouts are among the shittiest in the league and other posters on this board are so angry at the Ballard trade that they would like us to believe that Aaron Rome is a better player than Ballard. They would be wrong on both accounts as the Canucks pro scouting is about average and Ballard is twice the player Rome will ever be.

Back to the point ...... Ballard is overpaid on this team. Mitchell would look good anchoring a third pairing in Vancouver. Considering the lack of scoring and Alex Edler's garbage play , how anyone thinks swapping 5th defenceman changes the balance in that first round series is beyond me.

I would like to see Vancouver divest themselves of Keith Ballard this summer. I wasn't sorry to see the bag of shit that left for him other than the LATE 1st rounder. It was a gamble that didn't pay off and part of the reason is AV's hatred of the player in question. Ballard needs a fresh start and Vancouver needs a cheaper option on the bottom pairing.

[Meds]

Who care who could have been playing where.....

The bottom line is that regardless of who the Canucks didn't have, even if we had them there is no way we take St. Louis in 4 and Phoenix in 5. The Kings are simply lights out this year, they peaked as a team at the perfect time and they were given a HUGE confidence boost in the first 3 games against the back-to-back Presidents trophy winners and last year's SCF runner up.

[okcanuck]

Where do you get Mitchell as a 5th defenceman on the Canucks Blob . Clearly he would be top 3 with us. Ive watched most of the LA games and hes playing lights out, probably better than he ever played here.

[dbr]

I'd imagine playing in a front of a goaltender who can handle the puck is a huge boost for Willie, since teams that make him engage in foot races are the ones who exploit his weakness..