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The team hits the road today for a 2 game California road trip.

This is the game that I'm worried about. After a great win against San Jose, we play the lowly Kings who have nothing to lose. Will we play to their level or will they just be another notch on Luongo's goalie stick?

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GO CANUCKS GO!

This team has been playing some good hockey and it's obvious the confidence is there. This is one of those should-win games. Good teams will usually put away teams below them in the standings. The kings are only 5 points out of a playoff spot, so I imagine they'll be playing better than spoilers.

4-2 Canucks.

Cornuck wrote:The team hits the road today for a 2 game California road trip.

The team hits the road with their mothers (or at least 13 of them).

My prediction: If there are any hockey moms from the Kings, there will be a fist fight in the stands between the hockey moms, with the decision going to Bieksa's mom. Afterwards there will be a lot of "well, she started it !!!".

I can't see the 'nucks not playing hard for this one. They are in front of their moms !! That has got to count for something.

I'm a little worried that the Canucks will play lackadaisical against a lower placed (albeit, playing well of late) Kings team. Let's hope they come out guns a blazin'!

GO CANUCKS GO!!!

Linden Is God wrote:I'm a little worried that the Canucks will play lackadaisical against a lower placed (albeit, playing well of late) Kings team. Let's hope they come out guns a blazin'!

GO CANUCKS GO!!!

You worry for good reason. The Canucks have a long history of losing to lesser teams after they get a victory on one of the leagues best.
5-2 Kings

Geez - this better be a 3rd period comeback!

Edit: Crap!

Special teams prove to be the undoing tonight. Several bad penaltys, most notably to Sundin leading to the game winner.
Not very many great chances on the PP. I don't see why Burrows doesn't get a chance on the PP over Wellwad.

woodhog wrote: Not very many great chances on the PP. I don't see why Burrows doesn't get a chance on the PP over Wellwad.

I can't understand that one either. Wellwood has done a whole lot of nothing recently...he looked only decent again tonight (I guess it's a good thing he was noticed?).

We did everything but score at the end, Dan with a shot right off the post...just one of those games. Lou can't let that first goal in, especially on their first shot after some good pressure by the Canucks.

Ya, bad goal on Lou but you can't pin the blame for the loss on him. Where is the offence from the second line? Sundin has to show up on the scoresheet besides his penalty. Pretty bad when Wellwood arguably outplays Mats.

No, I'm definately not pinning the loss on him. The PK let us down tonight for sure, Mats shoveling that last gasp wide hurt, and of course our parade to the box.

I'm just saying that those bad goals are what separate premiere goalies from good/great goalies... I'm sure he'll get back in the saddle, and it is comforting to see the boys play hard right until the end, it could have easily been a 4-3 Nucks win. Luckily our recent play has given us some breathing room to swallow games like these.

woodhog wrote:Ya, bad goal on Lou but you can't pin the blame for the loss on him.

Why not?

Why is is only wipping boys can take the blame? What I heard that bad goal took all out steam and gave it to la. Game over.

Luongo is at fault when he lets in goals like that, the reason he's heralded is because he doesn't do that. Of course everyone makes the occasional boo boo, but he hasn't quite gotten back to where he needs to be yet, numbers aside.

Two things need to improve if we're going anywhere - Luongo and the special teams.

Oh and staying healthy probably trumps both.

It's going to be tough for this team if we can't score more than 2 goals against only decent goalies like Quick.

Luongo is at fault for the goal, sure, but even if he would've got it that only makes it a 2-2 game. The PK was off, and more often than not if you lose the special teams battle you lose the game.

We're correct to assume that the reason Lou commands the big bucks is because he doesn't let many of those in, and in all honesty he's looked more like Gerber than Luongo for parts of this season. He'll be the first to say you CANNOT let the home team score on their first shot of the game and expect to win. Toucan is right, he'll have to be better because that goal in the playoffs will sink us.

We shouldn't lose many goaltending battles and we lost one last night.

Maybe we should just try to stay out of the box and try to maintain some momentum in games like last night's?

This team's firing on all cylinders, beats the Sharks, then takes a number of penalties and loses to the Kings. Luongo letting in one bad one (deflection?) shouldn't be the cause of the loss. Of course it doesn't help, really: 1 goal against the 'mighty' Kings?

Robert wrote:

woodhog wrote:Ya, bad goal on Lou but you can't pin the blame for the loss on him.

Why not?

Why is is only wipping boys can take the blame? What I heard that bad goal took all out steam and gave it to la. Game over.

Luongo let in one bad goal early in the first period. To say that this team is so fragile that they can't get over that is ridiculous. They've overcome far greater challenges this season. Many times they have had to come back against much better teams than L.A. and better goalies than Quick.
Did Luongo take 6 minor penaltys? Was it Luongo's fault that the Canucks couldn't score on 4 powerplays?
To blame Luongo for the loss is to excuse the poor PK and the pathetic PP.
Without any penaltys in the game they would have won 2-1 even with Louies bad goal.