Same Old Canucks

For 82 games, the Vancouver Canucks tried to prove to the hockey world they'd learned their lessons and had changed their ways.

Then, in the first game of the playoffs, the Canucks went out and seemed to prove only they're the same diving, head-snapping crew that collapsed against the Boston Bruins last spring and made them a detested hockey club in much of Canada and the hockey industry.

Indeed, after a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on the opening night of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Kings' official Twitter feed @LAKings seemed to rub it in and seize upon Vancouver's reputation by tweeting, "To everyone in Canada outside of B.C., you're welcome."

Nasty, and probably unwise bulletin board material.

But also true.

Vancouver's lousy performance was the biggest and boldest headline of the opening night of these playoffs, although a couple of other stories were noteworthy:

--The Pittsburgh Penguins blew a 3-0 lead and lost to Philly in OT 4-3 on a misplay by star defenceman Kris Letang. Key to the Flyer comeback was a badly blown, missed offside play that result in Philly's first goal and started the comeback.

--Daniel Sedin wasn't available to the Canucks, adding a new layer of controversy to the late-season hit by Chicago's Duncan Keith that ended Sedin's regular season and now is compromising his post-season. Keith received only a five-game suspension, returned to the Blackhawks lineup before the season was over and will be in the lineup when Chicago opens the playoffs in Phoenix.

NHL hanging judge Brendan Shanahan was way too lenient on Keith's cheapshot,and now the league is looking bad while Sedin deals with the very concussion issues the Bettman administration claims it is trying to deal with aggressively.

--There was an ugly moment at the end of Nashville's taut 3-2 series-opening win over Detroit. Predators defenceman Shea Weber, feeling he'd been illegally hit by Henrik Zetterburg, first punched Zetterberg in the back of the helmet then grabbed the Red Wing star and smashed his head into the glass.

With the NHL having backed off on tough supplementary discipline calls in recent months, few expect Weber to receive any extra penalty.

In sum, three games on opening night and lots of controversy and bad feelings all around. Good start to the second season.

In Vancouver, the Canucks dropped their fifth playoff game in their last six outings, and second straight on home ice, dating back to the Cup final against Boston.

Led by Mike Richards, the Kings pounded on the Western Conference winning Canucks and outplayed them by a wide margin. Vancouver, meanwhile, took a host of bad penalities, including a five-minute hitting-from-behind foul on winger Byron Bitz in the tradition of ex-Canuck Raffi Torres that knocked Kyle Clifford out of the game and could receive further scrutiny from league officials.

It was a night when the Canucks seemed to get back into the cheap histrionics that made them so disliked throughout the hockey industry last spring and led to their downfall. Ryan Kesler, as usual, led the way with some embarrassing dramatics, first getting away with an interference call on L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick on Vancouver's first goal, a play Kesler sold to the officials with one of his patented head snaps for effect.

The refs seemed to understand they'd missed one, and shortly thereafter Kesler was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for snowing Quick in his crease. Purely bush league stuff, the kind of things the Canucks weren't supposed to be doing anymore.

Later in the game, Kesler faked an elaborate tumble in the neutral zone that the officials ignored, then stuck his stick in Jarret Stoll's privates after the whistle.

No one seems to know why such a talented player gets involved in such nonsense, but Kesler made a strong statement on opening night that he intends to continue to try and get away with the same garbage that didn't work last spring against the Bruins. By the third, Alex Burrows and Henrik Sedin were diving again to try and draw penalties. The Kings, meanwhile, just played through it, with Richards delivering the punctuation mark on the night with a devastating open ice hit on Burrows.

Dustin Penner, he of the pancake injury, potted the winner late in the third to snap a 2-2 tie.

For Vancouver, all those penalties and all that nonsense was a big surprise. Unless the Canucks knock it off and fast, this could be a brief Stanley Cup playoff appearance rather than the beginning of another long spring run.

 

 

Comments

[Jordan]

Though you make many valid points, you are obviously a disgruntle leafs fan attempting to bring down the Canucks via this piece. Everybody knows the Canucks horribly under performed in the Cup Finals last year. Most of that collapse fell on the shoulders of Roberto Luongo, who was great last night, posting a .921 save percentage. The story of the game was Richards and Quick, not the impact of the 2011 Bruins. Not to the mention the Stanley Cup champion Bruins dropped their first playoffs games last year against the Canadiens in very bad fashion being outscored 5-1 over those games.

I don't expect the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup in 16-0 straight games, nor do I expect them to lose this series to the LA Kings. Also, attempting to call the Canucks a team full of dirty players who are out there diving is just flat out misleading. You fail to mention any positives for the Canucks, making it seem like they fielded a team comprised of 16 year old kids who had just missed selection into the CHL draft.

It was only one game.

We have faith - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38r0jquwOY0

[d,kj]

VANCOUVER CHOKES EVERY SINGLE YEAR. DON'T EXPECT MUCH FROM THIS TEAM.

[nathan]

I tend to agree with much of the first comment.
"Same Old Canucks" sounds like sour grapes from someone who's been having to make up playoff material for seven years, came up with a choice bit last year (that of the diving, whining Canucks) and is planning on riding it hard again this year.
As someone who has spent the past twenty years living in Vancouver and Toronto, I'm of the opinion that the majority of our national discord (more than any political disagreement) comes down to the ignorance/arrogance of Leaf fans and media. As the years have passed, typical Leaf fans have actually turned into decent (if not, self-deprecating), enjoyable people. Too bad the media persists in their pre-lockout ignorance/arrogance.

[Plow Queen]

Man, Cox isn't a Leafs fan. You obviously don't read his stuff often enough.

[rmudder]

I think the Canucks are getting ready for the Summer Olympics. Never seen so many dives before. They must be going for Gold this summer.

[Tom]

Re: "we have faith". Clearly we have another Canucks fan that has his head in the sand. The article by Mr Cox was about the Canucks tactics that generally annoy knowlegeable hockey fans; primarily outside of BC. His comments were not from "another disgruntled Leafs fan". That was a feeble effort to point a finger elsewhere and "take a shot". (a poor shot at best). Damien could not be more correct in his assessment of the Canucks efforts last night and in the past. Really makes me wonder how blind Canucks fans are to this. Take note of the tactics displayed in the last nights game by Lapierre, Kessler, Burrows, Bieksa, etc. Watch the replay. Any true hockey fan can readily see the nonsense; why can't Canucks fans? The constant Diving, "snow showers", head snapping, late hits, boarding, etc, is capped off with "a swagger of arrogance". Wake up and see the reality Canucks fans. Good article Damien. Thanks for cutting to the chase.
Sincerely, Tom. A Detroit Red Wings fan - a team with class.

[P. Diddy Dog]

"NHL hanging judge Brendan Shanahan was way too lenient on Keith's cheapshot,and now the league is looking bad while Sedin deals with the very concussion issues the Bettman administration claims it is trying to deal with aggressively."

...and you prove to be a typical biased jounalist by making this statement. The fact is, Daniel could have been back 2 games later, you don't know with concussions. Suspensions aren't based on the length of injury or one could claim almost every other suspension is also "way too lenient". Keith was a first time offender and despite the fact Daniel is injured received the right penalty for the crime in my opinion. No one outside of Vancouver thinks the league is looking bad on this suspension, just media like yourself overhyping things as usual. The simple fact is that some players react differently to injury than others. By your own logic, Todd Bertuzzi should never have played another game of hockey. Just sayin..

[Bill]

Your observations on last nights game was spot on. Vancouver has to stop the theatrics.

[Gord Hillier]

Damien, you and the rest of Canada are terribly poor sports. Last nights game, Vancouver certainly took a couple cheap shots, but to say they dove and threw their heads back in a game where the officiating was so clearly one sided in LA's favour is laughable. To me all the disdain towards the Canucks reminds me of all the people calling Sidney a whiner. I guess when you win a lot, the rest of the school kids have to whine and call the winners the whiners. Your childish writing on one of Canada's only two teams to have success this year is disgraceful.

[DS]

Jordan, the way Ryan Kessler acts is a disgrace to the game of hockey. But just keep thinking that everyone hates the Canucks because they are from Vancouver. You just re-enforce people's perceptions of the city as a bunch of whining, self-centered, condescending dolts.

[Braco]

"There was an ugly moment", you sound more and more like NHL.Intent to breake someones neck is "ugly moment" that got one line in your article.Do you people in hockey have any brains!Do you understand that for this kind of behaviour in other sports and culture Webber would be dead meat.HE WANTED TO BREAK ZETTERBERGS NECK, THAT IS INTENT TO KILL, NOT "UGLY MOMENT"!

[CS]

Just FYI, not EVERYONE in BC loves the Canucks. The sooner they're out of the playoffs, the easier it will be to live around here.

[Cheech]

Couldn't agree more.

Every year when my Leafs are eliminated I try to get behind the Canucks to bring the Cup back to Canada, and every year their gutless game of cheap shots and european soccer dives leads me to cheer for the team they're playing. Sad. Hopefully the fans show a little more class this year when they exit.

[Green 37]

I think the more time that passes, the Canucks will challenge the Broad Street Bullies as the most hated team of all time. The difference being the Flyers actually won something (twice). But honestly, this team embodies and actually replicates the character of their GM. Gillis was a rat when he played and when he was done aggrivating fellow GM's during his agent days, he went behind Dave Nonis' back to steal his job from him. You think Burke has no friends ?
Gillis could fit his fan club in a phonebooth. I'm hoping LA can pull this off but admittedly the task is large. More important than the win last night was that LA was not distracted by the Mark Spitz expo last night. Maybe, just maybe, the Refs in this league have seen enough from the most hated team in sports.

[Chris S.]

I think it is hilarious people are dumping on Damien for being a disgruntled Leafs Fan. That's like saying Fidel Castro is the free market's greatest champion.

That said, I do feel a bias towards Vancouver in this blog. I admit I did not watch the entire game, but I saw plenty of cheap moves by L.A. Hits from behind, where the hitter's feet left the ice. Retaliations after the whistle, goaltender interference AND Quick chopping the legs of players. I loved it when Eddie did it for the Leafs, but i recognize it is cheap.

As I get older I don't think I enjoy this kind of hockey anymore. I like it when teams play hard and with edge, but what i am seeing is mostly cheap shots. The League is 99% at fault for terrible enforcement. They should bring in celebrity refs for all the professionalism being shown by the Zebras.

[Garry]

"Predators defenceman Shea Weber, feeling he'd been illegally hit by Henrik Zetterburg, first punched Zetterberg in the back of the helmet then grabbed the Red Wing star and smashed his head into the glass" Damien, since you're the sports writer, did Zetterburg illegally hit Weber or not? A lot is made of the relaliation (hit on Sedin fits here as well) but not so much on whether is was provoked by a previously unpenalized foul. Depanding on what Zetterburg did, he well have deserved a roughing up.

[O'Malley]

Yay for Dustin Penner. Poor guy gets dumped on all the time, had a terrible season, but he scores a winning goal in the playoffs - he's showing up when it counts (for one game anyway).

[Christina]

@Jordan I don't get it. If Damien Cox made 'many valid points', what does it matter if he is a Leafs fan, disgruntled or not? Is not the point of writing a story to make valid points and back them up?

[Drew M]

People, it's the playoffs! PLAYOFFS. What's with all these references to the Leafs. We're talking PLAYOFFS. P-L-A-Y-O-F-F-S. Leafs shouldn't even be a part of the conversation.'

Now back to the Nucks game - I guess with the London games not too far away, Kesler and crew are just practising for the diving event. What a disgrace to the game of hockey.

[Fair And Not Square]

I don't care if Damienne is a leafs fan or not, he's serving leafs fans. How stuoid are you people.
I hope this article of journalistic drizzle makes the leafs fans feel better about themselves. I'm assuming that's what he was trying to do here. It's easy to hate a team that does better than the leafs year after year (should I mention 1994?) which really isn't that difficult come to think of it. I mean, the last time they were even invited to the playoffs was 2004. 2004!! lol!
Yes, some of the Kesler antics were a little off base but to start in on Burrows and Sedin is a bit much. I don't recall either of them "diving". Perhaps you were listening to the fourth-stringer CBC announcers that are in love with anything not Vancouver.
It must be very hard to deal with the fact that the Ottawa Senators, a team chosen to finish 15th in the east, are in the playoffs representing Ontario AGAIN and the sad little old leafs nation continues to play golf and watch their ball team fail again. Maybe the Raptors...oh wait! FC...oh wait! Argos...LOL! OOOPS!!!

[Chris]

So Damien, it's ok for Mike Richards to spear Roberto Luongo in the throat after a whistle or slew foot Alex Burrows because...? Oh yeah, you didn't mention any of those incidents. As a Canucks fan, I agree Kesler was embarrassing last night. But Quick was well outside the blue paint. Just because the ridiculous Kevin Weekes said it was interference, doesn't make it so. Watch the replay again. The Kings are full of cheap shot artists and fakers too. If you opened your eyes for a minute, you'd see that.

[Shaun]

LOL @ The Canuck fans who think their team doesn't dive. Next game take off your rose colored glasses and watch the game. I know most Canuck fans have little to no hockey knowledge and rioting is their way but seriously watch some hockey and learn how it should be played. This isn't soccer and the Canucks aren't trying to qualify for the FIFA World Cup...no matter how hard they try. Pathetic display.

[hoofheartz]

Good article Cox. Someone have a little bit of cheese for the Canuck fans whine? Finally, Kings 4 Canucks 2. 1 down, 3 to go. ABC

[Paul G]

You know, I'm really tired of all this anti-Canuck bias and commentary, particularly from the supposedly national media (that's a laugh).

Whether or not the Canucks succeed in this year's playoffs- and they will certainly get past the Kings - the truth is that the Canadian Hockey Center of Gravity has now shifted to the West Coast and most of the Toronto-centric "national" media voices can't stand it at the very core of their being (whether they are originally from Toronto or not). Ken Hitchcock got it right.

Hey Damian, before you comment on diving, interference and snow showers, you should check you own bias at the door. I realize this is a blog, but venting your own personal frustrations at the expense of one Canadian team doesn't befit someone who has a national media presence and is seen and heard by hockey fans across the country, including in Vancouver, Canada's third largest city. Actually it's kind of repugnant and disgraceful.

You know, most people in BC don't like to hear local Vancouver media going off on other teams. So when you hear national media feeding at the trough of this low-brow kind of sensationalism, in order to appeal to the more emotionally charged and intellectually challenged masses, it's kind of shocking really.

But still, we all know here in BC that you Eastern folks are jealous of everything we have here in Vancouver, including our hockey team. A few minor flaws in an otherwise great team exposes this undeniable, but naked fact.

By the way, what about Richard's spear on Luongo? Wasn't that dirty, or was that just gamesmanship? Presumably Luongo embellished that too but jumping back out of the way. Yeah, yeah, that's right, I hear you saying. Well, best of luck with your personal frustrations and your bias.

[johnny]

there is much more of the behaviour displayed by the Canucks that is rampant in the NHL. in my view, it is unfair to target the Canucks. in fact, it is a little trite to do so.

i used to think it was only people in the west that had vitriol for those in the east...sadly, it is actually the other way around. perhaps people in Vancouver are correctly defensive and hostile to those outside of BC.

personally, it does not matter to me. i do not like goon it up hockey and that is what the playoffs have become.