Seventeen years to the day that Greg Adams scored to send the Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup final, Kevin Bieksa scores to send the Vancouver Canucks to the 2011 Stanley Cup final!
- I did not quite know what to do when the goal horn blasted to end the game. I was in this weird state of confusion and disbelief, cautiously wanting to celebrate but unsure if I should. The result was a bit of anti-climatic ending. But sometimes the ugliest goals are the most beautiful!
- Remember all those weird goals Nashville scored against Vancouver? The Canucks finally got a measure of payback with a couple of their own. Don’t forget, the overtime forcing goal with just 14 seconds came on an icing call that clearly never should have been called.
- San Jose were the stronger team for significant portions of the game. Undoubtedly, Roberto Luongo was the star of the game with 54 saves. San Jose outshot Vancouver 91-47 in the last 2 games.
- The Canucks played this double overtime game with basically just three lines for the entire game. Cody Hodgson played just 3:49, Tanner Glass 3:22 and Victor Orsekovich 4:18. You kind of got the feeling that the longer this game went on, the more likely the Sharks were going to win. Their 4th line played very well in this game.
- How concerned were you when Ryan Kesler hobbled off the ice with an apparent leg or groin injury? Vancouver’s key to success is their depth, but losing either Kesler or Henrik Sedin to injury would be an incredibly damning blow. Kesler will undoubtedly benefit from whatever rest he can get now.
- Kesler looked tender out there for the rest of regulation, but kudos to him for playing so hard, setting the tone and scoring the overtime forcing goal late in the game. And give credit where credit is due. Joe Thornton played like a warrior for San Jose
- And how about the Sedins, especially Henrik. This was his series. He was dominant. His 12 points (in just 5 games) equals Pavel Bure’s team record for most points in one playoff series.
- As much as my thoughts are with Luongo, the Sedins, Kesler and the current team, I also find myself thinking of a few others: Manny Malhotra and Mikael Samuelsson – lost for the season with injuries; Stan Smyl, Trevor Linden and Markus Naslund and all of the heroes of the past who never were able to hoist the Stanley Cup; and most importantly Luc Bourdon’s family. In this quest for hockey immortality, the Canucks play on to try to lift the Stanley Cup up all the way to the heavens so Luc Bourdon can touch it, too.
