April 18, 2004

Back from the brink

Lobsterboy knew there was no time to lose. His team had just lost two of their top players to injury and now they were in danger of losing the game. So, with a five-goal cushion to play with, they threw defensive caution to the wind and forechecked hard in the offensive zone. The strategy almost backfired, as their lead dwindled to two, until Bird pounced on a bouncing ball to the side of a sprawling Gump and knocked it under his outstretched arm, pulling his team back from the brink, and sealing a dramatic 20-17 win.

"We knew we had to score the goals fast, because we were running out of steam," says the shelled shotstopper, who seemed to be suffering more than his mates, as he made a rare start as an offensive player.

"We had a feeling we could get something if we went hard on the forecheck and threw the ball at the net," says Bird, who helped spark his team to an early 5-1 lead when he teamed up with his linemates Kid and the Living Legend to score four straight goals on their first shift.

But the game that had seemed so in hand as his side nursed a 16-11 lead took a sudden dramatic turn when Pig Farming Goalie aggravated the injured knee that had kept him out of the lineup until last week. Stretching across the crease to cover against a wrap-around, he jammed his leg into the far post and then dropped to the concrete, writhing in pain.

As Lak Attack strapped on the goalie pads in relief, his side was dealt a further blow when Kid announced he'd wrenched his back on an earlier shift and couldn't continue.

"We were up five goals, but what can you do, injuries happen sometimes," says Pig Farming Goalie, who's likely lost for the rest of the season. "You just have to deal with it. When you face war of attrition, you've just got to buckle down."

"PFG was out, the Kid was out, we had to dig really really deep," says Lobsterboy.

Coming in cold, Lak Attack stopped the first shot he faced, then another and another. That seemed to give his mates the confidence they needed to charge deep into the offensive zone. Hoss battled the end boards, the Living Legend and Bird knocked down clearing passes and Lobsterboy clogged up the middle.

Sensing their opponent's defensive desperation, the underdogs tried to take advantage by sneaking players behind the collapsing coverage.

"Our guys started to get a lot more hungry," says Rudy, who used his speed to lead the charge up court. "I think one of us was always cheating up a bit to get the quick turnaround and try to get a break."

But more often than not, Lak Attack was equal to the task.

"I think we had a lot of confidence in Lak that he could stop anything," says Bird. "We gave up a lot of two-on-ones at the other end, so we had to count on him to stop them."

"He gave us confidence that his cat-like reflexes could keep us in the game," says Lobsterboy.

At least long enough to give Bird the opportunity to create havoc at the other end.

"It was either going to be him or Lobsterboy scoring on some sort of fluke," says Rudy, of Bird's gamewinner. "All they had to do was whack at it."

"We just threw everything at the net that we could, and just hope something would go in," says Bird.

"It was a victory of heart," says Lobsterboy.

Posted by jaysuburb at April 18, 2004 04:34 PM
Comments

The Newguy will miss Sundays game with a "body injury"

Posted by: NewGuy at April 24, 2004 06:24 PM

so while i was hoping to be there for the game to do the post game interviews, photos, and the recap story, i have an audition at 2 o'clock in richmond. so i can't be there. it's up to you, Wink...

Posted by: pfg at April 24, 2004 04:29 PM

I like pizza. Thoughts? Ideas? Impressions?

Posted by: Wink at April 24, 2004 10:46 AM

Actually he reminds me more of Gump Worsley there. And whats up with PFG? Maybe we should change his moniker to DCK.

Bummer dude, hope your knee isn't too bad.

Posted by: Unabomber at April 23, 2004 11:12 PM

Lobsterboy looks a little like Red Kelly in that picture!

Posted by: Living Legend at April 23, 2004 08:26 PM

Hey everyone,

We a playing ice hockey next Thursd....a........y
Ahhh Forget it.

Posted by: NewGuy at April 23, 2004 08:18 PM

Can someone please tell me how Lobster Boy's head got to be so big? I don't remember it being quite so large a couple of years ago. Look at this week's pictures to see what I mean.

Posted by: TheColonel at April 23, 2004 04:11 PM

Hey Legend,

How do you like those Burkie posts?

Isn't the free exchange awesome?

Posted by: PaulOne at April 23, 2004 02:01 PM

Obviously it was Cloutier's fault. We should package him together with Naslund (leaving for Sweden soon anyways), Bertuzzi (dumbest player in history - 20 penalties with the man advantage last year & perennial offsides), Morrison (up for a big arbitration award and then not worth the money), Jovo (too emotional a player and prone to giving it away in the defensive zone) and throw in Crawford for free (too bull-headed and can't get enough effort out of his players to win when it comes down to it). Then say goodbye to the most entertaining and effective GM the Canucks have ever had so that we can bring in Messier to start over. It would be so much better to miss the playoffs another 5 straight years in a rebuilding phase than be able to support a team that has a good chance to win every time they're on the ice ... don't ya' think?

Heck, you all might as well just move to Pittsburgh or Washington.

Posted by: TheColonel at April 23, 2004 12:35 PM

The Lame Duck & ownership are apparently meeting this weekend, if not today. We're doomed w/o Burkie Duck, doomed I tells yas!

Posted by: Unabomber at April 23, 2004 11:35 AM

oo! oo! oo! is that insider information you haf, Wink?

Posted by: pfg at April 22, 2004 10:39 PM

Burke is done.

Posted by: Wink at April 22, 2004 10:16 PM

I for one think that it should be a no-brainer to keep Burke but the world of pro-sports works on a logic all its own.

I think Wendel's version of events is accurate...probably harder to sell the team with a bunch of long-term managament contracts in place. Corporate chieftans like to sweep out the old and put their own people in place no matter how well things are going.

Posted by: Beetle Boy at April 22, 2004 06:32 PM

Keep Burke, fire Crawford. It's not the GM's fault that the players lack the will to win when it counts.

If the Canucks were a regular business, they'd be throwing huge bonuses at Burke for his marvelous job at turning the franchise around both on the ice and at the gate. McCaw's no dummy in business, so I'm puzzled why this is happening. Maybe he's on the verge of selling the team and the new owner wants a free hand in deciding who will be GM?

Another thought: with the impending lockout/ strike looming, isn't your GM more important than ever to manage contract negotiations and establish contingency plans for all the disruption possibilities?

Posted by: Wendel at April 22, 2004 01:55 PM

Legend,

It means that you got an online revolt on your hands. People are now using this forum as area for the free exchange of non-road hockey ideas and opinions.

Lobsterboy has even taken to swearing online. Shut it down! What kind of dictator are you anyway? Are you a lame duck?

Speaking of lame duck, do you guys think that Burke will be back. Do you want him back? I'd love to hear all your opinions on the matter.

Signed,

Inquiring Mind.

Posted by: PaulOne at April 22, 2004 11:58 AM

So, um, what does all this mean for me?

Posted by: Living Legend at April 21, 2004 01:17 PM

I dare to dream of a Calgary - Montreal Cup final. But not Toronto, they're a mediocre team being carried by a white-hot goalie. I hate Philly but for once I'm hoping they thump the Maple Laffs.

Posted by: Wendel at April 21, 2004 12:25 PM

Tabarnac Elvis--maudit Anglais, chien sale de calice... The Canucks deserved their fate, the Habs have done a shameful thing, but they have stepped up to the plate.

Posted by: lobsterboy at April 21, 2004 11:59 AM

Personally, Im torn. I could never cheer for Toronto...Period. -and that whole thing with Roberio acting like a complete ass and embarrassing the entire league as well as the 'I was just tapped in my hand by a stick -so Im gonna cough up the puck, skate into my own player and cost my team the game' Kovalev makes me sick to my stomache ...so I can't cheer for the Habs either. So now Im just gonna have to Although it hurts, I kinda have to say go Flames go and hope they dont drop 4 straight to a team we could've beat in our sleep.

Boo Hoo -Im still sad.

Posted by: Elvis at April 21, 2004 11:49 AM

Go habs. out of that series, i sort of didn't mind who won, although i was rooting more for the habs. And now that they have won, it's up to them to carry the canadian torch. Can't cheer for the flames--they put the nucks out, whether or not they deserved it. can't really cheer for the Leafs--they've done their job now, they put out those useless Sens. No other reason to cheer for them, really, although i don't mind them. But go Habs, for sure, eh?

Posted by: pfg at April 20, 2004 08:12 PM

You're not even really French-Canadian, are you Lobsterboy? It's just an act to get the chicks...

Posted by: Wink at April 20, 2004 06:57 PM

Hey Bird, sounds like they want to jump on our bandwagon now, go habs go!

Posted by: lobsterboy at April 20, 2004 03:04 PM

Yup, clearly the team with the greater will to win won the series. Give credit to Iginla and Coach Sutter for inspiring Calgary to success. When the Canucks turned the jets on they were turning the Flames inside-out. Problem was, they turned the jets on only maybe 10 - 12 minutes per game. Otherwise they coasted. The Flames on the other hand played their hearts out hurt and all. And I don't give a damn about Naslund's "hyper-extended elbow" crap, several of the brightest Flames out there probably should've been in the hospital not the hockey rink. Naslund's a great player but this team needs more passion and commitment. Personally I'd love to see a few more players with the intensity of Cooke, Ruutu, and Linden.

As for the reffing, usually I hate the reffing but I didn't think it was a critical factor this time. This was the Canucks' game to lose and they lost it.

Elvis, my take on the Jovo penalty: his third cross-check was to back of the other guy's neck, maybe too reminiscent of Bertuzzi's punch for the ref's liking.

Posted by: Wendel at April 20, 2004 01:40 PM

...You know I think theres a tonne of things you can point fingers at: Bad reffing being the biggest one. Who the fuck calls a penalty for a marginal cross-check in front of the net with 2 min. to go in the game. There was shit in this series being called that wasn't even called during the regular season for christ sakes!

Its called play-off hockey ...which by the way Naslund still needs to learn how to play. There wasn't one game in the whole series that he played with enough grit. I think he really just wanted to go back home to Sweeden and forget about the play-offs all together.

You look at the leadership Iginla provided and compare it to Naslund's contribution and its obvious who wanted it more.

Naslunds a great regular season player ...and probably one of the reasons we made the play-offs to begin with, but hes shit in the play-offs.

What a dissapointing post season.

-And yeah I hate Malik too. Hes got no business being on the team.

Posted by: Elvis at April 20, 2004 12:50 PM

Yep, the better team won this one. There seems to be an aura of arrogance w/ the Canucks...like they can just pull it out of their ass whenever the mood strikes them. Perhaps winning all those comeback games w/ late goals gave them a sense of false security...instead of the "experience" they thought it provided.

Posted by: Unabomber at April 20, 2004 10:18 AM

Legend, in the end I like those flags better than I like the team.

Anyone know where I can pickup a couple of the Habs version. Or how about, a collector, limited edition, vintage, RHI Stanley Stick flag. I think that would be way cool...

Posted by: PaulOne at April 20, 2004 10:14 AM

Bingo Wink, they barly moved their feet the entire series.

Posted by: Newguy at April 20, 2004 09:48 AM

Game should have never went OT, series should have never went to seven games. The Canucks got exactly what they deserved -- they didn't work hard enough to beat a team with half as much talent.

Posted by: Wink at April 20, 2004 08:22 AM

Just like a goalie, to blame the defenseman;-)

Posted by: Living Legend at April 20, 2004 08:16 AM

I'm sure there will be a lot of discussion as to the whys and what happened, but as far as i'm concerned, that final goal was almost entirely Marek Malik's fault. What the fuck was he doing? First he completely ignored the puck behind the net, letting it go by, as if playing a dummy move. except that it was simply a dumb move; it went right to a Flame. The canucks were shorthanded, for crying out loud! then he stumbles in front of the net and ineffectually waves his stick at the bouncing puck instead of picking up the loose guy--Gelinas--beside Auld. 3-2, Flames over Canucks. Assist goes to Marek Malik.

Posted by: pfg at April 19, 2004 11:54 PM

I guess Paul One has to take those frickin' flags off his car now...

Posted by: Living Legend at April 19, 2004 11:39 PM

Monday, April 19, 2004, 10:33 PM: stunning, completely stunning. And so we will wait another year.

Posted by: TheColonel at April 19, 2004 11:12 PM