Wait!!! Why Didn't Pat Burns Make It to the Hall of Fame???

Burns winning the cup in '03

It isn't rare for someone to be passed over in the decision for Hall of Fame classes. Die hard fans of the team the player played for, or fans of the player himself for that matter, rally together against the board of inductees for an explanation.

Pat Burns enjoyed a fantastic career and a great life. He began his NHL coaching career in 1988 where he coached the Montreal Canadiens. His first season coaching, the Canadiens finished first in the division, made it to the Stanley Cup Finals AND won the Jack Adams award as the league's top coach. All this in his first year of coaching.
He coached in Montreal for the next three years, each time losing in the second round of the playoffs.

In 1992, he coached the Toronto Maple Leafs. He coached there for 4 years and showed consistency again; making the playoffs each year, getting to the third round a couple of times.

In 1997 he went to the Boston Bruins where he coached for another 4 seasons. He managed to make the playoffs in 3 of those seasons.

In 2002 he was signed by the New Jersey Devils. In that season he coached the Devils to their 3rd cup in 8 years. The next season he made the playoffs but was eliminated in the first round.

Pat Burns made the playoffs 11 times in his seasons 14 of coaching (in 1996 and in 2001 he had shortened seasons because he was fired.) In all, he had a 501-353-151-14 record. This was with 4 different teams showing how consistent he made his players throughout the course of his career.

These numbers alone (including the Stanley Cup and the 3 Jack Adams awards) should qualify for him to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

But the past 2 years he has been snubbed by the committee leaving him outside looking in. In hockey it isn't rare for a coach or an owner or GM to be placed in the Hall of Fame. As a matter of fact, the last Hall of Fame Class without a builder (aka a GM or coach) was way back in 1981. Bill Hay, Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame, at first said it was "confidential" and he couldn't give the reasoning as to why Burns wasn't elected this year. He later said "It's always been the Hockey Hall of Fame and not the NHL Hall of Fame" meaning that Pat Burns' career directly affected the NHL rather than the sport of hockey itself. But with that saying, then explain how builders have been placed in the HOF for the past 30 years!

Not only are almost all hockey fans pulling for Pat to eventually be put in the Hall of Fame, but the players are also. This year Hall of Fame Class member Joe Nieuwendyk (who played for Burns in 2003) said "He was a Hall of Famer in my mind." Fellow 2011 Class member Doug Gilmour (who played for Burns when he was with the Maple Leafs) added "With Joe and the relationship I had with Pat, we'd love to see him in there one day and we know he will be."

Pat Burns was always categorized as a tough coach to play for. If the team was doing okay and winning he was a fun guy to be around but as Scott Gomez put it in 2003 "If we ever lost a couple of games in a row, he'd be a guy we'd like to avoid."
But this type of tough-love was one of the reasons why Pat Burns was such a great coach. He made sure his team would succeed by making them hate to lose. And he did just that through his 14 years of coaching NHL hockey.


Burns had to give up coaching the Devils after the 2004 season when he was diagnosed with Colon cancer. He continued working for the Devils though as a "special assignments" coach. After a long fight, Burns beat out the cancer but only to be diagnosed with another cancer, Liver Cancer, in 2005. He was able to beat this cancer as well but the fight took him away from hockey entirely.
In 2009 he was diagnosed with a third cancer, this time in his Lungs. The prognosis wasn't good and Burns in an interview in early 2010 said "I know my life is nearing its end and I accept that." They planned to build a youth hockey arena in his home town of Stanstead, Quebec in his honour and the arena should be completed sometime this year.

Pat past away this past November. Many players, coaches, and executives went to the funeral to pay respects. I can literally list players right now but it would go on forever. Players who knew him closely, and even players who never knew him, went to the funeral. It was a sad day for hockey (I was sad that day as well being that I was a big Devil fan 2003 when they won the cup). Burns was 58 years old when he died.

people line up to enter the funeral

Now here's the controversy. You'd think that they'd put such a great coach into the Hall of Fame. But now that the person is dead, wouldn't you think a nice tribute would be to put him into the Hall of Fame as soon as possible? Wouldn't that be the right thing to do in this case.
Analysts assumed that they omitted him this year because "it'd look like they'd put him in just because he died tragically rather than because of what he contributed to the sport."
As good of a point that may be, I'd still say that it'd have been the right thing to put him in this year. I think the longer they push off not putting him in, the worse it'll look.

So the NHL missed 2 opportunities to put him into the Hall of Fame. How many more years are they going to delay to honour this great individual? Because we are ALL waiting

Even MORE Transactions

Yes. Deals are still being made.

-Dwayne Roloson signs with Tampa for another year.
-Paul Kariya and Todd Marchant both retire.
-Washington goaltender Semyon Varlamov decides to go to the Russian KHL.
-Max Talbot has his rights traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Penguins.
-The Penguins reportedly offered Jaromir Jagr a contract but he hasn't made up his mind yet.
-The New York Islanders, 1 day after trading for Christian Ehrhoff's negotiating rights, trades them to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a draft pick.
-The Penguins announce they signed Arron Asham to a 1 year deal.
-The Sabres traded negotiating rights of defenseman Steve Montador to Chicago for a draft pick.
-The NHLPA filed an officiala grievance over an improper filing of qualifying offers by Nashville to Sergei Kostitsyn, Matt Halischuk, Nick Spaling, Cal O'Reilly, and 3 minor league players.
-The Colorado Avalanche resign forward David Jones to a 1 year deal.
-The Blue Jackets traded for negotiating rights to defenseman James Wisniewski from the Montreal Canadiens with a draft pick.
-The St. Louis Blues resign T.J. Oshie for a 1 year deal.
-The New York Rangers bought out Chris Drury.
-The Wild put Cam Barker on unconditional waivers for purposes of a buyout.
-The Oilers put Sheldon Souray on unconditional waivers for purposes of a buyout.
-The Blue Jackets put Mike Commodore on unconditional waivers for purposes of a buyout.

2011 NHL Hall of Fame Class

Today the 2011 Hall of Fame class was announced in the NHL. Here they are:

Ed Belfour, Goalie, 1988-2007 (17 seasons, 963 Games Playead), (Blackhawks, Sharks, Stars, Maple Leafs)
Regular Season: 484 W, 320 L, 125 T, 14 OTL, 76 Shutouts, 2.50 GAA, .906 SV%
Playoffs: 88 W, 68 L, 14 Shutouts, 2.17 GAA, .920 SV%
4 Time Jennings Trophy Winner (on team with least goals given up in the league), 1 Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year), 2 Time Vezina Trophy Winner (Best Goalie), 6 All-Star Game Appearances.
Won 1 Stanley Cup


Doug Gilmour, Center, 1983-2003 (20 seasons, 1,474 Games Played), (Blues, Flames, Maple Leafs, Devils, Blackhawks, Sabres, Canadiens)
Regular Season: 450 G, 964 A, 1,414 P
Playoffs: 60 G, 128 A, 188 P
1 Time Selke Trophy Winner (best defensive forward), 2 All-Star Appearances.
Won 1 Stanley Cup


Mark Howe, Defense, 1979-1996 (16 seasons, 929 Games Played), (Whalers, Flyers, Red Wings)
Regular Season: 197 G, 545 A, 742 P
Playoffs: 10 G, 51 A, 61 P
1 Time +/- Award Winner (player with best +/- rating), 4 All-Star Appearances.
Won 0 Stanley Cups


Joe Nieuwendyk, Center, 1986-2007 (21 seasons, 1,257 Games Played), (Flames, Stars, Devils, Maple Leafs, Panthers)
Regular Season: 564 G, 562 A, 1,126 P
Playoffs: 66 G, 50 A, 116 P
1 Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year), 1 Time King Clancy Trophy Winner (best leadership on and off the ice), 4 All-Star Appearances.
Won 3 Stanley Cups (Conn Smythe Winner for playoff MVP in 1999)


All of these players raised the bar in the sport. Belfour has the 3rd most wins in NHL history and is highly regarded as one of the best. Doug Gilmour has left his mark on the NHL through consistency. He's played for 7 teams and has excelled in each location. He's considered one of the best Maple Leaf players of all time. Mark Howe, brother of hockey legend Gordie Howe, has been overshadowed for much of his life but still is thought to be right up their with the best. And Joe Nieuwendyk has had a fantastic career including an impressive 3 Stanley Cups. His ability to score is truly remarkable as was his dedication to the sport.

Unfortunately, there are a maximum 4 players inducted each year. Therefore, there are still a few greats that were left out of the Hall of Fame this time around. Guys like Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros, and Adam Oates, will once again sit out of the Hall of Fame for at least another season.

Busy Week in the NHL Does Continue (and will continue); Jagr Watch

A large handful of signings and trades have been made this past week changing many teams. I've posted a few days ago some of the notes from the beginning of the week and according to several sources, teams are not done yet and we are in for even more deals.

-The Vancouver Canucks resigned defenseman Kevin Bieksa to a 5 year contract.
-The Minnesota Wild received forward Darroll Powe from the Philadelphia Flyers for a draft pick.
-The Florida Panthers traded a draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for RW Tomas Kopecky.
-The Washington Capitals resigned forward Brooks Laich to a 6 year deal.
-New York Islanders received negotiating rights to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff from the Canucks for a draft pick (this means that the ball is in the Islanders' court whether they want to sign him or not).
-The Carolina Hurricanes resigned defenseman Joni Pitkanen to a 3 year contract.
-The Nashville Predators opt to not sign forward Steve Sullivan.
-The Tampa Bay Lightning resigned defenseman Bruno Gervais to a 1 year deal.
-The Boston Bruins are looking to trade away the negotiating rights to defenseman Tomas Kaberle (similar to what the Canucks did with Ehrhoff).
-The Tampa Bay Lightning resign defenseman Adam Hall to a 1 year deal.
-The Buffalo Sabres have resigned forward Nathan Gerbe to a multi-year deal.
-The Carolina Hurricanes resigned Chad Larose.
-Jaromir Jagr, former NHL star who recently went to the Russian KHL, is making his decision TODAYabout where he will go. The options are the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Detroit Red Wings, or back to the KHL. Many people believe that he's going to end up in Pittsburgh.

NHL Draft; More Blockbuster Trades and Signings

note: due to my busy schedule, I haven't been able to post for a while. I apologize.

Well the NHL draft was this past Friday, and while the draft class may have been short on superstars and marketable players, it was still an above average class. There weren't explosive players in the draft like Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin, there were still many players who could get the job done. With any first round pick this year, you know you were getting an extremely formidable player (that is unless you are a New York Rangers fan). 

The Edmonton Oilers had the first pick overall (again) and this year chose the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from the WHL. Nugent-Hopkins was one of the best offenseman in this year's class and he's had 177 points in his 141 career games for the Red Deer Rebels. The Canadian left-hander also won the 2009-2010 WHL rookie of the year award.

With the next pick, the Colorado Avalanche selected Swedish forward Gabriel Landeskog. Gabriel is another player with major upside and can get the job for the Avs. In his 7 games of playing for Sweden in the World Junior Classic, he has totaled an impressive 5 goals and 1 assist.

Then came the Florida Panthers who used their pick to draft. He seems like another good forward. He's played for the QAAA and the QMJHL (good luck trying to figure out what those are) and has scored a fantastic 190 points in 171 games (78 goals, 112 assists). He looks like he'll be good in the NHL and might help out the Panthers who were 27th in the league in scoring.

The New Jersey Devils won the Draft Lottery and that gave them the 4th pick. They used it on highly respected defenseman Adam Larsson. The big Swedish defenseman was regarded as the top defensive prospect. He is a shut down defenseman with an offensive plus side. He's been compared to Scott Neidermayer a countless number of times. He's 18 years old and has already won a silver medal IIHF U18 Championship and a bronze medal in the World Juniors Champmionship.

The New York Islanders then picked Ryan Strome. Strome is a solid offenseman. There's not much on him but here's his wikipedia page.

-Canada supplied the most players in the first round of the draft. 15 Canadiens were selected with the first 30 picks. Another 6 players were Swedish. There were 5 U.S. bourn players as well.

-There was a Blockbuster trade involving the Florida Panthers and the Chicago Blackhawks. Former Blackhawk GM, Dale Tallon (now GM of the Panthers), convinced 32 year old defenseman Brian Campbell that the Panthers would be a good fit for him. This deal sent skilled forward Rostislav Olesz to Chicago. 

-The Calgary Flames resigned Alex Tanguay for another 5 years.

-The San Jose' Sharks traded away Devin Setoguchi to the Minnesota Wild for Brent Burns and a draft pick. Setoguchi has been great for the Sharks the past few years and Burns is a very talented defenseman.

-The Washington Capitals received skilled forward Troy Brouwer from the Chicago Blackhawks for a first round pick.

-The Toronto Maple Leafs traded a draft pick to the Colorado Avalanche and received a good defenseman in return. They got John-Michael Liles.

-The Edmonton Oilers got Ryan Smyth back from the Los Angeles Kings after losing Smyth back in 2007. Smyth was a long time Oiler before that and is happy to be back. In return, the Kings got Colin Fraser and a draft pick.

Winnipeg Team officially named

While it was announced earlier this week that the Winnipeg hockey team will be named right before their pick in the NHL draft (they have the 7th pick), word got around today that their name will once again be the Winnipeg Jets. Other options were Manitoba Moose, Winnipeg Jets/Warriors/Falcons. I think the Jets was the right idea. While fans in Winnipeg would have been fine with ANY NHL team, what they really wanted was to have their Winnipeg Jets back.

I wish them the best.

Busy/Odd Day For the Flyers; NHL notes

The Philadelphia Flyers, for the past 10 years, have had 6 different starting goalies. Their principle of, "any goalie works with a good team" has been with the team for quite a while now and it appears that things are changing starting today.

For the past few days, there have been talks that the Flyers were going to overpay a good goalie to play for them. They've been talking to Ilya Bryzgalov, goalie for the Phoenix Coyotes who wanted out. So today, in the morning, they announced that they were trading Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jakub Voracek, a 1st round pick, and a 3rd round pick. Carter had a great season this year and finished 7th in the league in goals. Carter is also 26, a pretty young guy.
Then the Flyers made another move. They traded their captain, Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings for Brayden Schenn, tough guy Wayne Simmonds, and a draft pick. Richards had an okay season for Philly with a solid 66 points.
And of course, a little bit after these 2 signings, the Flyers announced they signed Ilya Bryzgalov for 9 years and $51 million. So the Flyers are looking for a complete change. They had another great year this season but once again flubbed away in the playoffs because of their lack of stable goaltending. So it's possible that the first 2 trades were to make more room for the big signing (cap limit was just recently raised to $64 million by the way). But this move might come back to hurt the Flyers. They lost 2 big weapons including their captain and they're going to have to regain the depth that they had this year.

From another vantage point, however, the Kings just got a veteran who can shape their team this year a little more. And for the Blue Jackets, they now have a dynamic duo of Rick Nash and Jeff Carter. Combined in the last 3 seasons, they have 287 goals. Keep an eye on Columbus this season.

Just a few other news from hockey:
-Montreal Canadiens have resigned defenseman Andrei Markov for 3 years. Markov is already 32 and has a history of injuries and only played 7 games last year BECAUSE of injury.
-The San Jose' Sharks resigned Devin Setoguchi to a 3 year deal. Seto has been amazing for the Sharks for the last few years and Shark fans should be happy they locked him up.
-The official schedule has been set up for the 2011-2012 NHL season. The first game for the Winnipeg team (who will most likely be named this weekend! http://winnipeg.nhl.com/) will be at home against the Montreal Canadiens. The Winnipeg team will play the Phoenix Coyotes (the team that barely avoided the same fate as the Thrashers) TWICE. Once at home, once on the road. The Bruins are playing the Canucks once this year, in Boston. And to find out your teams schedule look it up on their home page.

Riot In Vancouver

Flashback to 1994. The Vancouver Canucks are in the Stanley Cup Finals. They're playing the New York Rangers and well, we remember what happened...

So how did the city of Vancouver react to this devastating loss? Well they rioted.

So this year, before game 7, I depicted here that this American Apparel shop was boarding up the windows in case of a riot whether they won or lost. They were right.

Yes there was a riot last night. And my oh my what a riot it was. Pictures can be seen in this Puck Daddy Blog, this facebook page, and this NBC slideshow.

Now people have been discriminating the Canucks and their fans for this terrible thing to do. And their right. This is complete childish behavior to the situation and it is very dangerous. It is unacceptable for fans of our sport to act like this. It shows the rest of the world how stupid we are.

Now granted not ALL Canuck fans were there. Many Canuck fans publicly said they were upset with this behavior and they want people to know that it's not all the Canuck fans. Just some lunatics. But the problem was, there were A TON of lunatics last night in British Columbia.

Stores were looted, cars were destroyed, stuff was lit on fire, fights broke out. Anything bad about a riot pretty much happened last night in Vancouver. Now look at some videos but use your discretion. Stupid people doing dangerous things. Don't try this at home.

And one last picture and I'm done talking about this:

at least HIS team won the Cup

Game 7 Memories

A memorable game through and through. Let's start with the ever so chilling, Vancouver Pre-Game Intro:

One of my favorite moments of the game. Mason Raymond, who was severely injured with a compressed vertebrae fracture, was in attendance with a giant back brace. It almost brought me to tears when the camera went to him:

Fact: There's nothing more magical than a home team announcer calling the team winning the Stanley Cup. Especially if that team hasn't won in over 35 years. The official call of the team winning isn't until the end of the video but you might want to just see how Dave Goucher, Boston announcer, handled himself throughout such a crazy game.

Another Fact: An aspect in hockey, that is unparalleled in any other sport, is the excitement when the Stanley Cup is one. Perhaps the only thing that comes close to this level of pure excitement is in college basketball when an upset is made and the home team fans storm the court. But in hockey, when a team wins the Stanley Cup, over 20 men, who play in the sport deemed by many to be the toughest, jump onto the ice, litter their equipment everywhere, jump with excitement and shed tears of joy. In every other sport, there are more than 1 trophy. In hockey there is only 1 Stanley Cup. And that's what makes winning it all the more exciting. When the players are given a few seconds to skate around the rink hoisting the cup high above their heads, and do what they've dreamed of ever since they were a child. Here is the Boston Bruins doing the above.

Did I mention Tim Thomas won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP?

Now another great aspect of hockey. In NO other sport do teams congratulate on another on a win or console the other on a loss. Hockey, the most brutal, unfriendly sport on the planet, has a tradition, that after every playoff series, no matter how long or how vicious, the teams line up and shake hands. This series was the most penalized series in NHL history. Players went back and forth taunting (specifically with fingers), cheap shots (and apparently not so cheap shots), and of course diving galore. But even these two teams lined up and graciously shook each other's hands either wishing the other a congratulations or complimenting their competitiveness.

And then of course they took pictures.

And then it was time to celebrate. And there's no better way to celebrate than to drink out of the Stanley Cup.

And with that, the 2010-2011 NHL season is over. Here's a look back at this postseason;

See y'all again in 109 days!

Random Facts from Last Night's Game 7

Well Twitter was obviously fun last night including my live tweet but I'm fortunate to follow some good hockey guys on Twitter also who supplied some nice stats and pointers. So here are some random facts:

-Nathan Horton poured water from the TD Garden onto the ice before the game last night (from wyshynski (Greg Wyshynski))

-darrenrovell did a poll asking how many regular season NHL games did the viewers of game 7 watch this year. So with 724 votes, 1 out of every 4 people have watched less than 5 NHL games this year. 58.3% of the voters said they watched more than 20 games this year. This is good because it shows that very casual fans were interested and I'm sure they were turned on by the great game last night. (from darrenrovell (Darren Rovell))

-Through 1993, a Canadian team has won the NHL title at least once every 5 years. Since that year, no Canadian team has won (from darrenrovell)

-This was only the second time in NHL history that an American born player (Tim Thomas) won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. The last one was Brian Leetch in 1994 against, well, Vancouver. (from TGfireandice (Tom Gulitti))

-Canadiana teams have lost 4 game 7's since MTL was last team from country to win Cup in 93. VAN (1994), CGY (2004), EDM (2006), VAN (2011) (from TGfireandice)

-The eight total goals for Vancouver breaks Cup Finals record for fewest in 7 game series. DET and TOR both scored only 9 in '45 finals (from TGfireandice)

-This year, the cup was lifted higher than any other time in NHL history (because Zdeno Chara is the tallest player ever) (from Doc Emrick)

@thewall85 Game 7 Live Tweet Time Line!

So last night I was tweeting throughout the game. It was mainly observations, analysis, or jokes about what was going on. So I'll write all of them here for the purpose of nothing else to post about.

Pregame Seinfeld watching #GetPumped


Mite sound corny but cant wait for canadian national anthem #goosebumps #van #bos


Still upset with the US announcers. Some comments that shouldnt have been made were said


Alrite nhl network just got me pumped #GONUCKSGO #NUCKLEHEADS


I hate to admit it but i think the bruins will win. But at the same time its gonna be a great game and i want the canucks to win 100%


No real competition tv-wise tonite unless your a big texas ranger/new york yankee fan. And i mean HUGE if u were to miss this game


Goosebumps. My hearts pounding. This is game 7 in the #NHL. This is life


Fact: i know the canadian anthem better than the american or israeli. #hockeyrocks


Excellent action atmosphere. This is y i love hockey #NHL


I wish this game would never end #van #bos


Jesus christ this is awesome. a lot better than the first 5 min of nba game 6. #NHL


Very emotional seeing raymond ok. Giant brace. Doesnt look good. Hortons here also but in better shape


Cant wait for the awkward moment in the handshakes tonite wen burrows and bergeron meet #biteme #nhl #van #bos


Great set up. Nice finish. 1-0


Thomas looking poised for a shutout. #jinxingit


Ive said "alberts is playing great" to my dad tonite about 7 times


It may be my biased side saying it but chara looks like he dove. Its hard to knock down chara unless he helps


The intensity dropped mid period but it was still exciting throughout. And intensity will be picked up rite away in the second


Puck hit the ref. Jeez. Tough break (the Canucks took a shot and it was going on net but the puck hit the ref who was standing in front)


Canucks r dominating play along the boards in the boston zone but cant get it to the middle


Way too many turnovers tonite by vancouver in transition


Canucks could use a powerplay but so far it looks like the refs r letting them play


If thomas doesnt win conn smythe, the only other candidate at this point would be the TD Garden


Great pointo by doc. Thomas was hit this series and now chara has a save. but H. Sedin has to cancel him out on that 


If vancouver doesnt change anything, thomas will get a shutout and theyll lose. 2-0 now


and here we go. powerplay for canucks. great pressure led to the pp. no goal on that chance but theyll take the penalty


wow....3-0....didnt see that coming


ugly goal. this mite be the game if the canucks dont score in the next :30


they need to change something with their game. thomas has been strong. shutout looks like a formality at this point #jinxingit


just switched it to a baseball game to humor myself. wat a difference. nhl game 7 SCF > regular season baseball


thomas got away with a high stick there


wow blatant high sticking by thomas. Pierre (aka dumbass faggot) doesnt realize it though


it amazes me how dumb pierre sounds. he really adds nothing to the game. they should get a proffessional down there

it STILL amazes me how dumb pierre sounds. he really adds nothing to the game. they should get a proffessional down there

referees got the retaliation. hate how it happens. another missed high stick (this time on chara) and then a blatant interference is called

and it STILL amazes me how dumb pierre sounds. he really adds nothing to the game. they should get a proffessional down there

btw how many fouls were there in game 6 of the nba finals?  cuz only 2 penalties called so far tonite. refs know how to not screw up our game

does anyone know if marc savard is at the game tonite? he should be

to the bruins fans and players. enjoy the next 10 minutes or so. remember them forever

and heres the gift to the canucks. hometown call. not rly consistent with the calls tonite but now the canucks have to capitalize

feel bad for vancouver and their fans. went through so much just to lose in the last game

but if u cant win on the road, then u almost dont deserve it

obviously bruins not reacting to cheap shots by canucks now. y spoil the moment?

i wonder if marc savard is at the game tonite. i wish him the best and hope hes enjoying this

luongo on the bench. game 4-0. congratulations to the boston bruins for winning the stanley cup

hopefully the canuck fans will be classy and cheer their team and congratulate the bruins who deserve it. dont be like bruin fans

i was right. very classy fans in vancouver. standing applaus. towels and everything. good for u canucks fans

love wen this happens. pure joy at its finest. toughest athletes in sports jumping in joy and hugging

fans in vancouver standing ovation during canucks salute to fans

bergeron-burrows meeting any second

horton out on ice in skates celebrating. i was still in bed at this point during my concussion

pierre with another pointless interview. stupid questions after he won the cup #HowAreYouDoing?

fans booing the shit out of bettman!!!!! A tradition like no other!!!!

shocker. thomas won conn smythe. applaus by canuck fans (so damn classy still). add a vezina and cup ring to thomas' shelf

bettman sucks chant now! priceless

fans still booing wen they see bettman. but applauding cup. theyll applaud chara no doubt. great fans. take notes bostonians

recchi audibly saying "fucking rite". man i love hockey

fans still applauding every bruin player who touches it

not gonna lie. from time to time i lift up my recycling bin and walk around my driveway

recchi said hes done. third cup for him. a great career

fans cheer lucic, vancouver native, very loudly

marchand, thornton, and boychuk were the only bruins who were booed

rask, last year's starter, emotional as he lifted the cup

Robin's Nest: Why the Canucks Lost Game 7 http://t.co/SyPtxCP

Now with the few idiots in canada rioting, the canadian fans get bad press even though they were the more classy fans of the 2 teams.

I really wanna know where marc savard is rite now. probably rly emotional for him

such a shame van's fans, who were so classy tonite, will have their reputation smashed by the media cuz of a few lunatics

AND THAT IS IT

Why the Canucks Lost Game 7

note: the title is 'why didn't the Canucks win game 7' and not 'why did the Bruins win game 7' was because more people thought Vancouver would win.


So I'd like to start off by congratulating the Boston Bruins. Let's push aside all the complaining and bitching about what's fair and what's not. These guys played through a very hard schedule and ended up with the prize. Tonight they deserved. 100% and now they enjoy it for another 110 days until they have to regroup and go at it again.

Well if you follow me on twitter (@thewall85) you would have gotten in-game analysis on what was going on. But if you weren't I'll try to post all of my thoughts throughout the game in order tomorrow.

So now I'll try to summarize what happened to Vancouver.

To start off, their fans lost the battle to the Bruin fans. Now I'll omit the part where the Bruin fans were classless but they did cheer literally THE ENTIRE game in game 6. Even when it was tied at times tonight, you didn't hear the Canuck fans cheering. This was one reason why the Canucks couldn't continue the home team winning streak.

Next the Canucks did do an excellent job at controlling play tonight. They maintained pressure in the offensive zone seemingly most of the night. They controlled the puck well along the boards and at the blue line. But the problem was getting it to the middle and to the slot areas. The Bruins defense did a phenomenal job at taking away the middle section of the ice in their zone and that was a major reason why the Canucks failed, not only to score in game 7, but to struggle offensively throughout the series. So big 'ups' to Chara, Seidenberg and the rest of the Boston crew for getting the job done, especially in game 7.

The powerplay was also bad for the Canucks. Granted, this isn't the NBA so we weren't going to be seeing a lot of calls tonight (because what fun is it watching a sport controlled by the officials?), they did have 2 powerplays and could have had a chance at coming back tonight but they failed on both man advantages. This was the story this entire series.

Thomas was amazing. Early on, you can tell he was locked in. He was focused and stopped everything that came at him. Halfway through the second a feeling overcame me that this series was over. He was brilliant every game so far this series (minus the couple of over-aggressiveness plays). He deserved the Conn-Smythe, he deserved the Stanley Cup, and he'll deserve the Vezina in a couple of weeks.

The Canucks defense was again mediocre. It wasn't all their fault though. They were injured and battered and the fact that they (not rightfully [Horton says he's fine]) lost Aaron Rome didn't help either. Edler had a hand injury and was misplaying the puck all game. Daniel Sedin also didn't play good defense. Overall a sloppy performance by their defense who often turned the puck over in transition.

Speaking of injuries, Ryan Kesler was NOT 100% healthy this series. After game 1 he hurt his shoulder and wasn't himself ever since. However, Kesler was Vancouver's one good side tonight. He gave it his all tonight and he probably didn't deserve what fate handed him. Too bad his teammates didn't feel the same way.

Luongo was not at fault for any goals tonight so noone criticize him.

Well ya that's it. Congratulations to the Boston Bruins on a fantastic season and I truly hope you enjoy your summer with the cup and you guys deserved it.

In 110 days a new season begins. The same can't be said (with certainty) about the NBA or the NFL so enjoy it hockey fans. We've got a bright future.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 Results

Boston Bruins @ Vancouver Canucks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm9boBMWqEw&feature=feedu
Bos 4 Van 0
Bos wins series 4-3
First Period:
(Bos) Patrice Bergeron (5) from Brad Marchand (8)
Second Period:
(Bos) Brad Marchand (10) from Dennis Seidenberg (9) and Mark Recchi (9)
(Bos) (SHG) Patrice Bergeron (6) from Dennis Seidenberg (10) and Gregory Campbell (3)
Third Period:
(Bos) (Empty Netter) Brad Marchand (11) unassisted

(Bos) Tim Thomas-37/37
(Van) Roberto Luongo-17/20

What to Look For in Tonight's game 7; Official Preview

About an hour ago, there was about 47 people in line to a liquor store somewhere in downtown Vancouver. Need I say more?

For Vancouver, they want the cup pretty badly. The team has never won it in 40 years of existence so it means a lot to the whole Province and city. This was the scene in downtown Vancouver for GAME 6 that was in Boston.

Plus Rogers Arena was sold out also for people watching the game in their. So needless to say, they'll be the same scenes for tonights game.

In terms of price for tickets, this one is historical. Yesterday, the AVERAGE price for a ticket on StubHub to the game was over $3,000. (Game 1 was $833, game 2 was $976, and game 5 was $1,219). Apparently there were still tickets available this morning ranging from $1,600 to $13,589. Someone reportedly bought two tickets in the lower level for about $7,000 each. That's some serious dedication. Those fans though are among the best in the game and we should be in store for a great one tonight regardless of who wins.

I mentioned before about that line for the liquor store today and I wanted to point out something. Last year, when the Montreal Canadiens were on their playoff run, after they beat the Penguins in game 7 of the second round, their fans rioted in the streets, robbed stores, and were just generally drunk like hell.

So don't be surprised if something like this happens regardless if the Canucks win or lose. Because I believe they rioted in 1994 in Vancouver after they lost game 7 to the New York Rangers. It's a great time to be in Vancouver but at the same time, probably not.
Edit: @darrenrovell reported that an American Apparel Store in Vancouver was boarded up in case of rioting:

Now for the actual game.

There are many story lines behind this matchup.

-Thomas has to improve his style and make sure he stays aggressive but at the same time, not over-aggressive.

-Luongo has to figure out the Bruins and NOT play as bad as he did at times this series. Game 7 is not the time to continue a slump.

-The Sedins kind of woke up in game 6 but the Canucks will undoubtedly need more from them.

-Going into this series, the Bruins had a terrible powerplay. This series the Bruins went 5/26 on the man advantage and the Canucks went 2/31. The Canucks have to crack down on both sides of special teams tonight.

-How will the Canucks play without second line offenseman Mason Raymond who of course is out of the lineup tonight? Jeff Tambellini is in his spot and I'm not sure what line he'll play on but I'm certain Alain Vigneualt will shuffle the lines a bit.

-The home team has won every game so far this series. The Bruins have to focus on winning tonight and blocking out the crowd. This will be an emotional test for both teams.

-Ryan Kesler hasn't been himself for this series. It was reported multiple times that his shoulder has been bothering him after a hit early in game 1. And it shows. He's not as hard on the forecheck and it's affected him and his team's game. If he can reach deep down inside him and play 1 more game normally, that would be good for the Canucks.

-Milan Lucic is from Vancouver. Keep an eye on him tonight.

-After game 6 against Tampa Bay, Nathan Horton should have been suspended for spraying a fan with a water bottle. He wasn't. He scored the game winning goal in game 7. After game 1 against Boston, Alex Burrows should have been suspended for biting an opposing player. He wasn't. He scored the game winning goal in game 2. After game 6 against Vancouver, Johnny Boychuk should have been suspended for a brutal hit on an opposing player. He wasn't. WILL HE SCORE IN GAME 7??!!??!!

-So I talked about the Conn Smythe possibilities here. So what's changed since game 6? Pretty much that it's down to Tim Thomas or...Really only Tim Thomas. He's played great throughout the playoffs and he will probably win the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP. If Bieksa scores tonight, his chances improve but everyone else on either team were too inconsistent to be given the trophy.

-Commissioner Gary Bettman will get booed tonight. Regardless of who wins. He will get booed. It will be funny as hell. As always. Check out these vids of him getting booed. With that in mind, enjoy these videos:

-Last thing. I mentioned it already but read this post: http://www.downgoesbrown.com/2011/06/detailed-look-back-at-game-seven-which.html#.Tfjkt3Ej5lw;facebook for a Pre-Game, Post-game reaction to tonight's game.

WELL WITH THAT BEING SAID, KICK BACK, RELAX, AND ENJOY THE GAME!!!!!(unless your attached to either team. In that case, sit at the edge of your couch and whenever something goes wrong, throw the nearest object at your TV screen)!!!!

I WAS ON PUCK DADDY RADIO!!!!!

I've talked about Puck Daddy Radio before. I posted a link to part of a show over here. It's a great show every weekday at 1. If you have a chance you should definitely go check it out. They have great coverage on hockey and are generally speaking, entertaining. Rob Pizzo and Greg Wyshysnki are the hosts of the show and they're great with it.

Well today they tweeted that they'll take callers at the beginning of the show and I, an avid reader of the Yahoo! Puck Daddy hockey blog, decided I wanted to call in. Well I did and it was a great few seconds speaking to them. I briefly talked about what I wrote here about Horton and what it means for the NHL and then they spoke about it for a little. So here's the clip and if you want to listen to the whole thing here's the link for that http://thescore.vo.llnwd.net/o25/score_radio/puck-daddy-radio-ep177-id2899.mp3?1308164030 for today's broadcast.

Hope you like my call. For me it felt great. 

Stanley Cup Game 7 Reactions Before-Hand

Here is a great article from a great writer DownGoesBrown. He's a hysterical guy and a great writer and has written one of my favorite articles with this great piece about the famous 1993 series between the Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Western Conference Finals and the infamous Wayne Gretzky high-stick.

Well he wrote another classic. He wrote an article about game 7, tonights Stanley Cup Game, as if it were written tomorrow, after it happened. It sounds confusing but you'll understand.

Here's the link:
http://www.downgoesbrown.com/2011/06/detailed-look-back-at-game-seven-which.html
Enjoy.

Horton 'Ready To Play' Good and Bad for NHL

What does it mean that Nathan Horton, the guy who reportedly suffered a 'severe concussion' on June 6th, claims that he wants to play game 7 on June15th?

Well it means for the sport of hockey that we have players who are willing to play through any injury. This is something that's unparalleled in any sport. Countless times during the regular season, someone gets hit with a high stick and needs to get stitches immediately. In hockey, those players usually don't miss a shift. So this is just another example of that. An example of why the NHL is the toughest sport on the planet.

But there is a downside of this. It means that the NHL completely mishandled the Aaron Rome suspension. They were quick to discipline Rome for his actions. They assumed that Horton's injury was as severe as he displayed on the ice (motionless) so they disciplined accordingly without realizing that Horton would be okay in about a week's time.

Now everyone knows Horton won't play tonight. He said he felt fine, will accompany Boston to Vancouver for the game, and will try to convince the team and the Doctors to let him play. But his coach says there's no chance.

When I had my concussion, 9 days later I was still in bed feeling week. Horton seems magically healed after his "severe" concussion. If only I was so lucky.

Classless fans, Diving players, Typical Boston

note: this article isn't as biased as you think. and if you have a defense for the Bruins fans, please please please email me about it to ochocinco22095@yahoo.com. Thank you.

Well we all remember the hit put on by Aaron Rome on Nathan Horton. The one that gave Horton a 'Severe Concussion'

Looks pretty bad there eh? I had a concussion this year and I remembered what it felt like the next the few days. Lying in bed, feeling lethargic and weak. I wouldn't have been able to imagine what it would be like to have a severe concussion. And I definitely NEVER imagined I'd be able to do what Horton did.

At first I had doubts about the severity of the injury to Horton. He looked somewhat okay on the ice. Eyes were open, interacted with others. I figured he was just embellishing the hit to get the maximum penalty to Rome. Then when I heard that it was classified as a "severe concussion", I immediately regretted what I had said and felt bad for Horton. I kind of understood the suspension for Rome. If Horton would be out that long I guess it's fair Rome should be also.

Now I think so lowly of this team it is unbelievable. 

Not done yet. So later in last nights game, specifically in the first 20 seconds, Johnny Boychuk drove Mason Raymond hard into the boards. Watch the play.

So at first I was pissed off because there was no penalty on the play. The puck wasn't even close to the play, Boychuk skated right by it. So there definitely should have been a boarding or an interference call on the play. 

Next I was pissed off at the reaction from the fans. A mixture of cheering and booing? Really you turds? A player is down on the ice, in serious pain, and all you can think of is "he deserves it" or "what a baby. He's clearly diving". The Bruin fans have been complaining ALL PLAYOFFS about their opponents diving all over the ice. In the meantime, the Bruin players have been doing the same thing. So I was utterly disappointed, not surprised, and pissed off all at once. And from now on I have 0 respect for the Bruins organization, the fans, or the players.

Another thing that really pissed me off about the fans reaction was that they didn't clap when Raymond got up. Even the most cynical fans applaud when an injured player gets to his feet. I've seen it with every single sports injury ever. Just another reason to hate the classless bastards.

And last point. Rome was suspended for the same amount of games that Horton would miss. Horton appears to be almost better now, so it seems that the Rome suspension was too much for the hit. They reported that Raymond, a speedy, solid, important second line players, will be out 3-4 MONTHS with a vertebrae compression fracture. Yes. A vertebrae compression fracture. Applaud that you Boston morons. So what would be fair? I'd say Johnny Boychuk should be suspended for game 7 AT LEAST. This was a dirty play where he checked a player, for no reason, in an awkward way, hard into the boards. This is only fair. 

Now there is literally no word anywhere on whether or not Boychuk will be suspended which enrages me. There should be more talk about this. The only article I found on the matter is a good one explaining how if the NHL wants to remain consistent with their suspensions, this should be. At the bottom there was a poll for people to see what the public thought should happen. Here's the article (which I highly suggest):

http://nhlhotstove.com/consistency-dictates-johnny-boychuk-should-sit-game-7/

and here's the poll:

Of course I'll keep you updated

Edit: once again, the Bruins are off the hook. I'm even going to start on how upset I am. HabsLaughs from twitter puts it best.

Predictable Game 6

People were hoping the series would change a little bit in game 6. They figured that Vancouver would at least put up a good fight. So far every game in Vancouver has been a close game in which the Canucks ended out on top and so far every game in Boston was a blow out.

The game started out looking like it'd have a different flow. The Canucks were controlling the puck well and then  after the dirty hit on Raymond, Boston seemed to regain the upper hand. And then it didn't take long after that for them to score. The first goal wasn't quite Luongo's fault. People criticized Luongo for criticizing Thomas for his style of play and now Luongo's style of play, seemingly always down on the ice in the butterfly, was probably the reason for the first goal. The second goal came 35 seconds after that. A sloppy change by Vancouver was the cause. I've talked about before how crisp line changes can be important in a game and Vancouver wasn't too good at changing last night. On more than one occasion, the Bruins had an odd man rush because of a bad line change. Then the Bruins scored 2 more goals in about 3 minutes and before you knew it, the game was out of reach.

Luongo didn't play THAT terrible but he's gotta play better. The goals weren't his fault per se, but he has to do a better job stopping the biscuit. This series in the Garden, he has given up 15 goals in a little more than 2 games.

Cory Schneider was fantastic in relief. He got the job done and kept Vancouver relatively in the game. If it weren't a crazy idea, he would start game 7. But in the last game of the season, the game with everything on the line, you'd want your starting goalie, Vezina candidate, in net no matter how he's been playing.

Thomas also played well again. But his tendencies showed a little and the second goal for the Canucks was because of his over-challenging style. Here you see Thomas trying to go all the way to Daniel Sedin who has the puck and left the net wide open for Lapierre. It's true it is his style but that was a pretty weak goal to give up and maybe he should at least turn it down a notch for game 7.

One last thing I want to point out. The Canucks pretty much dominated the third period. They put on relentless pressure at times and got to Thomas scoring a couple of goals. It even seemed at a point that a comeback was potentially possible. This play in the third, though, will be good for game 7. It took away at least a little bit of the Bruins momentum going into the decisive game. Also it's good to get the Sedins going as Henrik had a goal and Daniel had an assist.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 6 Results

Vancouver Canucks @ Boston Bruins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR4GxigC9PU

Bos 5 Van 2

Series tied 3-3

First Period:

(Bos) Brad Marchand (9) from Mark Recchi (6) and Dennis Seidenberg (8)

(Bos) Milan Lucic (5) from Rich Peverley (8) and Johnny Boychuk (6)

(Bos) (PPG) Andrew Ference (4) from Michael Ryder (9) and Mark Recchi (7)

(Bos) Michael Ryder (8) from Tomas Kaberle (10)

Second Period:

none

Third Period:

(Van) (PPG) Henrik Sedin (3) from Daniel Sedin (10) and Christian Ehrhoff (10)

(Bos) (PPG) David Krejci (12) from Mark Recchi (8) and Tomas Kaberle (11)

(Van) Maxim Lapierre (3) from Daniel Sedin (11) and Jannik Hansen (6)

(Bos) Tim Thomas-36/38

(Van) Roberto Luongo-5/8

(Van) Cory Schneider-30/32

Quick Facts

Just a few quick facts before tonights game 6 in Boston.

The NHL and the NHLPA talked today and they decided that work will be done to change Rule 48 . This is the rule right now:

Rule 48 - Illegal Check to the Head

48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted.

48.2 Minor Penalty - There is no provision for a minor penaltyfor this rule.

48.3 Major Penalty - For a violation of this rule, a major penalty shall be assessed (see 48.4).

48.4 Game Misconduct – An automatic game misconduct penalty shall be assessed whenever a major penalty is assessed under this rule.

48.5 Match Penalty - The Referee, at his discretion, may assess a match penalty if, in his judgment, the player attempted to or deliberately injured his opponent with an illegal check to the head.

48.6 Fines and Suspensions – Any player who incurs a total of two (2) game misconducts under this rule, in either regular League or playoff games, shall be suspended automatically for the next game his team plays. For each subsequent game misconduct penalty the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game.

If deemed appropriate, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion  (refer to Rule28).

So the 2 groups decided that they'll come up with a better way to word the details of these confusing and vague rules. Noone is really clear when a player should be suspended or not nowadays after a big hit. For instance, people feel that the Rome hit was punished too severely. So hopefully they will come up with a solution to this problem and make the game safer while keeping it as enjoyable.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that for the first time since 2002, the NHL finals will finish after the NBA finals. After last nights snooze-fest in Miami, the NHL finals stand alone in the playoff world. I don't know whether this is a good thing or not or whether it's just sheer coincidence when this stuff happens (I'd say the latter) but some people like weird stats like this so why not eh?

Jim Playfair named Coyotes Associate Coach

Seems irrelevant to most people. It kind of is. He played 3 years in the NHL, 2 for the Blackhawks and 1 for the Oilers and played in the WHL, AHL, and the IHL as well. He coached some college hockey and was in the Calgary organization for the past few years.

Now for the point of this article.

Jim Playfair will always be remembered as the coach that lost it. In an AHL game, with him behind the bench, he lost it at a referee and- Just watch it.

So congratulations to Playfair for still getting work somehow. 

Conn Smythe Talks

who's got it?

Bob McKenzie, a TSN hockey analyst, was talking to his friends and colleagues in a bar. He asked them if the Canucks were to, theoretically speaking, win game 6 and win the cup tomorrow night, who would win the Conn Smythe Trophy given yearly as playoff MVP. 1 of them said Kesler, 1 said Luongo, 2 said Bieksa, and, get this, 5 said Tim Thomas. That's right. A player from the opposing team would win. It's not far-fetched though. It's happened 5 times in NHL history that a player from the losing team won the trophy. 4 of those times they were goalies (in 2003 it wasn't deserved but I'll touch upon that topic another time.)

And look at Thomas' numbers, not only in this series alone but in the entire playoff run (which is what this award is based off of). Thomas started every game so far this postseason for the Bruins, something that can't be said for Luongo. He had a 2.07 GAA and a fantastic .937 SV%. In other words he's been lights out for most of the playoffs. This series he has only given up 6 goals in 5 games.
So it seems Thomas is the perfect candidate for the Conn Smythe right? He essentially carried a somewhat-weak offensive team all the way to the finals. But here's the argument against Tim. It may seem unfair but so far this series, all 3 game winning goals by the Canucks would have probably been stopped by a fundamentally sound goaltender. Just to refresh your memory, here was game 1's goal with 18 seconds left in regulation by Raffi Torres"

notice how Thomas had to slide so far to the side in order to make an attempt at stopping Torres' shot. He was too aggressive at taking the shot and that was the reason he gave up the goal. Now I'm not saying this was a bad goal but it was certainly preventable.

In game 2 everyone's seen this and critiqued it their own way. But in case you missed it:

self explanatory on this one. The aggressive style drove him completely away from the net and this may have been Burrows' easiest goal in his career.

Game 5 was also pretty much an obvious problem.

Kevin Bieksa (more on him later), recognizing Thomas' tendencies, shot the puck wide on purpose and it caromed right to Maxim Lapierre who had no trouble putting the puck in the net. And Thomas, again, was out challenging the initial shot.

I've said it already on this blog. Thomas plays his way like it or not. I wrote here about the benefits and here you can see the down sides of his style of play. I think his style his fantastic. It's exciting and fun to watch but at the same time it's risky.
So to sum it all up, Thomas DOES have a good shot at winning the Conn Smythe. He was lights out in the middle of the series and if it weren't for him, the Bruins wouldn't be here. But another reason he'd win it:

Who the hell else will?

Luongo was terrible this series, giving up 12 goals in 2 games, and was solid the rest of the time besides for his 1st series meltdown. So Luongo doesn't get it for his inconsistency.

Both Sedins won't get it, well, because they've disappeared all together this series.

If Kesler does well in game 6, he technically does have a chance for his play in the series against Nashville was fantastic. But not enough so far this round.

Burrows can even wind up with it but he was also inconsistent at times.

And that leaves me to my choice. Kevin Bieksa. A player, who at the beginning of the season didn't know if he were to end up in Vancouver again, has played fantastic defense this postseason. He has undoubtedly been Vancouver's most consistent player in the playoffs. He had the big goal in that series against San Jose' and has  totaled 10 points so far in the playoffs, and has the most goals among defensemen with 5. So I think Bieksa, at this point, is in great position to win the Conn Smythe.

What's even more: a great video on youtube of a compilation of nice hits by Bieksa played to an interesting soundtrack:

Sites and Sounds of Game 5 in Vancouver; One win away

Well when I looked at the paper this morning and saw that the Canucks won, I tried to think about the atmosphere of the game. And as expected the place was jumping. Here are the entrances to the game for both teams and most importantly, the spine-tingling, goosebump-inducing anthems:

(fast forward to the 5:05 mark to see the good stuff)

Now the next video, I have to explain something to the not-Canadian readers. CBC makes intros to the playoff games and they are fantastic. They have some clips of the previous game and put it to a killer soundtrack and it really does it's job in making you want to watch the game.

Now here's the best video there is. A team that has never won the cup and the fans who can pretty much taste it. The topic of discussion for the last couple of weeks has been Thomas' bizarre playing style and his aggressive approach to stopping the puck. It was criticized after he gave up the Overtime goal in game 2 but was then praised during his 110 minute shut out streak that soon followed.

Thomas made a fantastic save on the first attempt by Lapierre but then Kevin Bieksa (who at this point is the MVP for the Canucks) made a genius pass, purposely shot it wide and off the boards to carom right to a wide open Maxim Lapierre who was just able to put it in. Then when the video goes to the crowd in the stadium, to the parking lot, and then to the streets; is that not awesome? That's what the Stanley Cup Finals is all about. The city of Vancouver is united right now and they can taste the Cup.

Now when Roberto Luongo was pulled in game 4 in Boston, the Canucks fan from Rogers Arena cheered when he was pulled. So how does a goalie react to this public humiliation? What was Luongo's answer to his critics? Similar to how Tim Thomas answered critics in game 3. He played amazing. He was so focused in. He knew his coach had faith in him (hence the fact that he started this game) and went out and performed his best. So here look at his work from Friday nights game:

And last but not least, the press conference with the 2 heroes. Roberto Luongo and Maxim Lapierre:

One last thing. People in Vancouver have been putting up videos of just the city of Vancouver when they score and have put them up on youtube. So here's the video when Lapierre scored:

and here's the video of when the game ends:

and last but not least (for real this time) a picture of a crowd watching the game together: