With the Hawks winning this series in 6 games with game 6 having a stunning score of 7-5 for the home team, that game in a sense summed up the entire series in 60 minutes of hockey. The Canucks took too many penalties, their penalty kill was ineffective, the young snipers of the Hawks put the puck in the net, the Canucks defense seemed very slow and a step behind on every play, and Khabibulin outplayed Roberto Luongo. Not many people are overly surprised at all the the items at the top of the list, penalty kill, slow defence, etc..., but no one, including myself thought that Roberto Luongo would be the second best, by a fair margin, goaltender in this series.

Im not going to bash Luongo and say this entire playoff failure is his fault, but under no circumstance in a do or die game can your goaltender give up 7 goals in a game and still expect the team in front of him to the win the game. Yes their have been numerous nights that Luongo stood on his head and won a game for the team, but he is still expected to give his team a chance at winning a game. He didnt need to stand on his head and keep the Hawks to a single goal, rather when the Canucks came back from down 3-1 to up 4-3, he had close the door and hold the fort. This isnt because he is the star goaltender or because he is making $7.5 million a year, rather because he has a C on his helmet and he is the leader and face of this franchise. But again goaltending was not the only problem the Canucks had in this series, but in game 6 with the home team putting in 7 goals it is a glaring issue.

Canucks 45-27-10 (3) vs. Hawks 46-24-12 (5)

Head to Head Record: 2-2 (1-1 at Home and 1-1 Away)

But all this begs to question the fact if the Canucks even want or need Pyatt in the line up. During the season he was bounced around on all four lines, but spent most of the time on the 3rd and 4th lines as a checker and an energy guy. In 69 games he tallied 10 goals, 9 assists and had an even rating. As the season went on he was used more and more on the penalty kill as Coach AV was more comfortable using him in situations on the penalty kill and in key defensive situations. He was skating well, as skating is not one of his great skills, using his large frame and was a great compliment to the third line with Wellwood and Bernier.

Pyatt going after the puck along the boardsHowever since his departure from the team, Mason Raymond has taken his spot both on the penalty kill and on the third line and has looked great on the wing along side Wellwood and Bernier, and with Ryan Johnson on the penalty kill as well. For the first time this season his speed and effort levels look great, and he has been an offensive threat as well, as he hit a couple posts and had some great rushes in round 1.

The talk around the team was that both Sundin and Salo would be ready to go if there was a Game 5, so either their injuries weren't that serious, or the Canucks PR team is just twisting the story to make it seem that way. Even after the game 4 win, goaltender Roberto Luongo needed 40 minutes of treatment before he came out to address the media. No one on that team is going to admit that they are in fact injured, as no injuries are ever disclosed during the playoffs, but all the players agree that a quick sweep of the Blues is a good thing and will allow them to be fresh and healthy for the second round.

But when does rest become rust, how long can the players practice and go through the motions? After a while the players will be chomping at the bit to get back into playoff action, and the worry is with the long break that it may take the players a period or two, or even a game or two, to get their playoffs legs. So it is up to the coaching staff to think of new ways to keep these players razor sharp as their second round opponents won't have any of that rust to shake off.

Although it wasn't the most hard hitting, bone shattering or physcially demanding series such as the Flames/Hawks, Pens/Flyers, it still had its fair share of big hits, scrums after the whistle and a general hate on for the other team. But in every game as every shift became more imporant, each penalty becoming more costly, we saw less and less of the borderline hits and less scrums after the whistle. This is not to say that these teams didnt have the general hate for each other, rather it seemed as if the players quickly realised that they could not be in the box for a game ending goal, as all the games, even the 3-0 shutout, were close all the way to the final horn. Only one game, game 4, went into overtime, but all of the third periods had that sudden death feeling, and everyone had that feeling of next goal wins, or the next goal may shift the momentum one way.

While some will chalk up the loss to the lack of experience that a young Blues team had, close to a dozen players entering their first set on NHL playoffs, it was rather the lack of production by their veterans that was the real reason this series ended so early. The Blues didnt get enough production from Tkchuck, McDonald and even Jackman on the back end, and yes some of their youngsters were very quiet, Berglund, Oshie, Perron, but this is to be expected out of the young players, and its up to the veterans to step up and lead this team each game.

5. Rangers vs. Capitals

Coming into this series everyone say the Caps as a team that could potentially come out of the East, especailly with the offensive talent that they have with the likes of Ovechkin, Semin and Green on the back end as well. The only weak spot that most analyists saw was between the pipes with Jose Theodore, who the Caps hoped would return to his Hart Trophy form from a few years back. The Rangers on the other hand had limped into the playoffs and looked like a good fit for the Caps. Fast forward 3 games into this series and the Rangers have a 2-1 lead with both wins in Washington, and forcing the Caps to bench Theodore and use rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov. Yes the kid has been very good for them in net, only allowing 1 goal in 2 games, but no one expected Theodore to get pulled after 1 game and for the Rangers to win both games in Washington, this is shaping up to be a very interesting series.

Mats Sundin battling with some St Louis BluesThe Canucks on the other hand are playing great defensivley, are getting great goaltending from Roberto Luongo and have been fantastic on the power play and have killed 3 seperate, very long, 5 on 3's that could have changes the whole landscape of this series. Offensivley the Sedins have 9 points in 3 games, and have gotten secondary scoring from the likes of Burrows, Bernier, Sundin and a number of defensemen as well. Although the team is playing well, the Canucks still have some adversity to overcome in the form of an injury to the 10 million dollar man Mats Sundin.

With a 3-0 lead the Canucks have the choice of whether or not to give the big Swede an extra maintainence day and hope the team can close them out without his presence in the line up, or they can bring him back into the lineup and try to finish off the Blues in game 4. Personally I think they should give Sundin an extra couple days off as his 38 year old lower body injury, most likely his hip or groin, is not going to heal as fast or feel as great as it would have been if he was 5-7 years younger. There is no reason to rush him back in for game 4 as they have the luxury of coming back to Vancouver in game 5 and winning the series on home ice. Also keep in mind this team won game 3 without Sundin, and didnt look like they missed his presence a great deal.

Canucks 45-27-10 (3) vs. Blues 41-31-10 (6)

Head to Head Record: 2-2

The Flames on the other hand have dug themselves a very deep hole after not being able to beat a back up goalie who hasnt played in 30 some games and a team that is getting ready for a round of golf rather than a round of the playoffs. They now need the Avalanche to beat the Canucks in regulation and now need to beat an Edmonton team with nothing to lose and a ton of confidence after beating them 5-1 tonght.

Now this gives the Canucks coaching staff a couple of interesting decsions as the team only needs a single point to clinch the division. So this means that the Canucks can lose the game (in overtime or shootout) and still win the division. Since I have already gone over whether or not to rest some players for tomorrows game, I wont go over it again, but rather give it a quick summary of the guys who can use some rest and guys who can use some playing time.

So do we forfiet a division title and start on the road against the Blackhawks, who we may match up better against, or do we want to push for that division banner and face the Blue Jackets in the first round and maybe run into the hottest goalie in the league in Steve Mason. If we dont beat the Kings on Thursday I guarantee we see a couple new faces in the lineup for the season finale, but if it comes to that last game versus the Avs it will be a tough choice as all we may need is a win to clinch the division. Either way the next couple of days will be very interested and both fans and players will be keeping a close eye on the Battle of Alberta.

Anyone else have any comments on what the team should do? Do we match up better against Chicago or Columbus?

With all the players bringing a different aspect to the lineup it gives the Canucks a bunch of possibilities and allows them to put out a fourth line that will be most effective against which ever team they match up with in the playoffs. With Hordichuck they get a lot of toughness and grit and have a legitimate heavyweight tough guy, but how many times will he drop the gloves in the playoffs and will he get a regulat shift in the post season?

Jannik Hansen and Mayson Raymond both add some speed and offensive touch around the net, with Raymond haveing more offensive, and both will get a regular shift along with time on the penalty kill as well. Although both players are very small and dont add very much toughness, they are both versatile enough that they can play in the top six along with the bottom six as well. Also with Hansen you get a right handed shot who may be a benefit in his own zone when it comes to digging out pucks and clearing the zone.

During these tough economic times we have now seen a trend in the hobby where more collectors are selling off their collections and leaving the hobby in order to recoup some of the money that they have put into them, while others are cutting back and focusing their collections to a very limited point. With both large and small companies rolling out cut backs and layoffs in order to salvage something in this economy we have seen a increase in unemployment and subsequently a decrease in people spending freely on items such as cards and boxes. Not only is the casual collector being affected with not having extra money to put into this hobby, but also those individuals who depend on this hobby as a source of income are being affected as well. Hobby shops are being forced to close their doors, dealers are selling cards well below their value and more and more hobbyists are losing money every time they open a pack of cards let alone an entire case.

With this being said, all this doom and gloom around the economy and the hobby may actually be a good thing for the hobby and for the individuals who stick it out during the tough times. With more people leaving the hobby and fewer collectors buying boxes and cases of both Upper Deck and ITG products, we may now see a decreased demand for these products and this may force the large companies that produce these products to change the way they have been doing business over the last few years, especially after the 2005-06 card collecting season.

With the Canucks having a top tier goaltender in Roberto Luongo, it is basically a sure thing that we will have atleast one Canuck on Team Canada. But the rest of our team will be dispersed throughout the tournament, and obviously most of our talent will be with Team Sweden. Here is how each player breaks down for his country.

Will Roberto Luongo be between the Pipes of the Canadians in 2010Roberto Luongo - Team Canada

Although overall this season as a team the Canucks are around the average if not in the upper third of the leauge in empty net goal with 7, but are still a few away from the leauge leaders such as the Bruins and Capitols who have 12 each, nor are they as bad as the Avalanche who have none this season. But the problem is not the number of goals this team is scoring into empty nets, rather the fashion in which this team is missing empty nets, and their inability to put a team away late into a game.

This team has had numerous chances over the last stretch of four different four game winning streaks, as in most of these games the opposition has pulled their goalie late, and the Canucks have had possesion of the puck in either the neutral zone or the offensive zone. The Sedins have been shooting wide, pucks skipping over their sticks, the long shots at the empty net are going wide by inches on each side, the puck is going everywhere excpect in the net!

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With many hockey fans being more of the traditionalists when it comes to goals and how a player reacts, Ovechkin is the complete opposite, every goal he scores he acts like its the most important one. He first pumps, jumps into the boards and shows genuwine excitement. In this instance he gave it another twist and put his stick on the ice and hovered his hands over like the stick was hot.

10. Young Talent Contributing

With the Canucks desperately needing secondary scoring to take some pressure off the Sedin twins, both Kesler and Burrows have stepped up and delivered with 20 goals plus each. Along with thier offensive contributions, both these players have been the heart and soul of the team, and have came up huge in every situation the coaching staff has put them in. On the backend, although they haven't been as productive or as consistent as Kesler and Burrows, Alex Edler and Kevin Bieksa have been chewing up minutes and playing well in their own end as well. With Edlers 30 points (career high) and +7 rating, he has had a solid year but has not been consistent enough nor has he lived upto expectations after resigning his contract.

Steve BernierAfter coming off a season in which he was bounced around between San Jose and Buffalo and then traded to Vancouver during the summer. Even then he almost changed jerseys again when the St. Louis Blues made him a $2.5 million offer sheet in retailation to the Canucks offering David Backes a similar offer sheet (3 years $7.5 million), the Canucks matched and high expectations were attached to Steve Bernier.

Does that story sound like you have heard it before? Because it should, were only a couple of years removed from Bobby Clarke and the Philadelphia Flyers signing Ryan Kesler to a one year $1.9 million offer sheet, the first offer sheet in the NHL since 1999. And once the Canucks decided to match the offer sheet, after they qualified him at $564,000 (almost a 4X increase!), all these expectations were placed on the young center and he didn't live up to them with only 6 goals and 16 points in an injury plauged season where he only played 48 games and one playoff game. And in his year after the offer sheet Bernier to date has produced almost double those numbers with 29 points albeit he didnt have the same injury troubles. But the comparisons and similarities don't end there.

With both Kesler and Burrows playing so well in the regular season, most expect them to play equally as well during the playoffs. There playing styles are a perfect fit for the playoffs, they can bang, agitate, score, check and are very gritty players. But how much can a team rely on two players who only have a combined 12 games of playoff experience?

Kesler and Burrows - how will they do in the payoffs?With all 12 games being played in the 2006-07 season and Burrows having 11 of them, leaving Kesler with only a single game of playoff experience where he registered 2 shots and was injured in a 4 0T game against Dallas Star where he displaced his index finger blocking a shot. Burrows on the other hand had one goal with an even plus minus rating. Still both of these players have little NHL playoff experience. Even in the AHL both these players have only played 14 playoff games each with Kesler scoring 4 goals and 5 assists and Burrows chipping in with 3 assists during the Manitoba Moose's 2004-05 playoff run during the lockout season.

After his tragic death in October of 2008 the New York Rangers asked the league for a compensatory draft choice based on these tragic events, and by using a little known rule involving unsigned draft picks. With the NY Rangers formally asking for the pick during this weeks GM meetings, Ranger GM Glen Sather was asking based on a rule that states if a draft pick is unsigned by the team the team is eligible for a second round draft choice. So in this instance with Cherepanov being selected 17th in the first round, the Rangers have been awarded the 17th choice in the second round of this years draft.

The argument that Glen Sather was making, was that he was unable to sign this young player before this tragic incident and therefore he should be eligible for the extra pick in the draft. This move by the leauge has implications on many different levels, first and foremost the Rangers benefiting from this young individual losing his life, and secondly it has a large impact on the rest of the teams in the NHL.

The team has not suited up a player for a regular season game that has been drafted by the team after the 2005 draft (Mayson Raymond and Luc Bourdon). And only Ryan Kesler, who was drafted in 2003, has made a major impact on the team. Yes players such as Raymond, Edler and Hansen have made contirbutions, but none of those players have been impact players on this team.

Micheal Granber - can he make the jump to the NHL?And with Gillis's new take on scouting and player development, hopefully this trend can turn around for this franchise that is in desperate need of rebuilding and restocking prospects. As bad as the Canucks picks and prospects have been over the years, there is still some prospects that are noteworthy, Hodgson, Grabner and Schnieder, but for the most part the cupboard is pretty bare.

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10. Miroslav Satan - Definately did not replace the procudtion lost by Hossa. 17 goals and 19 assists in 65 games is not the type of production expected from Satan. Also he was placed on waivers at the deadline and no one touched him.

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Now it all Makes Sense!!!

Is it only a matter of time before we see empty seats at a Cancuks Game?This practice of an increase isnt uncommon as the Toronto Maple Leafs have also increased ticket prices along with Buffalo and Washington as well, more so than in Vancouver, and the same is seen in other sports leauges across Canada and USA. With the increase only being a little over the 3% mark, dont expect the season ticket renewal rate of 95% drop dratically the next year, and if it does the 4000 or so fans on the waitlist will happily gobble the seats up quickly. Although in this tough economy even some corporations may have to rethink their season ticket renewal as well.

But wait, not everything is happy in Canuck ticket holder land! Today I heard that the Canucks are asking season ticket holders if they want to renew thier seats in March. And what does this have to do with anything? Well if they ask to renew in March, now the fans or shall I say ticket holders dont have a chance to assess the team. Dont know if they will make the playoffs, dont know how they do in the playoffs, no idea who they draft or what trades are made, nor do they know who they sign and let go in free agency. If you renewed your season tickets and the Canucks go in a horrible losing streak, and the management team decides to blow-up the team and rebuild such like a team such as Atlanta, then what you now have season tickets for a bad team.

The game itself was not a barn burner by any means, there were long periods of time where the game was a bit boring and with not much action. Take away the first 10 minutes and last 10 minutes of the game and this game overall wasnt as exciting as some of the games of late. The quick two goal lead within the firts 6 minutes of the first period was a great way to get everyone in the game, and the crowd was very into the game, but as the game wore on and didnt keep the same pace, it was evident that the crowd also got out of the game for a bit. Personally, from where I was sitting, the crowd was very quiet and did not really get loud unless a goal was scored.

I was very disapointed with the crowd as people didnt seem very into it, the Sharks fans around us were quiet and didnt even give anyone a chance at a little "friendly" discussion of how the game was going on. For a game this close to the playoffs, and as important each game is for the rest of the season, I guess I just expected a playoff type atmosphere, and the passion and excitement was not there.

As a Tennis game this game obviously does not rank up there with the all time greats, the characters have bad technique, the shots are generic, and you only need to basically use one button. But its Sega Superstar Tennis, so if your looking for a fundamentally sound tennis game, you are playing the wrong game!!

The game is full of fun characters, which each having their own set of attributes and a "special shot" that is very diffucult to return. Although most of these special shots are very cheesy, they do add another element of stratagey to the game, and do add another fun aspect as well. The only problem I have with it is that it is too easy to attain the special shot, as you can basically have 2 per game, so every other point.