Tips for The Vancouver Canucks

                        Los Angeles Kings lead the series 2-1

         

                         by Lisa Ovens

The Kings/ Canucks Quarter Final Game Three on Monday night was a toughie to watch. And losing two in a row during the Stanley Cup Playoffs tends to humble the positive thought train. But we Canucks fans have been here before. This should be "old hat" for us.

The Vancouver Canucks could try some of the following as they look ahead to Game Four on Wednesday, April 21st.....

Canucks can build on game three, starting with that much stronger third period. Plus, they need to let the fire in the belly from the disallowed goal fester, and I mean FESTER ( isn't that a great word?).

Re-tooling the special teams portion of the menu kind of goes without saying. The Kings have 7 power play goals in three games. Coach Alain Vignault says they've "got 48 hours to find a solution." He said that twice during his post game presser. Pretend you are solving a murder, Alain.

Jeff Vinnick's photo of the book "Hockey for Dummies" styled with LA King logos from what looks like a jacket: just take that off of Canucks.com immediately. This kind of "trash talk" can come back to bite us on the ass!

photo by Jeff Vinnick: maybe not the best choice

at this point in the round. I'm just sayin'...

Maybe Canucks GM, Mike Gillis ought to complain about the officiating in the media, just for something to do. Or craft a 2002 Salt Lake City Gretzky- like speech and take some of the heat off the team. This will also help difuse the Canuck`Fan-xiety that will most certainly flood the sports talk radio shows' phone lines and online "comment threads"  today and tomorrow.

And here's one, a good one from my buddy Andrew Lavigne..." Luongo's body language has to change. His wife is probably the only one who could talk to him about this one. When he lets in a goal, his whole body reacts, he hangs his head. He's acts out his disappointment. All I can say is "Luongo, you play poker...where's your poker face?"

Andrew hits the nail on the head: Roberto Luongo is the captain, the leader of his team. Time to be stoic, Lou. And the next best thing to actually being stoic, is acting stoic. I believe that's you there on the side of a hockey rink. Hey... Anybody have Gina's email address??

And finally, I'm on the hook to buy a Kings fan dinner when she comes on a hockey road trip next season if the Canucks don't get the job done, so come on Canucks...just get'er done!!

From Too Many Men to the NHL Situation Room Blog...and Back

               Kevin Pollock, NHL Official photo courtesy of K. Pollock

by Lisa Ovens

I know once a penalty is called you can't do much about it, so I'm not prone to bitch and moan about it while writing (yeah, while writing...you are lucky you don't hear some of my rants and general whining - teehee). But over the course of my research on a "too many men" call in last night's Canucks/ Kings playoff game, I came across this blog on NHL.com...

The NHL Situation Room Blog

This is where Hockey Ops reviews and decides disputed goals. Plus, find out the "why" behind those calls. You get the NHL's official ruling first.

Yes, another page to bookmark and follow, along with your hockey twitters, blogs and fan message boards, all the while keeping one eye on the game!

And since the topic of referees is a hot one during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I invite readers to check out this informative two part interview with NHL ref, Kevin Pollock (pictured above), written by H&HH.com's very own Jan Snyder. You'll be directed to the old Lisa's Lounge at hockeyandhighheels.com. Enjoy!

Necessary Evil: Jan Snyder's Interview with Kevin Pollock part one

Necessary Evil: Part Two                           

And now back to Too Many Men...

After listening to Canucks coach Alain Vigneault's post game comments about the Too Many Men call...
It was the wrong call... we got two referees on the ice with red stripes on their sweaters. They should make the call if they think it's a penalty and not the linesmen.- Alain Vigneault

...I thought I should post a little something on the linesmen/ referee relationship...(and then go write a song titled Too Many Men)

33.4 Reporting to Referee - The Linesman shall give to the Referees his interpretation of any incident that may have taken place during the game.
The Linesman may stop play and report what he witnessed to the Referees when:
(i) There are too many men on the ice
Rule 74 (ii) Articles are thrown on the ice from the players’ bench or penalty bench
Rule 75 (iii) When team personnel interfere with a game official
Rule 40 (iv) When a player or goalkeeper who has lost or broken his stick receives one illegally
Rule 10 The Linesman must report upon completion of play, any circumstances pertaining to:
(i) Major penalties
Rule 20 (ii) Match penalties
Rule 21 (iii) Misconduct penalties
Rule 22 (iv) Game Misconduct penalties
Rule 23 (v) Abuse of Officials
Rule 40 (vi) Physical Abuse of Officials
Rule 41 (vii) Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Rule 75 (viii) Double-minor penalty when it is apparent that an injury has resulted from a high-stick that has gone undetected by the Referees

For more on NHL rules, please visit the NHL rule book section at nhl.com

Happy Hockey Sunday :o)