Well my prediction was way off. After a roller coaster ride of a season, the Vancouver Canucks dug themselves their own grave. It's like the lecture you got from your parents when you really screwed up. You're expecting them to be yelling and hopping mad. But instead, they look solemn and quietly say "I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed in you."
Ouch. It's like a dagger in the heart.
And as a Canucks fan that's how I feel. Disappointed and hurt. I've feel let down.
It's not like the opportunities weren't there. Minnesota had beaten Calgary 3-1 to clinch the division title. All we had to do was win tonight to stay alive, another win on Saturday and we'd sneak into 8th place.
Ouch. It's like a dagger in the heart.
And as a Canucks fan that's how I feel. Disappointed and hurt. I've feel let down.
It's not like the opportunities weren't there. Minnesota had beaten Calgary 3-1 to clinch the division title. All we had to do was win tonight to stay alive, another win on Saturday and we'd sneak into 8th place.
What it all comes down to is that we couldn't get it done. We had a 5 minute power play in the second period, and another 2 minute power play after that. The only players that actually looked like they wanted to win were the Ritchie, Rypien and Cowan line.
The Canucks are like that lost child that has so much potential to be great but just seems to coast by with mediocre results and little flashes of brilliance to keep you believing in them a bit more.
The phonelines will erupt tomorrow and media frenzy will start. Nonis will be on the hot seat as well as Vigneault. Fans will want to call for Nonis to be axed with his inability to do something at the trade deadline. I whole-heartedly disagree. I think Nonis finally has a chance to go and put a major stamp on this team in the off season with the clearing of Naslund and Morrison's salaries.
Vigneault I'm not so sure about.
I think he's gone away from a successful system that he had last year. He fostered a lunch pail carrying hard working team that brought a level of effort every night that fans could be proud of even if they lost. Anybody had a chance to play up on the first line if they were either producing or working hard.
This year it was different. He tried to play the Sedin's and Naslund down the stretch to work them out of their slump but it never happened. Each night he played them over and over again to no avail. The stick gripping got tighter and confidence completely diminished. The lack of confidence seeped into the team and soon turned into apathy. It seems as if last year's Jack Adam's coach wasn't really that great after all. Luongo essentially won that for him last year. If we hadn't won all those OT or shootout games, we would have been in the same position as we are now. On the outside looking in.
I feel most sorry for Luongo and Linden. They continued to carry themselves this year as real professionals, even though it must have been killing them inside. Luongo is the fiercest competitor we have on our team, and Linden is by far one of the heart and soul leaders. Both had some tough times this year, Luongo with stress of his wife's pregnancy, and Linden remained scratched for a vast number of games.
I'm writing this post with a heavy heart. I want my team to succeed but they aren't making the playoffs because they don't deserve to. It didn't seem like they had their hearts in it anymore, and whatever bit the fans had left was broken this evening.
