Winnipeg Fans Predict They Will Riot Better Than Wussy Vancouver

Last week the Vancouver Canucks disappointed an entire nation as Canada wept when their team ended up  losing to an American team on home soil. Then the Canucks fans made themselves look classy for the rest of the world, including non-hockey fans, to see with riots that went through the night.

The night was not good for Vancouver or its fans for many reasons.

Winnipeg is so hockey hungry that when asked about whether their town would act similar to the Vancouver bunch in the same situation they got some rather predictable answers. A couple of people said they were too classy to let this happen but the reality is that the Jets fans would most definitely riot.

It’s a hockey-man town that went nuts in just a month of having a team.  Can you imagine how these guys and gals would react if the Jets (or whatever they will be named) lost Game 7 at home?

Trick question….the Winnipeg team wouldn’t choke like that.

But if they did, here’s what some Winnipeggers said about the situation. Click the image below to watch the video.

Bruins End 39 Year Cup Run With Hard Work, Determination and Shutouts

I don’t believe that many would have predicted that Boston would be the team hoisting the Cup this year, let alone doing so over the Canucks. The victory was achieved through the combination a lot of hard work, exorcising past demons, stellar goaltending, and of course tremendous beards (see: Chara, Thomas, Bergeron, anyone but Seguin).

First came the Canadiens (deja vu, anyone?). Boston went down 2-0 in the series and had to battle through three OT games, including game seven, in order to knock off Montreal. Thomas was not yet on top of his game in this series, but he was just getting warmed up.

Next up were the Flyers (deja vu, anyone?) – the team that embarrassed the Bruins last year after winning 4 games in a row to take the series in seven. This year would be very different. Was Thomas actually getting warmed up? You bet – just look at these goal totals: 3, 2, 1, 1. Four games, seven goals, series over. Also those seven goals were up against the 20 that the Bruins’ offense tallied in order to take some of the pressure of their netminder. Well deserved ticket to the conference finals.

Here comes Tampa looking to head back to the Stanley Cup Finals when they won a few years ago in 2004. The Lightning seemed to have figured out Thomas, scoring give goals in games one, two, four, and six to take this series the distance. They also seemed rather lost in games three, five, and seven where they netted a grand total of one goal. Tampa’s inconsistency was not enough to take down Boston’s natural goal scoring abilities and they just could steal this one from the Bruins.

That brings us to the Cup Finals – a place the Bruins hadn’t reached in 21 seasons. Another seven game series, and another inconsistent performance by both teams. Scoring eight goals in game three didn’t erase the fact that Boston was shutout in games one and five, leading to a game six facing elimination. No biggee – Thomas only get in two and the offense stepped up so the series was headed back to Vancouver for the greatest moment in sports: a game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.

ALL of that lead to this moment – one game to win it all.

Cue Tim Thomas. Here’s what I imagine his speech was to the team before the game: Luongo got two 1-0 shutouts – so why can’t I get a second 4-0 shutout? Sounds about right.

In my opinion, the game seven shutout culminated the Bruins 2011 Cup run. Here’s why. Boston was out-shot 37 – 20. Thomas stopped all of them. Their rookie sensation Marchand netted two goals and an assist – what kind of rookie steps up like that? Perfect finals performance as part of this historic run to the cup. Shorthanded breakaway goal in game seven of the finals? Yeah that NEVER happens. Still, Bergeron managed to check that one off his bucket list.

Best of all, Boston waltzed into Vancouver’s house after a grueling series and SHUT THEM OUT. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Boston wasn’t the best team in this year’s playoffs. They did however have one of the greatest playoff performances ever by a goalie, and a team that just would not quit through 25 games. Three seven-game series, a sweep and a Cup-clinching shutout. The fans could not have thought up a better postseason.

Congratulations to the 2011 Boston Bruins – get some rest, you’ve earned it.

Gary Bettman gets BOOED Presenting Stanley Cup

Ahhh….the booing of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman as he presents the Stanley Cup. It’s one of the great sounds of hockey and one that you can be guaranteed to hear no matter where the Cup is presented and to which team.

Most hockey fans are not very pleased with how Bettman has run the league and his quiet policy to ignore Canadian teams. That why you get this great scene where Bettman presents the Cup to the captain of the winning team and audience in Vancouver almost overwhelms the little guy.

In Case You Missed It, Luongo Chokes and Bruins Win Stanley Cup

It’s hard to put all the blame on Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo for Vancouver’s epic fail in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Boston Bruins will get their team etched into the side of the Cup for the first time since Bobby Orr played with some hard, physical hockey that just overpowered the Canucks.

The Bruins powered their way to an easy 4-0 win on the Canucks home ice which prompted thousands of classy Vancouver fans to start rioting in downtown Vancouver. Nice. And this comes after making fun of Bruins fans for doing that no matter the outcome of the game.

The Canucks defense looked soft in their own end and had little presence in Boston’s zone.  I bring that point up because it really was a huge key for Vancouver during the playoffs.  Their defense is usually really aggressive in the offensive zone and when their d-men get involved with shots on goal good things happen.

But take out a few key players, like Aaron Rome being suspended for his cheap, dumb hit on Nathan Horton, and a poor performance by Roberto Luongo and you have a recipe for a Boston Cup.  The Sedin twins were missing for the most part and the strong offensive performance by Ryan Kesler stuttered to just one point in the Finals.

Kesler has just not been the same during the playoffs after taking a few key hits that seemed to quietly injure him and make him ineffective.  Although no details are being given, Kesler earlier took a lower body hit in the beginning of the series and never made an impact since.

Vancouver was outscored 23-8 by the Bruins which goes to show how much a goaltender is needed to win the Cup.  The Bruins Tim Thomas stormed through the playoffs and never let up, even when Luongo called him out in the Game 5 loss for letting in a soft goal.

But Thomas had the last laugh.  The Bruins won Games 6 and 7 to win the Cup and Thomas took home the Conn Smythe trophy for series MVP and it is well deserved.  Thomas played his heart out and kept this Bruins afloat through the entire playoffs.  His performance is nothing less than extraordinary and his accolades are well deserved.

So whether Canucks fans will blame Luongo for letting in too many goals or the offensive for not producing enough goals remains to be seen.  I’m sure it will be debated for years about what could have been as the NHL’s #1 team through the regular season systematically destructed through the playoffs to prove that the regular season’s records don’t matter in the playoffs.

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand jumped up and down screaming after the puck sailed into the empty Vancouver Canucks net, knowing that his rookie season would conclude as the hero of Game 7 in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

Marchand scored 2 goals and added an assist as the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup championship, 4-0 in Vancouver. It was the franchise’s first NHL title since 1972.

A tenacious 23-year-old forward whose agitating game has earned him comparisons to Bruins great Ken “The Rat” Linseman, Marchand had two goals and an assist in the win. The goals gave him 11 for the playoffs, increasing the Boston rookie playoff record he broke with the opening tally in the Bruins’ Game 6 victory.

But the backbone of the Boston Cup victory was Tim Thomas, the 37-year-old blue-collar netminder who outplayed and outclassed his heralded counterpart Roberto Luongo in the seven-game series.

Thomas won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, stopping 201 of 209 shots for the series.

“I can’t believe it’s over,” said Thomas on NBC after the game. “Being the last game, we didn’t save anything. That was the difference.”
[via Yahoo! Sports]

Luongo’s World, An Epic Tale of Loss

Wednesday night the Vancouver Canucks completed their colossal collapse after going up on the Boston Bruins 2 games to none and allowed Boston to grab a Game 7 win to win the Stanley Cup. Fans in Vancouver rioted and cried as the #1 NHL team through the season slowly fell apart.

Two key dumb moves by Vancouver helped Boston stay motivated. The first was the cheap hit by the Canucks Aaron Rome in Game 3 on Nathan Horton that sent Horton to the hospital and out of the series. That motivated the Bruins to stomp on the Canucks for a few games and get back into the series.

Then Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo called out the Bruins goalie, Tim Thomas, for not making the save on a game winning goal by Vancouver in Game 5. Thomas responded with epic games to win Game 6 and 7 and the Cup. Here’s a look at how that broke down in our continuing photo story, “Luongo’s World.”

Vancouver Canucks Fans React To Early Liquor Store Closures

To help prevent fans from going bat-shit insane during the Stanley Cup Finals the city of Vancouver has issued some rules for liquor stores to close early during the big game tonight. Similar orders were issued for Game 6 which was held in Boston but many fans headed downtown to watch the games on the big screens and in the arena.

B.C.’s Liquor Control and Licensing Branch again announced six public and 13 private liquor stores would close early for Game 7 on Wednesday night in Vancouver to try and reduce the number of people drinking on the street.

Canucks fans be crazy! They have been known to get a little rowdy and Game 5 set a bad example as police faced situations worse than the recent Winter Olympics.

Friday’s Game 5, which the Canucks won at home, was when public intoxication reached an “unacceptable level,” according to Minister of Public Safety Shirley Bond. Vancouver police reported two dozen arrests, along with 2,800 liquor pour-outs. That was more than at any point during the Olympics, when police said the number of pour-outs peaked at about 1,800.

The stores – as they did before Game 6 Monday – will close at 4 p.m. The ministry said there were far fewer liquor-related problems downtown after the early closures, which created a “more positive” environment.

After Game 1, played on Wednesday, June 1, Vancouver police reported 325 liquor pour-outs and eight arrests for breach of the peace or public intoxication. After Game 2, the following Saturday, those numbers jumped to 891 pour-outs and 46 arrests.
[via The Globe and Mail]

Although most adult fans don’t like the idea, they do understand why it is order. More than 100,000 fans are estimated to arrive in downtown Vancouver in hopes of the Canucks first Stanley Cup and you can expect a crazy atmosphere.

But most good drinkers will likely stock up today for the event before the 4 pm deadline. The Vancouver Sun went around and asked a few fans what they thought of the closures and got some interesting video. I think the second guy in the video is still drunk from Game 5. [video link here]

What’s On The Fans Minds Tonight [CHART]

The end of the 2010-11 NHL season is upon us as Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals is slated to drop the puck tonight at 8 PM. After what I expect to be a very physical game with tons of fights, hits and some flops, the Stanley Cup will be awarded to one of the teams.

Which one will win it is still a mystery. For the series as a whole it seems the games come down to the goaltenders and the Canucks Luongo is looking very susceptible right now. He’s the type of guy to come out of the game with a shutout or get chased in the 2nd after letting in 5 goals. Which Luongo will show up is a mystery at this point.

The Bruins have a more reliable goalie in Tim Thomas but will have to come out of the gate swinging and scoring to get the upper hand on the Canucks. With that in mind here’s a look at what’s on the minds of the Canucks and Bruins fans minds as they head into Game 7. Click the below image to see a larger version.

Bringin’ the Cup Back To Canada – To Where It Belongs

Let’s turn the clocks back a few months, back to the middle of the NHL season when we all broke out of our hockey hibernation to enjoy a memorable sporting event. I believe it was called the Super Bowl (but the trophy design doesn’t suit the name – American sports are weird). In this elaborate event of gridiron intensity, the Packers prevailed and declared that the Vince Lombardi trophy was coming home. In fact, they made that statement so many times that I was ready to strangle anyone who uttered after that day.

However, there is something to the joy felt by the Cheeseheads across the state of Wisconsin as they felt that Championship belongs in their town. I believe it is the same with the Stanley Cup, but not just in one town – in one country.

Let’s be honest, hockey is Canada’s game, even without our dominance on the world stage. Just because a Canadian NHL team hasn’t won since 1993 doesn’t make any difference at all – there’s only 6 of them. The craziest thing is that even with only 6 teams, Canada has managed to win 44 of the 94 Cups in the NHL era, dating back to 1915. That’s nuts. So when I think of a Vancouver victory tomorrow night meaning the Cup’s return to Canada, I get pretty excited about that. Especially because this is where it belongs.

Many may argue that the 2011 Canucks are not very deserving of a parade this week, but I think they owe it to their country to pull out the W tomorrow night. With the recent move of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, Canada is slowly gaining more ground in a league hell-bent on moving further south. Who knows if we’ll ever have more than 7 teams before Bettman decides to open an arena in Panama.

Tomorrow night’s game comes down to a city looking for its first Cup, as well as a country rooting for a piece of that moment. Think of Americans turned Mavs fans vs. Lebron – yup, we care that much about our nation’s hockey status. This is our chance to shine outside of the Olympics, World Cup and World Championships. The Cup must come back home – back to north of the border! Let’s Go Canucks!!

For your enjoyment here are some great Canadian hockey moments:

The golden Goal

Paul Henderson’s Goal 1972

Canada Cup 1987, Lemieux goal

2002 Team Canada Hockey Gold

MONTREAL CANADIENS 1993 ROAD TO THE CUP

Sedin Sisters Punching Bag

Drawing a penalty is one thing but watch the Bruins Brad Marchand toss a round of punches at one of the Sedin Sisters (as they’re known in Boston) and just bob back and forth like a punching bag.

Usually the Sedins drop to the ice with little or no contact so this is puzzling. I think it’s an illusion or CG recreation to mess with my head.

[via Masshole Sports]

Bruins Maul Canucks, Mason Raymond Injured

It started out bad in Game 6 for the Canucks as Mason Raymond was taken to the hospital just 20 seconds into the game….and went downhill from there.

Roberto Luongo should be biting his tongue after making smart remarks about stopping pucks in Game 5. Turns out the Bruins wanted to make a point and piled 3 goals on Roberto in 8 1/2 minutes and then added one quickly on backup Cory Schneider to put the Bruins up 4-0 halfway through the first period.

The Canucks look bewildered and overpowered as the more physical Bruins used their home ice advantage to grab a win and tie the series at 3-3. Game 7 returns to Vancouver Wednesday, June 15th.

Vancouver Canucks forward Mason Raymond was taken to the hospital following a hit by Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk during the opening minute of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden.

The Canucks did not disclose the injury but said Raymond is being evaluated.

Raymond and Boychuk became tangled behind the Bruins net with the Canucks on the attack. Raymond was spun around and went back-first into the boards and crumpled to the ice. He stayed down for nearly 5 minutes as trainers attended to him.
[via Fox Sports ]

So, Luongo choked again. That’s seems to be a trend of sorts with him. Now will the Canucks go with him in Game 7 for a chance of redemption?

Tough call. Luongo usually does poorly (in this years playoffs) for 2 games followed by a third great one. Too bad there’s only one more game left in the series.

Fueled by the return of Nathan Horton, the Bruins seemed riled up from the get go. Horton appeared before the game on the scoreboard for fans and players to see and it definitely got the crowd excited.

Nathan Horton drew cheers from the home crowd when the injured Boston Bruins forward was shown on the scoreboard during a timeout in the first period of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

His teammates joined in by knocking their sticks against the boards, the traditional sign of applause by hockey players.

Horton smiled and waved at the fans. One sign in the crowd read, “Win it for Horton.” Another: “Boston Runs on Horton.”
[via Yahoo! Sports]

The Bruins held on to win 5-2 in an easy win with a few spurts of fights and scuffles but nothing was as sad as the pictures of the streets of Vancouver, filled with blue jerseys, silent and sad. The quick start by the Bruins made for a long night for Canucks fans who filled Rogers Arena and the nearby streets to watch the game.

Even liquor stores surrounding the area were forced closed to help curb the would be party crowd if the Canucks won.

In a bid to keep the festivities under control, the provincial government ordered 19 liquor stores to close early — at 4 p.m. — in downtown Vancouver. They had remained open as usual during the opening two games of the final in Vancouver.

Everyone do the Luongo choke face!

“This was done during the Olympics, and there was an immediate reduction of alcohol-related violence and disorder,” Solicitor General Shirley Bond said in a statement.

There were an estimated 100,000 fans in the streets for Game 5 Friday and more had been expected Monday.

“Alcohol consumption on the streets and public intoxication reached an unacceptable level on Friday, and we have a responsibility to ensure everyone can enjoy public events and celebrations in a safe manner,” Brown said.

“Let’s show the world once again that British Columbians know how to celebrate in a safe and responsible manner,” she added.

Const. Jana McGuinness said police poured out about 3,000 bottles during Friday’s game.

“We didn’t see anything like that in the Olympics,” she said. “The highest pour-outs were 1,800. So liquor is a big issue and we’re going to stay on top of it tonight.”
[via ]

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