CANUCKS GET THE BLUES
St. Louis next opponent for Vancouver
How do you manufacture urgency when there is none?
That was Craig Berube’s summation of the lethargic, no-hitting, round-robin portion of the NHL post-season. The demanding St. Louis Blues coach couldn’t coax the defending Stanley Cup champions to display their dominant game in matches that really didn’t mean anything.
It’s why he can’t wait to face the Vancouver Canucks in games that really matter when the 16-team playoffs commence.
After all, when Joe Pavelski scored with 31 seconds left in regulation Sunday, and Denis Gurianov followed in the shootout, the Dallas Stars claimed a 2-1 win and left the Blues limping into the first round sporting an unimaginable 0-2-1 record. They blew third-period leads in every game and scored just six goals.
What does this mean? “The games probably didn’t mean enough — that’s the best way I could put it,” said Berube. “I don’t even know what home-ice advantage is. You get the last line change. Getting the real thing going here will be important for sure.
“Our game was better today, but we have a lot to improve on. Vancouver is a good team. They have a lot of young guys who are really good players and they have a lot of speed — a dangerous team offensively and they really come at you.”
Consider this a cautionary tale for the Canucks.
They’re coming off an emotional, hard-hitting, gut-wrenching and euphoric qualifying-round series win over the Minnesota Wild. And, on Sunday, they were still talking about that special Friday feeling in rallying from 1-0, 3-1 and 4-2 deficits to win 5-4 in overtime and take the best-of-five battle in four games.
The Blues are coming off a round robin in which they had little symmetry or push and paraded to the penalty box. Doesn’t sound like a Cup champ. And there wasn’t much to choose from between the clubs in the regular season, so the Canucks can dare to dream.
Josh Leivo scored in the sixth round of the shootout in a 4-3 road win Oct. 17; the Blues prevailed 2-1 in overtime at Rogers Arena on Nov. 5; and J.T. Miller scored twice in a 3-1 home-ice triumph Jan. 27.
The Canucks have also changed the post-season narrative that the kids can’t play and believe that may work in their favour. Despite envious talent, their newbies could have been caught in the glare of expectation.
With time and space at a premium and being in the crosshairs of aggressive forechecking and hitting, Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson didn’t succumb to the attention. They embraced it.
Hughes set a franchise rookie record with six points (1-5) in the four games and Pettersson was at his playmaking and pushback best with four points (1-3). And with a healthy and rejuvenated Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat each scoring twice in the series, there is room for optimism.
And it’s not just that. The Canucks didn’t give up an evenstrength goal until the fourth game against the Wild and their bottom 6 forwards were just as effective in their roles as the top 6. But when the kids come to play and don’t shy away, that’s something else.
“It bodes well for our group because we’re still playing and we’ve learned a lot in the four games,” said Canucks coach Travis Green. “There was a lot taken out of us in that first game physically and playoff hockey is intense and we haven’t played a game like that in a while.
“Emotionally, our group was really upset the next day and down. For them to come back and win the next three games, it’s impressive with a young group. It bodes well for the next series because they (young players) have gone through a lot already. It was a tough series and a tight series. They really bought in on how we had to play to win and to go through this means a lot to a young team for sure.”
So much that it goes beyond the room. And it’s why Green had to allow his impressionable team time to enjoy the qualifying-series win before coming back down to earth and getting back to work with a Monday practice.
“There has been lot of buildup to this and a lot of sacrifice,” added Green. “And when you play in a Canadian market and know how passionate it is, players sense that, too. Not just for themselves, but the organization and the city. It’s good to have a couple of days to just breathe a bit. We haven’t done a lot of talking with our group yet — we’ve just let them relax and get refocused.”
It shouldn’t take much to command their attention.
Hard to imagine the Blues not showing their true DNA in the first real round. In the regular season, they gave up the fifth-fewest goals and that’s what wins championships. They grind away but have three 20-goal gunners in Brayden Schenn, David Perron and Jaden Schwartz.
Vancouver is a good team. They have a lot of young guys who are really good players and they have a lot of speed — a dangerous team offensively.