Thursday Mashup: Canada’s Team
(Getty Images 2011)
Of course I’m talking about the Leafs, who will be drafting at #25 and #30 after the Bruins destroyed the Canucks in Vancouver last night.
The Canucks’ best players didn’t play like their best. In fact, they may have been their worst. Roberto Luongo can’t really be blamed for the loss, but he really didn’t do much to help his team win.
The Sedin twins, on the other hand, were atrocious. Both were -4 on the night, while Alex Burrows was -3. Not much of a top line.
Boston finally managed to bring their best game to Vancouver, which may be in part due to Nathan Horton spraying water from the TD Garden on to the Rogers Arena ice. Whatever the superstition, the stars seemed to align for the Bruins last night as they were on their heels for a couple minutes to start, then proceded to take the game over.
It began to look as if the Bruins were playing game seven of the Stanley Cup Final, while the Canucks were in regular season form.
For me personally, it was nice to see Tomas Kaberle and Michael Ryder hoist the mug. Kaberle may have not been lights out all playoff, but he was solid in the Final. And Ryder played great basically right from the drop of the puck against Montreal.
While both teams are Leafs rivals, I think a lot of fans of the blue and white just associated themselves with the Bruins a little more than Vancouver. After all, the Bruins do play a tough game, and since the days of Wendel we’ve been keen on watching that type of hockey.
The Canucks really went overboard with their foolishness and embellishment, which turned a lot of fans against them. Luckily, we can all sleep easy knowing that Max Lapierre, Raffi Torres and Alex Burrows won’t get their names on the Cup.
For us Leafs fans, this officially closes the book on the season as the wheels get spinning on off-season roster moves.
And that will begin next Friday when the Entry Draft gets underway.
So on to the Draft, on to free agency, and on to the links;
Kaberle reflects on time as a Leaf
Tomas has a few names to drop after his Cup win
How Tim Thomas changed the position
Goalie Guild with an interesting article
Riots overshadow hockey in Vancouver
Crazy scene after the big loss last night. Criminals posing as hockey fans.
Close, but no Stanley Cup ring
The Globe with a story on how the Canucks failed
Vintage Leafs Memories with a salute to the Bruins
THN talks Bryzgalov, the Draft, etc.
If you have any other links you’d like to see featured, throw them in the comments section or drop me an email.
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