The Vancouver Canucks left for Boston earlier this week up two games to none in the Stanley Cup Finals knowing that if they took care of business they would be returning home at the end of the week with the Cup in their possession.
Instead they return home to Vancouver with the series tied at two games a piece with British Colombia & most of Canada wondering what is happening to the Canucks.
Vancouver won the President's Trophy for having the best record in the NHL during the regular season but have played in the finals like a number seven seed who has gotten this far and is now trying to hold on as long as they can.
While the series is tied 2-2 the Bruins were a victim of hard luck in Vancouver losing Game 1 with 18 seconds to play and Game 2 11 seconds into overtime.
Since then the Bruins have outscored the Canucks 12-1 and have taken complete control of this series. In fact you could make a case that the Bruins should have already swept this series.
So what is wrong with Vancouver? It comes down to a few things.
1. Goaltending:
A lot of people want to focus on how Roberto Luongo struggled in Boston. Granted he did not play well in goal in Games three & four but it wasn't just him. We'll get to that in a moment.
What is happening is Tim Thomas is outplaying Luongo.
The Canucks have had better scoring chances for most of the series yet Thomas has stood his ground and is practically turning away every shot that he faces.
His aggressive style in goal is working and his play has got to be in the head of the Vancouver Canucks. At this point Thomas might be your Conn Smythe award winner win or lose.
There is talk in Vancouver whether Luongo should start Game 5.
In my mind he has to. He is one of the reasons you have gotten this far. You can swap goalies in the 1st round and survive but if you do that in the Finals you are playing Russian Roulette in net.
If Luongo's play in net was the reason the series is now tied that would be one thing but the problems for the Canucks go deeper than Luongo.
2. Defensive pairings:
The Canucks came into the playoffs with one of the deepest bluelines in the NHL. That depth has been tested because of injuries & suspensions.
Dan Hamhuis, the closest thing the Canucks have to a shutdown defenseman, was lost to an injury in Game 1 of the series. His return looks doubtful and leaves a gaping hole on the blueline.
If that wasn't bad enough Vancouver also lost Aaron Rome in Game 3 after laying a vicious hit on Nathan Horton. The hit gave Horton a concussion that put him out for the rest of the series. As a result of that hit Rome was suspended testing the Canucks depth on defense even more.
Andrew Alberts and Keith Ballard have been called upon to fill the void of Hamhuis & Rome but neither one has yet to make an impact on the ice.
With Hamhuis & Rome out of the lineup the Bruins forwards have been able to get in front of Luongo and get the quality shots on net they weren't able to in Game 1.
What's worse for Vancouver is Alain Vigneault has been unable to find the right pairings on defense to stop the Bruins forwards. He'll have the last line change at home in Game 5. Because of that he will have a better opportunity to match lines than he did in Games 3 and 4.
But that won't matter if the Canucks can't solve their next problem.
3. Vancouver's forwards can't score:
Going into the series I wondered how the Bruins defense was going to be able to stop the top line of the Sedin twins and the 2nd line featuring Ryan Kesler.
Turns out it has been easier than I thought.
Kesler has one assist in the series and has been a non factor. Speculation is he is playing with an undisclosed injury that is making him less effective than he was in previous rounds.
Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist in Game 2 but has done little else in the series. It's still more than his twin brother Henrik has done. Not only has Henrik not been on the score sheet, he didn't record his 1st shot on goal until Game 4.
Their linemate Alex Burrows was the difference maker in Game 2 scoring two goals. However Burrows is known more for being the most detested guy on the ice after biting the fingers of Patrice Bergeron in Game 1.
He has been in the middle of numerous scuffles on the ice and had Tim Thomas take a whack at him during Game 4. At this point Burrows may become the 1st guy to get punched out during the handshake at the end of the series.
Being a pest is what Burrows does best. It's effective when his teammates are scoring and the Canucks are winning. Unfortunately neither one is happening right now.
It isn't only the top two lines that are struggling. The rest of the Canucks forwards can't find the back of the net. Meanwhile for Boston it seems someone different is always stepping up for the Bruins.
That has to change if Vancouver is to win the series.
4. Boston's special teams are better than Vancouver's:
Don't get me wrong, The Bruins Power Play overall is still pathetic. However it has gotten better since Boston put Zdeno Chara back on the blueline.
With Chara on the blueline the Canucks have had to respect his shot which has opened up the ice in front of the goal. The result has been the Bruins scoring three power play goals in ten opportunities. That is more impressive than Vancouver's power play which is 1 for 22 in the series.
The Bruins have also done well shorthanded scoring two goals in the series. Their penalty kill has kept Vancouver from getting any quality scoring chances when they are on the power play.
Those four things are why this series has become a best of three.
Down two games to none the Bruins needed something to rally around. The hit on Horton seems to have done the trick.
The Bruins have seized control of the series and the city of Boston hasn't been this close to a Stanley Cup since they held a parade for Ray Bourque after he won a cup with Colorado ten years ago.
However one thing to keep in mind is the home team has won each game of this series. If that holds true then Vancouver has little to worry about.
If the Bruins are going to win this series they better win Game 5 in Vancouver. Momentum is on their side but control of the series is still up for grabs. As well as the Bruins have played I don't like their chances if they have to come back to Vancouver for a seventh game.
At this point I don't know what's going to happen in Game 5. I do know that has a hockey fan all you can do is sit back and enjoy it.
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