Ben Kuzma of The Province spoke to Jim Benning on Monday, asking him about a number of the topics that we've discussed here in recent days. Click here to read his story.
There's nothing new on the Kesler trade front—Kuzma has insisted since the trade deadline that the Canucks would not be interested in a Brayden Schenn package from Philadelphia—but he does get a few quotes that start bringing Benning's plans and philosophies into focus.
For one thing, it sounds like Dan Bylsma will be in the mix during the coaching interviews:
We’re tied up this week with amateur and pro meetings (in Whistler) and next week we’re going to interview coaches. He (Bylsma) is a guy we’re going to have interest in as will a number of teams looking for a coach.
For another, it sounds like the preferred course of action would be to hang on to Travis Green in Utica. "Everybody seems happy with the job he did down there. Nothing but positive things, I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to him yet but everything was real positive."
Finally, it's no surprise that a man like Benning who walks in sensible shoes is not the offer-sheeting type, not even for a tasty prospect like Ryan Johansen: "What ends up happening with that is, teams usually end up matching the offer sheet and you end up driving up the prices on the players. We’ll look at everything, but we probably won’t be doing offer sheets."
Canucks.com offers up this video interview with Trevor Linden from the scouting meetings at Whistler, where he talks again about character and the types of players that the Canucks will be targeting:
I caught most of Don Cherry's top prospects segment during last night's game. Props to Leon Draisaitl for knowing real music when he hears it, picking AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" as his favourite song. Here's the video, in case you missed it—the prospects come up at around the 3:00 mark.
Now, speaking of last night's game....
As some of you pointed out, how sad it must be for those Rangers fans who paid as much as $1,500 for a ticket to the first Stanley Cup Final game at MSG in 20 years, only to see their team shut out by a red-hot goalie.
Oh, the deja vu from Game 7 of 2011.
The Kings certainly look like an unstoppable force. Though they've gotten stronger in every series as the playoffs have gone on, I think the only thing that can hurt them now is themselves. We've seen them let up when they get too comfortable: up 3-2 against Anaheim, then 3-1 against Chicago, they weren't able to immediately clinch those series.
So far, this Final is following the exact same script as 2012, when the Kings beat the New Jersey Devils for their first Stanley Cup. They took a 2-0 series lead in L.A. by winning both games in overtime, though they did take early leads in both those games. Then, the Kings shut out the Devils at Prudential Center in Game 3, by a score of 4-0.
If the parallels hold, the Rangers will have a chance to salvage some dignity before the NHL signs off for summer. The Kings didn't close out right away in 2012 either, allowing the Devils to win Games 4 and 5 before finally finishing them off with a dominant 6-1 thumping in Game 6.
Much like the 2011 Boston Bruins, the Kings certainly enjoyed more than their fair share of puck luck on Monday, scoring every goal after some sort of deflection by a Rangers player. The Kings also got a vintage 2012 performance out of Jonathan Quick, who was spectacular after giving up at least four goals in four of his previous five games.
On the CBC broadcast, Craig Simpson called out the Rangers for their lack of adjustments as the game went on—like continuing to use the same power-play personnel despite going 0-for-6 on the night.
AV used to make my head explode here in Vancouver when he wouldn't make tweaks to try to spark his team. Though it's generally understood that the Rangers are outmatched in this series, I expect he'll be toasted in Manhattan for his mild-mannered approach, especially if New York does get swept.
We knew he'd be in tough against the Kings, but we're not seeing anything from Alain Vigneault that suggests he's added any new wrinkles to help spark his team when the going gets tough.