Let's begin with this graphical interpretation of what we Canucks fans get to watch in this year's playoffs:
With two goals in two games and a plus-three for San Jose, Raffi Torres is looking more like the hero who scored the Game 1 winner for the Canucks against Boston and less like the guy who ended his last two playoffs in the doghouse with suspensions. After missing almost the entire season due to knee surgery, can he keep channeling "good Raffi," or will his evil twin eventually emerge?
My money's on the latter. History tells us that Torres can't keep his nose clean for long.
What has happened to the LA Kings' renowned defense? The Sharks are playing a tremendous four-line game and have been coming in waves.
Over in the Eastern Conference, Alain Vigneault had some fun in New York after the Rangers' Game 1 win, when a cell phone went off during his press conference.
It's interesting to be reminded about how AV treats these pressers in comparison to Torts, but if you want the good stuff, fast-forward to about the 2:00 mark.
The vibe in NewYork was not as rosy after the Rangers blew their 2-0 lead on Sunday to let the Flyers back into the series. Seems some of the Blueshirt faithful do not take kindly to assessments like this after a loss:
I would think the Rangers have been successful enough this season that Vigneault's job will be safe no matter how this series turns out, but I wonder about some of the other series. If the right coach becomes available at the end of this round, that could force Trevor Linden to pull the pin on John Tortorella and start the next phase of the rebuild.
Pittsburgh has been outplayed so far in their series against Columbus and is a bit fortunate to be tied 1-1—and the blame doesn't fall on Marc-Andre Fleury. If the Penguins lose to the Blue Jackets, will Dan Bylsma get the ax? And if he does, should the Canucks be the first to come calling?
Coming off a Cup win last year, I'd say Joel Quenneville's job is safe in Chicago even if the Blackhawks fall to the Blues. But Mike Yeo could be skating on thin ice in Minnesota as his Wild are getting demolished by the Avalanche, and I'd think Darryl Sutter—and his assistant John Stevens—will get a long, hard look if the Kings can't bounce back in their series once they get home to Los Angeles.
Anything appeal there? Who would you like to see the Canucks interview if they become available?
The Tampa Bay Lightning are down 0-3, but I don't see them parting ways with Jon Cooper. The bad luck they suffered in Game 3 was positively Canuck-esque, between the controversial disallowed goal and the phantom offside on Steven Stamkos' breakaway and Stamkos' head running into Alexei Emelin's knee. Local writer Jason Brough took some heat for this tweet yesterday, which I thought was quite brilliant:
One final random note to wrap up today. Congratuations to Markus Naslund!
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