Vancouver Canucks Playoffs: Game Three - No Penalty Kill nor Goaltending

I don’t need to see the rest of the game to write this article (4-1 LA), second period and I’m fuming.

I’m going to go out on a limb here, even though I called it in an article Will Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks Make the Grade?

This team will not win this series with the playoffs worst penalty kill team and Luongo playing goal. I don’t have to quote the stats here, you all are quite aware of them.

It is time to make the real tough decision. Which goalie gives the team the best chance of winning the next game in LA? Not the fifth or sixth if there is one, the next one.

How does this stack up for goals against? An 8-3 loss last time the Nucks played in LA and now not even two periods and another four goals. Twelve goals in about four and a half periods.

Am I throwing the Captain under the bus? Nope, it’s about giving the Nucks team an opportunity to win. Luongo happens to be playing poorly on the PK.

Andrew Raycroft needs to be given the opportunity to turn this thing around before it blows up in the Canucks face.

It’s well known in hockey that your best penalty killer has to be the goaltending and this has not been the case this season.

Is it all Luongo’s fault? Of course not.

The Canucks are undisciplined.

Furthermore, they are leaving the shooting lanes open, way too big of a gap between the LA point men and winger and screening the front of the net, but the goaltender has to be the difference.

The other problem here is the Sedin line. If they can’t be a factor than the Nucks are back to being a one line time but with a different twist. This time it’s left up to the second line to carry the load.

Everyone knows that the Sedin's would be smothered on the road but somehow they have to battle through this and be stronger on the puck. It’s all about the will to compete, who works harder and coming out with the puck.

They have not done this so far in this series. Well they did come alive in the third.

Worst D-man for the Canucks—Christian Ehrhoff. Give-aways by the bushel, poor decisions, worse passing.

Best Canuck forward again—Mikael Samuelsson. Demitra needs to sit. Poor series so far for Kyle Wellwood.

On the call that denied the Canucks Daniel Sedin a goal. What did you expect? It was a call made from back east.

This team is going to have to make their own breaks. Nothing is going to be given to them.

Pivotal game four in this series will either see the Nucks even it up or fall behind 3-1.

The way the Nucks special teams are playing right now they will not, and I repeat NOT, win this series.