The Chicoutimi Cucumber

Yannick Hansen was on Vancouver radio prior to Game 5 saying that Nashville has figured out Vancouver. Unfortunately, I’m inclined to agree. While the games are all nail-biters, Van ultimately seems to have no answer to the brutal pounding on Quinn Hughes, and while Hughes is gamely hanging in, he’s not himself (I’ve never seen him lose his footing so much as in this series); and that is causing their entire offensive game to suffer. A guy like Hronek, who wants a huge payday this off-season, would ideally be stepping up to compensate, but I see few signs of that. With Demko out - not that Silov has been weak by any means - and with Pettersson MIA, the best Van can hope for is to eke out a narrow win over the next two, while being at least marginally outplayed. I don’t think NASH’s model can hold up over four series, but they are definitely a team built to grind you agonizingly in one round.

The Preds smartly traded Subban when he had begun his decline. For whatever reason, PK aged out early. So I see that as a pure hockey move. Re: the Montreal trade, the thing I heard about PK was that, once he spearheaded the children's hospital charity, he didn't want to sign jerseys or do other work relating to Habs charities, because he wanted to maximize his value to "his" cause. And that didn't sit too well with the organization or other players. That comes from a former exec with the Habs foundation. Take it for what it's worth. But the wider backlash to Subban, however, was almost instantaneous when he joined the league - long before the hospital thing. And I will never be convinced that that backlash was not informed by subliminal racism. A white kid who acted exactly the same way would have been turned into a Real Canadian Hero by the HNIC/media ecosystem. Instead PK was framed as a "problem" and too big for his britches, needing to learn a lesson, to learn his place. Absolutely the classic response to a swaggering, high-achieving black man. 🙄

I always remember Game 7 of the first round in 2021. Going into that game, I had a lot of trepidation - surely the Leafs’ firepower would come out blasting and they’d bring everything they had. Instead they were limp noodles who had already given up. Defeated by the Trident and Carey Price. There seems to be something fundamentally wrong with this core, between the ears. Hopefully Boston puts ‘em out of their misery and we can stop worrying about a Leafs Miracle Run for another year.

I have a colleague from Africa. His son, who was born in Canada, plays hockey at a high level. I was chatting with the kid; his favourite players are Evander Kane and PK Subban. And considering how both of those guys were framed as "problems" for much of their careers, crapped on for not being "good Canadian boys" etc., the game is lucky that he didn't get turned off and go in another direction. The future of hockey in Canada is probably as the leading sport of a number of sports, but no longer THE iconic Canadian thing; similar, really, to how baseball went from being "America's pastime" to one of a number of popular sports. And, as has been noted, the game continues to grow elsewhere. OK by me, although it does bode poorly for Canada's prospects in international play in the long run.

Hockey is probably paying a price for all those decades of hyper-conservative whiteness. I don't know what has gone on at lower levels, but the NHL has seldom projected a welcoming vibe to people of colour and immigrants (let alone LGBTQ types, women, etc); and the whole HNIC "small town hockey" ethos further amplified the idea that this sport is really about the fantasies and memories of "old-stock Canadians." I don't care, myself, since I always found that configuration rather grating.

Cathal Kelly in The Globe and Mail - yes, like some figure from a lost age, I read the paper - has a piece today on how Bob Cole’s passing underscores how hockey is “in decline.” In fact, the game is fantastic, the best of my half-century-long lifetime in terms of quality and excitement. That sounds like 12 hours well spent. (By “decline” Kelly seems to mean that the sport no longer occupies the same iconic stature in the Canadian imagination that it once did. I agree with that, but who cares, really?)

LOL, reminded me of that post in the women's Olympic gold medal game a few years ago. And sure enough, the team that benefitted from the post went on to win.

WOW!!! Epic theft by Vancouver!! "Team of destiny" vibe starting to emerge...if they can win the series after losing two goalies, that is massive. Hughes quietly makes huge plays at key moments to make it happen

Ahahahaha great comments on here!! 🤣🤣🤣 As glorious as it is to see the Leafs crap out YET AGAIN, Boston is a team I would have greatly feared going into these playoffs. They were humiliated last playoff and are a battle hardened team with excellent goaltending. Elite teams that go through humiliation are always super dangerous. Keefe is gone, surely, if current trends continue.

Boy that was basically Game 2 in reverse. Huge win by the Canucks and a hell of a battling performance by DeSmith.

Canucks special teams are ON POINT tonight

But it's not like Soros has sucked. Basically that's what Nashville got last game - opportunistic scoring. It's good for Van that Miller and Boser scored. Their big guns need to deliver. Now Pettersson needs to break the playoff goose-egg, and they can put that narrative to rest.

It's that kinda series. The Canucks are an elite defensive team and Nashville is blocking shots and collapsing in front of the G like crazy.

Zdorov is having one hell of a series. He can be dodgy over 82, but damn is he a beast in a short series. Pettersson looks better tonight, but Hughes seems rattled by all the hits. McCarron has been a factor in the series, but the hit on Shakey DeSmith was outrageous and I'm glad Miller made him pay.

Different time, when a grad student working part-time could afford a standing-room ticket. I would have driven a bus through the doors to see that game, though. Nothing was going to stop me. As cherished as that memory is - I can still see Roy looking right at us and raising the Cup, roaring in triumph - I was also there for Game 2 of that series. The McSorely stick/Desjardins game. No single moment has ever been more ecstatic for me as a hockey fan than to be in the building when Desjardins blasted it past Hrudey to tie it up with a minute left. It was INSANE.