Stars did not fall, 2-0
I hate losing. It leaves that bitter taste in your mouth. I most especially hate losing when my favorite player was having one of the best games in his life and was doing everything he can to carry his team to a comeback.
As far as I'm concerned, Markus Naslund showed up, I'm not sure if anyone else did. He did a lot of things right tonight and was just downright amazing. Very good defensively, I remember one defensive zone play in which he blocked a Dallas pass which could have led to a good scoring chance. He was also great in trying to create plays in the offensive zone, drove hard to the net, great on the forecheck, drew penalties, and I must have seen him hold the puck in a couple of times to salvage a scoring chance.
Did I mention that he led the team in hits in the first period? I'm sure he was checking people until the end of the game, but NHL must not have thought they were actual hits to officially count those in.
Also, in the past, when Naslund is put on the Sedin line, it's usually the Sedins who carry the play and spark Nazzy. This time, it was the opposite. The Sedins were having a mediocre game until they were put with Naslund. Since then, that line was very dangerous and Marty Turco was just more solid in net which is why they couldn't score.
Another plus was Jannik Hansen's game. The Sniping Viking (courtesy of the folks @ the Prospect Thread) looked very good in his first NHL game, considering that it was also in the playoffs. He started the game as a call-up, but ended it as a "go to" guy for the Canucks.
For all we know, it could just be a case of an adrenaline rush, which is why he was good, but I think otherwise. For one, I don't think you can say it's adrenaline when the kid obviously has great vision on the ice. Once AV started using him more, he really stepped it up. He must have made 3-4 good plays with his passes. I was in awe in that one play he made in which he hit the Canuck trailer with a sweet cross ice pass. It seemed like Dallas kept that line on the perimeter on that play, but Hansen converted it into a good scoring chance with that pass.
He was also good defensively. He hustled back fast in the backcheck. And yes. He was fast.
Seeing Hansen play makes you excited for the future of the Canucks prospects, doesn't it? (Speaking of prospects... MASON RAYMOND!!! :P But that's a story for another day.)
As for the other players. I don't even know. Heh. Really, other than those two above, there wasn't anyone who really stood out. Most of them came out flat until the final period. Even the defense was pretty horrible. Most of them were noticeably sluggish, and can easily get flushed out by the Dallas forechecker.
Roberto Luongo was okay. Even though he faced less shots than Turco, both goalies faced an equal amount of scoring chances. The only difference was that Turco was able to make the saves, with help from the better defensive coverage his dmen provided him with, while Luongo couldn't with no help from his D.
The good thing is, the Canucks has not lost a game for more than 2 in a row since Christmas. After every bad game, they bounce back and play harder. Hopefully they do just that on Sunday.
