Canucks

I went to Game 1 of the Canucks game and I would have to say that it was the best Canucks playoff game I have ever attended live. Which is not saying much when you consider the Canucks history in the playoffs. The only game I can remember that was good was the Minnesota Wild game where Matt Cooke scores with no time left to send it to overtime and then Trent Klatt gets the winner in OT. And that was a first rounder.

I also saw the Dallas Stars triple OT game, but that was more grueling than anything else, with a good outcome.

The litany of LIVE playoff games I have attended is too long.
Game 3: Calgary Flames was a loss in 1994
Game 3: New York Rangers Stanley Cup in 1994 was a loss. When Bure scored 1 minute into the game I thought I was in for the best day of my life. He got ejected later for an elbow, Kovalev and Leetch took over and that was that.
Chicago Blackhawks, Chelios picking off a pass to win it? I was there.
Colorado Avalanche beating the Canucks thoroughly? I was there.
(You can tell how much I want to erase those games, because I don't know what years those two playoff games were and I don't even want to expend energy to "Google" it.)
2007: Anaheim wins in overtime. That was the weirdest sound ever, because GM Place was dead silent and all you could hear was the Anaheim Ducks whooping it up on the ice. The term "sudden death" was never more apt at that time.

Even enduring all those losses, Thursday's game was a shocking reminder to me how much more playoff games are better in person than regular season games. The atmosphere was electric to begin with. By the second period, up 3-0, and with Welwood drawing another double minor, I became delirious. If the Canucks had scored, GM Place would have gone haywire.

Of course the Canucks didn't score and you know the rest. The Blackhawks came back to tie it. Why I believe the Canucks are going to win the Stanley Cup was shown in their fortitude that night. The OLD Canucks would have folded. If you blow a THREE GOAL lead that means momentum is gone and your team is on the road to defeat. And then that four on one appears out of nowhere and Sami Salo bangs it home (does Steve Bernier ever score on his first shot? Love the guy, but he has so many high quality chances that he puts into the goalie.)

And then once again, I was delirious, high-fiving every stranger around me, jumping up and down like a giddy child on Christmas. My friend, Kav, and I were ecstatic and still talking about the game the next day. My wife thinks I am crazy for being so wrapped up in a SPORT. Which makes sense to all outside observers. But like I have said many times in this blog, sports brings us together, sports adds to the spice of life. I have no qualms saying that I am a crazy Canuck fan. I am growing quite possibly the worst facial hair ever seen and I do not care about all the abuse heaped on me. Game #2 goes tonight and I will be in the building again. I hope that it will be a memorable game, not one that I want to erase from my mind. Go Canucks go.