Referees have seen better days. (Flickr/Dan4th)

Before we get into the bad calls, player complaints, and conspiracy theories, take a moment to read up on how officials are chosen for the playoffs. Former referee Kerry Fraser recently shed light on how officials are judged through the regular season and into the postseason. Among his final takeaways:

“I had the good fortune to work the first round from the TSN studio with Paul Maurice, who coached in the KHL last season and GM Craig Button, who is no stranger to international competition and scouting. Both of them echoed my belief that the NHL officials are the best in the world at what they do!”

Now let’s take a look at just a few of the examples of questionable officiating this spring.

Pittsburgh Penguins

As a Stanley Cup favorite with a roster that surpasses a few Olympic teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins are frequently under the microscope for how they are treated by the NHL and their referees. At this point, many hockey fans around the league are sick of seeing and hearing about Sidney Crosby and the Penguins on national TV as one of the NHL’s darling teams over and over again. This general dislike of both the Penguins and Crosby can lead to some interesting viewpoints.

With the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders battling for a pivotal victory in overtime of Game 3, Sidney Crosby drove to the net with the puck and ended up on the ice. Islanders defenseman Brian Strait was called for a two minute holding penalty and the Penguins would score shortly thereafter on the powerplay to win the game 4-3 in overtime and take a 2-1 series lead.

The holding call was immediately the focus of controversy as NBC analysts questioned it and Islanders fans grew incensed. Some writers thought it was a necessary call because it prevented a scoring chance. Others saw inconsistent officiating as the issue…even if that point was lost in attacking Crosby as a diver.

I see Strait holding onto Crosby momentarily and then Crosby going down as their right skates collide (watch for how Crosby’s right skate goes outward). In the regular season, it would have been a no-brainer call. Despite being a Penguins fan though, and thinking that it was certainly a penalty by the rule book, I understood why Islanders fans were upset. Should that be a call in playoff overtime?

This led me to my next question, which was why am I questioning if a call should be different in playoff overtime than in the regular season. This is what years of watching the NHL has done to all fans. We have different expectations in the first period, the third period, overtime, and especially in the playoffs. Pens fans felt that was a penalty, and they were right based on the rules. Isles fans thought that shouldn’t have been called in overtime, and they were right based on experience.

Somehow, the NHL and their refs created this scenario where both sides had a legitimate point about whether the rules should be followed or not. Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette alluded to that issue again later in the week during the Penguins-Islanders series:

Regular season, that’s a boarding call. But unlike other professional leagues, this league has two sets of rules.

— Seth Rorabaugh (@emptynetters) May 14, 2013

With that, I quickly realized that fans have a legitimate argument about the officiating. Great calls, bad calls, inconsistent calls – the problem is that the rule book isn’t followed the same way in every circumstance. Inherently, our expectations for officiating have now become inconsistent. Holding in the first period is rarely called the same way that holding is late in the third period of a close game. There’s even less consistency going into overtime. Referees are caught between calling infractions by the rules and not wanting to have a hand in the outcome of the game. Maybe it’s time that refs admit that no matter what, they will always have a hand in the outcome of the game and they need to accept that.

Perhaps we have reached the point where players need a color-coded sign on the penalty box that makes them aware of the officiating level:

• Red – Everything will be called.
• Yellow – Obstruction is okay, but everything else will be called.
• Green – Do whatever you want as long as no one is injured.
• Gray – Calls will only be made if a player is injured, regardless of whether the referee sees it or not.
• Black – Injuries are fine too as long as a referee is not looking directly at you.

Sticking with the Penguins but moving on to the next series, Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators led to more questions about officiating. After a whistle had stopped play, Brooks Orpik opted to cross-check Cory Conacher directly in the jaw. Conacher was already on his knees, trying to get up, and disengaged with the play when Orpik felt that was necessary. I was baffled at how the Senators didn’t receive a powerplay for it and I was not the only one.  

As we just saw with Orpik crosscheck on Conacher, the second round promises to produce the same shoddy officiating as the first. — Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) May 15, 2013

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a video clip on it because the NHL doesn’t make highlights available of “infractions that should have been called.” Okay, so if Orpik’s cross-check to the face is fine, then the referees are clearly going to let the players play. No, that’s not right either as James Neal found out later in the game (skip to 1:33:18 on the video).

Could that be a holding penalty? Yes, if it’s called strictly by the rule book – that is a holding penalty. How many times do forwards do that in the course of a game though when trying to beat a defender one-on-one? Should that be called over a blatant cross-check to the face? It’s becoming more and more difficult to determine what is going to be a penalty and it’s exasperating to watch the inconsistency and unpredictability. This is hardly limited to games with the Penguins though.

San Jose Sharks

Moving back to the first round, the San Jose Sharks were on the verge of sweeping the Vancouver Canucks as they took Game 4 to overtime. While the Canucks hadn’t played well enough to earn a win necessarily, they surely didn’t expect to lose in overtime following a questionable call. Daniel Sedin was called for boarding in overtime on what was an awkward, but shoulder to shoulder hit.

The Sharks would score on the ensuing powerplay and that was it for Vancouver’s postseason. While I won’t go as far as saying there is a referee conspiracy theory going on with Vancouver, that’s a tough call to watch your season end with.

The Sharks would feel the other end of it just a week later in the second round. Late in the game with a 3-2 lead, San Jose committed a tripping penalty that gave the Kings a powerplay and a chance to tie the game. Making matters worse, defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic was then called for a delay of game penalty on the penalty kill to give the Kings a 5 on 3.

Sharks believe replay shows Vlasic clearing attempt went off Jeff Carter — Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) May 17, 2013

It certainly looks like the puck nicks Jeff Carter’s arm or jersey on its way over the glass, which by rule, should have negated the call. The Kings went on to score on the 5 on 3 and the remaining 5 on 4 to win the game 4-3 in regulation. While the Sharks certainly have to find a way to kill the penalties in that situation, a 5 on 3 that shouldn’t exist is a brutal shift in momentum to deal with. It prompted plenty of talk about the delay of game penalty in general, and furthermore, if there needs to be a safeguard against questionable calls.

Delay of game penalty at the end is why we need coach’s challenge in #NHL. looked like puck glanced off Carter’s sleeve #sharks #kings

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) May 17, 2013

But alas, even a coach’s challenge won’t fix all complaints.

Washington Capitals

Ovechkin has his doubts about how the NHL and referees treated his team. (Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports)

While many teams and fans will point to individual plays and individual calls that are being officiated poorly, some teams go the blanket route and blame a whole series on it. That’s what General Manager George McPhee and captain Alexander Ovechkin opted to do upon the Capitals’ first round exit this season. Ovechkin started it off with the following,

“I don’t know whether the refs were predisposed against us or the league. But to not give obvious penalties [against the Rangers], while for us any little thing was immediately penalized.”

He then received reinforcement from McPhee:

“I don’t think there’s a league conspiracy, but it sure didn’t feel right. Alex wasn’t wrong,”

Do they have a valid complaint? Perhaps the difference is some teams and players know the tendencies of some referees while others are clueless. Maybe, the answer is that all teams should scout referees before the game to adjust to the officiating.

Conclusion

With the advancements in replays, social media, and fan knowledge, referees are under more scrutiny than ever before. The game has changed, the rules have changed, and the fans have changed.

Referees don’t have to be perfect. Any logical fan will tell you that perfection is impossible and there are understandable mistakes. The delay of game against San Jose is an understandable mistake. It was just unfortunately timed and brings about the question of why there is no safeguard (read: replay) to help referees in that situation.

Referees should be consistent though. The concept of “letting them play” or “putting the whistles away” late in games needs to disappear. Penalties are penalties no matter when they occur. The optional enforcement of rules is starting to get out of hand and it’s an insult to the sport, the players, and the fans. Not only that, but it’s confusing players and fans as well. We don’t need perfection. We just want to know why sometimes cross-checking someone in the face is okay but putting a hand on their jersey is not. The rule book seems to skip that part.

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Meesh Shanmugam

Meesh is an attorney and the Pittsburgh Penguins Team Editor for The Hockey Writers. He also writes for The PensNation. You can contact him on twitter @HockeyMeesh or e-mail meesh7@gmail.com

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The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Beach Boys sang “I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day, I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A.”. I’m sure they weren’t singing of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs arriving in the entertainment capital of the world. But as fate may have it the Kings have once again shown the hockey world not to underestimate the power of the King. L.A will welcome their California brethren; the San Jose Sharks in round two of the playoffs for an unlikely matchup.

(Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE)

Both teams arrive as a relative underdog, but that is seemingly a role both teams embrace. The Sharks have been favorites for a long cup run for the last five years but have come up short of their ultimate goal every year. This season looks different after the first round as San Jose disposed of a Vancouver team that a lot of people felt was in turmoil before the playoffs started because of a goalie carousel between Roberto Luongo and Corey Schneider.

Meanwhile for the Kings, the pressure of a being a Stanley Cup favorite appeared to carry too much of a burden early on in 2011, but as the year progressed the Kings snuck into the playoffs and then tore a path to the Cup finals on route to the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup.

The Kings won the Cup last year with solid defense and timely scoring (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)

This year a Cup hangover was all but assumed for L.A but they managed again to push into the playoffs by way of the five seed. They beat a strong St. Louis team at their own game with a big, physical bruising style that was a staple in their cup run last season.

The Sharks hope that the grind of the Kings round one series will be exactly what the doctor ordered for a San Jose team that escaped a soft but high paced series in just four games against the Canucks.

The Sharks have had a long lay off (finishing their series against Vancouver on May 7) which is always a subject of endless debate in the NHL playoffs. Some teams prefer the rest, giving ailing bodies time to recover and rejuvenate for the next round, while others like to ride the wave of uncle ‘Mo’ into the next round. This series will be a test of those two theories as the Kings finished off their series Friday and must turn around to face the Sharks on Tuesday. The lack of action over the past week for the Sharks will certainly put their veteran presence to the test making sure the intensity from round one is reverberated in game one against L.A.

The Sharks must continue to play a fast paced up-tempo game against the Kings if they have any hope of returning to the Western conference final for the first time since 2010. They must not get sucked into the physical pound-for-pound slugfest with the defending cup champs. Fans in St. Louis are all too familiar with how that will end.

Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports)

Fans of the Sharks will favor this matchup over the seemingly unstoppable force of the Chicago Blackhawks but certainly don’t love it. The Sharks will have to use their speed and take advantage of the power play opportunities the Kings just as San Jose did in round one against Vancouver. I like the King’s in seven to stay warm and keep winter a little bit longer inside the Staples Center, until the immovable object (Kings) meets the unstoppable force (Blackhawks) in round three.

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Byron Hackett

I recently graduated from a Post- graduate Sports Journalism program at Loyalist College. I also have a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Brock University. I love everything about sports and all sports, but hockey was my first passion. Hoping to find a career, writing, talking, researching, reporting and or analyzing any sport, anywhere in the world. One small step at a time.

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But as the hockey world witnessed, the Sharks remained disciplined and the Vancouver Canucks folded in vintage Canucks fashion.

Sloppiness Wipes Out Canucks

Burns will need to contribute more on the scoresheet (Dustin Bradford/Icon SMI)

The San Jose Sharks were given 24 opportunities for the man advantage in just four games.  They cashed in nearly thirty percent of the time.  Whether or not the calls were soft or contested, once the Sharks were up a man, they were deadly.  Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski both scored three goals on the power play.  A key to the series for Vancouver was keeping the big names from doing damage.  But going a man down so often let the big three goal scorers in San Jose freely move.  In fact, Pavelski, Marleau and Couture scored 11 of the Sharks 15 goals.  This was exactly what the Canucks did not want to have happen.

Why then, do the Sharks need to erase this series from memory?  Because this series will not happen again.  The Canucks were sloppy and never got their feet set in the first round.  Second round playoff teams have fought through adversity and are firing on all cylinders.  The Sharks cannot expect the same result in the next round.  Their game plan must shift.

The Sharks did exactly what they needed to do to win, but the Canucks made it very easy for them.  They won 56% of the faceoffs.  They excelled on the power play.  They were disciplined and stayed out of the box.  Niemi played phenomenal in net.  The big three scored in bunches.

But a lot can be attributed to the ridiculous melodrama that is Vancouver 24/7.  If there is one way to fire up your opponent, it would be to call them “un-Canadian.”

Sharks Possible Opponents

Chicago Blackhawks

Nobody wants anything to do with Chicago.  The Minnesota Wild are currently putting forth a valiant effort with their third string goalie, but they look like a minor league team in comparison to the possession and precision passing that the Blackhawks have.  It is really a shame that they finished behind the Canucks, as they would have put up a great series with the San Jose Sharks.

San Jose will face Chicago if the Ducks win their series and the Hawks close out Minnesota.

The Hawks are still red hot (Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports)

The problem that faces the Sharks in a series with the Blackhawks is a match-up problem.  Chicago does not play a physical and gritty game.  They pass the puck around and score mind-bending skill goals.  Their defense is fast, disciplined, and well-positioned.  Their second string goalie, Ray Emery, could start on most any other team in the NHL.  Corey Crawford is putting on a clinic.  San Jose plays a similar style in terms of possessing the puck and keeping fundamentally strong.  But the Blackhawks do the Sharks’ gameplan better.  They are deep and can hurt you on any line.

The Sharks can win this series if Antti Niemi has the series of his life.  The great equalizer in the playoffs is goaltending.  The 2003 Detroit Red Wings know that story all too well.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues celebrate their Game 1 victory Tuesday night (Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports)

The St. Louis Blues utterly embarrassed the Sharks last year.  They were far more physical and the goalie tandem kept superstars like Marleau and Thornton silent.  The Blues are currently locked in a pitched battle with defending Stanley Cup Champions Los Angeles.

The Sharks will face the Blues if the Blues, Red Wings, and Blackhawks all come out on top.

The Blues still present the Sharks the same problem as 2012.  They have been heavy hitters and are much more present in the blue paint on both ends of the rink.  They have delivered almost 100 more hits in five games than the Sharks did in four.  But even with all that physical play, they have only been shorthanded four more times than San Jose has.  Pavelski, Couture, and Marleau will likely have a much tougher time getting the free runs they did in Vancouver.

The Sharks can win this series if their bottom lines step up the pressure and they do not get into a physical brawl with the Blues big men.  They cannot win a physical fight with St. Louis, period.  But the big men for St. Louis will slow the scorers down like they did last year.  Raffi Torres must lead the charge with Brent Burns to keep the pressure up when the top lines are off.

Los Angeles Kings

Quick will hold the key for the Kings (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE)

Reference the previous section on the Blues/Kings series.  These two teams have come out hitting hard and playing solid all-around games.  The difference in this series may be the reigning Conn Smythe winner, Jonathan Quick.  The Kings netminder propelled the 8th seeded Kings all the way to a Cup last year for those with short memories.

The Sharks will face the Kings if the Kings, Red Wings, and Blackhawks emerge victorious.

A match up with the defending Cup winners will prove very exciting for fans of both squads.  The Kings are a team that can play many types of strategies.  They can match most teams on speed, size, skill, and are definitely not afraid to get into goalie duels.  What makes them deadly is their ability to string together wins in the playoffs.  San Jose should be afraid that they are currently on a three-game win streak.

The Sharks can win this series if the superstars continue pushing and scoring at a rampant pace.  The defense must also hold airtight against the aggressive forecheck of LA.  Los Angeles can have issues scoring, but if San Jose cannot beat Quick, one or two a game would be enough.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings have a serious case of Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome so far in the postseason.  Their first two losses were awful and made the series look like it was completely one sided, but they have shown an innate ability to bounce back, like the veteran team they are.

The Sharks will play the Red Wings if the Wings win along with the Wild.

The Red Wings hope for more consistent play (Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports)

Detroit is always going to be a playoff contender, purely on proven coaching and veteran leadership.  Pavel Datsyuk can dazzle with the way he effortlessly handles the puck in traffic with multiple defenders on him.  There is no denying the skill that the Wings hold, but they will be a poor match against the Sharks.  They cannot lean on one aspect of their team if the Hyde Wings come out and Justin Abdelkader levels a defenseless Shark.  What the other three match ups hold that Detroit does not is a stout defense.  If the Red Wings get into a shootout with the Sharks, Antti Niemi will beat Jimmy Howard. Easily.

The Sharks will win this series if the Red Wings fail to shake Niemi’s confidence early. If San Jose plays their usual game, they take this one handily.

Rust Versus Rest

It is a debate for the ages (also discussed here, here, and here).  How long of a break is too long?  In the Sharks’ case, round two cannot come soon enough.  They came flying out of the gates and every day off is another day of momentum lost.  If each series left gets pushed to seven, the remaining teams will be banding together and fully fired.  It is akin to starting a sprint from a seated position against a rolling start. The Sharks have no real injury problems and therefore anything extra, in terms of a break, is leaving them at a distinct disadvantage.  Whoever the Sharks face, they want them sooner rather than later.

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Kenneth Laws

As a graduating Senior at the University of San Francisco, Kenneth studies politics and chemistry. But his passion in life has always been hockey. He has played since he was four and even coached a few teams. Kenneth writes for the San Jose Sharks at thehockeywriters.com

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The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs

I want to start out with a thank you to Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau, for making me look like a hockey guru on Sunday night. The Duo combined for five points leading the Sharks to a landslide 5-2 victory over the listless Vancouver Canucks (after I said Marleau and his playoff experience would need to ignite the young Logan Couture. As guru as I may have been in that piece, I called the HP pavilion a “Southern California rink” (it is actually in the bay area), and Raffi Torres the game one overtime winning goal scorer (fun fact: game one didn’t go into overtime). Readers-1, Byron 0.5.

The Canucks seemed all but ready to pack up after Corey Schneider gave up three goals in just over two minutes in the third period haplessly forgetting there is still a game four. Kevin Bieksa, however, didn’t forget.

He called out the Sharks Logan Couture and Joe Thronton for embellishment of several calls, helping San Jose gain a significant advantage with a white-hot powerplay. Now forget for a minute that the Canucks have been outscored 11-5 in the series. Maybe Bieksa has a point; his team has 21 minor penalties while the Sharks have been called for just ten.  Bieksa acknowledged that the Canucks have been undisciplined but the Sharks are making it easy for the refs to call marginal penalties.

(Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE)

This is part of the gamesmanship that goes along with the Stanley Cup playoffs. Team A goes ahead by a large margin; Team B complains about penalties or cheating; refs make an adjustment and Team B wins one game before the better team, Team A wins the series.

Bieksa is a veteran of the Stanley Cup playoffs and he knows his team is behind the eight ball. It’s a last ditch effort from a team leader who has one point in three games, is a minus two and is responsible for six of his team’s 42 penalty minutes.

The most ridiculous of all is that he called out his fellow countrymen out for being uncanadian in the way they play the game. I’m sure that’s one thing Jumbo Joe and Couture have never been called in their lives. Thronton has been called just about everything else from a faceoff cheater to a washed up playmaker who can’t get in done in big games, but never for compromising the integrity of the game. Couture may embellish, but he is certainly no worse than any player on the Vancouver roster (just ask the Boston Bruins from the 2011 Stanley Cup Final).

The penalty margin is always of much dismay in the NHL playoffs because players and teams are constantly under the microscope. Every powerplay is twice as critical, every slash or penalty three times as televised and replayed. Playing against the same team for at least four games and maybe seven on the most crucial of stages makes their tendencies all but second nature. Especially if you add in all the regular season games, pre-series scouting and film sessions.

Familiarity breeds contempt as the saying goes in regular society but it’s more like resentment in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Resentment in this case comes from Kevin Bieksa who probably wishes his team was winning the series three nothing and he didn’t have to answer the barrage of questions about Roberto Luongo and his team’s inability to score (even with five goals in three games).

(Anyone with a weak stomach for cheesy puns should stop reading here).

Bieksa is taking one last gasp to reverse a wave of momentum that is swallowing the Canucks in this series. The usual swift swimming whales are sinking fast and maybe the only flotation device they could grab onto was the penalty deferential in the series. The Bieksa quote could also be the final ‘harpoon’ in the coffin on the Canucks for the 2013 playoffs.

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Byron Hackett

I recently graduated from a Post- graduate Sports Journalism program at Loyalist College. I also have a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Brock University. I love everything about sports and all sports, but hockey was my first passion. Hoping to find a career, writing, talking, researching, reporting and or analyzing any sport, anywhere in the world. One small step at a time.

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The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The San Jose Sharks made a statement with two wins at Rogers Arena against a lackluster Vancouver Canucks squad. Lackluster may be putting it gently, but a fair assessment of a team who named Roberto Luongo its back up goalie only to have him stand on his head for two games and have nothing to show for it. He was pretty much the only bright spot for Vancouver in the two games at home, heading to the Shark tank it does not look good. On the other side it couldn’t have worked out any nicer for the Sharks who head home to HP Pavilion where they have been essentially unbeatable this season, only losing two games in regulation at their southern California home rink. With that said, nothing is for sure in the NHL playoffs, just ask the all mighty Pittsburgh Penguins after a game two loss at home to a young, misfit New York Islanders team. Here are the keys that will lead the Sharks to four game sweep and a Western Conference semi final birth.

(Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports)

Start with scoring from top six.

Leading the way in points for the Sharks is former 30- goal scorer Joe Pavelski. Designated to a checking role ever since Brent Burns moved to forward, Pavelski has embraced his role. That role earned him a whopping 40 minutes of ice time in the first two contests of the series.  Joe Thornton and Brent Burns have one point each, and captain Patrick Marleau has a goal and assist. This Sharks team knows all too well how quickly scoring can dry up and inconsistency can creep into a team’s game. After scoring 9 goals in his first five games Marleau went cold not scoring for in any of his next six. If Marleau’s playoff success (90 points in 131 career playoff games) can elevate the next generation scoring talent of Logan Couture this series could be over in 4 games.

Mix in fourth line.

Raffi Torres has been a thorn in the side of Western Conference teams for the last three seasons. First with Vancouver in 2011, when they were edged out by the Bruins in game seven of the Stanley Cup final. Last year he was a key component in the Phoenix Coyotes magical run to the conference final.  In eleven games with the Sharks he only has six points in 11 games, but they playoffs are where Raffi makes a difference. That was no clearer than in game one when he netted the overtime winner for San Jose. He has been a difference maker in the playoffs and must continue to grind down his former team in order to make short work of the Canucks.

Pepper Corey Schneider.

Corey Schneider will make his first start of the 2013 playoffs in game three, relieving Roberto Luongo despite strong performances from the veteran netminder. Schneider is coming off an undisclosed “body” injury and has only practiced twice since they playoffs started. It will be interesting to see how he responds and the only way the Sharks can make sure of another appearance by Luongo is to throw everything and the kitchen sink on the new Vancouver goalie.

(Icon SMI)

Stir with rowdy crowd.

Aaron Ward of the TSN panel called the crowd in San Jose the loudest in the playoffs and even went as to far as to say “it feels like they (the fans) are on top of you”. The Sharks must get the crowd engaged early and often. They must hit and get pucks on net to early to make sure HP Pavilion stays rocking for the whole game.

Finish with a full 60 minutes.

Even in winning two games the Sharks have not played a complete game. It wasn’t until the third period of game one that the sharks took control. In game two they trailed 2-1 with under a minute to go when Patrick Marleau was able to tie the game.  Winning is winning, but in the long run playing from behind can easily catch up to a team. The Sharks have to jump on a Vancouver team that is lacking confidence right now and keep the pressure on for the full sixty minutes or the Canucks forwards might finally wake up.

Author information

Byron Hackett

I recently graduated from a Post- graduate Sports Journalism program at Loyalist College. I also have a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Brock University. I love everything about sports and all sports, but hockey was my first passion. Hoping to find a career, writing, talking, researching, reporting and or analyzing any sport, anywhere in the world. One small step at a time.

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There is little comfort in that Game One’s 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks wasn’t completely Luongo’s fault. At least he showed up for the first two periods. The whole team in front of him however, was a complete no-show. Here are the messy highlights:

The Sedins didn’t show up, Ryan Kesler sort-of showed up, Kassian was gooning it up at the wrong place & time, and the Canucks top scorer of the season, Alex Burrows, registered zero shots. The offense as a whole was simply non-existent. The greatest asset that the Sharks carry is their ongoing ability to frustrate their opponents. They blocked shots, forechecked aggressively, made the Canucks regroup, and regroup, and regroup until they coughed up the puck a few times at the Sharks zone. The Canucks’ offense simply didn’t show up and the pressure is on. They can’t afford to go to San Jose down two games to none. Talk of sweep has become very rampant once again, because the Sharks have made it so easy to frustrate a supposedly talented “offensive” squad.

Wee Little Shark…with Bite

Logan Couture played a heck of a game drawing penalties and scoring when it counted. He earned a goal and an assist in Game One, and he has really elevated his play under the shadows of Big Joe Thornton, Little Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau and other experienced forwards. The great thing about playing in San Jose is that the Sharks aren’t the only sports gig in town. There’s the neighbouring San Francisco Giants and 49ers to occupy the sports scene. It’s hard to believe that Couture has been playing in his fourth full NHL season since he was drafted in 2007. You could say that he has slipped under the radar, scoring 32, 31, and 21 goals in the last three seasons without drawing much attention. His 7 goals in the 2011 playoffs was stellat until he was defeated by those same Canucks in the Conference Final. If Couture leads the offense again, he could be moving toward bigger and better things this postseason.

San Jose’s Secret Weapon – Logan Couture (HermanVonPetri/Flickr)

Canucks Must Muster Something

With Cory Schneider still missing in action because of the “mystery injury,” Coach Alain Vigneault shook up his lines, however leaving the first line of Zerrows-Twin 1-Twin 2 intact. While that is somewhat comforting, it doesn’t discount the fact that everyone else MUST contribute in Game Two. The players to watch for:

Zack Kassian (0 shots) – The callers on the TEAM 1040 phone-in show at the post game were very critical of Kassian. His goof of a penalty on Couture cost the Canucks the lead and then the eventual game. He looked lost playing on the Sedin line briefly. If he can’t score, he needs to contribute at least by forechecking without taking dumb penalties.

Derek Roy (2 shots) – Although he hit the crossbar, Roy needs to continue to show his trade worth to GM Mike Gillis. He was traded from Dallas to help alleviate the depleted centre position. In this postseason, he must continue to get this chances, perhaps by sticking with Chris Higgins and Ryan Kesler if he’s really, really healthy.

Alex Burrows (0 shots), Mason Raymond (4) & Jannick Hansen (2) – These three were hardly in play every time they enter the Sharks zone, they either cough up the puck or turn away from the goal area. Speaking of goal area…

Canucks Defense – They must dig deep. Dan Boyle was able to walk in undetected and score the game winner. With the exception of Kevin Bieksa’s phantom goal courtesy of former Canuck Raffi Torres, the defense needs to answer back and get into the grill of Antti Niemi if they want to improve their scoring opportunities.

Another way Raffi Torres could help Vancouver score (Icon SMI)

Everyone wants Game Two to start, and it can’t start soon enough for a club that’s desperately looking for something, anything, to get their offense back in gear. Rogers Arena used to be an intimidating place. So far, San Jose is soaking up the moment, just like Los Angeles, Boston, and Chicago have before them.

All roads to the Stanley Cup have gone through Vancouver in the past three seasons. And if San Jose happens to win it all this year, many Canucks fans are going to have a fit.

Author information

Peter Chau

A long time former player, current timekeeper (lol) and fan of the game, Peter Chau has lived and breathed hockey throughout most of his life living in the cold confines of Edmonton, Vancouver, and currently in Regina, Saskatchewan. He is now a contributing writer for the Hockey Writers covering the Vancouver Canucks.

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This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.