Puck On The 'Net - Canucks On The Ropes

Well, my Vancouver Canucks have lost 3 straight, and looked increasingly bad in doing so. Now they are on the brink of elimination as they travel to Chicago to play the Blackhawks in game 5.

The feeling in Canuckland certainly isn't optimistic. Such is life with a traditionally fragile franchise. Fans have come to accept it this way, although I often worry how that translates in the dressing room amongst the players.

Game 5 is must win. There is no time for excuses. That said, the facts are Roberto Luongo was not good in the last 2 games; the defense have been exposed as slow by Chicago's forwards; the specialty teams have been horrible; and the Canucks have been out-coached.

The Canucks aren't as bad a team as they have looked in the last couple of games. They need to correct things quickly.. Three times in the team's history the Canucks have come back from 3-1 series deficits, so it can be done.

Here's Sunday's Slap Shots:

• Jonathan Toews tied a Blackhawks record for points by one player in a postseason game when he scored 5 points (3G - 2A) in game four. He tied the team record shared by Mush March (1936), Doug Bentley (1944), Stan Mikita (1973) and Steve Larmer (1990). That's some pretty elite company.
• All three of Toews goals came on the power play, setting a new Chicago record for most PPG in one game.
• Congratulations to the San Jose Sharks for knocking off the Detroit Red Wings. Chronic playoff underachiever Joe Thornton broke through with a dominant game. The Detroit dynasty, meanwhile, may be over. There's even some scuttlebutt that Saturday night marked captain Nicklas Lidstrom's last game.
• Pittsburgh looked like a defending champion in shutting down Montreal in a pivotal game 5 victory. Marc Andre Fleury was Jaroslav Halak-like
• When Montreal rookie P.K. Subban is on the offensive (which is often), he reminds me of Ed Jovanovski.