HockeyCanucks' new motto: Play hockey

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Question No. 1:  What do people around the NHL think of the Canucks?

Answer: A really good, potentially great, team. Definitely have the ability to win the Western Conference, if not the Stanley Cup.

Question No. 2: What else do they think?

Answer: An easily distracted group that beats itself through paranoia and a thin skin. A team pre-occupied with "conspiracies" against them and a perceived lack of respect.

That's why last night's Game 5 victory in Chicago was monumental. That is what the Canucks can be. That is their potential.

When Dustin Byfuglien high-sticked Shane O'Brien, and got nothing, they didn't whine or fall apart. Same when Andrew Ladd ripped open the defenceman's stitches. Same when David Bolland wounded Daniel Sedin with a slash to the ankles. And again when Ben Eager whacked Christian Ehrhoff late in the game.

Forget conspiracies, play the game 

They weren't baited into stupid penalties. They didn't lose their cool at verbal taunts or teammates being compared to "Dumb and Dumber" characters. For two years, all of this has worked for Chicago against Vancouver. Roberto Luongo looked lost. Others behaved embarrassingly. Even the Sedins lost their cool.

Not last night.

Despite losing key defenceman Sami Salo, the Canucks kept calm and rolled to an impressive victory.

Last summer, several other GMs wished they had an owner who would make an $8 million commitment (including Brad Lukowich) to get Ehrhoff's offensive talent. They were really impressed with what the organization did with its dressing room and its investigation into sleep patterns. But many of those same people wonder why Vancouver suffers from such an incredible persecution complex.

Down 2-1 to Los Angeles amidst (sarcasm here) another anti-Canuck conspiracy, they played with incredible grace and composure in winning three in a row to eliminate the Kings. For whatever reason, they forgot all of that in their three-game meltdown during this series. The Blackhawks (and the rest of the NHL) laughed away as Vancouver fell to within one loss of elimination.

Game 5 was a window into what the Canucks can be. Even more importantly, what they should be.

30 THOUGHTS

1. There were some complaints on Twitter about HNIC showing Sami Salo being loaded into an ambulance via stretcher last night. Here's why I felt it was a good idea: It showed that Salo was OK. Anytime you mention the word "stretcher," it sounds really bad. By showing the defenceman sitting up, the picture told what Scott Oake could not. Despite the awful pain from a ruptured testicle, a friend or family member could see Salo was OK. In my experience, they really appreciate that.

2. Alain Vigneault took a lot of heat for referring to Luongo as the second-best goalie on the ice following Game 4, but another coach had an interesting perspective: "You have to assume Vigneault knows his players better than anyone else. Maybe he knows that's what's necessary."

3. One ex-teammate, who has enormous respect for Roberto Luongo's practice habits, talent and leadership, says, "He practices so hard at getting to the right spot to make a save. He's like a golfer; he'll do it over and over and over again to make sure he's got it right. So, when someone prevents him from getting to where he wants to go, it really plays with his head." We've sure seen that against Chicago. Maybe there's a way to simulate those conditions.

4. Meanwhile, someone else noticed a different concern: "He doesn't push towards rebounds. He lunges." Haven't noticed that as much, but will look for it now.

5. The KHL made an important change: players will now be able to leave (with full pay) after their seasons end. No more practising for no reason until May 1, preventing people like Robert Esche from getting late-season NHL jobs.

6. In last year's playoffs, Evgeni Malkin had seven points in the first three games before going cold. Statistically, he wasn't bad (five points in the next seven), but had long stretches of invisibility. He caught fire again in Round 2, Game 5 vs. Washington and won the Conn Smythe. Saturday's 2-1 win over Montreal was Round 2, Game 5 this time, and, if it was any indication, look out. He dominated.

7. One theory: that Sidney Crosby's struggles are related to the skate-on-wrist injury he suffered in Game 6 versus Ottawa. When I asked him privately, he said, "Not a factor."

8. The number one way the Canadiens have made it hard for Crosby? They won't let him charge out of his own end ("blow the zone") with the puck. Crosby and Malkin carry it a lot, with their wingers told to get into position to score. Montreal wants to prevent either from getting it in the first place, which is why you saw so much of the two together in Game 5.

9. Penguins players were really surprised at how Montreal decided to defend in front of Jaroslav Halak. "We never see man-to-man," coach Dan Bylsma said. The Canadiens also allowed Pittsburgh to get pucks first, deciding to concede those races and set up a perimeter around the net. It threw the Penguins off guard.

10. Sounds like Nicklas Lidstrom's decision will come down to three factors. First, does his family want to stay in Detroit or go back to Sweden? (His son has reportedly been accepted into a prestigious Swedish hockey school.) Second, what kind of salary are we talking about here? Third, does Lidstrom want to play through even the slightest decline in his incredible skill?

11. One thing that surprised me: this year, he took just 12 minor penalties, his fewest since the lockout. The Red Wings will want him to take some kind of pay cut. He earned $7.5 million this season. By comparison, in his final three seasons, Steve Yzerman went from $8.5 million to $5.8 million to $1.25 million (the year after the lockout).

12. A lot of people are writing "end of the Red Wings" articles, but I'm not so sure. There's still a boatload of talent on that roster. I really would like to see them next season, with a longer rest than normal.

13. How far has San Jose come? They are 7-1 since the Dan Boyle "own goal" put them down 2-1 to Colorado. All four of their wins over Detroit could have gone the other way. Even if they lose to Chicago/Vancouver, no one should be calling them mentally fragile. These are not your older brother's Sharks.

14. The Boston Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont had a good nugget yesterday: Joe Pavelski (a restricted free agent) had one more point in 18 less games than Phil Kessel through the first three years of each player's career. Kessel got $27 million over five years, remember.

15. The Canadiens are trying to find a brace that will allow Andrei Markov to play. Not sure it's possible, especially since we don't know how much he's skated (yesterday for sure), but an attempt is being made.

16. It took more than 12 hours for Hal Gill and Dr. David Mulder to get home yesterday. You can't get a direct flight to Montreal from Pittsburgh, and Gill, unlike Andrei Markov, had to stay overnight. It hurts player recruitment, because jamming a six-foot-seven guy on two puddle jumpers won't go unnoticed. And, if you're expecting him in the lineup tonight, that's not an optimal method of getting ready.

17. Bylsma was victim to a great practical joke at the Bell Centre. It was his third NHL game; the first his parents would attend. When coach Larry Robinson heard that, he walked up to Bylsma and told him he wasn't in the lineup, adding, "Are you OK with that?" Bylsma says now, "What could I say?" Robinson kept it up for a few minutes before confessing.

18. Robinson is as good at these kinds of things as he was at playing defence. One April Fool's Day, he went on a Montreal radio station to say he'd been traded to the Kings for Marcel Dionne.

19. During Crosby's first NHL season, two of Kirk Muller's daughters asked to go to a morning skate to see him and get his autograph. Muller set it up through Mark Recchi. Crosby told them he had a poster of their father in his bedroom as a boy. "That impressed them more than anything I ever did on the ice," Muller laughs.

20. Consensus seems to be Kevin Dineen will be the next coach of the Blue Jackets. I have no insight into this other than general NHL gossip. But Jeff Marek says not to count out Paul MacLean.

21. Want your son to become an NHL defenceman? Send him to Kelowna. Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Tyler Myers, Josh Gorges, Alex Edler, Luke Schenn, Kyle Cumiskey, Scott Hannan and Sheldon Souray all came through there.

22. Gorges was the only member of that group not to be drafted. He sat at his computer, refreshing the internet for hours, waiting to be taken. He drove off in his truck in anger after it was over, only to be called about 30 minutes later by San Jose.

23. He told a funny story about getting traded to Montreal. Joe Thornton told him he'd spoken to management, they were really happy with the team and only thinking of trading draft picks. Nobody off the roster. Not long after, Gorges got the call from Doug Wilson. With info that accurate, Thornton should be on the Hotstove.

24. Gorges' grandmother watched the Canadiens power play and said, "Boy, do they really miss Markov."

25. Look at Boston. See Tuukka Rask. Envision Tyler Seguin/Taylor Hall and another first-rounder next year. Every Christmas, the Bruins should send the Maple Leafs a case of Johnny Walker blue.

26. We'll hear a lot of Seguin/Hall debates, but it's a tough choice for Edmonton. Boston's in the "can't get it wrong" position. One scout was saying, "The Oilers already have a lot of players similar to Seguin," but added, "a lot of them might be gone by the time they're ready to win."

27. Thought it would be better for Alexander Ovechkin to take the summer off, but I'll never knock a guy playing for his country.

28. Mentioned this on Twitter the other day, but there were a few teams who thought Alexei Ponikarovsky was a perfect fit in Pittsburgh. Guess not.

29. Whoever is the starting goalie in Montreal next year, I would have Martin Biron as the backup. Great guy, great attitude, great teammate. Would be a terrific teacher for Halak or Price or whomever.

30. Wrote a couple of weeks ago that I didn't like the way Ken King handled the Flames' post-mortem, but good on him for this. $1,000 is a great investment in easing a little of the Pelawas' pain.

BONUS 31

31. Remember at the beginning of the year, when basketball fans/media were wondering if Steve Nash had given up hope of winning a title by re-signing in Phoenix?

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