I hate, no, I loathe the matinée game that is prone to show up every so often in the NHL season. It tends to at times, be the Canucks kryptonite. As you know by now, the Canucks did not play to their best ability. After an impressive streak of going 18-0-2 against Colorado since November 2009, the Avalanche earned this one in regulation. Yes they put the game away and stole the Canucks’ thunder scoring the game winning goal with just 7.6 seconds left in regulation. Yes, you read that right, 7.6 seconds!

The Canucks did not bring their best compete level to the third period against Colorado and lost all control of the game and its 2 point value. Give credit to the Avs for playing a hard competitive game in which they earned the win and the two points. The Canucks did not deserve win that game by any means. Colorado may be near the bottom of the league in the standings but that does mean they have no fight or compete in their game. You do remember, it was this same Avalanche team that broke Chicago’s unbelievable streak right? Just because a team may not be playoff bound is no reason to under estimate them, these are the teams that will play for pride and play spoiler to those who want to move up in the standings.

Cory Schneider has had a very nice run, but he struggled a lot in the Colorado game. Maybe it was exhaustion, maybe he was 100% over the flu, maybe it was just an off game. The Canucks have 7 games remaining to maintain a spot in the top 4. After an impressive [surprise] start for Roberto Luongo, it is time for him to have a run of games before the playoffs begin, he has more than earned some time in the net. The Canucks need to begin utilizing their asset of having BOTH Schneids & Luongo[both will need to be at their top level come April 30th!].

Perhaps the only good news in this game was the fact that both Dan Hamhuis[5 games] and Ryan Kesler[3 games] extended their points streaks.

Time to forget about yesterday’s ugly loss and move on. The Canucks will look to get back on track when they visit the Nashville Predators tomorrow. The puck drops just after 5:00 PM[pacific time], Luongo will get the start. Despite yesterday’s disappointing loss, the Canucks second half record is a respectable: 12-5-0 with 7 games remaining to solidify their playoff position. The Canucks will be looking to improve their record against the Predators to a perfect 3-0-0. Just 7 games remain on the schedule, and no team should be taken lightly as every team will be playing with desperation. There is no time to waste as the Canucks must rebound quickly back to form if they want to stay in the top 3 and hopefully clinch their playoff berth in the next week.

There are just 2 weeks left in this short season and the final standings will probably come down to the wire before all is said and done. There are no guarantees come playoff time, but generally one knows that Detroit will be a part of the tradition but this year that could change for the first time in 21 years[they sit in 9th today with Columbus & Phoenix on their heels, a win today would help them immensely….anything can happen over the next two weeks!]

The season is nearly over…can you feel the excitement building as teams start to move into their playoff mindset? 4 playoff berths have been claimed,12 remain…if they Canucks play well on the remainder of this road trip they could clinch when they return home. Two weeks is all that remains before the real dramatics begin and all the first round match ups are set. It’s about to get really exciting as inevitably a few surprises are bound to happen.

The playoffs do not begin until April 30th but already you can feel intensity rising in every game as each game brings each player closer the elusive tradition that is known as the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Are you ready Canucks?! Time to reset #beastmode

The #finalcountdown is on! #7games2go #goCanucksgo

As always, until next time, nuck said.

Sarah E.L.