Canucks one win away from Round Three
Canucks one win away from Round Three
Rave reviews about Kesler's performance
News1130 Staff May 06, 2011 06:40:51 AM
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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The Vancouver Canucks are now just one win away from Round Three of the NHL playoffs, after doubling the Predators 4-2 in Nashville last night.
One of the stars of last night's game -- and arguably, of the playoffs for the Canucks -- was Ryan Kesler.
"Coach Alain Vigneault summed it up best post-game, saying Kesler is simply playing with the will to win," says News1130 Sports Director Ann Schmatlz. "Right now he is the Canucks' go-to guy, drawing penalties and then scoring the game winners on the powerplay. He's done that two straight games."
"Nashville Coach Barry Trotz admitted that Kesler is Vancouver's best player, bar none," she explains. "But Kesler himself isn't buying much of it. He kept it even keel after the game, saying he's just trying to put the same effort in night after night. It certainly is paying off, and his teammates should start feeding off of it."
The Canucks struggled to put away Chicago in the last round, what do they need to do to bounce the Preds tomorrow? It's simple, says Schmaltz: They've got to get the job done.
"None of them want to make another trip to Tennessee," she explains. "The game plan has to be simple. Play physical, and fire a ton of pucks at Pekka Rinne because you can kind of see the cracks in his armour starting to show."
"Vancouver has to use its speed," she continues. "The Predators can't keep up with the Canucks, so if Vancouver can get the lead, just let Nashville try and chase all night. Finish this series off, and get some much needed rest; that's got to be the message from Coach Vigneault ahead of game five."
Fans rave about the Canucks' performance
Canucks fans are liking what they see as the series heads back to Vancouver.
"It was an amazing game," raves one fan. "Kesler played huge, and it was great to see us win by more than one goal and not have a last-minute comeback." |