Ricky Doyle; NESN ----Time to put all of that crap behind them, there is no need to worry about the Canucks antics on or off the ice, the Boston Bruins just need to focus on playing Boston Bruins hockey. If anything, Roberto Luongo’s comments could be used as black board material to get the Bruins fired up for tonight’s game, if they needed to be fired up. Seriously, I think the Canucks are lucky to be leading this series after being out scored 16-6 in five games.
The Stanley Cup Final generally features two teams that have seen very little of each other due to playing in separate conferences. Therefore, it inherently possesses little potential for a rivalry to commence. But the Bruins and Canucks have thrown conventional wisdom out the window this Cup Final, generating a rivalry from scratch in a matter of only five games.
Who's responsible? Well, both teams are guilty of trading blows, but there isn't any question the Canucks have been the antagonists this series -- and Roberto Luongo's comments regarding Tim Thomas are just the latest example.
After shutting out the Bruins in Game 5, Luongo insisted that the lone goal that Thomas gave up in that game would have been an easy save for him. That's fine. To make such a claim is a bit bold, but it probably holds a degree of truth. The two goaltenders use completely different styles, and therefore one goaltender is going to make certain saves that the other might not necessarily make.
But it was the comments that Luongo came back with on Saturday that are troubling and downright silly.
Despite no response from Thomas between Luongo's initial comments on Friday and him speaking to the media on Saturday, the Canucks goaltender again went out of his way to take a jab, insisting that he's "been pumping [Thomas'] tires" all series and that he hasn't heard his counterpart say one nice thing about him.
This begs the question: so what? Since when did the Stanley Cup Playoffs require sucking up to your opponent over the course of a seven-game series?
Not only is it not Thomas' job -- which he eventually said when addressing the media on Sunday -- but it's even less necessary when numerous players on the Canucks have conducted themselves with such classlessness that there existed a great deal of hatred between the two teams after just one game.
In fact, the Canucks' level of arrogance has quickly catapulted them to near-Montreal Canadiens level when it comes to pure disdain in the minds of Bruins fans
Goon's World Extras
Monday, June 13, 2011
Bruins just need to win and forget about the Canucks' Arrogance…
Here is an interesting story about tonight’s pivotal game 6. I have been amazed at all of the whining the Vancouver Canucks have done, from their coach complaining about the officiating in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to the plethora of crap that we have seen in the finals.