Canucks Are Off to the Finals

It's all done in the Western Conference!  It took a last minute goal to send it to extra time, a second overtime period and a funny bounce of a stanchion to eliminate the San Jose Sharks in the fifth game of the series.

The Canucks did not have the full-court press on all night, feeling a bit casual through most of the game again, something we had seen a few times in these playoffs already.

After scoring in the 1st to take a 1-0 lead, the Canucks did what they did against Chicago and Nashville, which was sit back and try and pick apart some mistakes, while trying not to make some of their own.

Credit to the Sharks, they did a good job not getting down on themselves, scoring in the 2nd to tie the game and then take the lead early in the 3rd period, putting the pressure back on Vancouver.

Almost like it was meant to be, the Canucks were able to tie the game up with 14 seconds left on the clock, as Ryan Kesler tipped in a Henrik Sedin point shot to send the game to extra time.

One overtime period didn't solve anything, so a second overtime was needed and lucky bounce ended up on Kevin Bieksa's stick blade, unbeknown to most of the players on the ice, and it was knuckleballed into the glove side low corner past Antti Niemi and the Canucks are now moving onto the Finals.

For the pool, Kevin Bieksa, Alex Burrows, Alex Edler, Henrik Sedin and Roberto Luongo each finished with 2 points on the Canucks side, while in a losing effort, Joe Pavelski had 2 points as well.

Things did not look too rosy in the 2nd period, when Ryan Kesler was forced to leave the ice and the bench for a short while, looking like he may have suffered a groin injury in a foot race with Dan Boyle, but he did end up returning and he will likely see some treatment before Game One of the Cup Finals begins.  He will be listed as probable, but not likely 100%.

It was confirmed that Joe Thornton did suffer a shoulder injury, a separated shoulder to be exact, and his play on the ice did suggest that he was playing hurt.  He fought well in Game Five, but that kind of lift to the team wasn't enough for the Sharks to get by Vancouver in the end.

Overall Standings
Well, the lead doesn't change of course, but there was a little bit of movement in the money spots, as All She Wrote kept up with the boys up at the top, still 17 points behind, but ended up jumping up to 3rd from 4th place with the Canucks result.  Having Henrik Sedin and Joe Pavelski were big reasons for the move for them on Tuesday night.

The top 10 changed a little bit as well, as Madness? This is MARTA! dropped down from 10th to 11th and the Thieves of the Cheechoo Express jumped into 10th place, coming up all the way from 13th.  This will be explored some more in the Game Six preview of the East.

As for picks, 183 selections were eliminated from the pool, leaving 20 teams in the pool with nine players left on their squads, the maximum amount that any team can have at this point.  Joe Thornton led all Sharks players in scoring in the pool, leaving with 19 points, followed by Dan Boyle, who had 17 points and Antti Niemi, who had 16 points.  These numbers are still somewhat unofficial, but they will be audited before the Cup Finals begin.

Game-Winning Goals
Only nine teams in the hockey pool have Kevin Bieksa, the overtime hero for the Canucks, so not too many teams picked up that key bonus point.  That was Bieksa's first GWG in these playoffs and he'll get a chance to score another with one more round of hockey left in their future.

No real change in the pool standings for bonus points, as the leader still has 17 GWGs and the four teams right behind them have 16 GWGs each.  There are not too many games left to win in these playoffs and the record may be safe for yet another year.

Depending on what happens in Game Six between the Bruins and the Lightning on Wednesday night, there is a slight chance that the Stanley Cup Finals can start on the weekend, but that would mean that the East would have to be decided tonight for any chance of that to happen.  Stay tuned!

The statistical audit for this series will likely be done later on Wednesday night, so if you think you might be missing a point or two from this series, it will all be sorted out.