Canucks Face Do or Die vs Arch Nemesis

Dating back to Round One of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the LA Kings have absolutely owned the Vancouver Canucks.

Yes, the Canucks have had difficulty with all of the California based teams in recent years, but the LA Kings it seems, have proved to be kryptonite to the Canucks Superman

Latest Loss to Cup Champs has Canucks Fans Calling for Rebuild

Latest Loss to Cup Champs has Canucks Fans Calling for Rebuild

We all saw it, we all know what happened.  It was ugly.  What made it even uglier was the fact that the Vancouver Canucks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the defending Stanley Cup Champions raising the hopes of the hometown faithful.  Only to have it ripped away like velcro on a kids running shoes.

The Chicago Blackhawks responded with 4 unanswered goals in approximately 8 minutes in the second period on their way to a 5-2 win.

Cue fan angst.  Cue widespread panic.  Cue unruly mobs and general pandemonium.

If you've listened to the call-in shows or seen the

Canucks Explosion of Scoring

Canucks Explosion of Scoring

The Vancouver Canucks, somehow, managed 5 goals tonight at home against Mike Smith and the Phoenix Coyotes, a team chasing them for a playoff spot in the NHL's Western Conference.  This comes on the heels of a run of games that has seen the team's scoring drying up of late, further exacerbated by injuries to Henrik Sedin and Mike Santorelli -courtesy of Martin Hanzal of these same Phoenix Coyotes.  

Though none of the Canucks players risked a $5000 fine (the penalty that the NHL levied on Hanzal for committing stick fouls on 3 Canucks players in one game shaking up one and seriously injuring two) to go after Hanzal or his teammates in earnest, they did exact some revenge by beating them on the score sheet with a 5-4 overtime win, albeit in overtime.  The Canucks once again gave up a 3rd period lead, something that has plagued them this season especially of late, but managed to get it together in time to pull 2 points out of the fire courtesy of a Kevin Bieksa overtime goal.  Bieksa had two on the night doubling his season total.

The team faces another division rival tomorrow, the lowly Edmonton Oilers before battling the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.