If you get one 5 on 3 opportunity in a game that is pretty good. If you get two 5 on 3 opportunities that is great. If you get three 5 on 3 opportunities.... well your team might be extremely lucky. In Game 4 of the Western Conference Final between the Canucks and the Sharks the Canucks were given three 5 on 3 chances. This came a game after the Canucks were given two 5 on 3's in game 3 but failed to score on both of them.
With the game still scoreless and the Sharks controlling most of the play the Canucks drew consecutive minor penalties to have a 5 on 3. The game was at critical stage in the hockey game and it was looking like the first goal would turn out huge. Early in the man advantage Ryan Kesler popped home his sixth of the post season to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead.
After a Sharks too many men call, the Canucks quickly went to work again on their second 5 on 3. The Canucks passed the puck around until Sami Salo blasted a puck home as the Canucks doubled their advantage to 2-0. The Sharks continued to take careless penalties. The Sharks were called for delay of game and the Canucks were given their third 5 on 3. Again, the Canucks made quick work with the man advantage, Sami Salo scored his second of the game to give the Canucks a 3-0 lead.
The Canucks lead spread to 4-0 when Alex Burrows scored a goal on a odd man rush to put the final nail in the coffin. The great think about the fourth goal was Hendrik Sedin made a great pass to find Burrows. Burrows had the easy job. All he needed to do was keep his stick on the ice so he could tap it in.
The Sharks put on the pressure for the rest of the period. They shot from everywhere to try to beat Reberto Luongo. The Sharks managed to get two goals past Luongo but thats as close as they came. The Canucks showed in game four that they can win a game, when they get out played for the majority of game. In fact, you could make a case that the Canucks got out played for 55 minutes of the game.
The win also puts the Sharks behind the eight ball, if they weren't already behind it. The Sharks will have to beat the Canucks three times in a row. To make matters worse they might have to win those three game without their star player Joe Thornton. He left the game after the clean hit on Canucks forward Raffi Torres. Thornton is questionable for game 5.
The Canucks have a chance to get to their first Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994. The difference between this year is they will have home advantage. The key for the Canucks is to not look ahead. This playoffs the Canucks are 2-4 when they are trying to close out their opponent and 6-10 since 2003. The Sharks will for sure bring it for game 5. They have had a great season racking up 105 points and are hoping to reward their fans with at least one extra home game.
The game starts at 6pm tomorrow and can be seen on CBC, RDS and Versus.
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