Go Canucks Go

I recently went to two Vancouver Canucks hockey games that had similar results, but were nonetheless very different games. The first game was against the Calgary Flames who are fighting for a play-off position, so everyone expected a big game. The game started off very fast with both teams racing up and down the ice and getting a lot of chances to score; however, this pace did not last very long. In the second and third period, the game became slow and a little boring. The play of the Vancouver Canucks was not very consistent in this game. They started the game controlling most of the play and dominating offensively. They scored three goals in the first period, but then they began to sit back and start playing a defensive game. This gave the Calgary Flames a chance to get back in the game, but for some reason they did not have any energy. The Canucks gave them many chances to score, but even though the Flames were fighting for a play-off position, they did not take advantage of these chances. They looked like a team that was beaten in the first period and did not have any fighting spirit left for the rest of the game. Although the Canucks won, this was not a very interesting game.

The second game I went to, on the other hand, was a spectacular game. No one expected the game to be very good because the Canucks were playing the Anaheim Ducks, a team that had already been knocked out of the playoffs. Like the first game, it started off fast, but unlike the first game, it never slowed down. The speed and intensity of the game built up in each period and at some points of the game it was hard to follow the play because the game was so fast. Contrary to their play in the previous game, the Canucks were consistent throughout the game. They scored early to take a lead that they never gave up, and they played an offensive style for every minute of the game, never sitting back to give the other team a chance to get back into the game. However, that does not mean Anaheim did not make it difficult for the Canucks. In contrast to the Flames who did not compete after the first period, Anaheim played hard until the end of the game. They skated as fast as the Canucks and made the Canucks work hard for every chance they got. No one would have predicted that this game would be the better of the two games, but that is what makes sports so interesting. No one knows what is going to happen (although, as in these two games, it is usually a safe bet that the Canucks are going to win;)