Vancouver Canucks face injury at crucial time
The Western Conference and President’s Trophy winners, Vancouver Canucks, had been tantalizingly dominating in the regular season. They won the Conference and Division titles to emerge as one of the strong candidates to knock the Hawks off their throne.
With the passage of time in the regular season, the Canucks got better and better and at the end they were not only the big winners but also emerged, as very strong candidates to win the Stanley Cup title this time out.
The Canucks seemed to be immune to the injuries they faced and carried forward without any effect on their performances. The Canucks faced the Hawks in the first round of the play-offs where they were fired up, because they had previously been knocked out
by the Hawks on the last two consecutive occasions.
The Canucks won the first three games and needed just one more to win the series. Unfortunately, two players in the squad got injured and the Canucks were unable to fill the hole that resulted in the team’s morale and confidence going down.
The Hawks managed to win the next three games to tie the series on 3-3. However, they managed to win the series, in an overtime game, which was very much unexpected, considering the Canucks performance in the regular season.
Now, the series between the Predators and the Canucks is also heating up. Though the Canucks are leading 3-2, it can’t be said that they will surely win. As one of the important players in the team, Mikael Samuelsson, is on the injured list, the team becomes
more unpredictable according to experts.
Samuelsson sat out during game one of the first round clash with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Coach of the Canucks, Alain Vigneault, said this past Saturday (May 7, 2011) that he will be missing the next game due to a lower body injury, as the Canucks lost the game 4-3.
The 34-year old forward sustained an injury, while playing against the Phoenix Coyotes in March and was forced to miss six games due to this. However, this time the duration is expected to be less but a big question is, how will the Canucks perform at a
critical stage when they lead 3-2 in the series?
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