Canucks look to keep playoff hopes alive

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Here we go again! Vancouver Canucks fans across the province are on eggshells.

The Canucks will host the Los Angeles Kings in Game 5 of this first-round series down 3 games to 1. If things don’t go our way, this may be your last chance to see the team this season, and tickets are actually pretty cheap.

Kingsley Bailey is with Vancouver Ticket and says prices are down compared to this time last year, mainly because the team hasn’t been playing great and are trailing in the series.

“Fans don’t really get revelled up until the second, third and hopefully the fourth round. This has been like that in this market in the first five years. The first few games of the first round are relatively soft.”

Bailey says right now you can get in for less than $200, which is a lot lower than what he anticipated.

“The fans have come back on and realized there’s so many teams left in the playoffs. If you still want to watch hockey in your home town, you have to come out and go to the game.”

Before winning Game 4 in LA, tickets were just over $100.

Bailey notes people are buying tickets from all across the province, from Victoria to as far north as Prince George.

While the Canucks still have a long way to go in the series, fans News1130 talked to are more confident today than last game.

“I think they’ve got some fire in them tonight, but I’m not sure if they do for the whole stretch,” says Sean.

Tyler’s hoping the team shows up tonight like they did in Game 4. “I’m hoping that it’s a really good game. The last game I thought was awesome so hopefully they keep it up.”

Bianca is keeping the faith. “Yes I do think we’re going to win tonight. It’s just in our favour that we come back.”

Cory Schneider will get the start in net, after allowing only one goal in the two games he started.

Game time from Rogers Arena is at 5 p.m.

Johnny Canuck is back

It’s the return of Johnny Canuck as Canuck tribute videos are once again popping up all over the Internet.

Hundreds of thousands have viewed the video series on YouTube that started running during last year’s Stanley Cup run.

The third installment has just come out, and creator Adam Mackay-Smith says it’s the big picture that keeps him going.

“I guess they are for everyone. I do it for me because I love making movies. I really love finishing them and it’s a big reward for me. Seeing people putting a positive spin on what is a negative start to the playoffs this year is a nice feeling.”

Mackay-Smith says he’s still pretty surprised with the popularity.

“I’ve been told by the organization that the players like them quite a bit and Mike Gillis appreciates everything that I’m doing. It means a lot that they like them. I didn’t think they would have seen them, maybe one or two of them would have, but the fact that they like them is pretty awesome.”

“If it can help them get motivated to win, then all the better for everyone,” adds Mackay-Smith.

Another installment is in the works – the Canucks just have to beat the Kings first.

Are these playoffs too violent?
    
It’s the playoffs, so the stakes are higher, the play is rougher, and the consequences greater.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are front page news as fans witness some of the nastiest, most physical – some say violent –  post season play in recent memory.

The ratings are skyrocketing, but fans seem to be torn when it comes to the escalating violence.

“Sometimes you think it’s a part of the sport, but some guys take it a little too far,” believes this fan.

This gladiator-like play isn’t what the game is all about, according to Jim Lang with Sportsnet 590 The Fan.

“People love playoff hockey, but when it crosses that line and people are being cross-checked to the throat and carried off the ice on a stretcher, that’s where we have an issues. It’s especially tough to explain to kids.”

Don Cherry suggests that it’s tough to stop this behaviour once it starts to spread like a virus. “I mean the injuries are unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like. It’s ridiculous.”

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