
May 22, 2011 Ray Ratto
CSNCalifornia.com With the Stanley Cup Western Conference Final extended until at least Tuesday, here are some things you havent thought ofmostly because nobody in their right mind would. 1. DOES VANCOUVER HAVE ENOUGH DEFENSEMEN? With every indication that the Canucks will do without Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome after they both got the Big McGinn, the matter of how Alain Vigneault fills out his lineup card is of considerable interest. Keith Ballard? Christopher Tanev? Harold Snepsts? The mind boggles, even over toast and coffee. 2. HOW MANY MORE FOURTH LINES CAN TODD MCLELLAN MAKE? Jamie McGinn or Ben Eager? Scott Nichol or Andrew Desjardins? Benn Ferriero or Jamal Mayers? John McCarthy? Brandon Mashinter? Tommy Wingels? We suspect he might be down to nine names, a blindfold, a white board, an uncapped Sharpie and a hard shove from behind by Trent Yawney. 3. IS THE EASTERN CONFERENCE THE FIGHT FOR SILVER? Every time the Bruins and Lightning play, one is overwhelmed by the entertainment and underwhelmed by the mental matchup of taking the winner and placing it aside either San Jose or Vancouver. Saturdays game was a triumph of fun viewing but continued the ball of confusion that is that series. Game 2 was 6-5. Game 3 was 2-0. Game 4 was 5-3. This tells us one thing: the East is using different teams each night and just dressing them as Bruins and Lightning.
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