The hockey gods have smiled on Vancouver, who now have a chance to finally win the big one.
VANCOUVER -- There are, in any Stanley Cup run, a handful of moments that make up the story.
Like chapters in a book, they're adding up here in Vancouver, as the Canucks take Canada back to a Stanley Cup final for the first time since the Ottawa Senators in 2007, and only the third time in the 40-year history of this Canucks franchise.
"All my work throughout my life, and now I have a chance to battle for the Stanley Cup," marveled Alex Burrows post-game, speaking on behalf an entire province after a thrilling, double-OT, 3-2 victory that sent the San Jose Sharks packing. "It's a dream come true."
It was Burrows in Game 7 of the opening round who averted what would have been monumental failure, scoring the OT winner after the Canucks had blown a 3-0 series lead to Chicago. Then Ryan Kesler, carrying the team over Nashville in Round 2 by contributing on an incredible 11 of his team's 14 goals in the series.
There was the silky smooth Henrik Sedin assisting on six consecutive Canucks goals through Games 4 and 5 of this series. And then there was this long, dramatic night at Rogers Arena, where a crowd grew silent as Kesler limped off, came back, skated gingerly, and then -- boom! -- made legend by scoring the tying goal with 14 ticks left on the clock, the series beginning to shift decidedly in San Jose's favour.
Finally, came the overtime puck that almost nobody could find.
"I think me and (Patrick) Marleau were the only ones," said Kevin Bieksa after he one-timed a bouncing puck past poor, helpless Antti Niemi, who lost sight of the Alex Edler dump-in that hit a stanchion and bounced back to the middle of the blue-line.
"When you lose the puck, you try to see where everyone else is going," explained Niemi. "I thought everybody was going to where it was."
As he looked behind his net, where the CBC's cameras and the eyes of nearly every player on the ice were trained, Bieksa was blasting away.
"I saw it drop there, and one-timed it on net," Bieksa said. "It was a tough puck to get good wood on. I was just trying not to flub it. Just try to put something on net, get a tip or a bounce. I didn't realize that no one else was looking.
"When the puck went in, I think the goalie was looking behind the net. I'll take that."
It reminded us of Brett Hull's Cup winner in 1999, the way the officials stood nervously as if the goal may be reviewed, while streamers fell from the ceiling of the arena, covering the ice. Or Patrick Kane's Cup winner of a year ago, where no one was completely sure the goal would stand, but they celebrated anyhow, just in case.
The questions now turn to Kesler, who seemed to tweak or pull something. A groin, we're guessing, though that's all we can do.
"I don't comment on injuries," he said afterwards, with that air of cockiness that so many of the true competitors have.
"He's an animal out there. We knew he'd come back," Burrows said. "To see him come back and really put it all out there for his teammates and this team, it means a lot. Karma, a little bit, to come back and get that goal.
"That's the hockey gods right there."
Truly, the hockey gods have finally set their gaze on Vancouver, after so many years of stopping just east of the Rockies in Edmonton and Calgary. The last two Canucks teams that made it to Round 4 were so unexpected: Those 1982 Richard Brodeur Canucks that were blown out by the mighty New York Islanders dynasty; and in 1994, when Trevor Linden willed his team to a seventh game against the Rangers, only to fall short.
This team was picked by so many to get here back in October, again when the playoffs began in mid-April, and will be favourites against whomever comes out of the East, Boston or Tampa.
They've got goaltending, three good lines, and the deepest defence at the dance. And now, a few days of rest for whatever ails Kesler.
"We've got different guys stepping up each night," said Henrik Sedin, who along with brother Daniel are the senior members of this team now. "We've got a good feeling in there. We work hard for each other. It's a fun team to be part of."
And the final chapter has yet to be written.
