Are the San Jose Sharks cheaters in the face-off circle? Vancouver Canucks Coach Alain Vigneault implied as much after his team lost Game 1 on home ice in the Western Conference quarterfinals. The comment could potentially increase the intensity heading into Friday night's Game 2 matchup.
"I would say, what would be logical for us to try and get to is 50 per cent against such a good team," Vigneault told reporters Thursday. "Some of that is sometimes jumping and maybe making more scrums and winning those one-on-ones instead of trying to beat some of those guys clean, the way they cheat and they are allowed to cheat. It makes it more challenging."
Sharks Captain Joe Thornton was asked if he thought his team was cheating. He responded: "I don't think we're cheating."
A reporter followed up with the question, "If someone says that to you...?" and Thornton replied, "I don't listen."
Game 1 featured Roberto Luongo starting in net for Vancouver. It is likely that he starts Game 2 with number one goalie Cory Schneider still struggling with an injury. Luongo made 25 saves on 28 shots in the first matchup and was congratulated for his effort by the opposition.
"Louie played great early on," Thornton said after the game. "He made some great saves on the first power play, but we just stayed calm and kept going. We have some goal scorers that can finish. They did that tonight. It was a good effort to stay relaxed and wait for our chances to go in."
Unfortunately Luongo was outdueled by Antti Niemi at the other end; the Sharks goalie made 29 saves on 30 shots to lead his team to victory.
Predictions: Vancouver wins 2-1.
Start Time: 10 PM EST
TV: CNBC; TSN, RDS; CSN-CA