1. As good as the Vancouver Canucks have been this year, they have not reacted well to blowout losses – at first, anyway. In fact, the last three times the team gave up a touchdown, they’ve followed it up with another loss. Don’t remember the details? Well, that’s why we’re here:

• November 20 vs Chicago, regular season – 7-1 loss. They followed this up with the now-famous players-only meeting, led by new captain Henrik Sedin. The next night against the Phoenix Coyotes they came out fired up, right? Laid down some whup ass on the desert dogs, and kicked some… Nope. They lost. 3 – 2. Of course, right after that game, they went on a ridiculous run that saw the Canucks go nearly a quarter of the season without a regulation loss.
• Game 4 vs Chicago – 7-1 loss. Next game, loss. Heck, they threw in a third loss for the fun of it before dispatching the Hawks, outlasting the Predators and spanking the Sharks. Counting the first two games of the finals against the Boston Bruins, the Canucks went 11-3 once they righted the ship.
• Game 3 vs Boston – 8-1 loss. Next game, shutout loss. Do they have another dramatic turnaround in store with the series returning to Vancouver?
• In other news, Zdeno Chara is frickn’ tall. Look at the guy. Jeez.

2. So much went wrong with game four that it’s hard to know where to start. Let’s begin the dissection on the backend: the Canucks’ vaunted defense corps is playing like crap. Seriously, they’re playing like a bunch of turds. They’re soft, smelly, floating around aimlessly and disposed of nearly as easily as by pressing a lever. Perhaps there’s some lingering psychological impact from the Aaron Rome hit, and the D are scared to make a similar play, but they have completely stopped standing Boston up in the neutral zone. Instead, the Bruins are allowed to hit the Canucks line with speed and numbers. Over, and over and over. Assuming the Bruins don’t then take the puck directly to Luongo and/or the back of the net, the Canucks then seemingly lack the wherewithal to remove the puck from their own zone. Boston enjoyed ridiculously long stretches in the Canucks end because a clearing attempt was played weakly up the boards to a waiting Bruin.

Christian Ehrhoff is obviously not fully recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered in the SJ series, such is his ineffectiveness. Alex Edler is either hurt too, or not the potential number one we all thought he was. Keith Ballard has been so terribly misused by Alain Vigneault this year, playing limited minutes in the regular season and only getting into two playoff games before tonight, that it’s no wonder he wasn’t able to deal with the speed and physicality of the Stanley Cup Finals. Aaron Rome is done for the series. Dan Hamhuis is hurt and may not return this year, if his lack of skating is any guide. Andrew Alberts is Andrew Alberts. Kevin Bieksa has been the most consistent blueliner, but he’s much less effective without a solid stay-at-home partner like Hamhuis to allow him to jump into rushes with impunity. Someone here needs to step up and be a difference maker for the Canucks to stem the offensive tide that has suddenly turned against them.

3. The Canucks had the second-best penalty kill in the league this year. They’re not showing it. The Bruins haven’t burned them too badly, yet, but the PK has been as passive as the defense. The Bruins were always going to be competitive five on five, and their anemic power play was what was theoretically going to do them in. Giving them time and space to set up and work the puck around is exactly what you should not be doing against a terrible PP unit! The Bruins, on the other hand, are demonstrating exactly how to kill a penalty. When the Canucks can advance the puck over the blue line, it seems they’re immediately swarmed by black and gold. Logic tells me that since the Bruins are already short-handed, double-teaming the puck means that people are open, but Vancouver simply can’t get the puck to them. By sheer hard work, Boston is managing to simultaneously block shooting lanes and cross-ice passing lanes in the rare situations that the Canucks manage to get this shadow of their former powerplay set up in the offensive zone. The Canucks have received an absolute gift in this series: referees that aren’t afraid to call penalties. They got officiating that plays right into their game plan and proceeded to lose the special teams battle they’ve won all year.

4. At least the “Canucks are diving their way to success” bullshit can now be put to rest. The Bruins dove as much as the Canucks did tonight, and the refs sucked it all up like a fat kid with a milkshake. Then, the officials committed the cardinal sin of officiating, they blew a call that affected the game. No grey areas here, no take it or leave it borderline hooking call, the linseman called an offside that wasn’t, negating a Jannik Hansen breakaway in a 1-0 game. The referees followed that up by almost immediately missing a Brad Marchand high stick on Henrik Sedin. Moments later, BAM! Back of the net, 2-0 Boston when they should have still been killing a penalty. Flip over the puck and read the directions, guys. We’re sick of this incompetence!

5. And then we come to the goaltending. Two games ago, I wasn’t convinced that Thomas should win the Conn Smythe trophy if the Bruins lost. I’ve now seen the light. Thomas’ tour de force performance in the Boston net has been a thing of epic – and, for once, the use of “epic” is entirely deserved – proportions. Luongo, at the other end of the ice, has followed up greatness in game one and goodness in game two with mediocrity in game three and a poor effort in game four. Look at the first three goals tonight: breakaway, deflection, shot from unchecked Bruin in the slot. All entirely forgivable goals if this were December. In June, we need better. At least one of those goals must not enter the net. The Canucks are not likely to beat Thomas more than three times in a game with the way he’s playing and their offense is sputtering. Therefore, Luongo must hold the Bruins to two or fewer. Sure, the Canucks need to man up in front of him and limit the Bruins scoring chances to, I don’t know, maybe seventy-three a game? Luongo still needs to be better.

6. Finally, the Canucks discipline – or rather their shockingly complete lack of it – is killing them. Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows have played like this before. Chicago got under their skin in much the same way the Bruins are right now. We all remember how that turned out. Kesler, in particular, needs to be better than this. Whether he plays a shutdown role like he did against Chicago and San Jose, or an offensive role like he played against Nashville, he needs to be a leader and show this team how to play hard, whistle-to-whistle playoff hockey again. That’s the kind of hockey that got him 41 goals and a probable Selke trophy, and that’s the kind of game that Vancouver needs from him now.

7. While things look bleak after being outscored 12-1 in Boston, The Guide has two words for you. Indeed, panicking is the worst thing you can do when being confronted by a charging bear. When the bear charges, you don’t run, you don’t play dead, you stand your ground and make yourself look big, and the bear turns away. There was a very good chance that Boston was going to do exactly what they did. Teams that lead 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Finals are barely over .500 in game four – 25-21 to be exact – yet go on to win the championship 84.5% of the time. The Canucks have poked the bears, and the bears charged, but we’re coming back with the home-ice advantage we worked all season to secure. Time to stand our ground.