What’s really weird about the latest Ducks-Canucks battle was that the winners believed they performed poorly while the losers figured they weren’t bad.
Anaheim prevailed 3-2 Sunday night and lead their best-of-seven series 2-1. And yet, as they prepare for Game 4 in Vancouver tonight, the Ducks aren’t happy with themselves.
“We were outplayed (in Game 3),” Anaheim luminary Teemu Selanne lamented. “We were lucky to come out with the win. We have to play better (tonight) and we definitely can.”
The Ducks were slapped with nine penalties, but the Canucks could only score on one power play.
“As much as everyone has made (Anaheim) out to be the big bad mighty Ducks, I think we’ve proven that five-on-five, with our best game and our best effort, we can compete against them,” Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. “Now we need to get our specialty teams to do a better job for us.”
• Roberto Luongo has been his usual solid self in net for the Canucks, but he fouled up on the Ducks’ first goal Sunday night.
From behind his net, Luongo tried to pass to Willie Mitchell but fanned on the puck and it wound up with Anaheim’s Corey Perry, who promptly passed it to teammate Dustin Penner in the slot. Penner easily scored into a vacant net.
“It’s a tough goal to give up early,” Luongo said. “I’ll take the blame for that one.”
• Mark Cohon’s cushy existence in the CFL is ending. A month after becoming commissioner, Cohon is about to be urged to intervene in a messy situation.
Several club executives, fearing the CFL cannot afford to lose quarterbacks with gate appeal, plan to approach Cohon about a controversy involving Jesse Palmer.
The ex-NFL QB is on the Montreal Alouettes’ roster and is renowned throughout Canada and the United States, mostly because of his television appearances on The Bachelor series and as an NFL analyst. This past weekend, Palmer was on the NFL Network during the league’s draft.
Palmer, raised near Ottawa, insists he won’t report to training camp if he is not allowed to compete against Anthony Calvillo for starting status. The Als consider Calvillo their undisputed, No.1 QB.
“The CFL is all about high-profile quarterbacks, and there has to be a place somewhere for Palmer this season,” a general manager told me yesterday. “We can’t just sit back and let Palmer disappear. Cohon has to do something.”
The execs want the commish to order the Als to trade Palmer. The Als, of course, won’t appreciate such meddling.
It’ll be interesting to see how Cohon handles his first controversy.
