Abbotsford Canucks Live: Discipline is order of day to take Calder Cup Finals series lead
Sammy Blais has been much more of a help than a hindrance for the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL postseason. And that's something of significance.
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After all, one look at his league-leading 71 penalty minutes in 19 games and it would be easy to suggest that the hulking veteran winger is making the wrong kind of impact. That would be inaccurate.
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While Blais, 29, has had lack-of-discipline moments in the playoffs with an old-school approach of striking fear into the opposition with the gift of gab and heavy hits, he has got to the net and is difficult to defend.
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He drew a pair of primary assists in the Calder Cup Finals road opener Friday for a dramatic 4-3 double-overtime victory over the Charlotte Checkers, finished with three shots, and stayed out of the penalty box.
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And in Game 2 on Sunday, Blais had a goal and another primary assist. He was also assessed an odd goalie-interference infraction after his scoring effort in a 3-2 overtime setback.
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It's quite the story.
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Blais signed an AHL contract with the parent Canucks and given a professional tryout to crack the roster. He had his moments, but not nearly enough foot speed and finish, and was assigned to Abbotsford. Instead of pouting, the veteran of 257 NHL games put up 40 points (14-26) in 51 games.
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Which brings us to tonight at the sold-out Abbotsford Centre. The clubs are deadlocked at one win apiece in the best-of-seven championship series and the message from Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra is obvious. Play hard and stay disciplined.
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The Checkers are 5-0 on the road in this postseason and the Canucks are 8-2-0 at home.
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Abbotsford gave Charlotte 10 power-plays through the first two series games — five in each outing — and the Canucks will be playing with fire Tuesday if that trend continues. Even with paltry power-play numbers this postseason, the Checkers struck twice with the man advantage.
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They won Game 2 with Canucks captain Chase Wouters in the box for a needless tripping minor. Abbotsford was also called for a trio of slashing infractions and pair of crosschecks. That can't happen tonight.
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'It's making sure we stay out of the box with our discipline,' stressed Malhotra. 'Far too many penalties to be successful. At this point, there's not much for me to say anymore. They (players) are hungry for that next win and there's no discussion on the buy-in.
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'They're the ones pushing themselves.'
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More to come …
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If you aren't able to watch the game in person, scroll down for the play-by-play updates from tonight's game starting at 7 p.m. Hit the refresh button for the latest updates.
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