A leap year comes around only once every four years.
A blown third-period lead--and eventual loss--comes much more often, if you're the Vancouver Canucks.
The Canucks blew yet another game, this one coming on this year's leap day, allowing the visiting team to rally in the final period for the second straight game, and second time in three nights.
While the loss on Wednesday to Colorado was bad, the one on Friday (Feb. 29th) to Columbus must have been devastating for the Canucks.
And fun for Canucks haters.
The Avalanche at least have made an attempt to improve themselves, having added Adam Foote and Peter Forsberg to the team to go along with Paul Statsny and Joe Sakic, both returning from injuries.
The Blue Jackets?
No one expected much out of the squad from The Buckeye State, as Columbus had dealt away veterans Foote and Sergie Fedorov at the trading deadline three days earlier.
Other than forward Rick Nash (33 goals going in) and goaltender Pascal Leclaire-best 9 shutouts and 2.17 GAA), the Blue Jackets, the lowest-scoring team in the entire, didn't really have any premier players on the roster.
And after two periods on Friday, the Blue Jackets looked dead, down 2-0 at G.M. Place.
But of course, they were playing the Canucks, a team that had the victory in the bag on Wednesday but blew it with just 15 ticks left on the clock because they couldn't dump the puck out of their own end.
This time though, the Canucks didn't wait until the dying seconds to blow it.
By the way, it was the first time the Canucks enjoyed a 2-0 lead in almost two months, and it looked as though Roberto Luongo was going to get his seventh goose-egg of the year.
However, much to Canucks haters' delight, the only shutout that ensued was Vancouver's lack of offense in the final 20 minutes--and overtime.
The Canucks allowed two goals in a span of 70 seconds early in the third period, and Jason Chimera scored 67 seconds into the extra period, as the Blue Jackets escaped with a 3-2 triumph.
Luongo had no chance on the game-winner, as Nikolai Zherdev's perfect centering pass was deflected in by Chimera on a bang-bang play.
Of course, thanks to the's system of awarding loser points, the Canucks picked up yet another single point.
Two points in the last two games for Vancouver, though the team should have had four.
The Canucks (32-22-10), who now have 74 points, sit in seventh place in the Western Conference, two points up on both Colorado and Nashville.
Canucks fans, who didn't mind the fact that general manager Dave Nonis didn't make any noise in the trading frenzy on Tuesday, must be thrilled that their team has recorded at least one point in its eighth straight game.
Canucks haters, on the other hand, are laughing at the crappy franchise.
It has been a great week, to say the least. First, they went out and got nobody (okay, they got Matt Pettinger, hardly a solution to their scoring woes) at the trading deadline, while other teams in the conference have seemingly upgraded their rosters.
Then they went out and blew two straight home games.
Beautiful.
Canucks fans applauded Nonis for not giving up the both Daniel and Henrik Sedin to acquire Florida forward Olli Jokinen, or Alex Edler, et al, for Tampa Bay's Brad Richards.
So, Nonis gets an "A" for his efforts from the so-called Canucks Nation.
Meanwhile, back to the real world, other teams in the West, most notably Dallas, have greatly improved.
The highly sought-after Richards, who wound up with the Stars, tallied five points--all assists--in his first game with his new club. The Canucks didn't even get that many goals in their last two games.
The Avalanche, as mentioned, picked up Foote and Forsberg, not just to reunite the team resembling their Stanley Cup roster over a decade ago, but surely to show their fans they're serious for a playoff run. Forsberg's impact, if and when he actually returns, may be minimal, but you can bet news of his signing was a huge morale booster in the dressing room.
And oh yeah, the Avalanche even added blueliner Ruslan Salei, who played in the Stanley Cup Final in 2003 with Anaheim, for good measure.
The San Jose Sharks made some noise by picking up all-star Brian Campbell from the Buffalo Sabres, adding not only depth but also talent to their defensive corps. While the Sharks have fallen to third in their division thanks to the hot streaks by Dallas and Anaheim, they still have a shot at the Pacific Division, trailing by 9 points but having 4 games in hand.
Even the Red Wings went out and acquired veteran defenseman Brad Stuart to fill the void created by injuries to Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, and Brain Rafalski. Detroit, who had a 17-point lead in the entire conference in the first week of February, have seen its lead shrink to 3 points thanks to a 1-7-2 funk. Still, it would be a mistake to think a veteran team like that would continue to slide the rest of the way.
The Canucks, who may not even make the playoffs to begin with, will not survive the first round if they have to match up against the likes of the Stars, Wings, or Sharks.
All that despite having, in Vancouverites' minds, the greatest goalie--Luongo--in the world.
Given the depth that the top teams in the West have, a low-scoring outfit like Vancouver will be lucky to win even a single game.
And no, Luongo couldn't be faulted in the two losses this week, but the fact remains that he couldn't beat a team like Columbus when the two points mattered.
All in all, a great week for Canucks haters. Chalk this up as three losses this week, counting the non-move on deadline day.
Hopefully the good times will continue in the upcoming week.
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