Counting Pucks

Here is a short math’s test, with some simple questions, about three friends called Alex, Mason and Ryan.

Question One: Alex, Mason, and Ryan each have a bag of pucks. In Alex’s bag there are 35 pucks, Mason has 25 pucks and Ryan also has 25. If you add up all of the pucks what is the total?

Question Two: Mason, Alex, and Ryan like to collect hockey jerseys, Mason has 28 jerseys, Ryan has 50 and Alex has 32. How many jerseys do the three friends have all together?

Question Three: During a period of one month each friend likes to consume various energy drinks, Ryan has 75 bottles a month Alex gulps on 67 and Mason quenches his thirst by having 53 drinks. If you add up the combined number of energy drinks each friend has over the month what is the total?

If you are still reading this, don’t worry you haven’t accidentally been directed to a teach yourself math’s website. The three friends in each question are of course Burrows Raymond and Kesler. Question one actually pertains to the amount of goals each player has scored over the course of the 09/10 regular season, that figure is 85.Question two represents the number of assists the forwards had this season, 115. Finally the third sum corresponds to the maximum number of points individually earned, if you tally each quantity up the skaters have 195 points.

This season the Canucks second line has had many guises but on more than one occasion it has been manned by the aforementioned trio of Burrows Kesler and Raymond, most recently in the first round playoff series against the Kings. The Canucks were able to terminate LA’s playoff assault by committing regicide when the Kings were defeated this Sunday in game six of the first round.

Over the course of this best of seven games match up the Canucks second line wasn’t able to contribute a great deal to the teams overall scoring production. Each member of that line has had a career year and is a very talented unit. So why, in the playoffs, have the threesome only managed to score three goals (a goal each), and why is Kesler the lone player on the second line to register an assist?

The third line has scored six goals, four of which were Bernier’s; Bernier is currently tied for second place on the Canucks playoff stats. In Fifty-six games prior to the post season Bernier managed to score a paltry 11 goals. That’s twenty-four fewer than Burrows, so why is Bernier out scoring the Canucks leading goal scorer, after just six playoff games? Why does the third line have 12 points, whereas the second line only has 8?

Does this really matter? After all Vancouver have progressed to the next round of the playoffs, and will be facing an old foe in the Blackhawk’s. Chicago ended the Canucks cup run this time last year, so the rivalry will mean that Burrows Kesler Raymond and their teammates will be working indefatigably to exact revenge. When all is said and done a win is a win, regardless of who produces the most goals assists or points for their team, but having a second line that can consistently add to team scoring makes the job that much easier, especially in the quest for the cup.

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