“Burrows, steals, cutting in, shoots! SCORES! They’ve slayed the Dragon!”

Canucks play-by-play commentator John Shorthouse’s legendary call from Game 7 of the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals still rings through the head of many British Columbians.

Most Canucks fans can tell you where they were the night of April 26, 2011.  They can tell you about the the disappointment of Alex Burrows being denied on a penalty shot.  They can tell you about the pit of despair in their stomach they felt when Chicago tied the game in the last two minutes. They’ll definitely the feeling of impending misery, knowing Chicago could eliminate Vancouver for the third straight year.  And they’ll be able to tell you about the pure euphoria they felt when Alex Burrows let go a slapshot from between the hash-marks, high to the blocker side, beating Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford in Overtime, and sending an entire province into a frenzy.

It’s been eleven long years for Canucks fans since the Spring of 2011, where Vancouverites saw their team go all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, in a losing effort, and the team has gone through extensive changes and misfortunes in the years since, but fans remember that Springtime with reverence and nostalgia, as one of the greatest moments of their fandom.  Alex Burrows scored 193 regular season goals and 19 playoff goals in his career with the Vancouver Canucks, but none are as memorable as Game 7 against Chicago.  It has gone down in the books of greatest Vancouver sports moments, along with Greg Adams’ Game 5 Double OT winner against the Maple Leafs, and Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics against the United States.  Alex Burrows was inducted into the Canucks’ “Ring of Honour” at Rogers Arena in 2019.

(Photo from Rogers Arena)