Canucks Win One, Lose One

Game Recaps: canucks.com . ESPN
Statistics: Score Sheet . Stat Sheet

Game Recaps: canucks. com . ESPN
Statistics: Score Sheet . Stat Sheet

• The Devils game was a typical one - boring and not a heckuva lot of chances. That they iced the puck immediately at the start of the game was only a prelude of things to come.
• The Canucks couldn't penetrate the Devils' defense and couldn't generate any offense. They threw 26 shots at Martin Brodeur but exactly half of them were in the first period. And this should tell you everything you need to know about the Canucks' offense - defenseman Mattias Ohlund led the team with four shots on goal.
• The one bright spot to the game is that it seemed like the work ethic was there. The problem was that the Devils were able to slow the game right down and dictate its tempo. The game was decided by the Devils' powerplay and the Canucks penalty-killing (or lack thereof).
• Speaking of the Canucks' penalty-killing, all four goals scored against the Canucks this weekend were scored on the powerplay - three by the Devils and one by the Islanders on a combined ten opportunities. This dropped their penalty-killing success rate to a measly 81.4% for the season.
• Kevin Bieksa is continuing to log a lot of ice-time and is adapting well to it. Still some positioning mistakes and he sure isn't the fastest skater out there, but he's given the Canucks a tough, serviceable defenseman until Ed Jovanovski comes back.
• Alex Burrows had a couple of nice games. He's not logging a lot of ice-time (21:23 minutes combined) but is making the most out of them. He's not a pest like Jarkko Ruutu and Matt Cooke, but has shown good speed, grit and a bit of offense. Over the weekend, Burrows recorded 3 shots, 2 hits, 2 blocked shots and a +2 rating.
• Bertuzzi's hat-trick against the Islanders was his second of the season and fifth of his career.
• Not that I'm complaining, but I was surprised that Alex Auld got both starts. Against a struggling Islanders team, I thought the Canucks would start Maxime Ouelett (maybe he'll start against a struggling Penguins team tonight). Auld has now started seven games in a row.