"We're excited about it [tonight's game], no doubt about it," Markus Naslund said. "We want to show we can play with a team like that.

"And I think it will show us that if we put everything together and play a hard game, that we can beat them.

"We had our worst effort of the year and the score ended up being an embarrassing one."

• Talk about lowered expectations - Matt Cooke mentions how he was happy to complete A PASS to Trevor Linden. But seriously, watching him play his guts out night in and night out, I hope he snaps out of his funk.
• Much is being made about Alain Vigneault's gigglefest after Tuesday night's win when the Canucks generated a lot of scoring chances but only converted on one. Then again, there's really not much more he - or we - can say about the struggling offense, right?

Crazy.

______________
Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Rory+Fitzpatrick

• Elliott Pap and Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun) both billed last night's victory as the Best of the Worst. Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province) simply called it a squeaker.
• Marc Chouinard and Tommi Santala were scratched in favor of Daniel Sedin and Jesse Schultz. As could be expected, Chouinard wasn't too happy. With Vigneault-favorite Rick Rypien now healthy again in Manitoba, I wonder how much longer both will stay with the big club or is just a matter of time before one or both are placed on waivers?

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Roberto Luongo (VAN): Made sure that one goal was enough for his team to win.
2. Pascal Leclaire (CBJ): 33 saves kept his team in the game until the final seconds.
3. Markus Naslund (VAN): Scored the game's only goal but, again, had plenty of scoring chances.

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

Our boys keep us going on a roller coaster ride only a true Canucks fan can appreciate. A win in Detroit, a disgrace in Nashville and follow up embarrassment in Colorado are all discussed along with the usual banter and opinions. Where we need improvement, what was Viggy thinking and various happenings around the league round out this week’s topics.

Labels: podcast

Under Gallant, the Blue Jackets' breakout play was "duck!" as defencemen hammered pucks around the glass to forwards who, when they weren't getting beaned, found themselves forehead-to-glass trying to make plays out of their feet. The forecheck was last-one-in-is-a-rotten-egg.

"It's been night and day," Carter, the ex-Canuck, said of the coaching change. "When he first came in, he said: 'Enough of the hard-arounds. Ds, make a play; it's the National Hockey League. And forwards, get back and support your D.' You could see guys weren't being utilized the proper way."

• Don't ask Markus about the Canucks' inability to score. He ain't biting.
• Daniel will decide after today's morning skate if he can play tonight.
• Jesse Schultz was recalled yesterday and will play tonight. Is he the answer to the Canucks' scoring woes? (If Daniel plays, Marc Chouinard and Tommi Santala are expected to be healthy scratches.)
• Anson Carter returns to Vancouver for the first time since signing with the Blue Jackets this summer. Rough start aside, he's loving Columbus.
• Ditto Gilbert Brule, who is getting more playing time under Hitchcock.

• Roberto Luongo says, "We don't want to be in a situation where we're on the outside [of the playoffs] looking in and we've got to start winning some games." Trust me, Roberto, neither do we.
• I didn't realize Alex Burrows' last goal was his hat trick goal against the Kings in March.
• Daniel Sedin may still be out for tomorrow night's game; Jesse Schultz or Brad Moran might be in.

Most worrisome is the frustration from losing two games by a 10-1 total -- especially for franchise goalie Roberto Luongo, whose all-out effort is the only reason the Canucks weren't blown out in a 4-1 loss to the Avs Saturday.

He was clearly bristling after a game in which he was the Canucks' best player, saving 35 of 39 shots.

"It was a big game and we didn't deserve to win, that's the bottom line," Luongo said. "I don't know if I played well enough but I battled, I battled for 60 minutes. Even the fourth goal, for the hundredth time this year, went off our D-man and in. I battled for 60 minutes and I can keep my head up and say I worked hard for 60."

• The Avs didn't have Milan Hejduk, the Canuck-killer, in the lineup. No problem, they had Wojtek Wolski.
• Alain Vigneault has a solution to the Canucks' back-up goaltending dilemma. "We'll play Louie," he said.
• If you're tired of the 'Nucks on-ice woes, here is an off-ice one: Tony Gallagher has an update on Beedie/Gaglardi vs. McCaw/Aquilini.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Wojtek Wolski (COL): His first game back from the doghouse - aka the press box - the rookie scored one goal and dished out three assists.
2. Jose Theodore (COL): Paris Hilton's party pal shut his five-hole early in the game and kept the Canucks from mounting a comeback. He stopped 28 of 29 Canucks shots.
3. Paul Statsny (COL): Another rookie with another big game, Statsny had one goal and a couple of assists.

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

• Alain Vigneault denied any net controversy after the game and says Sabourin will get another chance to play. It's not like the Canucks have much of a choice.
• Sami Salo backed up his goaltender as well and took the blame for the defense.
  

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Scott Hartnell (NAS): Two goals, one assist and plenty of other chances.
2. Paul Kariya (NAS): Two assists for the pride of North Vancouver.
3. Shea Weber (NAS): Great all-around game for the the pride of Sicamous, BC - one goal, one assist and four shots in 19:48 minutes of ice-time.

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

• Everyone agrees it was Morrison's best game of the season.
• After three consecutive wins, the Canucks now have some Mo-mentum. (I know, lame pun.)
• Kesler returns home an enemy.
• The PK is doing great, killing 40 of the last 42. The PP? It's getting there.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Brendan Morrison (VAN): Tied the game in the third period and won it in overtime.
2. Ryan Kesler (VAN): In front of 50+ family and friends, Kesler was solid on the faceoff circle and played with a lot of jump. He opened the scoring only 18 seconds into the game.
3. Mathieu Schneider (VAN): A goal and an assist in more than 25 minutes of ice-time. Not a bad game for the 37-year old.

About the game around the blogosphere

• Waiting For Stanley: Hell Freezes Over.
• The Chief Canuck once again gives us the good, the bad and the ugly.
• They're probably still enjoying their last bits of Thanksgiving turkey, but check Abel to Yzerman, Behind The Jersey and On The Wings later for the story on the Detroit side.

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

• Vancouver and Detroit are leading the league in shots against. Tonight, Detroit gets a further boost to their defense. (Ben Kuzma)
• Ryan Kesler is struggling. So he's asked 50 people to come and cheer for him tonight. (Ben Kuzma)
• Play callers must change with technology. (Tony Gallager)
• Just how important are Matty, Sami and Willie to the team's fortunes? This much. (Elliott Pap)

According to leading hockey analysts TSN.ca, Rory Fitzpatrick "has a wealth of pro experience and NHL size for the blueline. Plays the right side of the ice with efficiency." This is truly a man deserving of your vote. Rory Fitzpatrick also stunned millions of hockey fans worldwide by snatching the Vancouver Canucks Most Accurate Shot award from the hands of international superstars such as Markus Naslund, Danielrik Sedin, and Tommi Santala.

Vancouver Canucks Senior Vice President and General Manager, Dave Nonis announced today that goaltender Dany Sabourin has been recalled from a conditioning assignment with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Goaltender Wade Flaherty has been re-assigned to Manitoba.

Sabourin, 26, appeared in two games for the Moose, recording one shutout win, one loss, a GAA of 2.01 and a .920 save percentage. Sabourin has also played in two games for the Canucks this season recording one loss. The 6-foot-4, 200 lbs. native of Val d’Or, Quebec, was claimed by the Canucks off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 4th.

In eight games with the Moose this season, Wade Flaherty has a record of 4-3-0 with a 2.61 GAA and .896 save percentage. The 6-foot, 191 lbs. native of Terrace, BC, has appeared in 120 regular season NHL games, posting a record of 27-56-9.

• Paul was perfect, Dave got dirty. (Ed Willies, Vancouver Province)
• New Buono the final ingredient. (Ed Willes)
• Fred Fateri, the Lions thank you. (Lowell Ulrich, Vancouver Province)
• Dave Dickenson named MVP. (Michael Petrie, CanWest)
• Preparation pays off for Glatt. (Lowell Ulrich)
• Paul McCallum's redemption complete. (Sean Fitz-gerald, CanWest)
• Kelly Bates broke the Cup. (Geoffrey Strong, CBC)

• Swede set-up a highlight-reel sure bet (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
• Canucks net two goals on 39 shots (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
• Canucks climb out of the cellar (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Nikolai Khabibulin (CHI): The Bulin wall's 37 saves were the only reason the 'Hawks were this close.
2. Markus Naslund (VAN): The Captain is turning it up. Another goal - his 10th of the season - and plenty more opportunities.
3. Patrick Coulombe (VAN): He didn't get caught out of position even when joined the rush. And he did a lot. Also recorded his first NHL point.

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

• Players Eager To Get Grey Cup Going (Canadian Press)
• Why The Lions Will Win The Cup (Cam Cole and Mike Beamish)
• Defense Can't Be Beaten (Sun News Services)
• 5 Keys To Win (Allan Maki, Globe and Mail)
• No Place Like Home For Lions Receivers (Allan Maki)

"Three goals is a blowout for us this year," Naslund said, chuckling. "Getting up a couple of goals going into the third helped. Overall, I thought we outplayed them but maybe the score didn't show it."

"As much I liked the fact Henrik, Daniel and Markus got us big goals at important times, I loved the fact that with 30 seconds left in the game, Markus goes down and blocks a shot," Vigneault said. "That, for me, is as important as scoring a goal."

"I think I've had four fights in the National Hockey League and every game I've fought I've scored a goal," Kesler said Friday after fighting Keith Tkachuk and scoring the Canucks' final goal in a 4-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues. "I think I might have to keep fighting."

1. Markus Naslund (VAN): Very inspired effort by the Captain. Dove in front of shots, scored a couple of goals and could've scored a couple more.
2. Doug Weight (STL): One goal and one assist for the Blues' captain.
3. Ryan Kesler (VAN): Big fight at the start of the game and big goal to seal the win.

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

There’s only so much that you can say as to what’s going wrong with the team, but we all agree that the answer is simple: we need more scoring. Three games against Anaheim, Calgary, and Detroit all resulted in more numbers in the loss column, but there are always shades of positive points that keep things looking promising. We look at some slight changes to the roster, address stupid trade rumors, and do our duty of being faithful Canucks fans.

Labels: podcast

Coming into the season the Vancouver Canucks knew scoring goals wouldn't be easy, but even they didn't think it was going to be this hard.

Vancouver has scored two or less goals in regulation time in its last eight NHL games.

The Canucks, who are two games below .500 with a 8-10-1 record, have managed just 43 goals in 19 games. Their 2.26 goals-a-game average is second worst in the league.

• No panic button quite yet. (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
• Dave Nonis sticking by his team. (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
• Morrison's season still on the limp. (Ben Kuzma)
• Top line passing time on the bench. (Jason Botchford and Ben Kuzma)
• Vigneault's sleepless nights. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)

• Hosts searching for answers again. (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
• Stars needed in dying seconds. (Tony Gallagher, Vancouver Province)
• The Season of Fall. (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
• Memories of a strong start fading with every loss. (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)

1. Nicklas Lidstrom (DET): Logged 30+ minutes of ice-time.
2. Daniel Cleary (DET): Two assists and played well alongside Pavel Datsyuk.
3. Kevin Bieksa (VAN): Scored his third goal of the season and played a good physical game.

• Waiting For Stanley pins the loss on one person.
• The Chief Canuck is back from an extra long weekend and has the good, the bad and the ugly.
• The other chief, Bill from A2Y, is back as well and recaps the game from the Detroit side.

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

"I've had a few days here where I have felt really, really good so I'm kind of anxious to get back going," Mitchell said. "I feel great but whether I play or not, I guess that's the coach's decision. I have just had one skate so far, so we'll see. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

If Mitchell says he's ready to go, you can bet that coach Alain Vigneault will return him to the lineup against a red-hot Red Wings' team.

"If he comes in tomorrow again symptom-free, what I saw today in practice, he looked fine," Vigneault said.

If Mitchell does play, rookie defenceman Alexander Edler will likely be returned to Manitoba. Vigneault said he likes the work fellow rookie Patrick Coulombe has done on the power play and he will remain with the team.

The Wings have reeled off eight-straight victories -- including shutouts in their last two -- and are allowing just 1.94 goals per game, second lowest in the NHL.

Meanwhile, the Canucks are reeling with five losses in their last six games and just 10 goals in that span despite a shot advantage in five of those games.

What has been especially frustrating for Vigneault is that his team is not being rewarded for its hard work. Vigneault suggested that in all but two or three games this season, the Canucks have "outchanced" the opposition. Saturday night's loss to Calgary was just the latest example of a game that the Canucks lost after carrying much of the play.

"The last game was another example of what our season has looked like so far," Vigneault said. "We outchanced Calgary 16-7 and we lost 3-2. The process is right. I feel right now we're not getting, whether you want to call it the bounces or the breaks or whatever. We're hitting posts and they're going out rather than going in. We're not getting a lot of bounces or breaks at our end and we're not getting a lot of bounces and breaks at the other end. But I really believe that teams that work hard, sooner or later, that balances itself out ... offensively we are more gifted than what we have shown so far. There's no doubt."

Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault can crap all over his players whenever he wants, but it’s time Canucks general manager Dave Nonis stepped to the plate to make meaningful roster adjustments.

The Canucks are a .500 team after being blown out 6-0 by the Anaheim Ducks with three very raw rookies on defence replacing injured veterans. That’s just a built-in excuse for losers.

Where were healthy veterans like Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison and Mattias Ohlund when the team needed them most? Well, they were a cumulative minus-nine for goals scored at even strength when the talented Ducks went zero-for-seven with the man advantage.

No wonder Vigneault was ticked off following the game. The rookies made some errors in judgment, but none as grievous as the lack of determination shown by the more experienced players.