Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Blue Jackets 0 Canucks 1
The Canucks still can't find the back of the net, but last night, their lone goal was enough to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of two teams that score less than they do.
Both goalies were great last night. The Canucks didn't give up many good scoring chances, but when they did, Roberto Luongo was there to bail them out. On the other end, Pascal Leclaire - who, by the way, currently has Roberto's old goalie coach, Clint Malarchuk - was just as good.
On offense, it was the same story as it has been all season. The Canucks outshot the Blue Jackets 33-24 but could only put one puck in the net. Even in the upper bowl, you can sense some of the players' lack of confidence and frustration. Matt Cooke, especially, kept glancing at the jumbotron after shooting the puck at a sprawling Pascal Leclaire's chest instead of over him. Jan Bulis looked lost at times when he didn't have the puck. Alain Vigneault said after the game, they just gotta stick with it. And at least last night, they came out of it with two points.
One final note: Jesse Schultz made his NHL debut last night. I was worried when he got nailed hard in the first period and shied away from contact the rest of the shift, but I thought he looked more confident as the game went on. I noticed he plays around the net a lot and seems to know where to find some open space; he managed three shots on goal in 10:45 minutes of ice-time (that's three more shots than Anson Carter had in 20+ minutes of ice-time).
Okay, one more note: The Canucks introduced the Grey Cup-winning BC Lions before the game. Bob Ackles, Paul McCallum, Brett Johnson, Geroy Simon and a few others showed off the Grey Cup to everyone in the stadium. It better not be the only Cup to be shown at GM Place this season.
More from the Mainstream
The Canucks look for some payback against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.
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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, Columbus+Blue+Jackets
Both goalies were great last night. The Canucks didn't give up many good scoring chances, but when they did, Roberto Luongo was there to bail them out. On the other end, Pascal Leclaire - who, by the way, currently has Roberto's old goalie coach, Clint Malarchuk - was just as good.
On offense, it was the same story as it has been all season. The Canucks outshot the Blue Jackets 33-24 but could only put one puck in the net. Even in the upper bowl, you can sense some of the players' lack of confidence and frustration. Matt Cooke, especially, kept glancing at the jumbotron after shooting the puck at a sprawling Pascal Leclaire's chest instead of over him. Jan Bulis looked lost at times when he didn't have the puck. Alain Vigneault said after the game, they just gotta stick with it. And at least last night, they came out of it with two points.
One final note: Jesse Schultz made his NHL debut last night. I was worried when he got nailed hard in the first period and shied away from contact the rest of the shift, but I thought he looked more confident as the game went on. I noticed he plays around the net a lot and seems to know where to find some open space; he managed three shots on goal in 10:45 minutes of ice-time (that's three more shots than Anson Carter had in 20+ minutes of ice-time).
Okay, one more note: The Canucks introduced the Grey Cup-winning BC Lions before the game. Bob Ackles, Paul McCallum, Brett Johnson, Geroy Simon and a few others showed off the Grey Cup to everyone in the stadium. It better not be the only Cup to be shown at GM Place this season.
More from the Mainstream
- 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
- Roberto Luongo (VAN): Made sure that one goal was enough for his team to win.
- Pascal Leclaire (CBJ): 33 saves kept his team in the game until the final seconds.
- Markus Naslund (VAN): Scored the game's only goal but, again, had plenty of scoring chances.
Official Statistics
Next GameThe Canucks look for some payback against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.
______________
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, Columbus+Blue+Jackets
4 Comments:
that's three more shots than Anson Carter had in 20+ minutes of ice-time
Were you one of the boo-birds last night? Every time he got near the puck the jeers rained down.
It was glorious.
I remember enough of the game that it wasn't a boring 1-0 loss. But I can't stand how many times the Canucks shot the puck into Leclaire's chest. Frustrating.
temujin - No, I didn't boo Anson Carter. Didn't see much point into doing it as he wasn't really that prominent out there. Had a guy sitting behind me though that was heckling him all game long. He was funny.
zanstrom - You're right in that it wasn't a boring game at all. The boys played with some jump and created a lot of scoring chances. I do wonder sometimes if they realize the point of the game is to get the puck through the goaltender and not to him.
We gotta trade Bulis and Chouinard for a bag of pucks. Bulis is a defensive liability in his own end and a puck hog with no vision in the other.
Chouinard: 17 games 0G, 1A; 81 faceoffs won, 77 lost
Yanic Perreault: 11 games 7G, 3A; 110 faceoffs won, 70 lost
Great job, Nonis.
JAXX 4 LIFE
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