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CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Vegas, Baby. Vegas!

Tracy and I and a group of 24 others are off to Las Vegas for the weekend so posting and recaps will be minimal until Monday. In the meantime, enjoy these clips from one of my favorite movies:


And just to add a hockey twist to this:


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Back For More

Forget that the Canucks got their asses handed to them by the Anaheim Ducks three weeks ago, Markus Naslund is excited for the rematch:

"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."
The Canucks are coming off one of their more complete efforts - scoring aside - against the Columbus Blue Jackets so hopefully some of that momentum carries over.

After a solid effort, Jesse Schultz will be back in the lineup tonight. And unlike during that horrible game three weeks ago when the Canucks dressed three defensemen with a combined two games of NHL experience, they will have Sami Salo and Willie Mitchell in the backend.

More from today's MSM:
  • 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?

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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Rory Fitzpatrick: 12th in All-Star Voting

An update on the crazy internet campaign to vote Rory Fitzpatrick into the 2007 NHL All-Star game I mentioned in this post last week and John, Rebecca, Alanah and I talked about on Monday's The Crazy Canucks podcast. Well, the NHL released their most recent tally and our very own Rory now has 31,310 votes, 12th most among Western Conference defensemen.


Crazy.

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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
  • 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

Next Game

The Canucks look for some payback against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.

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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The Crazy Canucks: Episode 9

The crew took some time off from sloshing through the snow to record episode 9 of The Crazy Canucks. It was tough, considering the Canucks were coming off a couple of tough losses, but we pulled through:

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.
Click here to listen to the feed or download the episode (41:04m). As always, make sure you leave us your comments, questions and feedback on the page.

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Not As Easy As It Looks

On paper, the Columbus Blue Jackets are another Central Division team the Canucks should beat. The Blue Jackets have won only three games in November and had lost eight in a row prior to Saturday night's win over the Minnesota Wild. They are also one of two teams - New Jersey is the other - to average less goals per game than the Canucks.

However, things are looking up for the Blue Jackets. Ken Hitchcock replaced Gerald Gallant as head coach last week and Hitch's winning ways (career record: 409-228-88-28) has already sparked the team. He's also changed their system to suit the talents of Sergei Fedorov, Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev and Anson Carter.

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."
Sound familiar?

More from today's MSM:

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Monday, November 27, 2006

Some Quick Hits

On a snowy Monday morning, he are some quick hits from the MMS:

  • 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.
From the "I wanna think happy thoughts" category:


(Click to see full image in pdf.)

Wow, has it really been that long?

Thanks to a friend, stuckintraffic, for cleaning out his pantry and sending me the box.

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Sunday, November 26, 2006

Canucks 1 Avalanche 4

After last night's 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, the Vancouver Canucks have now scored more than two goals in only two of their last 13 games. Amazingly, they've won five games in that same span anyway, perhaps an indicator of how well the team has played defensively and how much Roberto Luongo gives them a chance to win games.

He can't do that every night and there are signs that he is getting frustrated:

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."
It certainly didn't help that Daniel Sedin missed the game with an abdominal muscle strain, though even without him, the Canucks generated a fair amount of scoring chances on Jose Theodore. As has been the case most of the season, what they lacked was finish and it cost them two points at the end.

The Canucks, now 1-6-1 against the Northwest Division, head into the Northwest Division-heavy portion of their schedule; they play 12 of their next 20 games against divisional rivals.

More from the Mainstream

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

Next Game

The Canucks play eight of their next nine games at GM Place, starting with Ken Hitchcock and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

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Friday, November 24, 2006

Canucks 0 Predators 6

Well that was a shitty game.

I don't know if it was fatigue or if they simply left their hearts in Detroit, but the team didn't show up against Nashville last night. They outshot the Predators 34-28 but many of the 28 they allowed were on quality opportunities.

At least Dany Sabourin stopped the first shot he faced this time around. However, he let in the second. And the fourth. And three more of the next 11.

That's the bad news.

The worse news? Daniel Sedin left the game in the second period with a pulled ab muscle.

From the Mainstream

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.
Official Statistics

Next Game

The Canucks finish their road trip on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche.

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Thursday, November 23, 2006

Canucks 4 Red Wings 3 (OT)

Brendan Morrison, who only had one goal and one assist in all of November, picked the right time to break out of his slump. With the Canucks entering the third period in a 3-1 deficit, Morrison scored the team's first 5-on-3 goal of the season to tie the game and then scored on a breakaway in overtime to complete the comeback.

Detroit dominated the first two periods. After Ryan Kesler opened the scoring only 18 seconds into the game, the Red Wings took control and limited the Canucks to 11 shots on goal. Considering they only allow a league-best 20 shots a game and have only lost at Joe Louis Arena once this season, the Canucks' third period comeback didn't seem likely. The Canucks then put 19 shots on goal in the third period and overtime.

I can only guess that Alain Vigneault kicked some serious ass in the locker room in the second intermission. Besides Morrison, Sedin, Sedin and Naslund were dangerous in the third period and were rewarded with Naslund's 11th goal of the year. And when the Red Wings threatened in the last few minutes of regulation, Luongo stepped it up and made his biggest saves.

It wasn't a complete game but it was a character win. And it got the road trip off to a good start.

From the Mainstream:
  • 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

Official Statistics

Next Game

The Canucks are back at it tonight against the Nashville Predators. Expect Dany Sabourin in net.

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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Rematch At The Joe

Some previews to tonight's game:

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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Rory Fitzpatrick: All-Star?


When the NHL announced that All-Star Fan Balloting would be completely digital for the first time ever, I doubt they expected this:

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.
Not intended as a shot on Rory but more of a means to point out the flaws in the league's voting system - where one can vote as many times as they want - the internet campaign has gained unbelievable steam.

There are a couple of threads on HF Boards dedicated to the subject; same on canucks.com, Sportsnet, Calgary Puck and Let's Go Wings. It's been mentioned on CFOX and TEAM 1040. There's even a myspace page dedicated to the campaign and a Vote For Rory video posted on YouTube.

This should make things interesting for NHL brass, who are supposed to release early results of fan voting tomorrow. Will Rory get voted in? And if he does, does the league step in?

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Team Toughness

One of the more impressive things about the Canucks' back-to-back wins was their team toughness. On Friday, Ryan Kesler took on a much-bigger Keith Tkachuk; on Sunday, Kevin Bieksa went after Karl Stewart for blindsiding Kesler; and Taylor Pyatt fought tough guy Jim Vandermeer for an unpenalized check from behind.

As Ben Kuzma notes in today's Vancouver Sun, team toughness is not an issue; and as proof, here's a clip of Taylor Pyatt's fight (YouTube via hockeyfights.com):



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Monday, November 20, 2006

Some Shameless Self-Promotion

I'm now contributing to the official Canucks site as one of their "fan bloggers". My first post, on the team's lack of puck luck, appeared uncensored and unadulterated over the weekend. The link is here.


My plan is to continue to update this blog on a daily or on a game-by-game basis. I'll be posting on canucks.com once or twice a week.


Again - and I can't stress this enough - thanks to all of you who swing by to this blog regularly. I wouldn't be doing this otherwise. And please, make sure you swing by the fan blog on canucks.com as well.
posted by J.J. Guerrero, 8:40 PM | permalink/comments (4) | AddThis Social Bookmark Button | Share on Facebook | Hype It Up! |

Sabourin Up, Flaherty Down

From canucks.com:

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.
The Canucks are on the road for three games this week, including a back-to-back against Detroit and Nashville on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Alain Vigneault has said that Sabourin will start one of the three games.

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Champions!


If we could forget for one second that the Canucks missed the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, 2006 was actually a great year for BC sports and BC athletes. The Vancouver Giants won the Western Hockey League championship; the Vancouver Whitecaps won the USL First Division championship; ditto the women's Whitecaps; Victoria's Steve Nash won his second consecutive NBA MVP; Burnaby's Christine Sinclair was named US College Woman of the Year; and Minnesota Twins outfielder and New Westminster product Justin Morneau is an AL MVP candidate (award to be announced tomorrow).

Yesterday, the BC Lions added to BC's trophy case when they won the 94th Grey Cup.

Congratulations to the Lions! More Grey Cup coverage here.

Also, there's a Grey Cup party planned in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Tuesday during the lunch hour.

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Blackhawks 1 Canucks 2

So this is what it feels like to be a Detroit or Nashville fan.

Two weekend games against the Central Division. Two much-needed wins.

The Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 last night and improved their record against Central Division opponents to 7-2-0.

It was as complete a weekend performance as we've seen from the Canucks this season. Led by Markus Naslund, they created a lot of scoring opportunities and limited the chances on Roberto Luongo; combined, the Canucks outshot the Blues and Blackhawks 83-44 and only strong performances by Jason Bacashiua and Nikolai Khabibulin kept the scores close.

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.
Official Statistics

Next Game

The Canucks are back on the road and take on the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday Wednesday.

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Saturday, November 18, 2006

The 94th Grey Cup


There's no shortage of previews and articles for tomorrow's Grey Cup, which of course features the BC Lions against the Montreal Alouettes. Here are some:

I'll admit to not being a big football fan even though I go to one or two Lions games a year. But living in Vancouver and seeing how good this team is - they swept the CFL's major player awards - it's hard not to get swept up in Grey Cup fever.

The 94th Grey Cup game starts at 4:00 PM; CBC coverage starts at 2:30 PM.

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Blues 2 Canucks 4

After six losses in seven games, it was just what the doctor ordered: a home game against a bad road team that is missing six players, including their no. 1 goaltender.

The Canucks took full advantage. They outplayed the St. Louis Blues, outshot them 44-21, and won a 4-2 decision.

"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."
He's not kidding. The Canucks had gone eight straight games without scoring more than two goals and it was nice to see them rewarded with a bit of puck luck.

Naslund had a great game. He scored two goals - his eighth and ninth of the season - and paced his team to another strong effort. He had eight shots on goal and one blocked shot that had everyone in the stadium buzzing. Including his coach:

"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."
Now that's how you lead by example.

Ryan Kesler set the tone when he dropped the gloves against Keith Tkachunky only nine seconds in. He bothered the Blues enough that Doug Weight and Barrett Jackman tried to take shots at him. And with only a minute left in the game, Kesler scored his second goal of the year.

"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."
If that's what it takes.

My 3 Stars of the Game

  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.
Official Statistics

Next Game

The Canucks play the Khabibulin and Havlat-less Blackhawks on Sunday.

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Friday, November 17, 2006

The Crazy Canucks: Episode 7

Through rain and shine, through sleet and snow... well, through rain anyway... John, Rebecca, Dave and I got together to record episode 7 of The Crazy Canucks podcast:

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.
Click here to listen to or download the feed. As always, don't forget to leave your comments, feedback or suggestions.

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Thursday, November 16, 2006

Lay Off Louie

It's easy to blame Roberto Luongo for Tuesday night's loss to the Detroit Red Wings. After all, he let in a weak Johan Franzen short-handed goal that seemed deflate the rest of the Canucks. What gets lost is how without Luongo, the game wouldn't even have been close. What gets lost is how without Luongo, the Canucks would have far less than the eight wins they have this season.

For eight consecutive games now, the Canucks have failed to score more than two goals in a game. And the fact is, not many teams win games if they don't score more than twice in a game.

Consider this: Of the 266 games played to date, only 35 (13%) were won by a team that scored only two goals that game.

From sportsnet.ca:

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.
As for Luongo, he's keeping up with his end of the deal (for the most part anyway). He's faced the fourth most shots in the league and still sports a respectable .905 SV%; his 2.52 GAA is 11th best and he's played more games than anyone in the top 10.

So lay off Louie. He's the least of the Canucks' problems right now.

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Potpourri

I woke up late today and have to get to work. I'm finishing up a post and I'll put it up for tonight. In the meantime, here are today's articles on the team we are begging to score more:

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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Wings 3 Canucks 2

Scrambled thoughts after last night's game:

The numbers aren't pretty.

Eight consecutive games with two goals or less.

You can pay $1.3 million for a Hyundai Pony, it's doesn't make it run like a Porsche.

Luongo was brilliant for all but one goal. Unfortunately, it proved to be the game-winner and was a back breaker.

Sixth loss in seven games.

The Canucks have now fallen to ninth place in the Western Conference and out of a playoff spot.

My 3 Stars of the Game

  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.
About the game around the blogosphere

Official Statistics
Next Game

The Canucks play the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.

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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Welcome Back Willie

Good news first.

After missing nine games to post-concussion syndrome, Willie Mitchell feels great and hopes to return to action tonight.

"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 biggest beneficiary of Willie's return is Loo-kash Krajicek. I've mentioned in the past how Loo-kash and Willie play well together. Their pairing is a little reminiscent of the Lumme-Murzyn one in the early 90's, with the exception that Willie isn't a pylon. Anyway, since Willie's injury, Loo-kash has a -6 rating and has had a tough time adjusting to the extra ice-time; Willie's return will help take some of that pressure off.

The bad news?

Much like Saturday, the Canucks are again entertaining a streaking team, this time a Detroit Red Wings team that has won eight straight games.

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.
Talk about two teams going in the opposite direction.

For the second time in a week,Vigneault cracked the whip and organized a skills practice session so the Canucks can work on their finish.

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."
Geez, I sure hope he's right. We're getting restless over here.

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Monday, November 13, 2006

The Sky Is Falling

Apparently.
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.
[update: 11/13/06, 3:50 PM]

I forgot to post this link as well, but you get the idea.

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

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