It appears the Vancouver Canucks are living through a market correction. The Canucks, so dominant in overtime and shootouts prior to Jan. 19, fell again to a non-playoff team on home ice Tuesday, losing 3-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a shootout.

The defeat was eerily similar to Vancouver's 3-2 OT loss to the Los Angeles Kings last Friday.

Vancouver fell behind early, came back to tie, never led and then died in the end.

The traffic in Roberto Luongo's crease has reached ludicrous proportions. The way things are going for the Canucks' emerging league MVP candidate, he would have been lucky if his wife didn't run him down in his own driveway when he got home.

It's been a rough situation much of the year, but in the last three games, with his save percentage and goals-against average reaching absurdly good levels, it has been abundantly clear that opposing teams' strategy is to send bodies at him to make contact. If the puck is there, well, so much the better, but it doesn't seem to be necessary.

• The Canucks should just let their opponents outshoot them. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• The good news: Kesler had successful surgery yesterday. The bad: he's still out until April at the earliest. - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province)
• The Flames already made their move, re-acquiring Craig Conroy. Dave Nonis, y'er up. - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province)

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Ty Conklin (CBJ): Wasn't looking too far ahead to tonight's game against the Oilers. 36 saves to earn only his second win of the season.
2. Brendan Morrison (VAN): Good overall game. Only one assist but also won 17 of 28 faceoffs.
3. Dan Fritsche (CBJ): Effective and noticeable in only 16 minutes of ice-time..

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

• Willie Mitchell's skating but is still out; same with Rick Rypien. - Elliott Pap (Vancouver Sun)
• Pyatt has been as hot as any other Canuck with nine points (5G-4A, +3) in his last six games. Despite not playing on the first-unit powerplay, Pyatt still leads the team in powerplay goals. - Gordon McIntyre (Vancouver Province), Grant Kerr (Globe and Mail)
• With Ryan Kesler undergoing hip surgery yesterday, it's time to ask: is the number 17 cursed? - David Pratt (Vancouver Province)

Anyone who doesn't think hockey can work in America is forgetting this era. All of a sudden, hockey was challenging, if not beating, the NBA in a number of major U.S. markets – including New York. It's almost impossible to imagine now, but it happened.

As the conspiracy theory goes, Stern sensed the potential trouble in 1993 while the NHL was in search of a new commissioner. So he looked around his own office for someone so incompetent that if they got the job, the NHL would be marginalized by their mismanagement and never again be a threat to the NBA.

Naturally, Stern recommended one of his assistants, Gary Bettman, for the job.

• Looooooooooooooooou - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province), Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)
• One by-product of having a goaltender like Luongo is that he instantly makes the penalty-kill better. The Canucks' current streak is at 35 consecutive kills in six-plus games. They've only allowed two powerplay goals - both against Minnesota - since Dec. 27th. - Gordon McIntyre (Vancouver Province)
• Quiet Pyatt is quietly having a good year. He has 14 goals for the season, five of them in the last six games. - Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)

About the game around the blogosphere

• Canucks bloggers are all Luongo after last night's game. - Waiting For Stanley, The Chief Canuck, Canucks Fangirl

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Roberto Luongo (VAN): 38 saves, a LOT of them the awesome kind.
2. Joe Thornton (SJ): All-Star center was tough to knock off the puck.
3. Taylor Pyatt (VAN): It wasn't the goal and one assist that I liked. It was that he used his big frame and quick shot effectively to get them.

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

• Tonight's game features Marc Crawford's first game back against Vancouver. Wouldn't it be great for his favorite whipping boy, Brendan Morrison, to have a big game? - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province)
• In hindsight, the Crawford/Canucks split was probably one of the best things to happen to both parties. - Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)
• While the Canucks are battling for first place in the Northwest Division, the Kings are battling for first place in the draft lottery. - Ed Willes (Vancouver Province)
• Even after a week's rest, Willie Mitchell isn't ready to play; the Canucks have recalled Yannick Tremblay from the Moose to replace him. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)
• After playing his best game of the season, it's back to the end of the bench for Dany Sabourin. - Grant Kerr (Globe and Mail)

The Vancouver Canucks acquired minor-league winger Colby Genoway from the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday in exchange for AHL defenceman Joe Rullier.

Genoway, 23, had eight goals and 29 points in 41 games with AHL Portland this season. He signed with Anaheim as a free agent over the summer.

Genoway is in his second full season in the AHL and has continued the scoring ways that saw him finish eighth in rookie scoring a year ago. Playing mostly on the top line, he's been in the top three in scoring this year and is tops amongst all Portland players in plus/minus.

I've seen some posts on MySpace from fans in Portland, and I understand that Genoway is a solid player... Pirate fans are bemoaning Burke's moves, angry that he's giving away/giving up the "better" players. I remember him from training camp, and I did like his performance there.

He was among the second to last group of players to be cut from the Ducks team during camp, but looking at his co-players that were cut? A bunch of them were called-up to play for us this season, including: Michael Wall, Curtis Glencross, Kent Huskins, David McKee (though he hasn't yet played a game for the Ducks), Bjorn Melin, Aaron Rome (even if he only played in one game).

Ugh. I hate the current schedule. Hate it. I hate playing every one in our division 8 times. Even if they were all fantastic teams, you don’t need to play any team that much. For more on my opinion on the topic, you can read a paper I wrote for my English class last semester here.

As somebody who called for junking the unbalanced schedule back in November, I couldn't help but be disappointed that a minority of the Board of Governors voted to block reverting to the pre-lockout schedule that had teams playing everyone in the league at least once a year.

On another note, the NHL decided to press on with the third year of their 3-year schedule rotation. Gary Bettman is so hard-on to finish his precious rotation that the league is basically screwing good marketing opportunities to save $5 on jet fuel. Say good-bye to a true Hockey Day in Canada next season.

Don't blame Bettman. He's doing what the board of governors voted to do. It's the board of governors -- the OWNERS -- calling the shots. And in fact, since this required a 2/3 majority, it's a minority of owners, primarily the east coast "bus league" teams, that's screwing this for the rest of us.

Edmonton Oilers chairman Cal Nichols wore his heart on his sleeve, saying the league had fumbled the ball.

"The politics seem to always enter into it," a frustrated Nichols said after the board of governors meeting. "I think we should be more concerned about the future of the game than specific interests or 'It's going to cost me a few more thousand dollars to travel a few extra miles.' This shouldn't be about that. It's about the game."

Nichols also believes commissioner Gary Bettman should have shown more leadership on the matter.

"I wish he would have," said Nichols.

• The votes aren't made public in these cases, but we all know that the East sold out the West. I didn't, however, expect Ottawa and Montreal to side for non-change. - Cam Cole (Vancouver Sun)
• Unfortunately for fans, it's the selfish few that won this battle. - Eric Duhatschek (Globe and Mail), Ed Willes (Vancouver Province)
• Better luck next year. - Scott Morrison (CBC)

"It's unbelievable how out of hand it got," Bulis said of his ill-timed comments last Wednesday during an impressive 3-0-1 eastern road trip that left the Canucks 10-1-1 in their last dozen outings.

"I never said: 'I want out.' And I never said I want a trade. I don't know where it's going to go now. It was just a meeting between my agent [Jiri Crha] and [general manager] Dave Nonis."

That meeting was spurred after Bulis logged a season-low 9:37 of ice time on Jan. 2 in Calgary, one game after the winger scored in 15:06 of ice on Dec. 30 at Edmonton. It triggered his concern and has made all parties uncomfortable.

(snip)

"Janny wasn't lying or anything like that -- he was just telling his opinion of what he thinks," said Crha, who hasn't spoken with Nonis since his client's outburst. "I don't think they signed Janny because they want to trade him. Maybe they know the potential and have different ideas of what they want to do with him.

"If they don't feel he's the guy then it's a waste for everybody." Bulis believes with more ice time -- especially on the power play where he logged just 10 seconds in four of the last seven outings -- the Czech winger can improve on his 16 points [9-7] and be a second-half solution rather than an ongoing problem for coach Alain Vigneault.

Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo said the biggest difference he experienced with the new jersey was that it repels moisture.

"It's very comfortable -- light, and doesn't absorb water," he said. "It's not only sweat, but when we drink from the water bottle, sometimes it gets all over the front, so you get weighed down by the end of the period.

"It's very loose and elastic. You can move around easily in it, it's not impeding at all."

The NHL will have its much-maligned schedule dealt with once and for all when the board of governors meets Tuesday and the betting is the league will likely go back to the pre-lockout format that saw all 30 teams face each other at least once a season.

(snip)

Chances are things will go back to the format used pre-lockout, where each teams plays its divisional opponents six times instead of eight, then plays four games against each of the teams in the other divisions in their conference. That would leave 18 games against teams in the other conference. Teams would play against each team in the other conference once, leaving three games for home-and-home series against traditional rivals.

The NHL will stay the course and will not change the regular season schedule for at least one more year.

That was the decision made the the league's board of governors on Tuesday in an effort to deal with its much-debated scheduling concerns.

... there were a lot of Vancouver fans from Toronto at the game. It seemed like all the nuckleheads shelled out for the good seats... it was great, we were having fun with the Sabres fans all night. It was one of the best games I've attended in a while. With Sabourin it added excitement/angst whenever the puck was in our zone. Reminds me of Cloutier's days in net. Sabourin had some flashy saves and overall a great game, but he was prone to let out a rebound on every shot and given his small size you could always see a lot of net, no way he could control the pace of the game the way Luongo does.

Dany Sabourin in goal.

Alex Burrows stirring the pot (like he always does).

A LOT OF Canucks fans in the stands!

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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, Buffalo+Sabres

"I wanted him so badly to win," Sabourin's friend and teammate, Alex Burrows, said. "He made some unbelievable saves and everyone wanted to win that first game for him. It's been tough on him for sure. He wants to stick in the NHL. He wants to prove to everyone that he's a good goalie. We know he's a good goalie."

Vigneault said: "The last five minutes of the third period, I thought, you know, maybe our guys were thinking so much about getting it done for Dany, we forgot to keep the pedal to the metal and keep going after them.

"I thought it really showed a gutsy effort for a kid who doesn't get to play a lot. It's unfortunate that we couldn't get it done ... we still had a pretty good trip. Tomorrow, we're probably going to say that coming out east here and getting seven or eight points was a pretty good feat."

• As expected, Roberto Luongo really, really, really wanted to play on Friday night, but this time, Alain Vigneault stood his ground. - Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)

About the game around the blogosphere

• Canucks Fangirl and Yankee Canuck both recap the game.
• Waiting For Stanley agrees with all of us - Dany Sabourin deserves some praise for a good game on Friday.
• Bleeding Blue and Gold has the recap from the Buffalo side of things.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Maxim Afinogenov (BUF): How he's not going to the All-Star game (and Jason Blake is) baffles me.
2. Dany Sabourin (VAN): 33 saves on 36 Buffalo shots.
3. Thomas Vanek (BUF): Only one assist but turned up his game in the third period and overtime.

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

• First, some post-game pieces from last night's game. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Ken Warren (Ottawa Citizen), David Naylor (Globe and Mail)
• Having only allowed two goals in the last three games, including none in a span of more than 150 minutes, the "legend of Luongo" grows. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)
• And why a team is apparently better off for not acquiring him. - Bruce Garrioch (Ottawa Sun)
• A lot of Canucks have had their homecomings during this jaunt through the Eastern Conference. Tonight, it's Rory's turn as the Canucks play the team with whom he spent the last five seasons. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun), Ken Oklobzija (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
• Alain Vigneault reminisces about old times. With the Moose. Don't be going back yet, Alain. - Gary Lawless (Winnipeg Free Press)
• Here's a nice piece on Andre Boudrias, the Canucks center who still holds the franchise record for assists in a season. Until Henrik breaks it. - Elliott Pap (Vancouver Sun)

About the game around the blogosphere

• Sherry of Scarlett Ice is staying even-keel despite her Sens' loss.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Mattias Ohlund (VAN): Was huge for the defense after Willie Mitchell left the game. Was especially good when the Canucks were down two men in the third period
2. Roberto Luongo (VAN): Stopped 34 Ottawa shots, including 13 of 14 in the third period
3. Taylor Pyatt (VAN): One goal and one assist despite playing with a broken thumb

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

As promised, Rebecca and John were able to check out the Canucks game against the Leafs on the new scoreboard at GM Place this past weekend. The UBC Thunderbirds played a game against the Regina Cougars following the broadcast. Overall, a great way to spend a Hockey Day in Canada.

The audio quality is not the best, but hopefully the die hard fans out there will enjoy the sounds of what it’s like to attend an event like this in Vancouver.

Labels: podcast

• Someone keep Roberto Luongo off the ice. I dare you. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• For all the good hockey they've played this season, the Canucks still aren't garnering much attention. Personally, I think that's a good thing. - Ed Willes (Vancouver Province)
• The Sedins may have been snubbed in Montreal, but their outstanding playing hasn't gone unnoticed in Canada's capital. - Matthew Sekeres (Ottawa Citizen)
• Here's an interesting tidbit I learned today. Tonight is another homecoming of sorts for Alain Vigneault and assistant coach, Rick Bowness, who both coached the expansion Ottawa Senators in '92-'93. - Ken Warren (Ottawa Citizen)

Enigmatic forward Jan Bulis says he wouldn't be surprised if he's no longer a Canuck by the end of the all-star break.

Unsatisfied with his role and irregular ice time since the start of the season, Bulis said his agent Jiri Crha has had meetings with GM Dave Nonis to discuss his immediate future.

Crha said he didn't demand a trade but he's prepared to ask for a deal, turning Bulis into trade bait, if the sides can't come to a mutually beneficial understanding.

Nonis, speaking from Vancouver, confirmed Bulis's version of events and said the veteran needs to play better.

"If he plays more like he played in Montreal, why would we trade him?" Nonis said. "That was the guy we thought we were getting. He wants to play more? Then he needs to play better."

When the movie is made, Mark Wahlberg can play Roberto Luongo. He'll have to wear a wig, though, and a goalie mask in place of the Philadelphia Eagles helmet he donned in a recent hit film.

The name, however, can stay the same: Invincible.

In the most dramatic moment of the Canucks' season, Luongo shook off a sleepless night spent being monitored in a hospital bed to not only lead his teammates but inspire them with a storybook shutout in his hometown.

He sounded like The Godfather but played like a god. Vancouver Canuck Roberto Luongo is not only a goaltending marvel, he's a human marvel, too.

The National Hockey League's Bionic Man got out of hospital Tuesday morning and by that night was shutting out the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 despite being weak and sore from a practice shot to the throat that left him with a welt and Marlon Brando's voice from The Godfather movies.

Like Brando, Luongo seems to own the screen when he's on it.

"One day," Luongo might have rasped, "I will ask you to do a favour for your godfather." And whatever it is, the Canucks should grant it unquestioningly because they have never possessed a player like this.

• When the Sedins don't record the point, who picks up the slack? Who else but Jan Bulis, Josh Green, Ryan Kesler and Lukas Krajicek. - Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)
• The last time the Canucks won in Montreal, Americans were more worried about Monica than Osama. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• Willie still doubtful for Thursday; Taylor probable. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)

About the game around the blogosphere

• The Chief Canuck and Canucks Fangirl both recap on the game.
• Waiting For Stanley won a bet last night; Eyes On The Prize paid up.
• From the Habs side of things, A Theory Of Ice has resorted to Buddhism to cope with the loss. Jordi's just plain pissed.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Kevin Bieksa (VAN): Two more assists give him 17 points in his last 17 games
2. Roberto Luongo (VAN): 30 saves and his 3rd shutout of the season
3. Ryan Kesler (VAN): One goal, two assists, three hits and as solid a performance as we've seen from him all season

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

Vancouver defenceman is about as unheard of as can get, but they're calling him Jovo Jr. out West after posting 10 points in his last 10 games.

• Roberto Luongo got hit with a puck in practice yesterday. After much panic from Canuckland, it turns out he's okay. Whew. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)
• Taylor Pyatt apparently broke his thumb on Saturday night after a Jeff O'Neill slash. After initially expecting to miss 2-4 weeks (and much panic from Tracy), he may, in fact, be able to put it in a splint and play anyway. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• It turns out the giggling and joking Alain Vigneault we see in interviews is a front. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• After a scare caused by a life-threatening blood infection, Taylor Bouck hopes to receive some good news from his doctors today. - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Province)
• It doesn't happen often but I love it when our scouting staff outfoxes another team's scouting staff, especially one as successful as Detroit's. - Ed Willes (Vancouver Province)
• If he continues the way he's been playing this season, Kevin Bieksa should soon be a household name and won't have to worry about anyone on the media side mispronouncing (or misspelling his name. That or Cole and Neale just stop calling Canucks ganes. - Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)
• For sure, the folks from Bieksa's hometown, Grimsby, ON and nearby Hamilton, ON don't mispronounce his name. - John Kernaghan (Hamilton Spectator)

There was a lot to chat about even though there hasn’t been much action since the last episode. We take a look at some of the younger guys on the team, review some of the ways that we celebrated Hockey Day in each of our own special ways, why it should be a national holiday, wander down the scheduling trail again, and dissect the NHL All-Star Game selections a little bit. J.J also drops some bombs at the end of the episode with some injury reports, and we all agree that nothing else matters since we spanked the Leafs, 6-1, on national TV, no less.

Labels: podcast

• The 'Nucks next stop on the road trip is La Belle Province, the hometown of many Canucks. Wouldn't it be great for the team to win one for Viggy, who was once unceremoniously dumped by the Habs? - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)
• While Roberto Luongo and Alain Vigneault both hailed from Quebec, neither grew up as Habs fans, but as Oilers and Sabres fans, respectively. - Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun)
• The stop could also be a homecoming of sorts for Jan Bulis, who spent five seasons wearing the red, white and blue. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• One win on the road trip down and the some real work starts tomorrow. The Canucks' next three opponents - Montreal, Ottawa and Buffalo - are all top five teams in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens are 14-6-3 at home and still hanging around for the Northeast Division lead; the Senators, after a slow start to the season, are 9-1-1 in their last eleven games; and the Sabres have been the class of the Eastern Conference all season and have a whopping seven-point lead on second place New Jersey. - Pierre Lebrun (Canadian Press)
• Willie Mitchell, who missed Saturday night's game due to a groin pull, will be a game-time decision tomorrow against the Habs. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• The Canucks are also red-hot, having won eight of their last nine games. While Luongo has been a large part of the streak, they are also getting timely contributions from the rest of the lineup. - Tim Wharsby (Globe and Mail)
• Here's a nice look back on Hockey Day In Canada and the season thus far for all six Canadian teams. - Eric Duhatschek (Globe and Mail)
• A friend of mine, Ernest Salcedo, and a bunch of his buddies are following the Canucks on their Eastern Conference road trip and blogging about it along the way. Anyone else jealous? - Canucks Week