Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Canucks 1 Blues 3
There may have been a couple of new characters in the lineup, but the Canucks played the same, conservative game. They generated more than a few scoring chances and won the puck possession battle. They threw 26 shots on Blues goalie Curtis Sanford but could only put one puck behind him.
The result was a 3-1 Canucks loss to a Blues team minus Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin. It was the Canucks first regulation loss since a 3-0 loss to another non-playoff team, the Chicago Blackhawks.
Again, the Canucks ran into penalty problems late in the third period. Down only by a goal with three minutes left, they gave the Blues a 5-on-3 powerplay. Doug Weight scored to put the game out of reach and the Canucks league-leading penalty-killing unit have now allowed a powerplay goal in five consecutive games
Roberto Luongo was pissed (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun):
More from the Mainstream
Back at home on Thursday night against the Phoenix Coyotes.
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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, St+Louis+Blues
The result was a 3-1 Canucks loss to a Blues team minus Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin. It was the Canucks first regulation loss since a 3-0 loss to another non-playoff team, the Chicago Blackhawks.
Again, the Canucks ran into penalty problems late in the third period. Down only by a goal with three minutes left, they gave the Blues a 5-on-3 powerplay. Doug Weight scored to put the game out of reach and the Canucks league-leading penalty-killing unit have now allowed a powerplay goal in five consecutive games
Roberto Luongo was pissed (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun):
A frustrated Luongo suggested the Canucks are playing down to the level of the NHL's also-rans instead of rolling over them, and said in no uncertain terms that has to change.I don't blame him for being upset. Hell, I'm upset. Last season, the Canucks lost all four meetings against the Blues, which very well may have been the reason they missed the playoffs. They're in a better spot this season, but of course, nothing is guaranteed yet. They can't keep giving away points like they have the last couple of games.
"We need to bury them, that's the bottom line," Luongo said after the Canucks ended a four-game road trip by dropping a 3-1 decision to the St. Louis Blues.
"A number of times we have talked about the same thing against teams like that and we keep shooting ourselves in the foot."
More from the Mainstream
- Some post-game pieces. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)
- Sopel and Smolinski were okay. Not great, not terrible, just okay. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)
- Bad for Marc, good for the Moose. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province), Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)
- The common reaction after yesterday's trade deadline - the West got a lot, lot better. - Tony Gallagher (Vancouver Province)
- On trade deadline day, Nonis rested. Well, not really, but after getting Smoke and Sopes, he didn't get anyone else. - Ben Kuzma (Vancouver Sun)
About the game around the blogosphere
- Game recaps from Waiting For Stanley, The Chief Canuck and Canucks Fangirl.
My 3 Stars of the Game
- Curtis Sanford (STL): 25 saves and is now 5-0 lifetime against the 'Nucks.
- Doug Weight (STL): Veteran stepped it up in the third period and scored two goals.
- Daniel Sedin (VAN): Scored a goal. Would have had at least a couple of assists if Santala could shoot.
Official Statistics
Next GameBack at home on Thursday night against the Phoenix Coyotes.
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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, St+Louis+Blues
Labels: Blues, game recap, Smolinski, Sopel
10 Comments:
"Sopel, paired with his old friend Mattias Ohlund, had the more difficult night of the pair. He got caught making a bad read in the first period while chasing Radek Dvorak around the end boards. It lead to the Blues' first goal."
...sigh...although tough to pick on him since they were all bad last night.
He did that more than once, Mike. It was a touch of deja-vu. But he'll get better. He'd better~!
Yeah, but did they each lead to a goal?!
Yeah, last night's game sucked but Luongo isn't blameless for the loss. He should've had those three goals. They weren't spectacular shots or anything. It's not like he was overworked all night. I just get mad that it's never Luongo's fault. He's perfect, blame the rest of the team!
I'm not saying the rest of the team was great--they weren't. I'm just saying Luongo isn't blameless.
I dont' quite agree with the opinion that Sopel led to the first goal. He was the last man back 1-on-1 on the left side of Luongo, he forced the opponent to the outside, who was faster than Sopel, but unable to go to the net because of Sopel. The opponent went behind the red line, Sopel read that he's going to try the wrap-around, so Sopel cut in front of the net to the right side of Luongo. By then, Ohlund was in front of the net, there was another Blues player going to the net, who went right in front of Sopel and even tried to interfere with Sopel. The puck carrier was quick and saw that a wrap-around was his best option, so he skated away from the net towards the other corner and then made a quick pass to the trailer (third-man) who was wide open on Luongo's left. Morrison was near the scorer but never close enough to prevent anything. Now, is it correct to single out the D man in this case for not preventing the pass, or should the centre be more responsible for backchecking and preventing the shot from the third man?
That quote was taken from the Province and Sopel said all but said he was culpable after it. If anything, it's a miscommunication between Sopel and Ohlund and that's completely understandable. As I said above, everyone was a few seconds off last night so it's not fair to pick on Sopel. But those are precisely the plays that I fear with him back there. Offensively, he's great...defensively though, I'm waiting to see how he does.
All my dislike has moved from Tkachuk to Weight. Oh how I loathe him...
I don't think you can blame Luongo for all those goals. One went in through his legs after deflected under Sedin's leg. There wasn't much he could do, because he was reading the play and following the puck until it redirected on him.
I love the comments he made, because he didn't hold anything back or try to be diplomatic. The bottom line is that they DO need to bury these teams. Those two points may not mean we miss the playoffs, but they could very well mean the difference between the third overall seed (and a match-up with Dallas) and a 7th or 8th overall seed, and a match-up against Nashville/Anaheim/Detroit.
Of course, we could finish 3rd and end up facing San Jose... which wouldn't really be much of a treat at all...
Weight has always been the best Canucks killer among the Blues forwards, and he was probably their best player in the 2003 series. I'd pick Weight among Tkachuk, Guerin and Weight.
For the quote, Sopel said "I'll have to take a look at it. We can't allow them to have back door plays like that." I think he's being polite and not directly naming Morrison, but by "we" he referred to the whole team. Morrison was the centre and the third man into the zone scored the goal.
You sure as hell can't blame a goalie all that often when you lose 3-1!!!
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