Friday, November 30, 2007
Blue Jackets 0 Canucks 2
Sometimes I pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. It's not really possible that the man wearing the no. 1 Canucks jersey is in fact wearing a Canucks jersey. The Canucks just don't have goaltenders like Roberto Luongo. There's no slight intended for King Richard and Captain Kirk, but the Luon-god can dominate games - take over games - like no one in a Canucks uni has been able to.
Last night, Luongo extended his shutout streak to three games - 195 minutes and 34 seconds to be exact. He's now stopped the last 86 shots he's faced and finished the November to remember with an 8-2-2 record and a .934 save percentage (269 of 288 shots).
The Canucks played a true team game last night. Neither team gave up an obnoxious amount of quality scoring chances, though Luongo and Frederik Norrena had to be sharp at times. The team knew what was at stake. Especially in the second and third periods when the Blue Jackets started looking like a Ken Hitchcock-coached team, they stuck together, let Luongo see the puck and cleared away any rebounds. With a 2-0 lead, they focused on the defensive end and picked their spots.
I know it's been said many times, but Ryan Kesler played yet another gem of a game. I don't know if it's too early to start Selke talk, but check out these stats from the past three games:
Patrick Kane, Ryan Getzlaf, Rick Nash - 0 goals, 0 assists, -1, 6 PIM, 8 shots
Ryan Kesler - 2 goals, 0 assists, even-rating, 0 PIM, 9 shots
More importantly, the Canucks won again and moved up to second place in the Western Conference and fourth overall in the NHL. They also crawled one game over .500 on home ice - very impressive considering they were an awful 1-6 at the beginning of the month.
The Canucks only have a couple of days to savor this latest victory. Starting Sunday, they start a stretch of eight games in two weeks, seven of them on the road and including a couple of back-to-backs.
About the game around the blogosphere:
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
Last night, Luongo extended his shutout streak to three games - 195 minutes and 34 seconds to be exact. He's now stopped the last 86 shots he's faced and finished the November to remember with an 8-2-2 record and a .934 save percentage (269 of 288 shots).
The Canucks played a true team game last night. Neither team gave up an obnoxious amount of quality scoring chances, though Luongo and Frederik Norrena had to be sharp at times. The team knew what was at stake. Especially in the second and third periods when the Blue Jackets started looking like a Ken Hitchcock-coached team, they stuck together, let Luongo see the puck and cleared away any rebounds. With a 2-0 lead, they focused on the defensive end and picked their spots.
I know it's been said many times, but Ryan Kesler played yet another gem of a game. I don't know if it's too early to start Selke talk, but check out these stats from the past three games:
Patrick Kane, Ryan Getzlaf, Rick Nash - 0 goals, 0 assists, -1, 6 PIM, 8 shots
Ryan Kesler - 2 goals, 0 assists, even-rating, 0 PIM, 9 shots
More importantly, the Canucks won again and moved up to second place in the Western Conference and fourth overall in the NHL. They also crawled one game over .500 on home ice - very impressive considering they were an awful 1-6 at the beginning of the month.
The Canucks only have a couple of days to savor this latest victory. Starting Sunday, they start a stretch of eight games in two weeks, seven of them on the road and including a couple of back-to-backs.
About the game around the blogosphere:
- More on the Luon-god from Waiting for Stanley and Canucks Fangirl.
- Puck-rakers has thoughts from the Columbus side of things.
- Hat trick for Luongo (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Luongo blanks Blue Jackets (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Luongo bars the door again (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
- Luongo show baffles Blue Jackets (Aaron Portzline, Columbus Dispatch)
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
Labels: Blue Jackets, game recap, Luongo
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Game Day Post: Blue Jackets at Canucks
It sounds like Tony Gallagher (Vancouver Province) has a man-crush for Chris Pronger:
Now, on to tonight's game.
After watching the last couple of games at home, and Louie and the team going as good as they are right now, I almost feel that I should just get rid of my tickets for tonight as well. Louie's going for three straight you-know-whats - i.e. the 's' word that shall not be uttered - and can even, possibly set a new Canucks record tonight for consecutive you-know-whats.
He's not the only one looking for a new Canucks record tonight. Markus Naslund is one point away from tying Trevor Linden as the franchise's new scoring leader. When I first posted about this last week, nebcanuck commented that people were expecting Markus to Trev last season. He may have taken a season and a few games more in doing it, but when he does, I hope us Canucks fans pay him proper tribute.
We talked about this on The Crazy Canucks podcast last night, but Markus' rediscovered scoring touch has also spawned a seemingly more involved captain. He's never been the rah-rah-rah kinda guy, but in the last few games, he's been more vocal with his teammates on the bench and on the ice. He looks excited to be playing again and that makes me excited to watch him.
More previews from today's MSM:
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
So he'll never be mistaken for Vancouver Olympic mascots Quatchi or Sumi. Deal with it.We won, they lost, I'm dealing with it fine. But, the fact that Pronger has gotten away with murder his entire career doesn't excuse him for it. I don't think the fuss over his hit on Kesler is laughable because, while Kesler is lucky to be okay, the hit could easily have caused some serious injury. Tony might want to ask Tomas Holmstrom and Dean McAmmond what they think of Pronger's shenanigans. I don't think they'll be laughing.
The fuss about Anaheim Ducks defenceman Chris Pronger working over a few Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night has been nothing short of laughable. Has it escaped everyone's notice he's been doing this since he got into the league. Hell, the new rules have toned him down to the point where his stick hardly makes contact anymore.
That cross-check on Ryan Kesler Tuesday night after Kesler scored a goal was routine five years ago. Now the crown is probably considering charges.
Now, on to tonight's game.
After watching the last couple of games at home, and Louie and the team going as good as they are right now, I almost feel that I should just get rid of my tickets for tonight as well. Louie's going for three straight you-know-whats - i.e. the 's' word that shall not be uttered - and can even, possibly set a new Canucks record tonight for consecutive you-know-whats.
He's not the only one looking for a new Canucks record tonight. Markus Naslund is one point away from tying Trevor Linden as the franchise's new scoring leader. When I first posted about this last week, nebcanuck commented that people were expecting Markus to Trev last season. He may have taken a season and a few games more in doing it, but when he does, I hope us Canucks fans pay him proper tribute.
We talked about this on The Crazy Canucks podcast last night, but Markus' rediscovered scoring touch has also spawned a seemingly more involved captain. He's never been the rah-rah-rah kinda guy, but in the last few games, he's been more vocal with his teammates on the bench and on the ice. He looks excited to be playing again and that makes me excited to watch him.
More previews from today's MSM:
- Oh say, can he 'C' (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
- Star goalies won't face each other (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
- It's Spiderman and Superman (Jim Jamieson, Vancouver Province)
- Nash learned a key lesson (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Father knows best (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
- Hainsey fit to see extended ice-time (Aaron Portzline, Columbus Post-Dispatch)
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
Labels: Blue Jackets, game day preview, Kesler, Luongo, Naslund
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Ducks 0 Canucks 4
I started writing this recap while watching the Toronto/Montreal game and the worst zamboni driver in the world drive circles around the ice, and wondering out loud why TSN couldn't split the screen and show a bit of the Canucks game. I had a few choice words for TSN, but in hindsight, it was probably a good thing that I missed the first eight minutes of the first period.
Bert came but he didn't exactly conquer. For that first period anyway, his Ducks were very good. They were dominant good. They created a lot of chances and didn't give the Canucks a lot of their own. They outshot the good guys in blue by a 15-5 margin, but thanks to Roberto Luongo's goaltending, didn't have anything to show for it.
As we all remember from the October from hell, 20 minutes does not a game make. After that first period, the Canucks took over and outshot the Ducks 28-11 the rest of the way. At the very least, they owe Louie some dinner.
It helped that Anaheim imploded. The Ducks tried to bully their way back into the game but couldn't get past anything past the referees. (Well, except Chris Pronger, who got away with giving Ryan Kesler a nice little crosscheck from behind after Kesler scored his first of two goals.) For almost eight consecutive minutes between the second and third periods, there was at least one Duck in the penalty box. The Canucks made them pay. In 12 total minutes of powerplay time, they scored two powerplay goals.
Back to Louie for a second. He stopped all 26 Anaheim shots and has now recorded two straight shutouts. He hasn't let a goal in since early in the third period of the St. Louis game - a span of more than 135 minutes. Since the Canucks started their run on November 3rd, Louie's stopped 261 of 277 shots for a .942 save percentage.
With the win, the Canucks improved their November record to 8-2-2. They'll finish off the month with one more home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
About the game around the blogosphere:
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, Anaheim+Ducks
Bert came but he didn't exactly conquer. For that first period anyway, his Ducks were very good. They were dominant good. They created a lot of chances and didn't give the Canucks a lot of their own. They outshot the good guys in blue by a 15-5 margin, but thanks to Roberto Luongo's goaltending, didn't have anything to show for it.
As we all remember from the October from hell, 20 minutes does not a game make. After that first period, the Canucks took over and outshot the Ducks 28-11 the rest of the way. At the very least, they owe Louie some dinner.
It helped that Anaheim imploded. The Ducks tried to bully their way back into the game but couldn't get past anything past the referees. (Well, except Chris Pronger, who got away with giving Ryan Kesler a nice little crosscheck from behind after Kesler scored his first of two goals.) For almost eight consecutive minutes between the second and third periods, there was at least one Duck in the penalty box. The Canucks made them pay. In 12 total minutes of powerplay time, they scored two powerplay goals.
Back to Louie for a second. He stopped all 26 Anaheim shots and has now recorded two straight shutouts. He hasn't let a goal in since early in the third period of the St. Louis game - a span of more than 135 minutes. Since the Canucks started their run on November 3rd, Louie's stopped 261 of 277 shots for a .942 save percentage.
With the win, the Canucks improved their November record to 8-2-2. They'll finish off the month with one more home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
About the game around the blogosphere:
- Canucks spoil Bertuzzi's homecoming (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
- Bertuzzi saying all the right things (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
- November to remember includes drubbing of Ducks (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
- Pronger takes over demon role in new rivalry (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Canucks can play with the champs (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Trust Burkie to steal the spotlight (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Bert's return underwhelming (Jim Jamieson, Vancouver Province)
- With Luongo, anything is possible (Tony Gallagher, Vancouver Province)
- Ducks come undone after start (Dan Wood, OC Register)
- Canucks frustrate the Ducks (Eric Stephens, Los Angeles Times)
- Some good, old-fashioned trash-talking from Waiting For Stanley.
- Canucks Fangirl is the latest on the Ryan Kesler bandwagon. (What would Taylor Pyatt say?)
- Isabella echoes my sentiments on the TSN thing.
- Keep your eyes peeled on Earl Sleek from the Battle of California for the Ducks side of things.
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, Anaheim+Ducks
Labels: Ducks, game recap, Luongo
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Game Day Post: Ducks at Canucks
For the first time since getting traded, Bert is back. Naturally, all the talk around Canuckland is about him playing his first game at GM Place in about a year and a half.
I don't think there's any question that Bert's return will be well-received by the GM Place faithful. Even in his darkest hour, Vancouver fans stood by him. I was at the Brad May Charity Classic - during the lockout year and in the middle of his suspension - and fans saved the biggest ovation for him. I don't see any reason for those sentiments to have changed.
I was a big Bertuzzi fan during his time here. I can't think of any other Canuck skater - maybe Pavel - that could dominate the game and control the game the way he did. When he was on the ice, he pretty much did anything he wanted to. Really, the only question was, well... how often he wanted to. Obviously, Bert hasn't been as dominant in the last few years. He's only played three games since coming back from his latest injury but he's got three points (all assists) in them.
The Canucks will have their hands full tonight. Emotions aside, the Ducks are actually on a nice, little roll. They started the season much like the Canucks did, but turned it around and are a very good 7-2-2 in November, including a 3-1 record on the road. Ryan Getzlaf, especially, has played great and now leads the Ducks in scoring with 25 points, 15 (7G-8A) of which he put up in 11 November games.
Roberto Luongo is coming off a shutout of the Blackhawks on Sunday, and I hope he's forgotten about the last time he faced Anaheim. On that one, fateful overtime period in May, Louie took his eye off the puck for a split-second and let in a blast (sure, let's call it that) fromRob Scott Niedermayer that eliminated the Canucks from the playoffs. I'm thinking Louie's over it, but I hope he has some special sort of payback in mind tonight.
More on this game 'round the 'net:
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
I don't think there's any question that Bert's return will be well-received by the GM Place faithful. Even in his darkest hour, Vancouver fans stood by him. I was at the Brad May Charity Classic - during the lockout year and in the middle of his suspension - and fans saved the biggest ovation for him. I don't see any reason for those sentiments to have changed.
I was a big Bertuzzi fan during his time here. I can't think of any other Canuck skater - maybe Pavel - that could dominate the game and control the game the way he did. When he was on the ice, he pretty much did anything he wanted to. Really, the only question was, well... how often he wanted to. Obviously, Bert hasn't been as dominant in the last few years. He's only played three games since coming back from his latest injury but he's got three points (all assists) in them.
The Canucks will have their hands full tonight. Emotions aside, the Ducks are actually on a nice, little roll. They started the season much like the Canucks did, but turned it around and are a very good 7-2-2 in November, including a 3-1 record on the road. Ryan Getzlaf, especially, has played great and now leads the Ducks in scoring with 25 points, 15 (7G-8A) of which he put up in 11 November games.
Roberto Luongo is coming off a shutout of the Blackhawks on Sunday, and I hope he's forgotten about the last time he faced Anaheim. On that one, fateful overtime period in May, Louie took his eye off the puck for a split-second and let in a blast (sure, let's call it that) from
More on this game 'round the 'net:
- Bert back in Vancouver with Ducks (Tony Gallagher, Vancouver Province)
- Emotional time for Naslund (Jim Jamieson, Vancouver Province)
- It was what it was: Six years of Bertuzzi quotes (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Warning goes missing (David Pratt, Vancouver Province)
- (Un)happy returns (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Canucks expect cheers for Bert (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
- Todd Bertuzzi will be center stage (Dan Wood, OC Register)
- Ducks' Bertuzzi ready for his return to Vancouver (Eric Stephens, Los Angeles Times)
- Bertuzzi ready for return (J.P. Hoornstra, San Bernardino Sun)
- Kurten Call - The Return of Bertuzzi (Orland Kurtenblog).
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
Labels: Bertuzzi, Ducks, game day preview, Naslund
Monday, November 26, 2007
Blackhawks 0 Canucks 2
The Vancouver Canucks came home from a 1-1-1 road trip and put together a 2-0 shutout win over the resurgent Chicago Blackhawks. It was an entertaining game and both teams generated their fair share of hits and scoring chances. Ryan Kesler set the tone early in the first period when he checked super rookie Patrick Kane into the Chicago bench. Brendan Morrison scored shortly afterwards and the Canucks rode Roberto Luongo's goaltending the rest of the game.
Speaking of Kane, I have to say it was fun watching him and Jonathan Toews do their thing. These kids are good and almost scored the tying goal on a late third period powerplay. That shift in particular, they had control of the puck for almost two full minutes, but couldn't put it past Louie.
And looking through the Blackhawks lineup, they have a lot of kids that are good. Marty Havlat and Tuomo Ruutu - if they can ever stay healthy - are just as skilled and are only 26 and 24 respectively. On defense, it's hard to believe that Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, the anchor of their defense, are still in their early-20's. (Brent Sopel, at the ripe old age of 30, is the oldest of the group.) In many ways, the make-up of this Blackhawks team actually remind me of the Canucks from the early 2000's.
For the Canucks, I thought Sami Salo played a good game, with full face gear and all, and so did Willie Mitchell. Mattias Ohlund and Lukas Krajicek both returned to the lineup, and for the first time in a while, the team has a (fairly) healthy group in the back end.
Up front, the team outshot Chicago, though admittedly, they were helped by a lot of powerplays. Come to think of it, the Blackhawks were playing their third game in four nights and coming off a shootout lost to Edmonton the night before, so they were probably running on fumes.
Regardless, it was another good win for the good guys and a home win at that. The team, which, at the beginning of November possessed a 1-6 record at home, are a more respectable 5-6-1 now. They'll finish the month with a couple more home games - Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks and Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
More from the mainstream:
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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, Chicago+Blackhawks
Speaking of Kane, I have to say it was fun watching him and Jonathan Toews do their thing. These kids are good and almost scored the tying goal on a late third period powerplay. That shift in particular, they had control of the puck for almost two full minutes, but couldn't put it past Louie.
And looking through the Blackhawks lineup, they have a lot of kids that are good. Marty Havlat and Tuomo Ruutu - if they can ever stay healthy - are just as skilled and are only 26 and 24 respectively. On defense, it's hard to believe that Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, the anchor of their defense, are still in their early-20's. (Brent Sopel, at the ripe old age of 30, is the oldest of the group.) In many ways, the make-up of this Blackhawks team actually remind me of the Canucks from the early 2000's.
For the Canucks, I thought Sami Salo played a good game, with full face gear and all, and so did Willie Mitchell. Mattias Ohlund and Lukas Krajicek both returned to the lineup, and for the first time in a while, the team has a (fairly) healthy group in the back end.
Up front, the team outshot Chicago, though admittedly, they were helped by a lot of powerplays. Come to think of it, the Blackhawks were playing their third game in four nights and coming off a shootout lost to Edmonton the night before, so they were probably running on fumes.
Regardless, it was another good win for the good guys and a home win at that. The team, which, at the beginning of November possessed a 1-6 record at home, are a more respectable 5-6-1 now. They'll finish the month with a couple more home games - Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks and Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
More from the mainstream:
- Luongo bounces right back (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Hot issues (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Canucks Nation Weekly (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Stay out of the comfort zone (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Canucks are made to work (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Luongo's shutout gives Canucks a win (CP via Globe and Mail)
- Luongo silences Hawks (Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune)
- Tripped up in finale (Len Ziehm, Chicago Sun-Times)
- Short-handed Hawks fall (Chicago Daily Herald)
- Waiting For Stanley raves Ryan Kesler's play.
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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, Chicago+Blackhawks
Labels: Blackhawks, game recap
Friday, November 23, 2007
Game Day Post: Canucks at Blues
Hopefully, the Canucks can carry over their winning ways against divisional opponents. After their just concluded 6-0-2 run, they now have a 9-0-2 record against the Northwest Division. Next up is working on that 2-8-0 record outside of it.
In Canuckland, everyone is still talking about Nazzy's hat trick from a couple of nights ago (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province; Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun). I don't blame them really. It's fun watching Markus have fun. I don't know if anyone noticed, but after each of his goals on Wednesday night, he actually showed some emotion. He seemed genuinely excited and that's something we don't see often from him.
The Canucks face a different St. Louis Blues tonight. Paul Kariya leads the team and Keith Tkachuk, Braddy Boyes, Eric Brewer and Barrett Jackman are having good, bounce back years. They're also getting solid contributions from their youngsters - sometimes at the expense of the veterans (Jeremy Rutherford, St. Louis Dispatch) - like Lee Stempniak, David Perron, Erik Johnson and Steve Wagner.
The suddenly potent Vancouver offense will get a bit of a test tonight. The Blues are 5th in the league in GAA (2.37) and 2nd in PK% (90.1). But if the Canucks can get to Manny Legace early, Roberto Luongo should be able to hold the fort at the other end; Louie played seven of the past eight games and only allowed 13 goals.
More on the Blues' side of things from The Checking Line.
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks
In Canuckland, everyone is still talking about Nazzy's hat trick from a couple of nights ago (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province; Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun). I don't blame them really. It's fun watching Markus have fun. I don't know if anyone noticed, but after each of his goals on Wednesday night, he actually showed some emotion. He seemed genuinely excited and that's something we don't see often from him.
The Canucks face a different St. Louis Blues tonight. Paul Kariya leads the team and Keith Tkachuk, Braddy Boyes, Eric Brewer and Barrett Jackman are having good, bounce back years. They're also getting solid contributions from their youngsters - sometimes at the expense of the veterans (Jeremy Rutherford, St. Louis Dispatch) - like Lee Stempniak, David Perron, Erik Johnson and Steve Wagner.
The suddenly potent Vancouver offense will get a bit of a test tonight. The Blues are 5th in the league in GAA (2.37) and 2nd in PK% (90.1). But if the Canucks can get to Manny Legace early, Roberto Luongo should be able to hold the fort at the other end; Louie played seven of the past eight games and only allowed 13 goals.
More on the Blues' side of things from The Checking Line.
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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
Labels: Blues, game day preview, Naslund
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Canucks 4 Wild 2
Pinky and the two brains did their thing; the Booger Man didn't. Pinky had a hat trick; the Booger Man had three... minutes of ice-time. It's hard to do your thing when you don't get on the ice. And in a game where NHL officials made their presence felt (Vancouver Sun), you don't get on the ice after you've threatened the other team's players.
Save for a Mike Brown-Aaron Voros scrap, the game, not surprisingly I suppose, didn't have the expected fireworks. With first place in the Northwest on the line, both teams behaved themselves and played a good-paced and relatively-clean game.
I commended the offense in yesterday's post, and lo and behold, Markus Naslund took his offensive game up another notch with his 10th career hat trick - tying him for most hat tricks in Canucks history. My favorite part? Well, a couple actually. First, Markus shot is obviously back and he scored all three of his goals within ten feet of the crease. Second, he scored two of his goals in the third period when his team may have been feeling the effects of playing in Edmonton the night before and the long flight to Minnesota afterwards. For the first time in a long time, the Canucks captain carried the team on his shoulders and earned them two crucial points.
I'm quite enjoying looking at the standings this morning. A quarter of the way into the season, the Canucks are tied for first place in the Northwest Division and a single point behind the San Jose Sharks for second place in the Western Conference. Is it too early to look at the standings? Perhaps, but after a horrid October, it's been fun to watch this nice little run the Canucks are on.
About the game around the blogosphere:
Friday night against the St. Louis Blues
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Minnesota+Wild
Save for a Mike Brown-Aaron Voros scrap, the game, not surprisingly I suppose, didn't have the expected fireworks. With first place in the Northwest on the line, both teams behaved themselves and played a good-paced and relatively-clean game.
I commended the offense in yesterday's post, and lo and behold, Markus Naslund took his offensive game up another notch with his 10th career hat trick - tying him for most hat tricks in Canucks history. My favorite part? Well, a couple actually. First, Markus shot is obviously back and he scored all three of his goals within ten feet of the crease. Second, he scored two of his goals in the third period when his team may have been feeling the effects of playing in Edmonton the night before and the long flight to Minnesota afterwards. For the first time in a long time, the Canucks captain carried the team on his shoulders and earned them two crucial points.
I'm quite enjoying looking at the standings this morning. A quarter of the way into the season, the Canucks are tied for first place in the Northwest Division and a single point behind the San Jose Sharks for second place in the Western Conference. Is it too early to look at the standings? Perhaps, but after a horrid October, it's been fun to watch this nice little run the Canucks are on.
About the game around the blogosphere:
- If Wild fans want to re-live the game, Mike the Yankee Canuck has a liveblog up on his site.
- Hannah the Canucks Fangirl only caught the third period but at least she saw Nazzy's hat trick goal.
- Naslund turns a trick (CP via Globe and Mail)
- Canucks in the pinky (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- No elbows, no cheap shots, no revenge (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Naslund scores with vintage style (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Fists don't play but goals do for Canucks' Naslund (Mike Russo, Star-Tribune)
- A swing and a miss (John Shipley, Pioneer Press)
- Game not as much fun as the buildup (Tom Powers, Pioneer Press)
Friday night against the St. Louis Blues
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Minnesota+Wild
Labels: game recap, Naslund, Wild
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Canucks 4 Oilers 5 (SO)
Once again, the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers settled last night's game with a shootout; once, the Canucks lost. If there's any consolation, it's that the good guys got a point and have yet to lose a game in regulation against the Northwest Division, and after seven games of this eight-game stretch of divisional games, they're 5-0-2. Not bad at all.
I've mentioned the Canucks' defense a lot in the last couple of weeks, but after popping in another four goals last night, it's time to acknowledge the offense. The Canucks were down by a couple of goals for most of two periods yet somehow found a way to score three third period goals. (If you must know, the defense and the penalty kill were brutal last night.)
Over the last seven games, they've scored 23 goals (3.29 per game), and as much as we've bitched about the need for another top-six forward and the lack of secondary scoring, those 23 goals have come from varied sources:
Good, they'll need to stick together tonight.
Everybody's talking about tonight's rematch against the Minnesota Wild. Especially the Booger Man (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun):
There's nothing wrong with talking a little trash, but I'm surprised that Colin Campbell hasn't shut this yahoo up. Maybe in true reactive NHL fashion, he's waiting until the Booger Man makes good on his threats before he does anything.
Regardless, while this is good poster board material, the Canucks are best off to just stay within their game plan. They beat Minnesota pretty good on Friday night by controlling the play and checking the heck out of Gaborik. They should do that again, get the Wild off their game, and let Mike Brown - and Jeff Cowan - deal with any shenanigans.
On one fateful night on March 8, 2004, the Canucks spent an entire game trying to get revenge for a cheap hit on their captain. As you know, they lost 9-2 (and well, you know the rest of the story). Maybe the Canucks can take a page from the Avs book that night and just shoo-fly the Wild.
More from the mainstream:
Rematch against the Minnesota Wild tonight
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, Edmonton+Oilers
I've mentioned the Canucks' defense a lot in the last couple of weeks, but after popping in another four goals last night, it's time to acknowledge the offense. The Canucks were down by a couple of goals for most of two periods yet somehow found a way to score three third period goals. (If you must know, the defense and the penalty kill were brutal last night.)
Over the last seven games, they've scored 23 goals (3.29 per game), and as much as we've bitched about the need for another top-six forward and the lack of secondary scoring, those 23 goals have come from varied sources:
- 9 goals from the Sedin-Sedin-Naslund line
- 10 goals from the rest of the other forwards
- 4 goals from the defense
- 14 goals at even-strength
- 8 goals on the powerplay out of 32 chances (25%)
- 1 goal shorthanded
Good, they'll need to stick together tonight.
Everybody's talking about tonight's rematch against the Minnesota Wild. Especially the Booger Man (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun):
"The egos those guys have are sad," Boogaard told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Tuesday. "Pretty soon, it'll catch up to them, whether it be this year, or next year, it always does with those kind of guys. I mean, it caught up with Kesler. You watch the clips of the Boulerice thing [Flyer Jesse Boulerice was suspended 25 games for cross-checking Kesler in the face on Oct. 10], you see Kesler hooking him and slashing him before it happened. And obviously there's just a time when you snap. Boulerice did. It's bad, but I don't feel sorry for Kesler. I did before, but hearing these comments and seeing him play on Saturday, he's just a bad guy."This coming from a guy with seven points and 325 PIM in 131 NHL games. That's funny.
There's nothing wrong with talking a little trash, but I'm surprised that Colin Campbell hasn't shut this yahoo up. Maybe in true reactive NHL fashion, he's waiting until the Booger Man makes good on his threats before he does anything.
Regardless, while this is good poster board material, the Canucks are best off to just stay within their game plan. They beat Minnesota pretty good on Friday night by controlling the play and checking the heck out of Gaborik. They should do that again, get the Wild off their game, and let Mike Brown - and Jeff Cowan - deal with any shenanigans.
On one fateful night on March 8, 2004, the Canucks spent an entire game trying to get revenge for a cheap hit on their captain. As you know, they lost 9-2 (and well, you know the rest of the story). Maybe the Canucks can take a page from the Avs book that night and just shoo-fly the Wild.
More from the mainstream:
- Shut down in shootout once again (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Mitchell's sterling string unravels (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Louie makes a point (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- 'R' word is the Lowe-down (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- It's a date (to forget) for Vigneault (Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal)
- Practice makes perfect (Joanne Ireland, Edmonton Journal)
- Perseverance pays (Robert Tychkowski, Edmonton Sun)
- There's a buzz ahead of round 2 (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- History rekindled for rivals ready to spar (Michael Russo, Star Tribune)
- Minnesota Wild get their shot at revenge against Vancouver tonight (Bruce Brothers, Pioneer Press)
- Canucks Fangirl and Waiting For Stanley have things covered from the Canucks side.
- Battle of Alberta, Covered With Oil and Lowetide have thoughts from the Edmonton side.
Rematch against the Minnesota Wild tonight
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Labels: boogers, game day preview, game recap, Luongo, Mitchell, Oilers, Wild
Monday, November 19, 2007
Gaining On Trev
I haven't seen this get a lot of press yet, but after his goal and assist performance last night, Markus Naslund has quietly - does he do it any other way? - moved to within nine points of Trevor Linden's franchise scoring record.
Sometime in the near future, I'm sure we'll start debating about who the better Canucks captain was. Last season, Naslund passed Linden as the Canucks' goal scoring leader. Earlier this season, Linden passed Stan Smyl as the Canucks' assist leader; Naslund is now also within 24 assists of Trevor's mark. Both have so far served as Canucks captain for seven seasons each.
It's really amazing how a lot of their career numbers are similar; however, there is one glaring difference. Trevor has appeared in 124 playoff games (all but six with Vancouver) and has 99 postseason points (all but four assists in a Canucks uniform). Markus has only played in 45 postseason games and has 33 points in them (all with Vancouver). In his time as captain, Trevor led the Canucks to six playoff series wins. Markus has so far led the Canucks to only two, though a long playoff run this season can bump that number up pretty quick.
And in what could be the final year for two of the best players to ever lace up for this team, a long playoff run is kinda what we're all hoping for.
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Sometime in the near future, I'm sure we'll start debating about who the better Canucks captain was. Last season, Naslund passed Linden as the Canucks' goal scoring leader. Earlier this season, Linden passed Stan Smyl as the Canucks' assist leader; Naslund is now also within 24 assists of Trevor's mark. Both have so far served as Canucks captain for seven seasons each.
It's really amazing how a lot of their career numbers are similar; however, there is one glaring difference. Trevor has appeared in 124 playoff games (all but six with Vancouver) and has 99 postseason points (all but four assists in a Canucks uniform). Markus has only played in 45 postseason games and has 33 points in them (all with Vancouver). In his time as captain, Trevor led the Canucks to six playoff series wins. Markus has so far led the Canucks to only two, though a long playoff run this season can bump that number up pretty quick.
And in what could be the final year for two of the best players to ever lace up for this team, a long playoff run is kinda what we're all hoping for.
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Getting Ready For Fireworks
I know that Jannik Hansen won't develop sitting in the press box and needs to get some prime playing time with the Moose, but the timing of this is kinda funny, don't you think?
From canucks.com:
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From canucks.com:
Vancouver Canucks Senior Vice-President and General Manager Dave Nonis announced today that the Canucks have recalled right wing Mike Brown from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL and reassigned right wing Jannik Hansen to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.If, as expected, Brown steps into the lineup on Wednesday against Booger and the Wild, I hope he remembers to eat his Wheaties for breakfast. Brown, at 6'0" and 210 lbs., gives up 7 inches and 50 lbs. to the Wild goon.
Brown, 22, has played in 17 regular season games with the Manitoba Moose this season, he has registered three points (2-1-3) and 69 penalty minutes. Brown finished with three points (3-0-3) and a team-high 194 PIM in 62 regular season games with the Moose in 2006-07.
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Labels: Brown
Flames 1 Canucks 4
If you look at their statistics over the past six games, you'd never have guessed that the Canucks were missing two or three of their top-four defensemen.
They're the only team in the league that hasn't lost in regulation time against a divisional opponent. Once 10 points back of the first-place Minnesota Wild, they're only three points back now. They play the Oilers and the Wild on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and if they somehow extend their win streak a couple more games, they could actually pass Minnesota. Now that's wild.
We've been saying this for a couple of weeks now, but the defense has stepped it up a notch. That they're doing it with Ohlund, Salo, Bieksa and Krajicek all missing games is impressive. That they're doing it with a couple of rookies and a waiver wire pick-up filling in is an eye-opener.
I can't say enough about Alex Edler's and Luc Bourdon's play.
In the last six games, Edler has played a lot - he's averaged more than 20 minutes of ice-time - and played well. He's moved up to the shutdown pairing with Willie Mitchell and he's chipped in with a couple of assists and a plus-two rating.
Luc has steadily gotten better and more comfortable during his six-game stint. Last night, he logged 17:48 minutes of ice-time and looked as steady as he's ever looked in a Canucks uniform. (It's helped, of course, that he's partnered up with veteran Aaron Miller and that Miller himself has played better.) Luc was a plus-one last night and is a combined plus-four since his call-up.
About the game around the blogosphere:
Tuesday night vs. the Edmonton Oilers
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- 5-0-1 record in six games
- 11 points out of a possible 12
- 9 goals allowed in six games
- +7 in even-strength goals
- Louie's 1.47 GAA and .946 save percentage
They're the only team in the league that hasn't lost in regulation time against a divisional opponent. Once 10 points back of the first-place Minnesota Wild, they're only three points back now. They play the Oilers and the Wild on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and if they somehow extend their win streak a couple more games, they could actually pass Minnesota. Now that's wild.
We've been saying this for a couple of weeks now, but the defense has stepped it up a notch. That they're doing it with Ohlund, Salo, Bieksa and Krajicek all missing games is impressive. That they're doing it with a couple of rookies and a waiver wire pick-up filling in is an eye-opener.
I can't say enough about Alex Edler's and Luc Bourdon's play.
In the last six games, Edler has played a lot - he's averaged more than 20 minutes of ice-time - and played well. He's moved up to the shutdown pairing with Willie Mitchell and he's chipped in with a couple of assists and a plus-two rating.
Luc has steadily gotten better and more comfortable during his six-game stint. Last night, he logged 17:48 minutes of ice-time and looked as steady as he's ever looked in a Canucks uniform. (It's helped, of course, that he's partnered up with veteran Aaron Miller and that Miller himself has played better.) Luc was a plus-one last night and is a combined plus-four since his call-up.
About the game around the blogosphere:
- Mike the Yankee Canuck liveblogged the game.
- Hannah the Canucks Fangirl has her recap up.
- Canucks win war of attrition (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Beat up blueline passes test (Jim Jamieson, Vancouver Province)
- Practicing shootouts sounds good, but... (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Ohlund gets 4 games for Wild slash (Jim Jamieson, Vancouver Province)
- Path to victory is clear (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Flames go 2-and-out again (Steve MacFarlane, Calgary Sun)
- Flames flattened by high-flying Canucks (Jean Lefebvre, Calgary Herald)
Tuesday night vs. the Edmonton Oilers
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Labels: Bourdon, Edler, Flames, game recap, Ohlund
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Ohlund Suspended For Four Games
From NHL.com:
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Vancouver Canucks defenseman Mattias Ohlund has been suspended for four games, without pay, as a result of a slashing incident during NHL game #277 against the Minnesota Wild, Nov. 16.Again, I'm not arguing the suspension. Ohlund deserves to be suspended for his stickwork. But what about Gaborik's and Koivu's flying elbows? So much for all that talk about eliminating blows to the head.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Ohlund will forfeit $74,866.32. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
The incident occurred at 16:06 of the third period when Ohlund struck Minnesota player Mikko Koivu with a slash. He was assessed a slashing major and game misconduct. Koivu suffered a broken bone in his left leg on the play.
Ohlund will miss tonight’s game against Calgary, Nov. 20 in Edmonton, Nov. 21 in Minnesota and Nov. 23 in St. Louis. He will be eligible to return Nov. 25 at home against Chicago.
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Game Day Post: Green Riders at Lions, Flames at Canucks
It's a busy sports day in Vancouver today with the BC Lions hosting the CFL West Final against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 1:30 PM and then the Canucks hosting the Calgary Flames across the street at 5:00 PM. Apparently, the local folks are expecting 80,000 people to come down for the festivities (John Coleburn and Joe Ruttle, Vancouver Province).
I didn't get to follow the Lions' season as closely as I would've liked and I only made it to BC Place for only one game this year so other than a simple "GO LIONS" and "ROAR YOU LIONS ROAR", I can't really say much. Yes, these Lions have been good (Lyndon Little, Vancouver Sun) and a win today will earn them another Grey Cup appearance - it would be their third appearance in four years - and a chance to repeat as CFL champs.
The Canucks will be looking for their fifth win in six games when they face a Calgary team that played the late CBC game last night. Very rarely does the schedule work well in the Canucks' favor and this is one such instance.
It's funny how this game works. A couple of weeks ago, it was all doom and gloom in Canuckland, but now, after taking nine out of the last possible ten points, the Canucks have their swagger back. I love watching this team play like this. I love watching them skate and get dirty in the corners. I love seeing them pay more attention to the defensive side of the rink. I hope that slow start is now behind them.
I haven't seen anything cross the wire yet, but I'm guessing Mattias Ohlund is a maybe for tonight's game. No one, not even Mattias himself, liked the chop on Koivu and I think most are in agreement that he should miss a game or two. Even though Koivu was a slimy little snot for throwing a flying elbow at Mattias' head - and you know, the league is supposed to be cracking down on blows to the head - Mattias should have just been the bigger man.
More from today's MSM:
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I didn't get to follow the Lions' season as closely as I would've liked and I only made it to BC Place for only one game this year so other than a simple "GO LIONS" and "ROAR YOU LIONS ROAR", I can't really say much. Yes, these Lions have been good (Lyndon Little, Vancouver Sun) and a win today will earn them another Grey Cup appearance - it would be their third appearance in four years - and a chance to repeat as CFL champs.
The Canucks will be looking for their fifth win in six games when they face a Calgary team that played the late CBC game last night. Very rarely does the schedule work well in the Canucks' favor and this is one such instance.
It's funny how this game works. A couple of weeks ago, it was all doom and gloom in Canuckland, but now, after taking nine out of the last possible ten points, the Canucks have their swagger back. I love watching this team play like this. I love watching them skate and get dirty in the corners. I love seeing them pay more attention to the defensive side of the rink. I hope that slow start is now behind them.
I haven't seen anything cross the wire yet, but I'm guessing Mattias Ohlund is a maybe for tonight's game. No one, not even Mattias himself, liked the chop on Koivu and I think most are in agreement that he should miss a game or two. Even though Koivu was a slimy little snot for throwing a flying elbow at Mattias' head - and you know, the league is supposed to be cracking down on blows to the head - Mattias should have just been the bigger man.
More from today's MSM:
- Wild will lack Koivu; Ohlund hit reviewed (Kent Youngblood, Star Tribune)
- Wild rematch could get ugly (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Gritty Kesler relishing shutdown role (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
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Labels: Flames, game day preview, Kesler, Ohlund, roar you lions roar
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Wild 2 Canucks 6
You'll have to forgive me for not remembering fine details about the game. I went to the game. I got drunk. Now, as Tracy and I are about to head to the ferry terminal and visit daddy-in-law in Nanaimo, I'm hungover as hell.
Not cool.
The game was as fun a game as I've seen this season. Lots of goals and lots of well, drama. Today, everyone will probably be talking those two things.
It was the first time the Canucks have scored six goals in a game since January of this year, and unlike on Wednesday, it was good to see the boys rewarded for their good play.
The drama? Well, put it this way. I expected a pretty intense game (the Wild, for some reason, consider the Canucks their biggest rival) but never would have expected the dirty plays that happened. Gaborik on Kesler, Koivu on Ohlund, and Ohlund on Koivu. Tsk, tsk, tsk, boys. Rest assured, the league is looking at those hits.
And I really hope this wasn't Derek Boogard placing a bounty on our Canucks (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun):
More sober (and more intelligent) thoughts on the game:
Sunday at 5 PM vs. the Calgary Flames
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Not cool.
The game was as fun a game as I've seen this season. Lots of goals and lots of well, drama. Today, everyone will probably be talking those two things.
It was the first time the Canucks have scored six goals in a game since January of this year, and unlike on Wednesday, it was good to see the boys rewarded for their good play.
The drama? Well, put it this way. I expected a pretty intense game (the Wild, for some reason, consider the Canucks their biggest rival) but never would have expected the dirty plays that happened. Gaborik on Kesler, Koivu on Ohlund, and Ohlund on Koivu. Tsk, tsk, tsk, boys. Rest assured, the league is looking at those hits.
And I really hope this wasn't Derek Boogard placing a bounty on our Canucks (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun):
"Obviously a slash like that, you expect to see at least a five-game suspension," said the 6-7 Boogie Man.I certainly hope not, though Wednesday's rematch just got a lot more interesting.
"We'll see how things play out on Wednesday. Their so-called agitators were taking liberties, but as soon as I step on the ice, they scatter to their holes. I'm not going to stand for it.
"Maybe I go out and slash [Markus] Naslund or Pinky and the Brain twins."
More sober (and more intelligent) thoughts on the game:
- It's fun to be offensive (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Canucks open scoring floodgates (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
Sunday at 5 PM vs. the Calgary Flames
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Labels: game recap, Wild
Friday, November 16, 2007
Game Day Post: Wild at Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks meet the Minnesota Wild for the first time this season. I've been looking forward to this game as much as the Olsen twins look forward to a buffet dinner.
The Canucks are coming off their 1-0 loss against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night; the Wild won against those same Oilers last night, but previous to that, has lost seven of nine games.
Pavol Demitra is still out, but Marion Gaborik is back (Michael Russo, Minneapolis Star-Tribune via Vancouver Province). He'll play unless he pulls his groin walking to a Starbucks. Last season, Gaborik managed six points (4G-2A), a plus-3 rating and 23 shots on goal in five games against the Canucks.
For the 'Nucks, it looks like Jannik Hansen is out, Jeff Cowan is in and Alex Burrows is getting a promotion to Mo's and Cookie's line (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province; Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun).
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The Canucks are coming off their 1-0 loss against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night; the Wild won against those same Oilers last night, but previous to that, has lost seven of nine games.
Pavol Demitra is still out, but Marion Gaborik is back (Michael Russo, Minneapolis Star-Tribune via Vancouver Province). He'll play unless he pulls his groin walking to a Starbucks. Last season, Gaborik managed six points (4G-2A), a plus-3 rating and 23 shots on goal in five games against the Canucks.
For the 'Nucks, it looks like Jannik Hansen is out, Jeff Cowan is in and Alex Burrows is getting a promotion to Mo's and Cookie's line (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province; Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun).
"Any time you get a chance to move up a line, you want to make the best of it," Burrows said Thursday. "Alain is an honest coach and will give guys chances that he thinks that are playing well and right now I'm happy about my game.My keys to a Canucks' win:
"But I'm not satisfied and have to keep improving."
Cooke had a game-high six hits in a 1-0 shootout loss to Edmonton on Wednesday, while a healthier Morrison has more giddy-up in his stride and has six goals.
He hit a post and was foiled in the shootout against the Oilers, and the addition of Burrows -- in place of struggling rookie Jannik Hansen -- should provide the line with a needed spark.
"Cookie is a great forechecker and we'll try to get in there and if we can get the puck to Mo, he can work his magic and maybe find us," added Burrows. "We need to get some dirty goals, but defensively we've been playing much better.
"If we keep playing that way, we'll get our breaks and get our goals."
- Don't let Lemaire control the tempo of the game.
- Keep Gaborik and Rolston in check.
- A goal or two or three or four would be nice.
- Blue-line pair back on skates (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
- Bourdon buys into program; impresses Canucks (Ken Wiebe, Winnipeg Sun)
- Kesler trade rumour nixed by Nonis (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
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Labels: Burrows, game day preview, Wild
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Quick Word On The Tlusty Thing
Alanah posted about this yesterday and TEAM 1040 and CKNW 980 have both covered it as well, but apparently, nude photos of Toronto Maple Leafs player Jiri Tlusty have surfaced on the Internet.
I'm not going to debate whether or not Tlusty should have trusted his *ahem* friends with pictures of himself hanging out with his wang out. If you were to ask me, I really could care less probably for the same reasons you do. The kid's 19 and he wants to get laid. So what? I do wonder though how this made the front page of the Toronto Sun.
When I was blogging for the Canucks official site last season, one thing they asked for was that I don't talk about a player's personal life. This made sense, of course. I was there to talk about Canucks hockey; I wasn't there to talk about which Canucks player was doing what to whom. Surely, if that standard existed for bloggers, the same standard, at the very least, should be expected of the "real" media.
Last week, before The Crazy Canucks recorded a podcast episode, Alanah and I talked about this article that came out of Detroit (Rebecca posted about it as well):
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I'm not going to debate whether or not Tlusty should have trusted his *ahem* friends with pictures of himself hanging out with his wang out. If you were to ask me, I really could care less probably for the same reasons you do. The kid's 19 and he wants to get laid. So what? I do wonder though how this made the front page of the Toronto Sun.
When I was blogging for the Canucks official site last season, one thing they asked for was that I don't talk about a player's personal life. This made sense, of course. I was there to talk about Canucks hockey; I wasn't there to talk about which Canucks player was doing what to whom. Surely, if that standard existed for bloggers, the same standard, at the very least, should be expected of the "real" media.
Last week, before The Crazy Canucks recorded a podcast episode, Alanah and I talked about this article that came out of Detroit (Rebecca posted about it as well):
Bloggers and personal, non-journalistic Web sites are starting to tick me off. Look, I appreciate and respect that in America, everybody has an opinion, especially on sports. And I respect everybody’s right to share their thoughts with anybody who happens to own a computer via blogs.Gee, what kind of professional journalism training did it take to do the Toronto Sun's Tlusty piece?
But people, let’s not confuse what random fans and wanna-be pundits are tossing out there with legitimate reporting. The line is getting way too blurry now between Internet noise and actual journalism. It’s actually getting to the point now where some (too many) of the bloggers are using cyberspace to discredit the legitimate media.
Now I am not saying all legitimate media or every reporter is 100 percent credible. Nor am I saying every blogger is out to discredit legitimate media. But the distinction between the two must be clearer.
Journalism employs trained professionals. We actually have to go to school for this stuff. We take our jobs seriously. There are rules and standards that we are beholden to. There are ethics involved. We actually talk to, in person, the people we write about.
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Labels: Jiri Tlusty, Leafs
Update on Sami
From Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province):
Via Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun):
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Salo had two plates inserted into his face, one to fix his nose and the other to fix his cheekbone area. He is expected to be out another two to four weeks while his face heals with the new plates.When Salo returns, he'll be wearing a visor.
He's able to do only light workouts with weights right now and hopes to start doing some cardio work next week.
He will be off the ice for another week, at least, and it's unclear when he'll be able to start skating again.
Via Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun):
The Canuck defenceman said the injury was the wake-up call he needed to convince him to start wearing a visor.It's too bad, really, that it takes an incident like this to convince players to wear visors. I mean, isn't it just the obvious, smart thing to do?
"I want to protect my eyes," Salo said before the Canucks met the Oilers at General Motors Place.
"You can always fix noses and cheekbones, but you can't fix your eyes. I don't want to be in a vulnerable position if I don't wear a visor and the puck hits my eye. I'm not worried about my face and nose."
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Oilers 1 Canucks 0 (SO)
To their credit, the Canucks played well in last night's 1-0 shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Certainly in the first couple of periods, they controlled much of the play, generated more than a few good scoring chances and didn't give the Oilers a lot of their own. Sometimes, I suppose, the puck just doesn't want to go in the net.
Once again, Morrison's line with Cooke and Hansen was impressive. Come to think of it, Kesler was flying again out there (though he really needs a new move on the shootout and when he takes the puck to the net) and the Sedins and Nazzy were good too. Pyatt and Isbister were noticeable, which, despite their big frames, amazingly hasn't been a regular thing this season. On defense, I thought Willie Mitchell stood out, especially the one play where he cleared the puck from the goal line.
So if the Canucks played that well, then why did they lose?
I don't know, but their 2-6-1 home record is something to be worried about. Twice now this season, the Canucks have been shut out - both times at home and both by teams that have been lousy on the road. Not to mention that both the Predators and the Oilers rank in the bottom-third of the league in goals against on the road (21st and 26th respectively) and not to mention that the Oilers dressed a defense far more decimated than the Canucks'.
If there was ever a sure Canucks win, or if there was ever an opportunity to pile on the goals, this should have been it, but hey, give the Oilers - i.e. Garon - their due for sucking it up and stealing a couple of points.
About the game around the blogosphere:
Friday night home game against the Minnesota Wild
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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, Edmonton+Oilers
Once again, Morrison's line with Cooke and Hansen was impressive. Come to think of it, Kesler was flying again out there (though he really needs a new move on the shootout and when he takes the puck to the net) and the Sedins and Nazzy were good too. Pyatt and Isbister were noticeable, which, despite their big frames, amazingly hasn't been a regular thing this season. On defense, I thought Willie Mitchell stood out, especially the one play where he cleared the puck from the goal line.
So if the Canucks played that well, then why did they lose?
I don't know, but their 2-6-1 home record is something to be worried about. Twice now this season, the Canucks have been shut out - both times at home and both by teams that have been lousy on the road. Not to mention that both the Predators and the Oilers rank in the bottom-third of the league in goals against on the road (21st and 26th respectively) and not to mention that the Oilers dressed a defense far more decimated than the Canucks'.
If there was ever a sure Canucks win, or if there was ever an opportunity to pile on the goals, this should have been it, but hey, give the Oilers - i.e. Garon - their due for sucking it up and stealing a couple of points.
About the game around the blogosphere:
- Quick thoughts from Mike the Yankee Canuck.
- Check your friendly, neighborhood Oilers blogs for the Edmonton side of things.
- Oilers get overdue win against Canucks (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
- Oilers win game of missed chances (Jim Jamieson, Vancouver Province)
- Ritchie not surprised by selection (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Talk about shutdown hockey (Tony Gallagher, Vancouver Province)
- Scoring takes a holiday (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Canucks lose the battle of battered bluelines (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Garon slams door on Canucks (Joanne Ireland, Edmonton Journal)
- Hemsky heavenly in shootout (Joanne Ireland, Edmonton Journal)
Friday night home game against the Minnesota Wild
______________
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, Edmonton+Oilers
Labels: game recap, Oilers
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Game Day Post: Oilers at Canucks
I'm running late for work, but here are today's links from the MSM:
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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
- Sedins a puzzle for Edmonton to solve (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- And you thought the Canucks had it tough (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Full recovery underway (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Staois last vet standing on Oilers blueline (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Tarnstrom turns it up a notch on decimated Oilers blueline (Joanne Ireland, Edmonton Journal)
- Luongo > Roloson/Garon
- Sedins > Horcoff/Hemsky
- Canucks defense > Oil Kings defense
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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
Labels: Bieksa, game day preview, Oilers
