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CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Avalanche 4 Canucks 2

In the Canucks' defense-first approach, it's no surprise that they're 30-8-4 when they score the first goal in a hockey game and 18-6-2 when they have the lead after the first period. Here's the problem. Since the trade deadline, those records have been a lot more mediocre. The Canucks are only 3-3-1 when they score first and 5-3-1 when they have the lead going into the first intermission.

Once again, they blew a decent start and pissed away two points. It's the third time they've done that in the last week and pretty much explains the position they're in now - ninth place in the Western Conference and needing to win both of their remaining games and hoping for the Nashville Predators to lose at least one of theirs.

And it's not just the fact that the Canucks are losing games, it's how they're losing them. Lately, they've allowed doubt and panic to seep into their games. One goal against is usually followed by another and sometimes another. Consider these numbers from their last four losses:

  • March 25th vs. Calgary - They allowed two goals in 41 seconds in the third period.
  • March 26th vs. Colorado - In the second period, they allowed two goals in 73 seconds and then another two goals in 62 seconds. Those four goals came in a span of only 6:47.
  • March 28th vs. Minnesota - They allowed two goals in 5:44 in the first period and another two goals in 5:00 in the second period.
  • April 1st vs. Colorado - They allowed three goals in 5:19.
In the game against Calgary and in both games against Colorado, they had the lead when they allowed those quick goals.

What happened to defense-first?

More from the MSM:

About the game around the blogosphere:


Next game:

Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers.

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

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Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Game Day Post: Avalanche at Canucks

The second of the Canucks' four must-win games is tonight and it comes against the Colorado Avalanche, a team they've had trouble beating recently (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province). The last time they played the Avs, they were slaughtered 6-3 in Denver. The last time they played the Avs at GM Place, they gave up the tying goal with 15 seconds left in regulation and then lost in the shootout.

The recipe to reverse this trend should be simple. Just play like they did on Sunday.

It's funny what a win can do. Before beating the Calgary Flames, the Canucks looked like they couldn't win a game against the Quad City Flames. Afterwards, they proved that, as long as they work hard, hit hard, go into the dirty areas and win the many little battles - in other words, as long as they're willing to play playoff hockey to make the playoffs - then they can beat anyone.

Because stats at this time of year are pointless:
  • The Canucks have won four of their last five at home.
  • The Canucks have failed to gain at least a point in only one of their last twelve home games.
  • The Avalanche have lost four straight games on the road, and since beating the Canucks at GM Place on February 27th, have lost five of six road games.
  • At 18-10-2, the Avalanche have the best intra-divisional record in the Northwest Division.
  • Despite averaging only 12 minutes of ice-time, Marek Svatos has eight points (5G-3A) and a +5 rating in five games against the Canucks this season.
  • The other Canuck-killer, Milan Hejduk has four goals and six points in seven games against them.
  • Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin lead the Canucks in scoring against the Avs this season. They have nine (3G-6A) and eight (3G-5A) points respectively.
  • Taylor Pyatt is the only Canuck with a plus-rating (+3) against the Avs. He also has five points (2G-3A) in seven games against them.
  • Last Sunday's heroes, Markus Naslund and Trevor Linden has had a terrible time against Colorado this season. In seven games each, Naslund has three points (0G-3A) and a minus-4 rating and Linden has zero points and a minus-6 rating.
Previews 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.

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Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Canucks 1 Avalanche 2

The good news is, the Canucks seem to have found their secondary scoring. The bad news is, their primary scorers are nowhere to be found.

After a 2-1 loss to the Avalanche last night, the Canucks extended their losing streak to four games and dropped to ninth place in the Western Conference. In those four games, they've scored a grand total of six goals and Sedin-Sedin-Naslund contributed a grand total of one assist.

In fact, Sedin-Sedin-Naslund have been quite quiet for six games now. The team scored 13 goals in span; none were scored by those three. So who's been doing the scoring? These guys:

  • Shannon - 2 goals, 3 assists
  • Kesler - 3 goals
  • Raymond, Salo, Edler - 2 goals, 1 assist
  • Burrows - 1 goal, 1 assist
  • Pyatt, Ohlund, Mitchell - 2 assists
Obviously, much, much more is expected from Sedin-Sedin-Naslund. What is disappointing is that three of the last four games were one-goal games and even getting just one timely goal from them could have been the difference between four losses in a row and three wins in four games. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but Vigneault took Naslund off the Sedin line four games ago.

Ed Willes (Vancouver Province) offers two trains of thought. The more optimistic one says:

Depending on how you looked at things, in fact, the Vancouver Canucks were sitting in an enviable position before they skated into Denver to meet the Colorado Avalanche, and they're still not that badly off. They're in a three-way cluster around the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference and hold games in hand over both the Nashville Predators and the Avs.

They're still 6-3-5 over their last 14 games and they're very much alive in the Northwest Division pennant race.
The other one, not so much:

I mean, it almost seems pointless to go over it all again but if you wondered why so few still believe in the Canucks the evidence was on display again Tuesday night. Watching this team trying to score goals is like watching someone trying to pass a kidney stone.

Their best players seem to be incapable of changing the momentum of a game. That lack of offence puts too much pressure on Roberto Luongo to play like Superman every night and even Luongo isn't good enough to get this team in the playoffs the way they're playing.

If that wasn't enough, it now seems the Canucks' defensive corps, which was supposed to be the strength of the team, has been vastly overrated. They're not supplying offence. The Canucks still surrendered 31 shots Tuesday night.
I agree that it's too early to jump off the bandwagon. I just wish the team wouldn't make it so hard to stay on it.

More from the MSM:

About the game around the blogosphere:

Next game:

Tomorrow night against the Nashville Predators

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

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Game Day Post: Avs at Canucks

Everyone's talking about tonight's opponent, the new old and improved Colorado Avalanche (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province; Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)

Needless to say, it's a big game. The Canucks are only two points up on Colorado, though Colorado has played a couple more games. They've already four games against each other this season. The Canucks won the first two, while the Avs won the last two. Including tonight's game, they play four more times the rest of the season.

I'm not sure if Matt Pettinger will make his Canucks debut tonight. Word is, he's scheduled to fly in sometime today to meet the team and coaches. If he plays, the projected lineup is:

Sedin-Sedin-Naslund
Raymond-Shannon-Pyatt
Burrows-Kesler-Isbister
Pettinger-Rypien-Linden

On the Avs side, Forsberg and Foote are nice, but it ain't 2001 anymore. (I honestly don't know if Floppa is even playing tonight.)

More from today's MSM:
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Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Avalanche 1 Canucks 2 (OT)

I know it's late, but after Friday's 2-1 OT win versus the Colorado Avalanche, Tracy and I took off for the long weekend to visit family and hang out with some good friends. We're back now, and I have to say that after three consecutive wins, things are much, much better in Canuck-land. The weather may be crappy, but when the Canucks are winning, even the rain smells good.

With their win on Friday, the Canucks passed the Calgary Flames for 3rd place in the division. They also moved to within four points of the second-place Minnesota Wild, who they play twice in the next week. I'm looking forward to the next five games to see if they can gain any more on the Northwest Division.

Friday's game was easily the most entertaining I've seen at GM Place this season. Both teams played great. There were numerous chances at both ends and only some good saves by both Roberto Luongo and Jose Theodore kept it a low-scoring affair.

From the Canucks' side, the Sedins had another great game against the Avs. They lit them up for six points a week ago; on Friday, Henrik scored both goals.

Once again, Ryan Kesler played a heckuva game. He didn't show up on the score sheet but man, he was skating like the wind out there. He certainly created some good chances by using his speed.

The defense was also solid. Alex Edler was steady, Aaron Miller's getting better and Willie Mitchell was very good. I know I've criticized Mike Weaver in the past, but to give credit where credit's due, he was also very good.

It was a nice team effort all around. Let's have more of those please.

Catching up on some pieces 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.

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Monday, November 05, 2007

Canucks 4 Avalanche 3

The Canucks' 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night doesn't constitute a turnaround, but it's a start.

Against an Avalanche team that was off to a 6-0 start at home, their best in franchise history, they didn't roll over and play dead. In fact, the Canucks were aggresive. They went into the corners and finished their hits. They forced plays and made the Avs take penalties. And on the powerplay, they capitalized and scored two goals, their first two since the win in Washington.

With Salo, Bieksa and Krajicek out and Mike Weaver, Alex Edler and Luc Bourdon - and their combined 192 games of NHL experience - in the back end, the Canucks played perhaps their most complete and mistake-free game of the season. There was the odd gaffe - like the rush that led to the Avs' third goal with ten seconds left in the game - but for the most part, their defensive play was miles better than it was against Nashville.

But there were two things that really stood out for me in this win.

The first was that the Canucks went back to playing a simple game. They skated hard and skated together. When they got the puck, they moved it and moved it quickly. They took the puck to the net, crashed it and scored all four of their goals from right in front of Peter Budaj. It was like 2006-2007 all over again.

The second thing that stood out was something that was mentioned after the game. In a post-game interview, Roberto Luongo mentioned that Alain Vigneault called on his veterans and Louie and a few of the leaders got up and said something. Whatever they said, it worked.

In this week's episode of The Crazy Canucks podcast, I questioned whether or not the Canucks' leadership group can rally this team together in face of adversity. Obviously - and I know it's one game only - they could and they did.

About the game around the blogosphere:

Some pieces from the mainstream:
Next game:

Thursday night in Calgary.

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

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Thursday, April 05, 2007

Game Day: Avalanche at Canucks

Fan Appreciation Night last year was a weird feeling. The Canucks had already been eliminated from playoff contention and everyone expected it to be the last time they will see the likes of Todd and Clouts and Crow with Nazzy and Mo together in a Canucks jersey. The team had failed to meet any expectations and everyone knew there were going to be changes. No one knew what kind of changes were coming, but only that they would be.

And boy, did they.

Dave Nonis didn't waste anytime to perform an extreme makeover on the squad, and the Canucks started this season with 13 new players and a new coaching staff.

What a difference a year makes.

Tonight is Fan Appreciation Night at GM Place again, but there won't be the same sombre feelings of last year. In fact, it will be the complete opposite because this year's team has exceeded all sorts of expectations. They are not only guaranteed a playoff spot, but also, a win tonight (or a Minnesota loss to Edmonton) gives them the Northwest Division title.

I don't think even the most optimistic of Canucks fans expected that.

Here are today's pregame pieces:
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Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

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Monday, February 19, 2007

Avalanche 4 Canucks 5

For only the fourth time during this 17-3-3 post-Christmas run they're on, the Canucks allowed four or more goals to an opponent. Last night, they were outshot - the 16th time in their last 23 games they've been outshot - and outplayed by a Colorado Avalanche team that played in Calgary the night before. But like everything that is seemingly going right in the Canucks' favor right now, the Canucks won 5-4 anyway and put a pretty big nail to the Avalanche's playoff coffin.

With last night's win, the Avs and the Edmonton Oilers have to play almost perfect hockey the rest of the way to even have a sniff at making the playoffs. Consider this: even if the Canucks play to a .500 record in their remaining 23 games, the Avs and the Oilers have to win 18 of their remaining 23 games to pass them.

Last night, it was the offense to the rescue. More specifically, it was Brendan Morrison, Matty Cooke and Trevor Linden to the rescue.

With linemate Trevor Linden hitting the 1,300 plateau for career NHL games -- only six active skaters have logged more -- it was as if Cooke sensed the moment in a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

Cooke scored once and set up two goals by linemate Brendan Morrison as the Vancouver Canucks strengthened their grip on the Northwest Division lead. The three-point effort matches a career high for Cooke, who was quick to give a motivational assist to Linden.
Morrison, especially, seems to have shaken off any effects from his off-season hip surgery and was again one of the team's better players.

Brendan Morrison surely heard the scuttlebutt about how the Vancouver Canucks desperately needed another centre and why they should have sacrificed him in a trade when Peter Forsberg was on the market.

Morrison had an answer for those so-called experts last night when the 31-year-old local product had one of his strongest games of the season, scoring twice and assisting on another goal as the Canucks beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-4 in an old-fashioned shootout.
Morrison now has 13 points (5G-8A) in 12 games, including seven points in his last four games.

Now, if they can only find some regular linemates for Naslund.

More from the Mainstream

About the game around the blogosphere

My 3 Stars of the Game

  1. Brendan Morrison (VAN): One goal, one assist and one of his best overall performances this season.
  2. Matt Cooke (VAN): Tied his career-high of three points and dished out six (recorded) hits for good measure.
  3. Andrew Brunette (COL): Two goals in a losing cause.

Official Statistics

Next Game

Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks.

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

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