Friday, January 11, 2008
Canucks 1 Sharks 3
There's no way around it. The Canucks sucked last night. The Sharks this season are what the Ducks were for the Canucks last season. For whatever reason, the Canucks just don't have a solution for big, bad San Jose.
I don't know if the Canucks were tired, but the Sharks were bigger and quicker last night. They were beat to the puck a lot and took seven penalties, five of them of the hook and hold variety. It didn't seem to matter what lines Alain Vigneault threw out there, but none of them worked.
Some random thoughts:
Tonight against the Phoenix Coyotes
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I don't know if the Canucks were tired, but the Sharks were bigger and quicker last night. They were beat to the puck a lot and took seven penalties, five of them of the hook and hold variety. It didn't seem to matter what lines Alain Vigneault threw out there, but none of them worked.
Some random thoughts:
- Jeff Cowan returned to the lineup for the first time since early December; however, I hardly noticed him. Mike Brown would've at least got himself into a scrap to try to wake the boys up.
- I know it's only been a couple of games but Mason Raymond looks out of place on the Sedin line. He had a couple of shots tonight but both came on the rush rather than off the cycle. Plus, his skinny frame makes it hard for him to win a lot of corner battles.
- The defense, especially youngsters Alex Edler and Lukas Krajicek, had tough games.
- On the positive side, I thought Taylor Pyatt had another good game. Also, Ryan Kesler's goal was his career-high 11th goal this season.
- Let's hope the 'Nucks and Sharks don't meet in the playoffs. (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun; Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Henrik's going to the All-Star game. (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province; Matthew Sekeres, Globe and Mail)
- No, Iain. There's nothing wrong with Louie missing the All-Star game. (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Some nice words on Jason Jaffray. (Gary Lawless, Winnipeg Free Press)
- Nabokov 4, Luongo 0. (David Pollak, San Jose Mercury News)
Tonight against the Phoenix Coyotes
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Labels: game recap, Jaffray, Luongo, Sedin, Sharks
Friday, January 04, 2008
Rangers 0 Canucks 3
The game featured more Pamela Anderson sightings on the jumbotron (4) than goals, and truth be told, the Canucks didn't have that many more scoring chances. Both teams were quite content with sticking to their defensive systems, but that's fine. The good guys won, Luongo got his sixth of the season - one shy of Dan Cloutier's franchise record - and Sean Avery was pretty much non-existent.
From Ed Willes (Vancouver Province):
Add Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez to Kesler's notches on his defensive bed post (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province):
About the game around the blogosphere:
A four-day layoff and then Tuesday night's game against the Islanders.
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, New+York+Rangers
From Ed Willes (Vancouver Province):
In an excruciating display of Canucks hockey, the home team didn't record its 10th shot on goal until early in the third period; captain Markus Naslund was replaced on the first line by minor league callup Mason Raymond for the latest in a series of uninspired performances; and Rangers' penalty killers generated more scoring chances than the Canucks' power play.By that, he means that Louie holds the team in the game until they finally score, and when they finally score, they try and hang on for the win. The Canucks are 20-4 when they score first so Ryan Kesler's goal early in the second period was huge. Daniel Sedin's and Jason Jaffray's goals in the third period were just gravy. The Canucks played the perfect road game except for that fact they were at home.
The Canucks, in short, had as much business winning this one as Pauly Shore has of winning a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute.
But -- and stop us if this sounds familiar -- Roberto Luongo also stopped everything the Rangers threw at him, Jaromir Jagr just missed a couple of times and Ryan Kesler scored the goal that mattered in the second period when he banked one in off Rangers' keeper Stephen Valiquette.
Pretty it wasn't. Two points it was, and you'd consider if flukey if the Canucks didn't make a habit of winning exactly these kind of games.
Add Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez to Kesler's notches on his defensive bed post (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province):
It was no small task. Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez came to GM Place rolling. Gomez was on a career-high 13-game point streak and Jagr's streak of eight games in a row with at least a point wasn't far behind. Neither was Kesler's shadow.It was a Selke-worthy performance, but also, it was typical of a lot of his games this season. Ask Ryan Getzlaf, Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla. I'm glad he had it against the Rangers because perhaps now the Eastern media will start taking notice.
He was all over the pair from the opening minutes to the final whistle, matching their combined shot total with three of his own while also scoring the game-winning goal.
About the game around the blogosphere:
- The pride of Duncan talks about the pride of Ladysmith. (Canucks and Beyond)
- I think Mike hates the Rangers. (Yankee Canuck)
- Ummm... Sean? Screensaver password, buddy. (Waiting for Stanley)
- I was surprised Stephen Valiquette had the start last night. I wasn't the only one. (The New York Rangers Blog)
- Some things just don't change *ahem* Marek Malik *ahem*. (Battle of New York)
- Yes, the refs sucked last night (Blueshirt Bulletin), though honestly, I took comfort on the fact that they sucked both ways.
- Some love for the "flying V" and more love for Marek Malik. (Scotty Hockey)
- It's been that long since the Rangers won in Vancouver. (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
- The Staal no one really talks about. Yet. (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
- Some deserved Luongo love. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- At least he didn't pull out a Sharpie and sign the puck. (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
- Welcome back to the bandwagon, boys. (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Shooting stars? (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Catching up with Mo-mo. (Vancouver Province)
- Catching up with Glen Sather. (Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun)
- Brushing off Tony. (Tony Gallagher, Vancouver Province)
- The New York side of things. (John Dellapina, NY Daily News)
A four-day layoff and then Tuesday night's game against the Islanders.
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks, New+York+Rangers
Labels: game recap, Jaffray, Kesler, Luongo, Morrison, Rangers
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Game Day Post: Stars at Canucks
It was a late night and an early morning - I had some family things to rush to last night - and don't have much time to do a proper post. I'll keep this short and you guys can consider it kinda like an open thread.
The Canucks will win tonight because:
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The Canucks will win tonight because:
- Surely the Canucks are better than any team that has Mike Ribeiro as their leading scorer.
- Marty Turco can still hear the "Tuuuuuur-cooooooo" chants from game 7 of last season's conference quarterfinals.
- This game's not going to a shootout, dammit!
- Try the net: Vigneault (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Kesler good at both ends (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Miller goal all in a decade's work (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Bad memory's dogging Stars (Jim Jamieson, Vancouver Province)
- Top line told to think of nothing but net (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
- Good, but no parade plans yet (Barry MacDonald, 24 Hours)
- Jaffray finally gets his chance (Grant Kerr, Globe and Mail)
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Labels: game day preview, Jaffray, Kesler, Miller, Stars
Friday, December 14, 2007
Canucks 2 Sharks 5
In hindsight, there were far more exciting things to do than to watch last night's snoozefest to the Sharks: watching paint dry comes to mind, and also, going to a Celine Dion concert.
The Canucks looked tired and I don't blame them. They were playing their seventh game in seven cities in 11 nights. They went from east to west and are now heading north to finish the road trip from hell up in Edmonton (how fitting, eh?).
Give credit to the Sharks. They took full advantage of a tired team and turned turnovers to goals. Down 3-0, the Canucks actually made it interesting when they scored a couple of goals early in the third period, but turnovers by Aaron Miller and Lukas Krajicek turned into Joe Thornton and Steve Bernier goals to put the game out of reach.
Don't look now, but after a good run of games, the Canucks have only won one of their four games. In a tight playoff race - right now, six points separate 2nd and 12th in the Western Conference - they can ill-afford to go into any extended slump.
More from the mainstream:
Saturday night in Edmonton
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The Canucks looked tired and I don't blame them. They were playing their seventh game in seven cities in 11 nights. They went from east to west and are now heading north to finish the road trip from hell up in Edmonton (how fitting, eh?).
Give credit to the Sharks. They took full advantage of a tired team and turned turnovers to goals. Down 3-0, the Canucks actually made it interesting when they scored a couple of goals early in the third period, but turnovers by Aaron Miller and Lukas Krajicek turned into Joe Thornton and Steve Bernier goals to put the game out of reach.
Don't look now, but after a good run of games, the Canucks have only won one of their four games. In a tight playoff race - right now, six points separate 2nd and 12th in the Western Conference - they can ill-afford to go into any extended slump.
More from the mainstream:
- Canucks lack energy in loss (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Sharks getting their bite back (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Road trip clearly running out of gas (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Call-up backup gets action (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Jaffray debut unbelievable (Ken Wiebe, Winnipeg Sun)
- Sharks celebrate back-to-back home wins (David Pollak, The Mercury News)
Saturday night in Edmonton
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Labels: game recap, Jaffray, Sharks
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Canucks 3 Ducks 2
I had a work function last night and asked the wifey to tape the game for me. Alas, she went for a facial and didn't set the VCR so I missed out on what, from what I heard and read, was a great game for the kids.
I realize it's only been one game, but still, it's refreshing that the Canucks have some decent depth at every position now. When Bieksa and Salo went down six weeks ago, Alexander Edler, Mike Weaver and Luc Bourdon filled in just fine, and of course, Edler is still a regular in the lineup these days. Mason Raymond and Jason Jaffray were good last night and had a couple of points each. Curtis Sanford stole the show with 33 saves, 16 of them in the final period when the Canucks were outshot 16-1.
Again, it's only one game, but hey, I'll savor the win and hope they can do it all over again tonight.
More from the mainstream:
Tonight against the San Jose Sharks
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I realize it's only been one game, but still, it's refreshing that the Canucks have some decent depth at every position now. When Bieksa and Salo went down six weeks ago, Alexander Edler, Mike Weaver and Luc Bourdon filled in just fine, and of course, Edler is still a regular in the lineup these days. Mason Raymond and Jason Jaffray were good last night and had a couple of points each. Curtis Sanford stole the show with 33 saves, 16 of them in the final period when the Canucks were outshot 16-1.
Again, it's only one game, but hey, I'll savor the win and hope they can do it all over again tonight.
More from the mainstream:
- Fill-ins fine on same line (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Jaffray jacked about debut (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Injection of enthusiasm (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- All good things must come to an end (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Jaffray makes impact (Adam Wazny, Winnipeg Sun)
- Ducks fall to Vancouver, 3-2 (Dan Wood, OC Register)
- Sanford, Canucks stop Ducks (J.P. Hoornstra, Daily Breeze)
Tonight against the San Jose Sharks
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Labels: Ducks, game recap, Jaffray, Morrison, Sanford
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Game Day Post: Moose at Ducks
Okay, okay, maybe that's overstating things a bit, but with Luongo, Morrison, Isbister and Cowan out and Drew McIntyre, Jason Jaffray, Mason Raymond and Mike Brown in, the Canucks sure look a lot more Manitoba Moose-y than usual. That's the worst case scenario. There were some media reports last night saying that Luongo and Morrison are still possible, in which case things may not be too bad. I guess I'm just bracing myself.
Last season, the Canucks, with Salo and Mitchell injured, dressed a defense consisting of Ohlund, Krajicek, Bieksa, Edler, McIver and Coulombe. At that time, Ohlund was of course the lone veteran and the rest had played a combined 163 games in the NHL. (IIRC, Edler had two games experience and McIver and Coulombe were playing their first NHL games.) Anyway, their opponent that night was also the Ducks and the 'Nucks subsequently loss 6-0 at GM Place. I just hope that the team can suck it up this time around, and really, do they have a choice?
Looking at the positives, Jaffray (19 GP, 10G-11A-22P) and Raymond (17GP, 6G-8A-14P) are two of the Moose's leading scorers and Vigneault is most likely to give them plenty of opportunities to produce. Jaffray is pure offense and even led the Moose in scoring last season. He didn't get a call-up because he didn't have an NHL contract. For the first time, we'll see if he can play at the NHL level or if he turns out to be just another Lee Goren. Raymond, we've seen before and we already know he needs to work on being consistent and on his finish. I hope he has.
More previews from today's MSM:
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Last season, the Canucks, with Salo and Mitchell injured, dressed a defense consisting of Ohlund, Krajicek, Bieksa, Edler, McIver and Coulombe. At that time, Ohlund was of course the lone veteran and the rest had played a combined 163 games in the NHL. (IIRC, Edler had two games experience and McIver and Coulombe were playing their first NHL games.) Anyway, their opponent that night was also the Ducks and the 'Nucks subsequently loss 6-0 at GM Place. I just hope that the team can suck it up this time around, and really, do they have a choice?
Looking at the positives, Jaffray (19 GP, 10G-11A-22P) and Raymond (17GP, 6G-8A-14P) are two of the Moose's leading scorers and Vigneault is most likely to give them plenty of opportunities to produce. Jaffray is pure offense and even led the Moose in scoring last season. He didn't get a call-up because he didn't have an NHL contract. For the first time, we'll see if he can play at the NHL level or if he turns out to be just another Lee Goren. Raymond, we've seen before and we already know he needs to work on being consistent and on his finish. I hope he has.
More previews from today's MSM:
- Luongo doubtful for game in Anaheim (Matthew Sekeres, Globe and Mail)
- Resiliency in high demand (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Streak of 542 consecutive games the measure of pain tolerance (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Ironman streak more trouble than it's worth (Tony Gallagher, Vancouver Province)
- Who needs sleeping pills with this hockey? (Ed Willes, Vancouver Province)
- Niedermayer finds retirement overrated (Gordon McIntyre, Vancouver Province)
- Sanford on the spot (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Excited about callups (Adam Wazny, Winnipeg Sun)
- Just a tap away (Adam Wazny, Winnipeg Sun)
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Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks
Labels: Ducks, game day preview, Jaffray, Luongo, Moose, Morrison, Sanford
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Some Player News
Some Canucks player news as we approach the start of free agency madness this weekend:
Jason Jaffray led the Manitoba Moose in scoring in the regular season and the playoffs; however, the Canucks couldn't call him up because he didn't have a pro contract. He will soon (Steve Ewen, Vancouver Province).
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Jason Jaffray led the Manitoba Moose in scoring in the regular season and the playoffs; however, the Canucks couldn't call him up because he didn't have a pro contract. He will soon (Steve Ewen, Vancouver Province).
Jason Jaffray could handle a contract snafu keeping him from playing for the Vancouver Canucks last season.Marc Chouinard, who does have a pro contract (one more year at $1.1 million), might not soon (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun).
He could handle toiling for five years in the minors and he could handle the Kootenay Ice trading him in the midst of their 2002 Memorial Cup run, despite him being team captain at the time.
Jaffray, a winger who is in the midst of finalizing a two-year, two-way deal with the Canucks, has been saddled with much worse than anything hockey can dish out at him.
The Vancouver Canucks have to make their intentions known this week on the potential buyout of disappointing centre Marc Chouinard.The Canucks are still talking contract with Jeff Cowan the Brabarian (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun).
Chouinard, who finished last season in the minors, has a year remaining on his contract at $1.1 million and must clear waivers before the buyout process begins (all figures are in U.S. dollars).
Cowan, meanwhile, will become an unfettered free agent Sunday unless his representative, Rollie Thompson, and Canuck assistant GM Steve Tambellini can wrap up a deal.They also qualified defenseman Lukas Krajicek with the mandatory 10% raise.
"Steve and I had a couple of pretty good talks in Columbus over the weekend," Thompson said Monday. "We're going in the right direction. Both parties would like to make it happen."
Cowan, who was a waiver-wire pickup from the L.A. Kings in late December, earned $532,000 US last season. It's believed he's seeking a two-year deal.
Tambellini, who is handling many of the contract negotiations, also opened discussions with Krajicek's agent, Petr Svoboda, at the draft. Svoboda described the talks as "positive" but declined any specifics on term despite reports of a two-year offer.Ditto newly-acquired center Ryan Shannon.
"It doesn't really matter as long as Lukas has another good year and plays well," said Svoboda, the former NHL blueliner. "He was happy with his first season in Vancouver, but he knows he could do better. He loves the town, the organization and the players, so that's the key."
"Ryan is really thrilled about about this opportunity with Vancouver and he's looking forward to getting into camp. And, probably more importantly, he's looking forward to getting back from Europe in one piece."I'll be at the Canucks State of Franchise event tonight. Fellow The Crazy Canucks podcaster John Bolwitt might join me as well. We'll talk more about it later tonight or tomorrow morning.
Duberman said Canucks management has made no promises, other than the standard one of providing an opportunity. Vancouver already has three established centres under contract in Henrik Sedin, Brendan Morrison and Ryan Kesler. Shannon, presumably, would have to vie for fourth-line playing time with the likes of Rick Rypien and Alex Burrows.
"I know Ryan is a good enough player to be on their roster, especially with his speed, but nothing has been promised and we know that," continued Duberman.
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