Thursday, October 11, 2007
Flyers 8 Canucks 2
Ugly. Just ugly.
First, the game.
The Canucks were awful. Poor defensive coverage, odd-man rushes, giveaways - you name it, there were lots of it.
They couldn't get anything going but that's because they hardly had the puck. And when they did have it, they gave it up. Case in point was on the late 5-on-3 opportunity when Henrik Sedin slipped on a piece of ice and gave the puck away to Mike Richards. With his team two men short, Richards scored on a breakaway.
Next, the Jesse Boulerice cheapshot.
(Note: In an effort to keep this blog PG-rated, I used the word "duck" in lieu of... well, whatever you want to put in its place.)
What the duck was he thinking? His team was already up by five goals when he decided to break his stick on Ryan Kesler's face. Was he trying to send a duckin' message? Was he trying to finish his check like Steve Downie? Or was he duckin' expecting candy to come out of Kesler's head? Never mind that Kesler was nowhere near the duckin' play.
This ducker should be suspended. Duck, even his coach says so, which says how duckin' stupid of a move this was.
From hockeyfights.com (via Alanah), here is the video of Bouler-ass' cheapshot:
As good as the Canucks were on Saturday, they were just as horrible last night. It's been a while since I've watched them sleepwalk through a game like that, playing with absolutely no emotion. (Though I suppose in some weird, twisted way, we can thank Jesse Bouler-ass for lighting a fire in the Canucks' behinds near the end.) It's not the Alain Vigneault way.
About the game around the blogosphere:
Next game: Friday night vs. the Edmonton Oilers
First, the game.
The Canucks were awful. Poor defensive coverage, odd-man rushes, giveaways - you name it, there were lots of it.
They couldn't get anything going but that's because they hardly had the puck. And when they did have it, they gave it up. Case in point was on the late 5-on-3 opportunity when Henrik Sedin slipped on a piece of ice and gave the puck away to Mike Richards. With his team two men short, Richards scored on a breakaway.
Next, the Jesse Boulerice cheapshot.
(Note: In an effort to keep this blog PG-rated, I used the word "duck" in lieu of... well, whatever you want to put in its place.)
What the duck was he thinking? His team was already up by five goals when he decided to break his stick on Ryan Kesler's face. Was he trying to send a duckin' message? Was he trying to finish his check like Steve Downie? Or was he duckin' expecting candy to come out of Kesler's head? Never mind that Kesler was nowhere near the duckin' play.
This ducker should be suspended. Duck, even his coach says so, which says how duckin' stupid of a move this was.
From hockeyfights.com (via Alanah), here is the video of Bouler-ass' cheapshot:
As good as the Canucks were on Saturday, they were just as horrible last night. It's been a while since I've watched them sleepwalk through a game like that, playing with absolutely no emotion. (Though I suppose in some weird, twisted way, we can thank Jesse Bouler-ass for lighting a fire in the Canucks' behinds near the end.) It's not the Alain Vigneault way.
About the game around the blogosphere:
- Alanah weighs in on the hit and the pay-per-view thing.
- Orland Kurtenblog liveblogged the game. I personally would have kept the tube on Family Guy after a while. Brian in love with Lois is classic.
- Hannah and Isabella sum up the game.
- Not worst ever, but close. (Tony Gallagher, Vancouver Province)
- Press box isn't big enough. (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province)
- Umberger wows in Vancouver debut. (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- Pair scratched for lack of grit. (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province)
- New-look Flyers search for brotherly love. (Ed Willes, Vancouver Province)
- Philly's High Flyers. (Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun)
- Ritchie watches from the press box. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Library books help the memory. (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Flyers score eight in rout of Canucks. (Tim Panaccio, Philly Inquirer)
Next game: Friday night vs. the Edmonton Oilers
Labels: Boulerice, game recap, Kesler, Ritchie, video clip
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Camp Quick Links - 09/16/2007
More links from training camp this weekend.
- The Canucks' Island Mafia. (Cleve Dheensaw, Victoria Times Colonist)
- Canucks shake off summer. (Cleve Dheensaw, Victoria Times Colonist)
- GM's philosophy finally bearing fruit. (Sharie Epp, Victoria Times Colonist)
- Burrows accepts Canucks' challenge to improve. (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun)
- Canuck with a Cup hopes best is to come. (Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun)
- Ritchie relishing breakout chance. (Jim Jamieson, Vancouver Province)
- Canucks bring in big bucks. (Matthew Little, Vancouver Province)
- Newly-acquired Ryan Shannon hungry for another sophomore season. (Canadian Press)
(Photo credit: canucks.com)
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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: Burrows, Ritchie, Shannon, training camp 2007
Monday, July 09, 2007
A Quick Study
It's been a busy couple of weeks for Dave Nonis as he worked hard to shore up the Canucks roster for the '07-'08 season. Last week, he added some goaltending depth, signing Curtis Sanford to a one-year deal and top prospect Cory Schneider to his first pro contract (Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun).
Especially compared to the recent follies in Edmonton and Buffalo, Dave Nonis continues to impress me. He obviously learned from the Ryan Kesler fiasco last year, and hence, the Krajicek and Bieksa deals. Combine that with the earlier Pyatt and Kesler re-signings (and how much they were for) and I can't help but gain an appreciation for how good Nonis has managed the team within the cap system.
Think of it this way, barring any movement, the Canucks' top-six defensemen, which in my opinion is as good a group as any in the league, will make a combined $13.625 million this season. And they're signed for just slightly more money for next season as well.
Except for a Trevor Linden re-signing or perhaps a rookie making the team out of training camp, the roster is pretty much set. In fact, the only other glaring need on the team is another scoring winger and Nonis still has a couple of months to find one.
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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
Sanford, 27, signed for one year at $600,000 and will take Dany Sabourin's place on the end of the bench for all but a handful of games (all figures are in U.S. dollars).Then in separate deals, he signed Byron Ritchie and Brad Isbister to one-year contracts (Ben Kuzma, Vancouver Province).
Schneider, 21, agreed to a three-year entry level contract that will see him earn $924,200 at the NHL level and $70,000 in Manitoba, where he will be the go-to guy for the American Hockey League's Moose.
In Isbister, the Canucks get a 6-foot-4, 227-pound left-winger who doesn't always play to his size and takes too many nights off. In Ritchie, the Canucks get an undersized centre who has often irritated the opposition, but hasn't put up the offensive numbers.Finally, he solidified the defense core and rewarded Lukas Krajicek with a new two-year deal, extended Kevin Bieksa's contract for another three years, and added veteran Aaron Miller to the mix.
What does this all mean?
A big gamble that Isbister ($525,000 US) and Ritchie ($675,000) will give coach Alain Vigneault some needed fourth-line muscle and grit for anticipated physical encounters against Calgary, Anaheim and San Jose.
Especially compared to the recent follies in Edmonton and Buffalo, Dave Nonis continues to impress me. He obviously learned from the Ryan Kesler fiasco last year, and hence, the Krajicek and Bieksa deals. Combine that with the earlier Pyatt and Kesler re-signings (and how much they were for) and I can't help but gain an appreciation for how good Nonis has managed the team within the cap system.
Think of it this way, barring any movement, the Canucks' top-six defensemen, which in my opinion is as good a group as any in the league, will make a combined $13.625 million this season. And they're signed for just slightly more money for next season as well.
Except for a Trevor Linden re-signing or perhaps a rookie making the team out of training camp, the roster is pretty much set. In fact, the only other glaring need on the team is another scoring winger and Nonis still has a couple of months to find one.
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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, Isbister, Krajicek, Miller, Ritchie, Schneider
