Canucks

I was doing my daily rounds across the net at various tech forums, when I came across this lovely tidbit over at Hardware Canucks. It would seem that there is some controversy arising over the validity of the images used in 3dGameman’s reviews. Check out the full forum thread over at HWC by clicking here. In [...]

The Columbus Dispatch's sources are saying that the Jackets are trying to make a trade to the Penguins for the negotiating rights to Malone, who will become a UFA July 1.The paper's sources are also saying that Minnesota and Vancouver are in the running. Malone in Vancouver? I'm in!**UPDATE**The Jackets story is apparently untrue. Malone told WTAE TV in Pittsburgh that"It's UFA for sure."As for th

“This is another important announcement for our hockey club,” said Mike Gillis. “Ryan’s experiences as a player and motivator will be a great asset to our coaching staff. He has proven himself in the game of hockey and business to be successful at everything he does.” Coach Alain Vigneault said: “I believe strongly that Ryan’s skills will complement Rick and I very well,” said Vig

From The Province:"As of yet we haven't talked, but there's probably a chance before the end of the week," said Morrison, 32, who is set to become a UFA on July 1. Morrison is still limping from a torn ACL injury he suffered last season, even though he had surgery on it on April 7. He also had surgery on his wrist because of a damaged tendon. Word is that he will be ready for training camp. Questi

Iain MacIntyre has a great piece about Trevor Linden in the Vancouver Sun today. What I found most interesting was what Linden's father, Lane had to say about what he thought his son should do post-Canucks. "I would be so disappointed if he just went right back into the hockey end of it," Lane said. "He's been under some body's thumb his whole life, whether it be coaches or managers. There are so

I am still in somewhat of a shock over Luc's death today. A lot of questions go through my mind. How and why did he lose control of his motorbike? Was he driving erratically? Did some jackass cut him off? A witness told the Vancouver Sun today that Bourdon had a head on collision with a transport truck and ended up underneath it dying instantly. The witness also said that based on observations it

I posted this older pic in response to what the anonymous commentor said in the previous post. Hey buddy, you need to wear thicker glasses! Ha!I hear that just before the pic was taken, Brendan Morrison's wife lightly brushed against Gina Luongo and Gina rolled over like she had been shot! Oooo. I joke. She got up after 10 minutes of rolling around in 'agony' and was fine. T Tags: Canucks+wives pi

According to TSN, apparently coach Alain Vigneault delivered the news today. Nothing like firing your own buddies, huh? That would mean that Vigneault is not going anywhere I suppose. The same can be said for the 3rd assistant coach Rick Bowness.Mike Kelly was assistant coach Vigneault in Manitoba, and had even coached the under 18 Canadian team to a gold medal in 2003.Barry Smith was assistant c

From TSN: Nonis spent much of Tuesday and part of Wednesday afternoon in discussions with the Toronto Maple Leafs about their management restructuring with further talks over the next few days expected.Sources tell TSN Nonis hasn't been offered the position of general manager and the belief is Toronto's interest in bringing him on board seems to be directed more towards helping interim GM Cliff Fl

From the Vancouver Sun: "I've had a couple of opportunities to speak in detail with Roberto and I feel great about the conversations and his mindset about moving forward with this team," Mike Gillis said. "He is completely devoted to the team, wants to be competitive, wants to be in the playoffs, wants to win, and he made absolutely clear to me that's his focus. The idea that he doesn't want to be here is the furthest thing from being accurate." Sure, he's devoted now, while he is still under contract. But that could change when his contract expires in a couple of years.Ah, the free agency buzz is already a flutter. The Sun also reports in the same article that unrestricted fee agent Pavol Demitra has been spotted around Vancouver, checking out the sights. Mike Gillis was Demitra's agent a

From Faceoff.com:5 THINGS MIKE GILLIS SAID WILL BE HIS TOP PRIORITIES:1. Deciding on a head coach. Mike Gillis says making a decision on his coach is the most important task he faces in the immediate future. He will sit down soon with current coach Alain Vigneault, who has a year left on his contract.2. Gauge Roberto Luongo's long-term commitment to the organization. "Roberto is a priority," said Gillis. "If we don't have him as a priority, our shelf life with him is about two years."3. Find more scoring. Gillis knows the Canucks need more punch up front. "Two or three additions [to the] group might make a vital change."4. Settle on the status of captain Markus Naslund, a former Gillis client, who becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1. "If we can't provide an environment that makes per

Yeah, this has been all over the web lately. I first saw it at Canucks and Beyond. It's so damned funny that I thought I'd post it and give anyone who hasn't seen it yet a chance to to get a gander. It may offend some of you sensitive politically correct types...so consider yourself warned. This clip is so well done. I wish I had a program to make words-overs like that. T Tags: Canucks Hitler Missing+playoffs video YouTube

Just saw this leaked on TSN. So just who is this guy?- Born in Sudbury Ontario in 1958.- Played pro hockey at the NHL level for the Colorado Rockies and Boston Bruins as a left winger from 1978 to 1984. He was chosen 5th overall in the NHL Entry Draft by the Rockies in 1978.-Is currently a player agent and has represented players since 1991. One of his clients: Markus Naslund. Oh dear god.-moved to BC to support his daughter's field hockey career.He has also represented former Canucks Pavel Bure and Geff Courtnall in the past.“I think he’d be phenomenal,” Courtnall said today. “He’s a really smart guy.” I'm not so sure yet. Zero GM track record. He had better be fucking smart. I don't want the Canucks to turn into a big joke. It's already enough of a fucking circus around there

I didn't even watch the 7-1 drubbing by the Flames last night as I entered a poker tournament instead, with the game on in the background. Ha, I finished 4th out of 18. Seeing the score of the game, I'm glad I missed it.I have to agree with Rogene from the site Real Tech Solutions, who commented earlier about feeling positive about the offseason and what Dave Nonis is going to do to improve this team.Obviously, an overhaul is not going to happen, as Nonis must be focussed on winning as long as Roberto Luongo is signed (which is for 2 more years).I think it's pretty fair to say that Markus Naslund is done as a Canuck. His performance was not good enough to justify his $6 million contract. He would have to settle for less to remain a Canuck, and that is not going to happen. Watch him go to C

As I've stated in the past I am a huge hockey fan. As such, I will, from time to time, be posting on this greatest of all sports. Despite living all my life in British Columbia I am a diehard Habs fans. Since the boys are battling for the Eastern conference lead going into the last game of the season I don't have much to complain about. Still, growing up in BC I've seen a lot of Canucks games in my day, and although I'd never want to see them beat the Habs I still cheer for them against pretty much everyone else. Thus, it was with a sour taste in my mouth that I watched their late season meltdown. I can't even imagine how their diehard fans must have felt. Even with their last four games in their own barn, and their fate firmly in their own hands they couldn't find a way to get it done. On

Ah, the negativity surrounding the Canucks re-ensues as the Oilers come to the Garage to try to play Spoilers tonight. To prove the negativity up here in Smithers I posted the pic to the left. It was from a great Canucks fan who is also my cousin. But don't great Canucks fans hang in there with their team until the very end? I know Mr. Positivity is hangin', so everybody jump back on board until this game is over.Go Blues and Go Nucks!-0-0 Preds and Blues with 8:00 left in period 1.- 3-2 Preds with 13:00 left. Can you believe it? Jan Hlavac is back to haunt his old team. 3 assists for the inconsistent homeless one. This is terrible.The Preds have won 3-2. So now you got to think the Canucks know this fact, and it will be interesting to see how they respond. We will now hope for the Nucks t

Tonight's the big night for Zanstorm, as he skytrains his candy-ass to GM Place to Canucks face the Calgary Flames. Clearly it is "Go-Time" for the Canucks. Depending on how the Preds fare against the Wings (in an essentially meaningless game for Detroit), a win tonight could be the difference between keeping pace in the race for eighth and entrenching ourselves in ninth begging for help from other teams. Now would be a fantastic time for Bieksa to regain his form. It would also be a great time for Naslund to take this team by the balls and lead them to victory. And how about a Sedin goal that doesn't involve fluky bounces or goalie error? More likely, it will be Luongo stealing the show while our grinder/energy guys get the job done in the trenches. When was the last time Luongo go

This is a couple months old, but if you haven't seen it yet then here you go. Markus Naslund gets 4 of the Canucks' rookies to come on stage (except Ryan Shannon, who had just scored that beauty shootout goal) and gets them to dance and hopefully humiliate themselves. Unfortunately, Bourdon and Edler had some moves and stole the show. Worth a look and is a good laugh. Check it out.For more video clips of the Dice and Ice fundraiser, check out Canucks.com. Otherwise, pay the $12.50 and watch it over...and over...and over again on Canucks PPV.T Tags: Canucks Dice+and+Ice Rookies+dance+competition Edler Bourdon

(The standings are as of Saturday morning.)I didn't get a chance to catch the Canucks-Wild game last night as I was at work. But that was a blown chance to take over the Northwest Division lead. The Wild now sit 3 points ahead of Vancouver. It's a long break between now and Tuesday, where they play the Flames.Between now and then:-the Flames play the Wild and the Avalanche.-the Avalanche play the Oilers and obviously, the Flames.-the Stars play the Kings.-the Predators play the Hawks early today.So the face of the West can change a fair bit before the Nucks play again.Are the Preds going to oust somebody in the next 2 weeks? Is the Oilers' recent surge just plain old futile? Can the Avalanche continue to press forward through adversity? Nice to see Adam Foote go home with a hip injury. G

Tipster: NuNeS | Minnesota Wild @ Vancouver Canucks - NHL 2007/2008 Minnesota wild encara o jogo de hoje como a oportunidade de fazer historia na NHL. Em 7 anos nunca venceu a sua divisão e esteve presente apenas por 2 vezes nos playoffs. Com 1 ponto de vantagem sobre o 2º e 3º classificado, a vitória [...]

After a character win over the Coyotes this week that narrowed the Coyotes' playoff hopes, the Canucks have a chance to do the same thing to the Oilers tonight in Edmonton. The Oilers are in 10th spot in the West right now, 5 points behind the 8th place Avalanche. But the Oilers will be no easy task. They are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and are about the 3rd hottest team in the NHL over that span of games. A win over Edmonton would put the Canucks 6 points ahead of 9th place Nashville. That's a lot of breathing room with not many games left. Oilers' goalie Matthieu Garon had played so well for Edmonton in recent months that a shakey Dwayne Roloson rode the pine for a long time. But that has changed. Garon cooled off in a 5-1 loss to the Avs on March 13th, and Roloson has been red hot ove

Sometimes it pays to have connections, huh? I just recieved 2 tickets to the Canucks and Flames game on March 30th, free of charge. I am taking my wife to her first ever NHL game. They are box tickets on the Executive Level at good ol' GM Place. I've never sat higher than about the 20th row from the glass, so this will be different, but COOL. Free booze? Oh hell yeah! Canucks tickets are a treat for us people who live in Northern BC, 14 hours north of Van.The best part about this is that it will be a crucial game to the Canucks' playoff hopes and will be a playoff-like atmosphere. I'll take all the pictures I can and post them after that game. Hopefully the pic of me jumping over the glass and shit-kicking Jarome Iginla turns out! ha!T Tags: Canucks Flames Tickets GM Place

The scenario just keeps getting better and better for Vancouver...and at the right time. With 10 games left, the Canucks schooled a Phoenix team that HAD to win and pretty much screwed Gretzky's teams' chances of making the playoffs. But more importantly, the Canucks moved into 7th spot in the West and created a 4 point gap between themselves and the Predators, who are now sweating in 9th spot.The Sedins finally broke out!!! Henrik scored TWICE and his brother had many chances, didn't capitalize, yet had 2 assists. Even Taylor Pyatt broke out of a (what was it?) 18 game scoring slump? It is great to see these guys break out at such an important time of the year. Once again, you could see the giant apes being lifted off Hank and Pyatt's shoulders as they finally bagged a goal.It's good time

I was invited by John Bollwitt to make a guest appearance on The Crazy Canucks Podcast Episode #62 and I jumped at the opportunity. This is the 2nd time I've guested on it. (Thanks for being in Texas, Dave!) On the panel were:-John Bollwitt who runs the Crazy Canucks podcast and authors another site called Audihertz.-John's wife Rebecca who is making a mark with her Vancouver-Life site Miss 604.-JJ Guerrero, who authors one of the first Canucks blogs I ever read: Canucks Hockey Blog.-And of course, the infamous Alanah from Canucks and Beyond.We talked about the Pronger-stomping incident, Canucks bandwagon jumpers, and shared our positive predictions for the rest of the Canucks season. JJ went on record, saying that the Canucks will win the Northwest Division if they are within 2 points of

What a game against Dallas today: a mind-numbing 4-3 win by Vancouver. I will just make a couple points about this one.- Vigneault separated the Twins and seemed to get 2 results: more inspired play by both and a lot less anxiety in their game. It didn't translate on the scoreboard unfortunately, but at least there was improvement.- blowing a 3-goal lead is/was not characteristic of this 'Devils of the West' team. Bieksa got caught pinching on the Brad Richards shorthanded breakaway goal. That is why I call him Jovo the 2nd. Of course, it's pretty easy to pick on a guy who plays over 25 minutes per game. (see below) I thought the team settled down after the 4th goal though. They just lack consistency on D.- Naslund-Pettinger-Morrison is gold! 9 points for them combined. Said Vigneault post

The Canucks continue their not-so successful road trip in Dallas today to play the not-so successful Stars, who have won only 1 game in their last 5.Brad Richards, who started off in Dallas with a bang when he was traded there at the deadline, has only 1 goal and 2 assists in those 5 games. Leave it to someone to get their game going against Vancouver, right? It seems that way sometimes.The Canucks are 1-1-1 against Dallas. They lost the last game against the Stars in a shootout on February 5th. How much have times changed? Markus Naslund had both Canucks goals in that game.Unless Vancouver's top guns get going and start scoring, this team is not going to have consistent success. Kesler and Burrows are not going to score every night. They aren't the guys on the power play, even though I wi

I just finshed being a special guest on the The Crazy Canucks Podcast. A great time indeed. The Crazy Canucks crew are not only hockey-smart, but funny. Always a good time on that podcast.Are you scoreboard watching? Prior to this game, the Flames have lost 6-4 to Atlanta, the Kings are beating the Predators 3-1 in the 3rd, and the Wild blew a lead over the Devils and they are tied at 3. The sea once again parts for Vancouver. Now is our big chance to put 4 points between us and 9th spot and more importantly, take over the Northwest Division. I guess the Oilers will have to beat the Avs as well to 'help us out.'PERIOD 1The Coyotes came storming out of the gates, outshooting the Canucks 5-0 before Nick Boynton took a penalty and changed the momentum a bit. Luongo looks sharp so far, and tha

But rebounding against the Coyotes will not be an easy task. Phoenix is fighting hard for a playoff spot and is 5 points out of 8th. Coach Gretzky recently said: “We’re battling for our lives now, we know that…We know we have our work cut out for us, but we’re not out of this by any means. Nobody in our locker room is gonna throw in the towel.” And they won't. Backed by a top goalie in Ilya Bryzgalov, this team, although inconsistent, can compete with the big dogs and are not to be taken lightly. The Canucks will look for a more consistent start tonight. They came out of the gate flying against the Ducks, but then took most of the rest of the night off. I know Luongo wants to play in every game, but maybe Sanford should start tonight. That would not only send a message to Louie t

Esta sexta-feira, pelas 2 horas da madrugada, os Vancouver Canucks defrontam os Coyotes em Phoenix, Arizona, para mais um jogo da época regular da NHL 2008. O parasol que participa na I Liga Sportingbet / ApostaGanha, escreveu um prognóstico de apostas desportivas para este jogo, que passamos a citar: Vancouver Canucks @ Phoenix Coyotes Phoenix terá que dar [...]

I'm not even going to talk about last night's game because that outcome was too predictable. The Canucks lack of size and finish became evidently clear. And yes, the Ducks are good.The big news today is that Mattias Ohlund's season is officially over. He will have season-ending surgery to remove the bone chips from his knee. "After further consultation with our team doctors it was determined that surgery was the best course of action," said general manager Dave Nonis in a statement. "The best long term decision for Mattias and our hockey club is to have this addressed immediately." Ohlund had 9 goals and 15 assists in 52 games for Vancouver this year. I am disappointed with this news. Why couldn't it be Bieksa? Ohlund's presence will be missed.I recieved an email from GZ Expat today about

The Canucks cruise into Anaheim tonight to take on a Duck team that is already favored to win the Stanley Cup. Given the Canucks' current 3-game winning streak and their domination of Anaheim this year (3 wins in 3 games and outscoring them 9-3), I'm sure the Canucks don't care if the Ducks are contenders or not.But this is a different Ducks team than the Quacks we played on December 30th. Scott Niedermayer and Teemu "Buzz Lightyear" Selanne were not playing for Anaheim then. These 2 players sparked the team when they returned and continue to do so. However, the Ducks have lost 3 of their last 4 games, after going 11-1-1 in 13 games. They lost their last game to Phoenix in the shootout.A motivating factor for the Ducks besides not getting swept by the Canucks this season? If the Ducks win

Worst-case scenario's turned into good ones today as the Canucks' injury situation is looking pretty positive.-Mattias Ohlund's knee won't get any worse if he continues playing, even if there are bone chips in it. "The only thing that can happen is that I'm too sore to play but there's no danger - I'm not going to hurt myself any more," said Ohlund following the skate. "I'm optimistic, I'm feeling pretty good out there and I'm hoping to play". Sounds good to me.-Kevin Bieksa's wrist is fine and he will play tonight. Hopefully his game continues to excel.-Ryan Kesler should play tonight after taking a shot off the ankle last game. "It's pretty sore still, I took a shot right off the skin but nothing I can't play through," said Kesler.-Aaron Miller did not practice today, but is expected to

Well, there's good and bad news coming out of the Canucks' camp following last night's slaughter of the Predators. Aaron Miller's shoulder was not separated after being hit by Jordin Tootoo. That means he won't miss much time. He will not play Saturday against the Blues, but a fully capable Mike Weaver will. That's good news. Now on to the bad news.-Kevin Bieksa injured his wrist after his fight with Greg DeVries. I bet it was that first punch that did it. Nice overhand right. His wrist was X-rayed today, but there is no further word on his prognosis. Bieksa had a great game and it's a shame he had to hurt himself in a fight. We need him in the lineup. Save the fighting for the GOONS!-Ryan Kesler took a shot off the foot last night and hobbled off the ice in serious pain. Then he came back

5 goals scored in the first 6:21 of the game...madness. The Canucks jumped to 2 goal leads only to have Luongo choke, allowing 2 goals and putting the Preds within 1 goal TWICE. But then the game settled down....for the Canucks not Nashville. The Preds looked uncharacteristically sluggish and sloppy in their own zone and the Canucks made them pay dearly, leading 4-2 after the first period. Vancouver outshot Nashville 24-9 in the first period alone, and 44-23 overall.The Preds just couldn't get anything going, and whenever they did after the 6:21 mark of the 1st, Luongo stopped them. The Canucks showed the hustle and scoring touch that we have been waiting for over the 4 game losing skid. And now, like Jim Hughson said: "You can all jump back on the bandwagon now."-The Sedins were on a tear

Good lord. The Canucks' season has yet another obstacle to climb, as it has been discovered that Mattias Ohlund has bone chips in his knee. According to TSN:He will then be given four to six days to see if the swelling has gone down (using anti-inflammatory drugs) enough to return to play.If Ohlund has not recovered enough to play at that time he will undergo arthroscopic surgery, ending his season. It is unsure if Ohlund would be available to the Canucks during the playoffs. Luc Bourdon has been recalled to take Ohlund's spot.While I like Ohlund's stability on the blueline, he can't hit the net with his shots.....at all. I was getting sick of seeing his point shots miss the net. Bourdon won't do that. Luc will add some youth to the blueline and maybe some LIFE, which the Canucks could use

I just can't bring myself to doing a pregame post for the Avalanche and Canucks tonight. I don't quite trust that the Canucks will win tonight, even though they HAVE TO. But the Avs probably won't have Forsberg back yet (oh wait, yes they will), and Ryan Smyth's head is currently a bowl of jello, thanks to our good friend Jack Johnston, and Marek Svatos' legs are facing 2 different directions. So maybe we have a chance.Anyway, these are somewhat dire times for Canucks fans. If you are feeling gloomy, maybe the game below will cheer you up a little. If you are a sensitive type, then this game is not for you. You best be moving on. For the morbid types out there who like a challenge, this game is for you. (Oh by the way, Canucks win 4-3 tonight. That's my positive guess) MUSIC VIDEO CODES M

It's very difficult to believe that this Canucks squad has even a small chance of being a contender this year. It's getting hard to believe that they will even make the playoffs. Blown 3rd period leads to go along with losing to lowly Columbus and Chicago recently provide obvious evidence that this club is lacking in intensity and is not playing at the level that was expected of them.With the trade deadline being over, this current lackluster play is causing people to point fingers at Dave Nonis, wondering why he didn't pull off a more significant deal to land a Brad Richards-calibre player. Well I'm not buying into that. That's hindsight talking. This team should be better than it is-as it is.Certain players on this team need to step it up. Unfortunately, these players are of Swedish desc

I'm finding it very hard to believe that the Canucks could play this poorly in such an important game. Pick any category in today's game and I bet the Hawks beat us in it. "They wanted it more than we did," Canucks captain Markus Naslund said. "They came out hard and we didn't respond to them at all." When someone mentioned to Naslund that the Canucks only had 10 shots on goal Naslund replied:"Ten shots on goal? That's embarrassing," he added. "Considering where we are, we should be more desperate than they are."Well Nazzy, YOU are the damned captain. You can stand in front of the press every postgame and cry that the team isn't desperate enough. But that doesn't cut it. I want to see results on the ice from the leader. For God's sake, they may as well put the "c" on Kesler, who, along wit

Columbus now stands in the Canucks' way as far as Vancouver putting some distance between themselves and the 9th spot Nashville Predators. The Preds have actually lost 3 in a row, including an 8-4 drubbing to the Sabres a couple days ago. Is Nashville going to slide out of contention?The Blue Jackets can get into the thick of the race with a clean win over Vancouver tonight, however, they are playing very inconsistent lately, with 2 wins and 3 losses in their last 5 games. Over those past 5 games they beat Montreal and Ottawa after losing to the lowly Leafs 3-1 and the Blues 5-1.Both the Canucks and Jackets are coming off losses. The Canucks made a costly error within the final minute of the game against the Avalanche and it ended up costing them the extra point. Look for Vancouver to rebo

"We had about six chances to get it out," said Luongo after tonight's game. "Either we shot it off our own guys or we didn't get it out. Next thing you know, a shot from the point and Sakic's alone on the side.I was able to get the first save and he chipped it over me for the second one. It's unacceptable, inexcusable. That should never happen, especially in an important game like that."In such a tight game there was no room for error, and poor Ryan Kesler was going to pass the puck generously to a teammate in his own zone that could charge up the ice and put it into the open net. Unfortunately that was a turnover and the Avs put serious pressure on the Canucks in their zone for several seconds with time ticking down. Joe Sakic, career Canuck killer tapped in a rebound goal with only 15 s

New Canuck Matt Pettinger will play on the Canucks' "2nd line" tonight with Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler. I hope he can bring more to the table than Cooke did.So that will put Naslund with the Sedins and Pyatt with Raymond and Shannon.Jeff Cowan will sit our as he is serving a 1 game suspension for his high hit on Detroit's Dave Meech on Saturday.The Canucks recalled Rick Rypien from Manitoba yesterday, and sent Luc Bourdon back down. Rypien will replace Byron Ritchie, who will not play tonight because of back pain.The Avalanche will have Adam Foote and Ruslan Salei in their lineup tonight. That's a pretty good duo right there. Strong and mean. Both guys can make huge hits. According to Canucks.com, Peter Forsberg is in Vancouver right now and will address the media at 5:30 PST today. I ho

Still don't have time to do up an in-depth pre-game post.The Canucks have won both games against the Avalanche this season so far. But combine a hard-fought win over the Coyotes last night with their super ability to look tired after consecutive road games and the possibility of Luongo taking the night off (my guess, but maybe he won't because of the Xmas layoff), and here's what you get:Who knows, though. The Avs do not have Smyth or Sakic in their lineup. If the Avs win, they tie us in points, but claim #1 spot in the Northwest, as they have played one less game, and have scored 10 more goals than us.It's going to be a great game.Game Time: 5:00 PSTTV: Sportsnet PacificT Tags: Canucks Avalanche Preview Northwest+Division

From the same person who brought you the Trapper's Delight Canucks rap, here is the latest from the Ultimate Canucks Fan Contest:The Sedin "Pinky and the Brain" references are dominant here. I guess Boogaard was good for something.....a laugh!T Tags: Canucks+rap Drop+it+like+it's+hot Snoop+Doggy+Dog+Parody YouTube Video

What a great game. Instead of the usual 2-1 score that we are accustomed to between Dallas and Vancouver, we got to see a few more goals in a great matchup.Vancouver weathered a 1st period Dallas storm, being outshot 11-6 and purely outclassed by the Stars, who wanted to finish us off early. Luongod kept us in it, keeping it scoreless after 1.A beauty goal by Mason Raymond on a solo effort broke the ice, and the Canucks really didn't look back. Sure, Dallas came close many times, but Luongod and the squad shut them down.So much for the revenge for the Stars. They must be frustrated, and I laugh at their frustration.A couple of things:- As well as Raymond and even Jaffray played, they only got 5:20 and 7:08 icetime respectively. I think I missed something there. These 2 provide a youthful energetic element to this squad, and I like it.-The Swedish Touch line is going again, and that can only translate into wins. It seems they took Vigneault's challenge seriously and have got their gam

Stars: 19-11-4 (2nd in the West)Canucks: 18-12-4 (6th in the West)Look at tonight's game as a revenge match....for Dallas. The Canucks edged the stinky Stars in 7 games in last year's playoffs and this is the first time they've seen eachother since. You know that Dallas is coming into Vancouver on a mission to make the Nucks pay for it.Meanwhile, the Canucks came home after a crazy road trip and made Brodeur and company look foolish on Tuesday night.It's going to be close, as the series was.INJURIESIt is being reported that Brad Isbister is skating with the Canucks but is not ready to play yet.The Stars are without Philip Boucher and Jere Lehtinen, both out with long term injuries.Red hot for the Stars:-Mike the Weasel Ribeiro is leading Dallas in scoring with 16 goals and 33 points in 31 games.-Brendan Morrow has 12 goals and 32 points in 34 games.As for the Sedins, Alain Vigneault had this to say about their recent struggles: "I think they've got a little bit away from what was

Make Brodeur look stupidly human: checkLuongo look like God: checkConvert on the power play: not (0-for-5)Get the Sedins going: check (5 points total) They weren't held in check very wellYour captain persists through the flu and plays like a monster: checkAll players on your team put out a 100% effort for 60 minutes: checkJason Jaffray breaks out and puts up super offensive numbers: not (13:39 icetime 0 points, 1 shot on goal). Mason Raymond played only 9:43 and had 3 shots on goal.Bottom line: An ass kicking that was a treat to watch. The race is ongoing for top spot in the Northwest. The Wild also won last night, so they are leading the NW Pack by 1 win, with 1 less game played. damn.BOX SCORET Tags: Canucks Devils Review Luongo+is+god

New Jersey Devils: 18-12-3, 2nd in the EastVancouver Canucks: 17-12-4, 6th in the WestIt's not very often that Canuck fans get to see the Devils play in Vancouver. It has not happened since December 29, 2001, where we beat them 4-2. I don't even remember that. But I do know that Jan Hlavac had 2 goals and Peter Skudra was in net for the win. The main focus tonight will be on the goalies, as the 2 best (arguably-not) go head-to-head. Canucks.com has some crazy stats on Martin Brodeur: Brodeur is 11-1-1 with a 1.68 goals-against average and two shutouts in his last 13 starts. He hasn't been nearly as dominant in 14 starts against the Canucks, however, going 6-8-0 with a 2.59 GAA. Brodeur ended a personal five-game skid to Vancouver with a 3-0 win in the teams' last meeting Jan. 13, 2006. I can't find anywhere that states Luongo's record against New Jersey. Can anyone help me there?The Devils were red hot as soon as Jamie Langenbrunner had returned but have since cooled off, winning

"We weren't sharp at all. We didn't play like we had anything in it. All along, we've said we weren't going to use any excuses, about injuries or scheduling" - Canucks' captain Markus Naslund refusing to use the recent adversity to justify the effort in Thursday night's loss to San Jose. (Associated Press)See? Markus is right about the loss to San Jose and how the Vancouver media is blaming it on scheduling. So sure am I that Markus is right, that I assure you that we will see a different Canucks team on the ice tonight. And I think we'll see that happen right off the bat.The season series has each team winning 2 game. The Oilers have won the last 2: 5-4 and 1-0.The Oilers have won their last 2 games, over Detroit and St. Louis, but have lost 3 of their last 5.The Canucks impressively defeated the Ducks this week only to lose a stinker to San Jose last game. They have lost 3 of their last 5 as well.So what can we expect tonight? Well, I don't think Vancouver should

From Canucks.com: Unfortunately, on the seventh game in the seventh city in a span of twelve days, the Canucks just didn't have enough gas in the tank.Yeah, whatever. Let's stop making excuses here. That would be an insult to the Sharks more than anything else. These guys are well-paid athletes. They have not played enough consecutive games to used the 'tired' excuse. I thought San Jose played a great home game and shut us down.The Nucks could have came back in the 3rd, and were well on their way in doing so until another turnover costed them again, and Thornton blasted away a coffin nail.Mental mistakes. Willie Mitchell mentioned those. "Out of five goals, four of them were mistakes, and you can't play like that," said Mitchell, who got dusted by Michalek on San Jose's first goal. "Against a team that good, you can't make more than one mistake." The Sharks executed their game plan to near perfection. "It feels good we got some wins at home, and it's going to continue like th

The Canucks have not beat the Sharks yet this season in 2 tries. Both losses occurred in October, by scores of 4-2 and 3-1. It was Joe Thornton ( 1 goal 2 assists) and Jonny Cheechoo (1 goal and 1 assist) who killed us in the first game.Jeremy Roenick was a Canucks killer in the second game, scoring 2 goals (yeah, why did I bring that up?) Bad memory.But that was in October, when the Canucks had not found their game yet. Now it's different. We are rolling. But so are the Sharks, who have won 4 of their last 5.Actually the Canucks and Sharks have been battling it out for 2nd spot in the Western Conference for a while now. Only 1 point separates them. 1 win separates them. It's close.The Sharks have the best PK in the NHL. Surprisingly, they are 16th on the PP.The Canucks are 15th on the PK and 13th on the PP.The Canucks are playing back-to-back games. The Sharks have not played since Tuesday, where they killed Minny 4-1 after an embarrassing 7-1 loss to the Sabres days earlier.Joe Tho

Well, I guess I underestimated the Canucks' abilities.Praise be to Curtis Sanford! The Ducks outshot the Nucks 35-20, including 16-1 in the 3rd period, but Sanford was outstanding. It's a relief to know that we have such a capable backup, and Sanford more than proved that last night. Fully deserving of the game's first star.So the kids played an inspirational game. Mason Raymond and Jason Jaffray were terrific with a goal and an assist each. They didn't look out of place at all. I'm excited for both, but especially Jason Jaffray, who is 26-years old and is finally getting his chance in the NHL. He is still smokin' with the Moose, but you know he is going to do everything in his power right now to stay with the big team. Heads up, this guy could go on a streak!"It was a great feeling to see the look on Mason's face when he got his first one out of the way," Jaffray said. "And when that puck went in for me, I could have jumped five, six feet in the air. It's definitely a moment I

Check out the highlights of the last time the Ducks and Canucks played where the Canucks won 4-0. In order for the same thing to happen again, a few things are going to have to occur:1. The team has to play well in front of Sanford. He lets out a fair bit of rebounds, and he is not Luongo. Luongo was the big story of that 4-0 win, stopping 15 shots in the first period before the rest of the guys even showed up, and stopping all 26 shots he faced. So was Kesler, who had 2 power play goals.2. I don't know if the team had a bad case of the shits in L.A., but they all played like their diapers were full. Uninspired. Sloppy. Sluggish. I do expect a better effort against the Ducks.3. Secondary scoring. The Sedins are off their game lately. They are losing battles along the boards, getting roughed up, and making stupid little fancy passes that are getting intercepted too often. That needs to stop right now. Play with some heart, you floaters! Until they stop being wimps, someone else has to

Yeah, I'm still mad about the Nucks' loss to Pittsburgh. And yes, I still hate Crosby, and anyone who wears a Pens jersey (except Gary Roberts).Anyway, I just need to get over it. A win tonight over the Kings will help ease my relentless anger.The Canucks are back on the road to California to take on the Kings, Ducks and Sharks. The Ducks and Sharks games are on Wednesday and Thursday. Busy week, because they end their road trip in Edmonton on Saturday night and return home to play the Devils the following Tuesday.So let's see how much resolve this bunch has on a busy road trip. And let's see how much resolve they have after losing a heartbreaker to those fucking Penguins.The Kings are on a bad slide. They have lost 4 of their last 5, and are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, securing a spot in the Western Conference basement.The Canucks are still leading the Northwest by 2 points over Minnesota, and hold 2nd place in the West. Both teams have played 29 games.The last time the Kings an

CANUCKS 3 HAWKS 2That was close. What a great game to watch. Lots of high tempo skating, some quality chances, and every goal except for Ohlund's 1-0 goal went off a skate, knee, or stick.-The Canucks got into penalty trouble again, but the Hawks only went 1-for-7 on the powerplay.-How about that....Morrison and Pyatt get 2 points each. Mo gets the winner. Nice line-juggling by coach Vigneault. It payed off.-Byron Ritchie was a terrific spark plug tonight. As was Kesler...again.-The Sedins-Naslund line looked mediocre again. Yeah, Naslund played his heart out, but the sisters look a bit 'off' to me. Hank took 3 consecutive minor penalties. Shorty talked about the Sedins being covered well, but I say they aren't skating hard enough and being too damned fancy with the passing. They are off their game more so than they are being 'tightly checked'.-Losses by Minnesota and Colorado and Edmonton....wahahaha, we lead the Northwest Division again!!!-Congrats to Naslund for surpassing Lin

It appears that Hawks Hospital is almost empty for the time being (except Rene Bourque and Kevyn Adams, and possibly Jason Williams). With Martin Havlat and Patrick Sharp back in the lineup, the Hawks are looking deep up front and are a serious scoring threat still. The last time these 2 teams played, Luongod and the Nucks shut them out 2-0 and Luongo went on a shutout spree. But Sharp and Havlat were not in the lineup. In fact, both Havlat and Sharp returned the next game. Chicago has played 3 games since we shut them out and have obliterated 2 opponents: Tampa Bay (5-1) and Phoenix (6-1), and lost to the Blues 3-1 in their last game on Saturday night. In those 3 games:-Some kid defenceman named Byfuglien had 4 goals and 2 assists, including a hatrick.-Patrick Kane had 5 assists.-Jonathan Toews had 2 goals and 2 assists-Patrick Sharp had 1 goal and 3 assists-Martin Havlat had 2 goals and 1 assist.It's amazing how much confidence Havlat brings to the Hawks team.I think it's fair to s

I think this game can be summed up pretty quickly, using very few words.- shots: Wild 30 Canucks 20- why? because the Canucks took too many penalties and played an uncharacteristicly undisciplined game. The Wild went 1-for-7 on the powerplay. The 2 powerplay chances the Canucks had were feeble.- the Naslund-Sedin line looked schooled every time they tried to maintain any form of attack in the Wild's zone. The Wild flushed them out and stole the puck AND the Swedes kept being forced to turn the puck over. I'd also say they were not aggressive enough at times, and had no gel at all at other times.- Niklas Backstrom looked bored.- Ohlund was boo'ed all night. Haha. C'mon Minnesota, Canuck players are so likeable!- Luongo was terrific again and got no support except from Mike Brown, who scored his first ever NHL goal, and Ryan Kesler, who showed more heart than every other Canuck player combined. Yeah, I'm a Kesler nut, so pardon the exaggeration.I didn't mind Ohlund's play either.-

Well, it's -15 up here with a wind chill. So I'm not complaining about the game being on so early. This afternoon's game has many storylines to it.The Canucks have owned the Wild this season so far, winning both games and outscoring the Wild 10-4 in the process. Markus Naslund has 4 goals including a hat trick in the last game.-The Canucks are 4-14 on the powerplay against the Wild this season.-The Wild are 2-for-7.-The Canucks have outshot the Wild 57-42.But the big story for tonight in snowy Minnesota isn't necessarily how much of a dickhead Boogaard is going to be. It's whether or not/how much longer Roberto Luongod can keep this shutout streak going. He is currently on a career and franchise-high 193 minutes and 56 seconds. But Canucks.com is echoing my sentiments somewhat. Marion Gaborik is rolling right now. He has scored goals in his last 5 games spanning back to when he last played against us. Let's see if the Canucks can play disciplined hockey and how well Kesler can an

This game kind of delivered as planned: tight defence, with the Canucks winning 2-0. Luongod was god again, and now holds the record for the longest shutout streak in Canucks' history. From Yahoo sports: Luongo, who had consecutive shutouts three times with Florida, passed his personal best of 182:37, set with the Panthers in 2004, in the third period. He then eclipsed a 32-year-old franchise record of 184:20, moving past Ken Lockett, a backup who played 55 games over two seasons and set the mark in April 1975. Luongod had plenty of help from his teamates, who played very well in front of him for the most part, which he acknowledged post game.It didn't come down to special teams at all, besides PK. The Canucks did not score on the powerplay (0-for-4), but got both their goals from defencemen pinching in: Ohlund and Krajicek. I guess Ohlund misses the net so much he may as well try deflecting the puck off a skate. Adam's Foote put the Jackets down 1-0 and the Canucks never looked ba

It's hard to imagine seeing a better Canucks game than what we saw against Anaheim. The Jackets are a hot/cold team now. The Jackets are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Oilers Monday night. They have won 2 and lost 3 in their last 5 games. The Canucks are better, winning 3 of their last 5 and now coming off 2 shutouts by Roberto Luongo.A big plus for us is that the shutout master Pascal Leclaire injured his hamstring against Edmonton, and so Fredrik Norrena will play for Columbus tonight. Norrena's stats are not that impressive this year.....Stats to PonderThe Jackets are 19th in the NHL on the power playThe Canucks are 11thThe Jackets are 3rd in the NHL on the penalty kill.We are 23rd.Streaking Jackets in the last 5 gamesRick Nash: 4 goals 3 assistsNicolai Zherdev: 2 goals 4 assistsRon Hainsey: 1 goal 5 assistsStreaking Canucks in the last 5 gamesMarkus Naslund: 5 goals 3 assistsRyan Kesler: 4 goals 1 assistHank Sedin: 5 assistsDank Sedin: 1 goal 3 assistsAlex Edler: 1 goal 3 asssistsM

No love for Earl Sleek last night, or Chris Pronger for that matter, who cross checked Kesler in the back after he scored the 3-0 goalI believe Beaner said: "You can hunt Ducks on the swamp, but you can cook Giguere on the Pond."What a great time it was watching that slaughter. T Tags: Canucks Ducks video

"They were firing everything at the net and I was able to challenge the shooter every time," Luongo said. "Luckily there was no backdoor plays or stuff like that and no rebounds so it makes me much more comfortable knowing that I can focus on the shooter.Luongo was stellar tonight as was the rest of the Canucks' team, shutting down the Ducks 4-0 in what was more of a revenge match than Bertuzzi's returning. In fact Bert's returning came and went with little hooplah as he was rendered useless as was the rest of the Ducks team, who was stellar in period 1, outshooting us 15-5. But from that point the Canucks took over, outshooting the Ducks 28-11 in the last 2 periods, mostly because the Ducks took so many penalties.4-0. How useless was Big Bert? 0 goals 0 assists 0 shots on goal and a -2 on the evening.Sad, really. Luongo stopped every Duck opportunity in the 1st period and then the Canucks came on...slaughtering the Ducks 4-0 in what was a revenge ass-kicking more then it was Bertuz

"That was a pretty easy one," said Morrison of his winning goal. "They have to respect Sami's shot and he made a great pass. Sami's friendship dues are in the mail." That was a sweet play indeed. Tonight's game was decent for a 2-0 game. Vancouver outshot the Hawks 29-27. Luongo and Lalime were terrific. At least Luongo's shutout tonight was a winning shutout, unlike the OT loss to Edmonton a while back.The Hawks' top line of Toews, Kane and Ruutu looked out of sync, and were kept in check quite well. Kesler made an ass of Kane in the first period by checking him ass over tea kettle into the Hawks' bench. Gad, I could watch that one over and over again.The one great chance that Toews had was stopped cold by a brilliant Luongo save late in the 3rd period.I was disappointed by the Hawks' effort. I expected more. But hats off to the Canucks for playing a great game...THEIR game and stopping this Hawks team in its tracks.-Is Ryan Kesler any good or what? He continues to excel. More

From Canucks.com: Chicago (12-8-1) is bunched within a tightly packed Western Conference after finishing with just 71 points in 2006-07. The Blackhawks haven't made the playoffs since 2001-02, when they lost in the first round, and their struggles against Vancouver go back to that season.Since a five-game winning streak in the series, the Blackhawks are 3-10-4 with one tie versus the Canucks (11-9-2). Chicago ended an eight-game losing streak in Vancouver with a 3-0 win on Feb. 7, but went 1-2-1 in last season's series, failing to score on any of its 20 power-play opportunities.Well, you can disregard those stats for the most part. This is the new and improved Hawk team....finally. It seemed like they really missed Ruutu and Sharp last night, both out with flu-like symptoms. Sharp leads the team with 11 goals, and Ruutu is the gritty 3rd guy on the top line with Toews and Kane. Sharp and Ruutu are questionable for tonight.Amazingly, Sharp leads the NHL with 5 shorthanded goals. Rene

Following in the footsteps of the Goo Goo Dolls, Avril Lavigne is partnering with Best Buy to play a free concert for Canadian fans. The faux-punk will be at the opening of the electronics superstore in Burnaby, the home town of legendary Colorado Avalanche center Joe Sakic

Canucks: 11-8-2 (5th in the West)Blues: 11-8-0 (10th in the West)The Blues are no longer to be taken lightly. They have just as many wins as us and have won 4 of their last 5. That is slightly better than Vancouver, who has lost 2 games in the shootout to the Oilers in their last 5. The Canucks are better over their last 10 games, with a 6-2-2 record. The Blues are 5-5-0.Since we have been taking too many penalties lately, you should be happy to know that the Blues' powerplay is ranked 26th in the NHL. Their penalty killing is great and ranked 2nd in the NHL.Who to watch for? Brad Boyes and Paul Kariya. I was heckling some Bruin fans at the Spoked B last season when the Bruins traded Boyes to the Blues in exchange for Dennis Wideman. I thought the Bruins were idiotic for that. They were. Boyes is flourishing in St. Lou with 12 goals, 4 assists in 19 games this season.Paul Kariya is well.....Paul Kariya. Leading the Blues in scoring with 5 goals and 15 assists in 19 games. Strange...Ka

Well, I'd say last night's game did not live up to the hype. Mike Brown fought Voros early in the 1st period and the rest of the violence never really materialized. The first period was more wide open than expected, with both teams scoring twice, but then they clamped down defensively in the 2nd and 3rd period. The Canucks didn't really disrupt the Wild too much physically, but played their game and won 4-2 in solid fashion.I'm loving Kesler's end-to-end goal still. He is bringing it this year and earning all of his $1.9 million. Naslund's hatrick was a thing of beauty as he tied Tony Tanti for the all-time Canucks leader in hatricks at 10. Nazzy has his game now, and is finally clicking with the Sedins. Fun to watch.Almost as enjoyable, was seeing Boogaard get next to no icetime at all. He played 3:53 total and sat on the bench for the whole 3rd period. I laughed. I guess Lemaire didn't want to start a riot, or was encouraged not to.More comments from Wild and Canucks players p

Let's get ready to ruuuuuummmbllllle! 3 periods of fighting coming up tonight. In the red corner: standing at 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighing a colossal 270 pounds: he is the freak, the frankenstein, the disgrace to Dutch people, the gum-flapping mindless tit, the slow-skating goon, the waste of roster space, the personality of a shit sandwich fighting champion of the NHL! Derek "Boogeyman" Boogaard.In the blue corner: standing at 6 feet tall and weighing in at 210 pounds: he is your average Vancouver Canuck! Run away bitches! Run!Ah, it should be a heated tilt tonight after last week's tempermental game. Boogaard was unhappy with Canuck players taking liberties with the Wilds' star players. After that game he said: "Their so-called agitators were taking liberties," Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard said. "As soon as I stepped on the ice, they just sort of spread out and scattered to their holes almost. They don't want to come near me or talk to me.But they think they can slash and st

PERIOD 1The Oilers played a massive tenacious 1st period and were rewarded with a 3-1 lead. I'd say the Canucks need to slow them down somehow, but first they have to be able to keep up with them.Even Alex Burrow's shorthanded beauty breakaway goal couldn't stem the tide late in the period as Horcoff bagged a PP goal just afterwards. The Oilers came into this game last in the NHL with the man advantage. You couldn't tell here tonight. They have 2 PP goals already.This looks bad if the Oilers don't let up a little. They have all the momentum right now. And Garon looks just as sharp as he was the last time we played them.The Canucks are last in the NHL in faceoff wins and that is very evident now, as we don't want to be giving the Oilers too much puck possession....or to many powerplays either.Shots after 1:Oilers 11Canucks 7PERIOD 2-I think Oilers fans are going to feel violated after the 2nd period, as the Oilers outshot Vancouver 14-4, continuing their ferocious attack, but it w

The last time the Oilers and Canucks played was on the 14th and Ales Hemsky broke our hearts with a shootout winning goal. It was a great 1-0 game...far from boring. Luongod and Garon were stellar. I wonder if MacT goes with Garon tonight. He'd be smart to do so. Since that night, the Oilers have lost to the Wild and Flames, and on the exact flipped side of that, we beat those same 2 teams.Mike Wilson was called up from Manitoba yesterday, but isn't expected to play until Wednesday against Minnesota. Wilson is more of a goon...so you know the Canucks are all about "muscling the Wild". Can't wait.Luongo will start tonight, and Curtis Sanford will play against the Wild.Sami Salo is expected back sometime this week with a full protective mask on.Random statsThe Canucks are 10th in the NHL on the powerplay and 20th on the PK.The Oilers are 30th on the PP and 12th on the PK.Should be a beauty. I say the Canucks get their revenge tonight and win 3-1.Gametime: 6:00 PM PacificTV: Sportsnet

It appears that the Sportsnet's Hockey Central Panel is fucking blind. They accused Mattias Ohlund for slashing Mikko Koivu simply because Koivu took the puck from the Swede and danced around him. But they clearly missed the elbow that Koivu threw on Ohlund's face as he went by him. It doesn't justify Ohlund's actions. But I sure hope Ohlund doesn't get too long of a suspension.Anyone else get a Bobby Clarke-Kharlamov deja-vu from that slash?What a game though. Nothing beats seeing the Canucks destroy someone. To me it seemed it wasn't as much as the Canucks were so damned good as it was the Wild played THAT badly. Where is the Wild's defensive system lately?Other highlights-Ryan Kesler. He shadowed Gaborik and neutralized the bastard. Gabby was so pissed off and frustrated that he dished out a serious elbow to Kesler's face. Kesler just skated away.-Trevor Linden gets his first goal of the year.-Luc Bourdon gets his first ever NHL goal. The chants of "Luc" rang through GM Plac

Vancouver: 8-8-1Minnesota: 10-6-2When I think of the Canucks and Wild game tonight, 2 words come to mind: Brian Rolston. Rolston the Canuck killer. The slapshot winning goal in the shootout still stands out in my mind from last year. Rolston had 5 goals and 4 assists in 8 games against the Canucks last season, and the Wild won 5 of the 8 games. Well actually the Nucks' record was 3-3-2 against the Wild because of the 2 OT games.The other Canucks killer, Pavol Demitra is on the Wilds' injury reserve because of a groin issue. But Marian Gaborik is good to go.The Canucks have been playing quite well as a complete unit ever since Bieksa and Salo went out with injuries. They are getting superb performances from The Luongod, who has answered the bell after getting boo'ed by the home fans against Nashville.Their last game against Edmonton was a well-played 1-0 shootout loss.The Wild had no problems against the Coilers last night, beating them 4-2.-The Wild and Nucks have 3 wins and 2 losse

“I don’t think we did exactly the right thing,” Brendan Morrison said after the shootout. “[Garon] is out so far initially to challenge, we should’ve come in with some speed, then slowed up so we got his rhythm off, his timing off. But, I mean, everyone tried to deke. We should’ve maybe tried to keep it simple and get a couple of shots.” A sad loss to the Coilers last night, but hard to feel overly bad about as we get a point, Luongo gets the shutout, and for a 1-0 game it was pretty damned entertaining.What the hell is up with this Garon guy in Edmonton? For a big goalie he sure is mobile, much like Luongo is.-I'm not sure about the decision to use Byron Ritchie in the shootout. He must have had some sweet moves that the coaches saw in practice.-Anytime a goalie successfully pokechecks a player in the shootout, like Garon did to Morrison, I like it. Anytime a goalie goes for the pokecheck and misses, he looks stupid.-Hemsky's winner was a thing of beauty. Admit it.-Can

I am going to keep this short and sweet as I am busy at work. The Oilers are coming off 3 losses in a row coming into Vancouver tonight, all to divisional opponents. The Canucks are coming off 3 wins, all over divisional opponents. So do the math. The Canucks' last win was at home, something they had not done for a while. The Sedins are hot, baby.Vancouver looks to have their game back and I expect a win tonight. Let's say...5-3.The Oilers are damned quick though....and young. So the Canucks will have to slow them down with their difensive prowess and frustrate the Coilers. Expect a wild and physical affair.Is Jeff Cowan ready? If he is, he may take Linden's spot.When is Jannik Hansen going to score? He's overdue because his effort is there. An interesting stat from Canucks.com...the Oilers have not won a game yet this year when trailing after 1 period. Wahahahaha!Game time: 7:00 PSTTV: TSN T Tags: Canucks Oilers Preview

So, I guess the panic button can be put away into a box and stuffed into a closet for now. The Canucks have won 3 in a row now, and even got that elusive home win. The Nucks are 500 now, 8-8-0. They are 5 points ahead of the Oilers, separating the good from the ugly, and in 7th spot in the Western Conference. Holy hell. What a difference a good week makes.The team looks to be settling down now. The confidence is there. They are playing the system well. And what the hell, the Sedins-Naslund line is dangerous! They are also getting bounces. Hank's OT goal went off an Avalanche player's skate (hint: not point a 'finger' at anyone).Luongo was super sharp once again.Yup, we're back on track. "We got together as a group and we simplified our game a whole lot," said Henrik post game. "We put pucks in areas where we know it's going to end up. In the first 10 or 11 games we tried to force things. We tried to make a lot of plays." Is it just me or does Trevor Linden look his age out there?

A couple of quick notes:-Jeff Cowan's hip-flexor injury is more serious than expected. He may now miss a month.-The Naslund-Twins line should stick for tonight. Hopefully they find the same successs as they did against Colorado.-Did you know that Salo's injury involved sugery where doctors had to put 2 plates in his face? The guy may need Botox.What a stupidly long layoff the Canucks have endured. They handed Colorado their butts on Saturday night and had to wait 5 days until tonight, when they play the Flames. I think Kesler said it best in his blog: It’s actually kind of painful having to wait so long between games. I’d rather play everyday or play nine games in 16 nights than have one game every week.We'll see how much rust is shown after such a long layoff.The Flames have waited 3 days to play, and they are in the midst of a 3-game losing streak, having lost their last 3 games by the same scores: 4-1.So what to expect tonight? I really don't have a clue. Fast-paced, hard-hi

A few notes from Canucks.com:-Mayson Raymond's demotion is probably not short term as he has been sent down to "develop"-Jannik Hansen has been called up. I was impressed with his play last season as he was a pretty creative player. Of course, a lot of that creativity was with Jan Bulis. Those 2 were fun to watch on the PK especially. Hopefully Hansen sticks.-Jeff Cowan, who has been out with a hip flexor injury for a while now (since the back-to-back games against Edmonton) looks to be ready to go. "Cowan skated fine today and if he skates the same way on Wednesday, then he’s definitely going to play,” said Vigneault on Tuesday.-It could be Trevor Linden who gets more icetime with the Sedins against the Predators, but that depends. "My intentions are to try him tomorrow with Daniel and Henrik,” said Vigneault. “Now, depending on Jeff’s (Cowan) status tomorrow (Thursday) morning, that might change, so at this time that’s what I foresee. Things quickly changes in this ugly

Can you believe that Zetterberg already has 20 points? Will someone injure this guy already?Zetterberg & co. made the Canucks look stupid last week, making them look like slugs, and outshooting them 39-15. A disgrace of a game to say the least.I don't see that happening tonight. The Canucks looked very good beating Washington on Friday and should carry that over to tonight, as well as make ammends for that disgraceful game against Detroit last Wednesday.The Canucks will need to skate hard while containing the Wings' speed. No use giving them any PP opportunities either, as that net-crashing bastard Tomas Holmstrom is red hot as well.Interesting stats at Canucks.com:The Canucks have a .800 winning percentage when leading after 1 period. They are a perfect 1.000 when leading after 2.When trailing after 1 period, they have a .250 winning percentage. When trailing after 2, they are ZERO %. They have not yet come back from trailing after 2 to win a game.Amazingly, the Wings won every

Don't mind the close score, because this one wasn't really all that close in several ways.- the Wings outshot the Canucks 39-15, including 10-4 in the 3rd when they were up 3-1. Praise be to Luongo, who kept it close. The score could have been 10-2.- the Canucks took 5 penalties to Detroit's 6, yet are still the most penalized team in the NHL.I don't quite understand the Canucks' refusal to shoot the puck more tonight. The Wings fired pucks from all over the place. Are the Nucks gun shy? Waiting for the perfect shot? Well cut it out god dammit! It is not the way to win games.Another very evident factor was Detroit's speed. The Canucks could not contain them tonight.4-6-0. Locked into 11th spot in the Western Conference. 5 points out of a playoff spot. Only 5 points up on the Coilers. Is it time to panic yet? Not quite. But it's getting there. I don't see any improvement in this team as the games go on. It's actually getting worse isn't it? This is not how we were supposed to

Well here is a true test of where the Canucks are at at this point...by taking on the Hurricanes. The Canes have returned to their Cup contender form and are 4-1-3 to start the season. The Canucks are 4-4-0. So much can go wrong for the Nucks tonight. - Luongo isn't known for being sharp after a night off is he? - The Canucks hardly deserved to win their last game against Columbus, being outshot 14-0 in the second period, taking too many dumb penalties it seemed.- The Canes are on their game right now and the Canucks are not. I hope that changes tonight and they can put a better overall game together. But I am not counting on it.The Canes are good, and will burn their sorry asses if Vancouver wants to run around in their own zone and take too many penalties. The Canucks' PP is good for 6th in the NHL. The Canes are 2nd. Their penalty kill ranks are 16th and 17th overall respectively. The Canes lost their last 2 games in OT. They are going to be hungry tonight.My PredictionI'm just n

What the hell, this game comes on too early (2:00 PST). I'll miss most of it as my wife and myself are going for a cruise out into the boonies to see a shoe house. It's about an hour drive from here. You probably are wondering about the shoe house, but I'll post pics of it later.So....the game is on PPV. Forget about it. The Jackets are on a roll and have found a winning identity..finally. The shakey Canucks can loosen up a little mentally now that they are on the road and hopefully put a few wins together.I say they start today and barely beat Columbus 4-3 in the shootout.As I will be missing most or all of it, let me know how it goes whoever of you has the gonads to buy this game.

Period 1You almost couldn't ask much more out of the Canucks in period 1. They controlled the play for most of the period, outshooting the Kings 10-7 and leading 1-0. -You gotta love Taylor Pyatt sticking up for Hank Sedin and fighting Ivanans and beating him to a bloody pulp.-The Cooke-Burrows-Kesler line is paying huge dividends early and may put up some more points yet. Not only were all 3 in on the fitst goal, but they really set the tone in the first period by having a great first shift when the puck first dropped in this game.-Aside from that, the Kings were short handed 3 times in the opening frame. Expect a different Kings effort in the 2nd, and see if the Canucks can hold them off.Period 2And now for a completely different story....The Kings storm back in the 2nd scoring 3 unanswered goals. The Canucks missed an in-close 2-on-0 and the Kings score soon after when Jack Johnson scored his first NHL goal on a Kings 2-on-1. Almost payback for JJ, considering Jan Bulis sent him as

Couldn't resist. Someone sent me this today. Damage Report below, We need to tell you that there was some damage to the statue of the American Bison in front of the house in Big Sky. We did attempt to prevent the damage, throwing stones at, and hitting, the attacker. The attacker could not be dissuaded, and kept up his assault for eight hours. The incident even caused a traffic situation in front of the house. The damage consisted of: 1) The loss of about two inches from the left horn. The broken piece is on the work bench in the garage. 2) Hoof scratches on the side of the Bison. 3) Some chips in the right rear hoof. 4) Blood stains behind the Bison. So, on to the game tonight between the Kings and Canucks. An interesting scenario here is that the Kings have lost 3 straight road games. The Canucks are 1-3-0 at home this season. The highest scoring Canuck so far is Daniel Sedin with 8 points. Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 11 points.Both teams are coming off losses tonight, so it

If you’re any sort of hockey fan, then you’ve heard about “The Shift” that took place during the 2nd period of the Canucks and Oilers matchup on October 13th, 2007. I missed the game on CBC, but found this amazing display of puck control, movement, and retrieval on YouTube. It’s an awesome display of skill by Vancouver, and the best part is that the Sedins put the biscuit in the basket and scored me a few points in my hockey pool while doing so ! Check out The Shift and let me know what you think of it in the Comments section below: Loading... canucks, goal, oilers, powerplay, skill, the shiftShare This

The Canucks seemed so composed and ready to take this game until Nabokov stoned Danny Sedin and absolutely changed the momentum of this game. 2:33 into the 3rd, Joe Pavelski capitalized on a fortunate mini breakaway with the Sharks up 2 men and wango tango....the Sharks took over, scoring 3 goals in 3:20 in the 3rd period. So much for the Sharks' offensive futility and especially Cheechoo's futility. Cheechoo's goal was brilliant...a wrister just under the crossbar while he was being knocked off his feet. I feel bad for Luongo. Gad he played so well in this one. But tonight it was not to be.Quickie StatsThe Sharks outshot Vancouver 34-26.The Sharks were 2-for-7 on the powerplay. The Nucks were 2-for-6.The Sharks won 58% of the faceoffs.Joe Thornton had 1 goal and 2 assists in the 3rd period. What a bitch.I drank 1.5 glasses of Spiced Rum and Coke before I had to go to work and miss the last part of the game. I am going to guess that Cheechoo goes on a hot streak now that he has fina

I missed the first 2 periods of this one because of working a 13 hour day, so all I saw was the Canucks shutting down the Coilers in the 3rd and Naslund's great flukey goal.Good to see Rypien score a goal and add an assist, and Burrows accomplish the same output.I now have full confidence that the Canucks are actually back on track.What do you think of Boulerice's 25 game suspension? It matches the longest suspension in NHL history. ''In Chris Simon's situation and the situation with Jesse Boulerice, if they cause injury we're into a whole heap of problems,'' said Colin Campbell. ''Not only the player but the teams and our league and our sport. We saw what transpired under the Bertuzzi (and) McSorley situations when there is injury, it never stops. So I would hope players would understand and see what could happen and what can come of these things and that they have to control themselves.'' What I found strange about Boulerice after he bashed in Kesler's face was that he g

It can't get any worse than Wednesday night's 8-2 killing by the Flyers can it? Probably not. But I have temporarily lost faith in the Canuck's abilities to do much of anything. The Flyers made the Canucks look like slugs with their speedy game, and their ability to move the puck around so quickly. They looked like they have been around eachother for years, even though that team was gutted and reformed in the past 2 years. The Oilers have the same ability to make us look like pylons. They use a speedy aggressive style. The Canucks are not the quickest team and need to get back to Vigneault Basics. Meaning: clog up the neutral zone and slow the opposing team down. Vancouver's "running around in their own zone" on Wednesday night was very uncharacteristic of this team under Vigneault. Expect an adjusted effort tonight. Expect new line combos. I will update the Canucks' roster this afternoon as the info becomes available, since Ryan Shannon was sent back down to Manitoba on Thursday.

“It has to be preparation,” said Naslund, who finished the night a minus-two. “This is as bad as I’ve seen this team play. We talked about getting back into good habits, like we had last year, but we haven’t done that so far.” Naslund may have been the best Canuck out there last night. Or at least, showed the most effort, along with the Sedins. But not even close enough of an effort. I'm not going to dissect last night's loss. Just think of anything that can go wrong for a team in one night and that is what happened.The Flyers team spent time bonding in Whistler prior to the game and it paid off. They came out flying last night and the Canucks looked unorganized and ....drunk I guess. I pity the fool that actually paid for that PPV game. At the end of the game we were wondering which player was -4 or worse. I said Kevin Bieksuck, but the truth lies in the boxscore. Anyone else wishing we still had RJ Umberger (even tho the bastard didn't want to sign here)?? I'm have n

Canucks.com has some freaky statistics about the Canucks and Flyers. The Flyers have dominated the series lately, going 13-3-0 with one tie in the last 17 meetings. They have won five straight at Vancouver, and have recorded eight wins and four ties there since a 5-3 loss on Jan. 17, 1989. I can remember one time when the Flyers absolutely obliterated us at home on New Year's Eve a few years back.Philadelphia's top line of Briere, Gagne and Mike Knuble has accounted for five of the team's six goals through two games. Well there you go. We'll just shut that damned line down tonight (Mitchell) and see if duds like Lupul and Hartnell can accomplish anything. When the Canucks are on their game and doing it Viggy-style, they can make even guys like Thornton go pointless and limp.It could be a wide open start tonight as both teams have not played since Saturday. But I would expect the Canucks to get a lead hopefully earlier in this one and then settle into their defensive mode. The Flyer

Period 1Unreal. Cory Sarich shoots the puck from the point and it goes off Bieksa's skate in in. Only 2:10 into the first. Deflating. It took the Canucks a while to get going in this game as well. The Flames were ready to go right off the hop.I fell asleep about 6 minutes into the first. Now I'm alive.Anyone catching the Hawks/Wings game out there? What a beauty.Shots: Flames 10 Canucks 7Period 2Wow, the Canucks come out flying in period 2, outshooting the Flames 10-3 after 10 minutes and scoring 2 goals (Ohlund and Naslund). It's good to see Naslund shooting the puck more lately. He's shooting from all over the ice, and that is what he said he'd do before the season started.The Nuckleheads get into a bunch of penalty trouble in the second half of the 2nd yet manage to kill off two 5-on-3's.I think Luongo would pursue an acting career if the NHL made the nets bigger (and he quit hockey like he said he would.) The guy is an embarassing overacter sometimes. Case in point, the sell