The Canucks Shelf

Canucks - Bluejackets Preview

It's opening night!  Are you ready to rumble????

Yes, it's the Vancouver Canucks home opener tonight, much welcome after a horrifying 2-game road trip to open the season, where they dropped 5-3 and 3-0 decisions to the Flames and Avalanche respectively.  Now they're home, licking their wounds and trying to figure out how to right a ship that was starting to list badly as soon as it came out of drydock.

Canuck coach Alain Vigneault is mulling his options as far as line-up changes, but yesterday's practice had the same lines as the last two games.  I have to agree with the coach in regards to execution being more of a problem than the structure of the team:

"Coach Alain Vigneault main beef boils down to execution: "I'm not as concerned about our structure as I am about our execution right now. Our passing is off and that's leading to turnovers. That's really hurting us. We also have to improve in our one-on-one play." "

The Canucks Achilles heel so far has been their PK, which is tied with Detroit's in 27th place at 55.6%  Their power play was good in Calgary, but the Avalanche shut them down cold.  They need to get some chemistry going.

The Sedin line has been fine, firing 16 shots on the Avalanche on Saturday, but the others have been MIA.  I was really impressed with the Raymond-Wellwood-Bernier line in the pre-season and even in the first part of the first game, but they were a total non-factor in Denver.  The second line of Shirokov-Kesler-Samuelsson hasn't gelled yet either, despite looking dangerous in the pre-season too.  They have to find their game, and do it quickly.

I'm looking for a better showing tonight.  There will be some nerves being in front of the screaming Vancouver crowd, but they've always drawn energy off of that in the past, and let's hope they can do the same tonight.  The Bluejackets aren't the pushovers they used to be, and the Canucks had better be ready.  Luongo has to get back in midseason form like he was in the preseason as well.  While I don't blame him for the Avalanche loss (it doesn't help that they didn't score anything either), he needs to be the rock that steadies this team.

TV: Sportsnet-Pacific / Radio: TEAM 1040 and Canucks radio network

Canucks - Avalanche Review

Wow, that was worth recording.

Apologies for the lateness of the blog on this, but we were gone most of the day yesterday and watched a recording of the game last night.  This is the first chance I've had to actually sit down and type.  And it's hard to sit back and reflect on the Canucks getting shutout 3-0 by the Avalanche.

What has gotten into the Canucks?  I don't know if the press clippings have gone to their head, or whether they're still trying to "gel" as a team because they never played together as a team in the pre-season (even if you buy that, it should have ended mid-way through the Calgary game), but that game yesterday was horrendous!

Ok, it did have some good qualities.  The Sedin line actually looked dangerous again, but where's the finish?  Daniel had 9 shots, so people who are saying he should shoot more can just be quiet now.  But is Craig Anderson (Avalanche goalie) really that good?  He shut down the Sharks on Thursday, only allowing 2 goals, so maybe there is something to be said for that.

The Canucks were once again guilty of running around in their own end, blind passes to nobody, blind passes to the other team and just general bad play.  This time, you can't lay the blame too much on Luongo, as he had no help whatsoever and he did make some stellar saves to keep the game close when the Canucks were trying to come back.

This team has to regroup, and hopefully coming home for their opener will give them the energy to blow the Columbus Blue Jackets out of GM Place.  Because yesterday was not the way to do it.  At least they showed some fire in the Calgary game, though it was too late because they were already down 3-0.  Yesterday, while Anderson did make some key saves, the Canucks just weren't buzzing.

The worst part of the game, however, is that once again the Canucks were taking too many stupid penalties, or making stupid plays that resulted in goal-saving penalties.  They were fine in the first period (their best one, though they were still down 1-0 at the end of it), but the second period killed them and the third was pretty bad too.

Positives?  None that I could really see from the Canucks.  On the Avalanche front, I can already see that Matt Duschene is going to be fun to watch in Denver (wonder what Cody Hodgson thinks about that?).  The Avalanche, while they may still be rebuilding, are a dangerous team.  I would like to think that the Canucks didn't take them lightly.  Even if they did, the first period should have given them notice to stop doing that, but it didn't help.  Those teams who think they'll be a walkover because of last year are in for a shock.

Just like the Canucks were.

Monday's a new day, and the Canucks have to win.  Starting the season 0-3 is not acceptable for a team with aspirations of going to the Cup final.  I guess we can take heart that the Wings are also 0-2 though, can't we?

No highlights of this game will be posted because, well, there weren't any, were there?

Canucks Offered Dan Cloutier a Try-Out Contract?

Apparently so, according to the Province's Jason Botchford.

Classy move on the Canucks' part, and I have to question Cloutier's decision making.  As Jason Botchford points out, "But in reality, the Wings have five goaltenders in their system."  Botchford speculates that Cloutier thought he might have a better chance landing an NHL back-up job with the Wings than with the Canucks, who were either going to be using AHL goaltender of the year Cory Schneider or free agent acquisition Andrew Raycroft as Luongo's back-up.  Behind those two?  The cupboard's pretty bare, meaning Cloutier at least had a decent chance of landing a job in Manitoba.

Not to mention the fact that the Canucks had nine whole playoff games to showcase goalies, and the team was split into two squads.  Granted, they only played the three goaltenders, but if they had had Cloutier, things might have been different.

In any event, Cloutier is now headed back to obscurity (or Europe, same thing) after playing just one period in the Wings' preseason.

How did that work out for you, Dan?

Canucks - Avalanche Preview

The beginning of the Canucks' season didn't start out as everybody had hoped (or even expected), with a 5-3 loss to the Calgary Flames.  The Canucks are looking for redemption early in the Denver afternoon as they take on the Colorado Avalanche in a nooner at the Pepsi Center.  Look for goalie Roberto Luongo to bounce back from a sub-par performance, though his history in afternoon games is not good, at least in recent history (injuring his knee in an afternoon game against Pittsburgh).  Let's hope he's been stretching well and will avoid that problem.  Also, let's hope the team is actually awake to start the game, something none of us are too sure was the case in Calgary.

Colorado's coming off of an impressive 5-2 thumping of the San Jose Sharks, relegating Shark new acquisition Dany Heatley to a -3 with no points.  While there's no way that's going to be the norm, it was nice to see in the opener.  Colorado's a young team with a lot of question marks, and they demonstrated Thursday night that they're not to be taken lightly.  Let's hope that the Canucks learned that lesson.  For the Canucks' sake, it would be nice if most of the Avalanche energy Thursday night came from Joe Sakic's jersey retirement ceremony.

I've heard that 3rd liner Kyle Wellwood is experiencing the same flu symptoms that Rick Rypien had earlier this week, so there is a chance he'll be out.  Rypien looked really tired Thursday night and played the worst game I've seen from him in a while.  Since Colorado is not a particularly tough team, there could be a chance to sit Rypien out as well if he isn't 100% recovered from his illness.  That would mean Tanner Glass would get the call, not a particularly bad move overall.  If Rypien can avoid making the dumb plays today that resulted in two Flames goals today Thursday night, that would definitely be a plus.  However, apparently Rypien is feeling ok, so he'll probably be in.

Let's hope that rookie phenom Sergei Shirokov is over his opening night jitters which resulted in very poor play in the first period and battling the puck later on, though his play did improve as the night wore on.

The best part of today's game, which I can state without it having even started yet?  No Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes to listen to.  Damn, but they were annoying.

Anyway, I'm predicting a 3-2 game for the Canucks, with Daniel Sedin scoring the winner in the 3rd period.

Here are the expected lines:

Sedin - Sedin - Burrows
Shirokov - Kesler - Samuelsson
Raymond - Wellwood (Johnson?) - Bernier
Rypien - Johnson (Glass) - Hordichuk

Bieksa - Edler
Mitchell - Salo
Erhoff - O'Brien

Luongo in net

Andrei Markov out 4 months

Yikes!  That's not what the Montreal Canadiens needed.

Defenseman Andrei Markov suffered a bad skate laceration from goaltender teammate Carey Price last night, and Sportsnet is saying that he'll be out 4 months at least.

I didn't see it happen (was off having a beer and dinner at a local bar before the Canucks game started), but apparently it cut a tendon and he had surgery last night to repair it.

What a scary injury.  I was there when Kevin Bieksa had his deep skate cut against Nashville two years ago, and that was not pleasant to see.  This sounds bad too.

Poor Montreal. Markov was probably their best defenseman and one of the best players on the team.  They're really going to miss him.

Canucks - Flames highlights (10/1/09)

Canucks - Flames Review

Well, that wasn't the way the Cup run was supposed to start, with a 5-3 loss to the Calgary Flames in the Flames' home opener.

The Canucks came out extremely flat in the first period, running around in their own zone like they didn't know what to do with the puck.  A monstrous hit on Ryan Johnson set the tone early, and the Canucks didn't seem to know how to recover.  They took two extremely silly penalties (though O'Brien's was a bit weak, and it was an aggression penalty so you tend to overlook it because he's trying to spark his team).  First, O'Brien and then Henrik Sedin with a stupid hooking call right in front of the Calgary net.  Sure enough, two Calgary goals, one by Giordano and one by Bourque.  Both times, Rick Rypien looked lost out there, unlike the excellent penalty killer he has usually been.  Bourque's goal especially, Rypien completely neglected to tie him up and he had a wide open net.  Adam Pardy added a goal later in the period to make it 3-0.  Luongo got beat way too easily on the goals, high on the blocker side seeming to be his weakness tonight.

The Canucks came out with a little more fire in the 2nd period, though, and managed to actually draw a penalty this time around.  Bieksa had a shot go off of a Calgary player and through Kipper's legs, to make it 3-1.  Sadly, just five minutes later, Prust walked out from behind the net after beating Johnson along the boards.  Bieksa was caught in no-man's land on whether to take Prust or the guy Prust would pass to if he did charge Prust.  The Calgary player stuffed it home under Luongo, to make it 4-1.  Again, Luongo should probably have had that; I don't know how he didn't just hug the post and keep that out.

Late in the period, though, MIkael Samuelsson scored on a slap pass from Alex Edler on another power play, making it 4-2 at the end of 2.

It was all Canucks in the 3rd period, out-shooting the Flames 21-7.  Burrows muscled home a goal between Kipper's pads in a mad scrum around the net to make it 4-3.  The Canucks had lots of chances but just couldn't bury any after that.  Dion Phaneuf scored on a slap shot into the empty net to ice the game.

Some notes from the game:

1) Calgary's forwards were definitely backchecking like they didn't last year.  I mentioned in my preview that they had to do that in order to be successful this year.  Maybe Brent Sutter has drilled that into them, because they were supporting the puck quite well.

2) Mason Raymond was flying out there, making a lot of intelligent plays with the puck.  He didn't get any points, but that 3rd line of Raymond/Wellwood/Bernier was their best line through a period and a half, at least.  I was really impressed.

3) I think Shirokov had a case of nerves as he looked really tentative in the first period.  He found his legs, though, and had some glorious chances later in the game.  Kipper stopped a couple of them and a couple he misfired on.  I think this kid is just going to get better and better.

4) Luongo slammed the door as the Canucks were trying to come back, but I think he knows he has to be better than he was tonight.  He was pretty awful in the first period.  Of course, he didn't have much help, but that's why they're paying him the big bucks.

Here's hoping that Saturday's game is a lot better!  It's a Noon start here on the West Coast, so hope everybody's up early!

As an aside, is it wrong to take immense pleasure in San Jose not only getting beat by a rebuilding Avalanche team (though admittedly they were on an emotional high after the Sakic ceremony)?  Not only that, but to take even greater pleasure in Dany Heatley being -3 with no points?

Canucks - Flames Preview

It's Opening Night!!!!

It will be so nice to hear the dulcet tones of....well, whoever CBC has doing the Canucks/Flames game.  I have a feeling I may turn on the radio for John Shorthouse and Tom Larscheid instead, if it's in synch with the TV.

Anyway, it's game 1 of the long 82-game slog that is the NHL regular season, and it should be an awesome match up.  These two teams hate each other, and it always makes for an entertaining game.

Last Saturday, Calgary played almost their full roster against a Canucks team that was still testing out quite a few prospects and lost in the shootout 2-1.  Both Roberto Luongo and Miikka Kiprusoff looked in mid-season form, so it will be interesting to see if they keep that up.

Defenseman Kevin Bieksa and Winger Rick Rypien missed practice on Tuesday but were on the ice yesterday, and supposedly they are going to play, which can only be good news (though I hope Bieksa doesn't aggravate his mild groin strain tonight).

Some notes for the game:

1) Canuck rookie Sergei Shirokov makes his regular season debut tonight after a stellar preseason, with 7 points in 4 games and some great play without the puck.  He's expected to be on a line with Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuellson, with Alex Burrows playing with the Sedin twins.  However, Shirokov is supposed to play with the twins on the power play, which should make for a dynamic line, if their preseason play is any indication.  Shirokov looked very natural with them, leading to one very pretty goal against Edmonton and numerous other chances.

2) The Calgary defense should be much better this year, but will the forwards cooperate?  One of the problems the Flames had last year was almost a fire sale within the Calgary zone, with forwards going hither and yon, anywhere but where they were supposed to be (was that the "Bertuzzi Backcheck Effect"?).  With forward Mike Cammalleri and his 39 goals gone, will Jerome Iginla be able to shoulder an even greater load?  Will Olli Jokinen be true to form and disappear when it counts?  We'll have to wait and see.

3) Will the Canuck penalty kill be back to its glory after slipping last year?  Mason Raymond became a PK specialist late in the season last year, using his speed to get to loose pucks and fire them out of the zone, as well as aggressive forechecking; Rick Rypien has always been a good penalty killer and he was gone for most of the season last year.  Ryan Johnson is healthy (until he takes another shot off of a finger in the first few minutes of Game 1, I'm sure) and should be back to normal.  I'm willing to predict that, barring any bad injuries, the PK will be much better than last year.

4) What about the power play?  The Canucks have two skilled lines for it now, with Sedin/Sedin/Shirokov and Samuelsson/Kesler/Wellwood and some actual defensemen with actual shots!  Last year, if Salo was in, their power play could be deadly.  Since Salo was often out, their power play was excessively mediocre.  The additions of Christian Erhoff and, when he returns, Matthieu Schneider should add some oomph to the blue line on the power play.

We're about to see how it all shakes out.  Or, at least, we'll begin to see when the puck drops.  It's so good to have hockey back.

Game time is at 7:00pm and it's on CBC (HD).  Radio is Team 1040, and of course you can listen online.

Canucks Getting Some Respect Around the League?

Was watching the TSN NHL Preview special last night (Ray Ferraro's always good, along with Bob Mckenzie, and Pierre McGuire when he's not getting super-excited as colour commentator) and was amazed that the consensus of 13 TSN experts put the Canucks at 2nd in the West this year.

Then there's Jason Botchford's excellent article on Roberto Luongo's quest for redemption for the Game 6 meltdown against the Blackhawks last year, where he also produces my favourite quote:

"For the first September in his career, there are people without Trevor Linden pinup posters who are actually picking Luongo's team to compete for the Stanley Cup. "

Both Ferraro and McGuire picked the Canucks to be in the Stanley Cup Final (I didn't finish watching the show, so I don't know whether either of them picked the Canucks to actually win it).  There is lots of buzz about this team, and it's not just in Vancouver this year.

Sure, some don't pick them to even win the division (boo Peter Laviolette!!!!), but many people are expecting great things of this team, including the players.  They're putting a lot of pressure on themselves to come through this year.  For those who were here last year, I'm sure the acidic taste in their mouths from Game 6 still lingers, and they're hungry to wash that taste from their mouth with champagne from the Cup.

This is an exceptionally deep team, though besides Luongo, there are no true "stars" on it. Yes, the Sedins are fun to watch, and hopefully they will break out into the 90-100 point area.  But without Luongo, they're probably not going to win it all.  However, they have the depth this year so that, without a devastating set of injuries to multiple players including key ones, they should be able to survive adversity.  The Canucks were slow at defense last year.  Christian Erhoff should help with that.  They had no power play shot if Salo was injured.  Mathieu Schneider and Erhoff should help with that too.  Alex Edler, stud defenceman, is coming into his own and should excel this year.  McGuire made a good point last night that the best move former GM Dave Nonis made in his tenure (besides the Luongo trade, which kind of fell into his lap due to Mike Keenan stupidity and his hard-on for Todd Bertuzzi) was not trading away Cory Schneider and Edler for Brad Richards.  Edler will be our stud defenceman for a long while.

So this team is primed and ready to make some noise in the playoffs, and is seriously being touted by non-Vancouver fans (and more than just John Garrett, who seems to pick them every year) to actually have a chance at the Cup.

Tonight will be the first step on the road to seeing whether that's what will happen.

DROP THE PUCK!!!!

Canucks-Oilers Highlights to Whet Your Whistle for Tomorrow