Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Canucks 3 Ducks 2 (OT)

This was a close one no doubt. Dany Sabourin looked steady tonight, flashing out his pads to stop anything along the ice. The Canucks played well in front of the inexperienced goaltender for the most part, even though they were outshot 33-22. Sabourin saw most of his shots. But he really looked weak on wrap-arounds. Anaheim's first goal by Tim Brent was stuffed in after Sabourin couldn't control a wrap-around. It could have been worse. Another play was whistled down before the Ducks stuffed the puck into the net past Sabourin.
Other than that, Sabs played solid. He looked alive and alert in goal. But you would have to think that Sabourin is too small to be a bonafide NHL goaltender. He goes down in the butterfly position alot, and his lack of size leaves the whole upper portion of the net open. Fortunately the Ducks did not capitalize on that tonight.
The Canucks, who looked completely confident in OT (b/c they were 12-1 in OT this year) dominated the extra frame. Hank Sedin scored the winner after Salo blasted a shot wide and the puck bounced off the boards onto Hank's stick, who buried the winner. It was almost as if Salo knew the boards at the Honda Center were that lively.
Feel the love. Sabourin got his first win as a Canuck. You could see his teammates giving him taps on the mask after it was over. They knew it was a good thing. I don't mind being wrong with my prediction. Again, Vigneault looks smart. The Canucks came back twice to force this game into OT. It was a gritty effort.
Anyone else loving Naslund's little move around Pronger for the tying goal? A beauty!

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10 Comments:

At February 21, 2007 at 7:03 a.m. , Blogger Mike said...

Wow, it took one game for Sabby to knock Luongo down from your header? Hmm...I can't wait until Bulis goes nuts and you have to get him up there!

PS - Pronger sucks.

 
At February 21, 2007 at 7:41 a.m. , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sabourin isn't that small, he's 6'2'' according to TSN, only an inch shorter than Luongo. He's also listed as 20 lbs lighter than Luongo. He may look smaller mostly b/c he doesn't come out and challenge the way Luongo does, and I'd say he goes down to his knees much more. But he has played a lot less, still a rookie trying to prove himself, so I think it's too early to judge what kind of goalie he may become. Certainly, I don't think he's worse than Auld, and he looks a little quicker to me. A steal off the waiver wire.

 
At February 21, 2007 at 10:06 a.m. , Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Hank Sedin scored the winner after Salo blasted a shot wide and the puck bounced off the boards onto Hank's stick, who buried the winner."

I just wanted to say I love that sentence....

 
At February 21, 2007 at 10:10 a.m. , Blogger Temujin said...

Hard to believe Sabourin is 6'2". He looks more like 5'8".

 
At February 21, 2007 at 11:04 a.m. , Anonymous Anonymous said...

btw, Dank, not Hank, got the winner you Dink

 
At February 21, 2007 at 11:59 a.m. , Blogger Sean Zandberg said...

I can't believe he is 6'2" either. Must be a misprint...:)
Hodge-I'm suprised my grammar wasn't worse. I was drunk and in a hurry because I wanted to get to bed and pass out!
Antro- Well said. My opinion is only from what I've seen of him so far. It was bold. And yes, it is early.
But I've said it before, he reminds me of Felix Potvin in the sense that he always goes down and leaves the upper portion of the net open. Luckily, most of the Ducks' shots that were waist-level or higher missed the net last night.
You watch...when teams put alot of shots on him towards the top corners, Sabourin won't look so good. Along the ice though, Sabourin has cat-like reflexes. I will give him that!
Mike- The next time Bulis goes in the header will be when he's in Vancouver airport with his luggage, just after he's been traded! haha

 
At February 21, 2007 at 1:44 p.m. , Blogger Earl Sleek said...

Bah! I didn't notice this until I rewound the DVR, but where was Sammy Pahlsson on that GWG?

Back at the bench, of course, getting himself a new stick.

Oh, and follow up question: where was that referee in the third period?

Yuck.

 
At February 21, 2007 at 2:07 p.m. , Blogger Sean Zandberg said...

The refs are annoying me lately. They called a bunch of shite in the first 2 periods and then put their whistles away in the 3rd to "let the players play."
It's inconsistent and bogus.
Sleek, the Ducks' PP was less than stellar! But the Canucks can toake alot of credit for that. They played well in front of Sabourin.
Hope you like your new shirt!

 
At February 21, 2007 at 3:39 p.m. , Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh, and last thing on Sabourin: he can actually play the puck...how many others of you have a heart attack every time Luongo wanders behind his net and anemically pokes at the puck (when it doesn't just whiz right by him). I keep wondering if Marty Turco has a stickhandling school for goalies that Luongo can attend in the summer. Maybe Sabourin can teach him to stick-handle, and, in exchange, Luongo will teach Sabourin how not to look 5'8'' in the net...

 
At February 21, 2007 at 4:07 p.m. , Blogger Sean Zandberg said...

True! Sabourin is pretty good at moving the puck! Why don't Luongo and Sabourin pass back and forth during practice?! haha

 

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Waiting For Stanley was created in June 2006.