Coyotes 4 Canucks 1

A fail of epic proportions as Temujin would say.

Alain Vigneault is probably done in Vancouver. The players are playing like they have tuned him out. I would expect his firing sooner rather than later. It's over, right?
Regardless of the 3 bad goals let in by Luongo, I'd say the players have tuned AV out.
If a firing has not been announced by Friday lunch time I would be surprised.
A tonne of turnovers.
A gutless effort (minus Kesler)
A fairly productive effort by Line 2.
Yeah, this should be the end of Vigneault. Hate to say it but it's true. Obviously the players have tuned him out. A fail by the whole team tonight.
In these situations the coach gets the axe. And it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Mike Gillis already had a backup plan in mind.

T Tags: Canucks+are+gutless Alain+Vigneault+fired

The return of Luongod: Canucks-Coyotes preview / updated all day

I'll take the cautious approach. Roberto Luongo is either going to return and
a) save the skins of a mediocre team through insane saves
b) inspire the team to play better for a whole 60 minutes
c) look rusty in his return and the team continues to suck

I'll have any Canuck updates prior to the game against the Coyotes, like the possibility of Wellwood sitting out this one for example. Until then, I put together a few Photoshop images that I think capture the day and the moment. Enjoy.

UPDATE 1

Sami "Glass" Salo will not return to the lineup just yet. He practiced with the team and could make his return this weekend against Columbus.

UPDATE 2

It appears Wellwood may sit this one out, as the struggling center has cooled off considerably in recent weeks. (Yes, I am dealing with the fact that he isn't Superman after all, even though he could be).

UPDATE 3

Luongo said all the things a true team captain would say after practice today:

“We win as a team and I am not going to come in here and win a game by myself,” Luongo said. “We need 20 guys to play as a team and play well. That is the way we always won here and that’s the way it is going to be from here on out.”

Ryan Kesler, who looked visibly pissed off after the loss to the Devils echoed Luongo's sentiments:

“I don’t care who we have in the net,” said centre Ryan Kesler. “We could have had a brick wall in there lately and we still would have lost. We have to be better defensively and with Louie coming back, obviously it’s going to help. But we still have to be better defensively in front of him.”

You tell 'em Kesler. If this team doesn't respond now...

UPDATE 4

- Curtis Sanford not-so surprisingly cleared waivers and has been assigned to Manitoba.

UPDATE 5
It sounds more and more like this team is raring to go tonight. Demitra talked about his demotion and promotion to Sundin's line today:

"Obviously, I wasn't happy about it," said Demitra. "But you have to get focus, get mad and be ready to play. Mats was the reason I came here, because of the rumours during the summer that he was going to be here. All my life, I was playing with one guy all year, and Mats is going to make hockey so easy.

"He has shown for many years that he's a top player in the league because he's got that big body and he's tough to get a puck from. He has great vision and can find you -- so it's going to be nice to play with a guy like that. And you just need to get chemistry going."

More on that here. OK, so does what Demitra said make him look like a tit or what? Fine, Gillis dangled Sundin in front of him to get Demo here, but that isn't the point. What's this garbage about him "playing with 1 guy all year?" How about you just do your damned job and you'll EARN a scoring role!? Demitra has done nothing to deserve any "royal" treatment from a coach. Lose the fucking superstar attitude, man. You are not a superstar!
Is he going to sulk if he fails on Lines 1 or 2 in the future and gets put on a different line? I just detect a lousy attitude from him and it re-enforces my point that the guy is a gutless puke. Go out there and earn your damned paycheck! Jesus. We don't need this kind of shit right now, putting it bluntly.

Line combos for tonight:

Daniel Sedin-Henrik Sedin-Taylor Pyatt

Pavol Demitra-Mats Sundin-Jannik Hansen

Alex Burrows-Ryan Kesler-Steve Bernier

Darcy Hordichuk-Ryan Johnson-Mason Raymond


STATS TO PONDER

From CDC:

The Canucks will want a strong start against the Coyotes. Vancouver is 14-0-2 when leading after 2 periods and 17-6-4 when they score first.

Well there you can see the problems of late. They have not been leading after the second period all that often and are not scoring first enough.

The Canucks will now try to avoid losing six in a row at home for the first time since Nov. 3-18, 1978.

UPDATE 6

Remember the last time the Coyotes came to town? Yeah, we won 1-0, but local boy Kyle Turris was benched by Gretzky, causing a bit of controversy. Tonight, Turris will play in front of his friends and family.






































































T Tags: Luongo+returns Canucks Coyotes game+preview photoshop Luongod Mighty+mouse Batman

Luongo: From human to immortal in one week

If Luongo keeps this up, he could have a career year in shutouts. The most he's had in one season is 8 with the Panthers in 2005-06. He now has 3 shutouts in his last 5 games and leads the NHL with 5 total.
It has been 141 minutes since someone has beat him.
With this re-emergence of Luongod comes Canuck success. They have now won 4 of their last 5 and trail the Northwest Division leading Wild by one point.
So now the game between the Wild and Canucks on Saturday holds even more importance.

Kevin Bieksa is on a roll. He played a fair bit more than any other Nucks defenceman tonight, logging 25:16 of icetime and scoring the game's only goal. He can be prone to defensive lapses on one night and then be brilliant the next night. In 11 games this season, Bieksa has 3 goals and 9 points. He looks to have a great season much like he did 2 years ago.

It was good to see the Canucks play better defensively. The guys blocked 20-plus shots. If they want to, they can score an ass-load of goals, but then they give up a lot of goals as well. Tonight was the opposite. They couldn't bury the puck but were a lot more stingy defensively.
So I think the team is still trying to establish an identity of both and being consistent in that.

Steve Bernier has 4 goals and 8 points in 14 games. He missed a glorious chance tonight. He seems to be struggling a bit. I think it's fair to say we expect more from him.

It seemed that Michel Ouellet played his way into obscurity as the game went on. He started the contest on the top line with the Sedins and then I didn't see too much of him.

Wellwood was good tonight but didn't get on the scoreboard.

Had a great time hanging out at Canucks and Beyond tonight, as Alanah had a live blog up using Cover It Live. The Yankee Canuck co hosted the live blog with Canucks and Beyond, spreading his filthy hate of Wellwood. At least Mike is funny as hell when he mocks.

BOXSCORE AND HIGHLIGHTS

Blake Wheeler scores a hatty against the Leafs tonight in Boston and a bra is thrown on the ice. Is bra power about to start in Beantown? You guys can't use Blake the Brabarian because we've already thought of that.

T Tags: Luongo Luongod Canucks+beat+Coyotes November+6+2008 Blake+Wheeler bra+power Boston bra+thrown+on+ice video pic image

Canucks hope to turn Coyotes into road kill

If you find the Photoshop image offensive, then you have come to the wrong place!

Wellwood comment from today:

"I’ve had success before like this for a couple of months. I was doing the same things in Toronto and everybody was getting all excited there. I have to look at this like it’s only been eight games. For me, I have to prove so much more. I have to stretch this out for years and years before I see myself as a solid NHLer."

Yes Wellwood's consistency will remain in question until he proves himself. Let's hope he bags another one or two tonight...both on the PP, as the rest of the squad hasn't been able to do that yet.

News yesterday from the Vancouver Sun stated that Jannik Hansen is still day to day with his sore groin. Pavol "Who" Demitra will still be out 2 more weeks with his heart, I mean rib issues.
The Coyotes are not missing any significant players.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

This will be game 2 of 2 for Phoenix's mini road trip. They beat the Flames 4-2 two nights ago. Inconsistent describes the Coyotes much like the Canucks. Their past 5 games:
4-2 win over Flames
3-2 loss to the Wild
4-1 win over the Penguins
4-1 loss to the Flames
2-1 win over the Capitals

I guess it's time for them to lose judging by the above trend.

Shane Doan leads the team in scoring with 12 points in 10 games.
Olli Jokinen is next with 11 points in 10 games.
The much-hyped Kyle Turris is 9th on the team with 1 goal and 4 points in 9 games.
More Coyotes player stats here.

I would assume Ilya Bryzgalov will get the call tonight. He has played 8 games, has a 4-4 record, a 2.89 GAA, and a .905 save %.
Luongo's stats keep getting better. In 12 games played, Luongo has a 7-5 record, a 2.73 GAA, a .906 save % and 3 shutouts. He looked superb last game.

Coyote hitmen over their past 3 games:

1. Shane Doan: 3 goals 4 assists
2. Olli Jokinen: 3 goals 1 assist
3. Peter Mueller: 4 assists
4. Steve Reinprecht: 1 goal 2 assists
5. Tikhonov Jr.: 2 assists

So there's the guys that need to be shut down. 3 of the 10 goals scored by Phoenix over the past 3 games were PP goals. 2 were shorthanded.

For the Canucks:

-Let's see if Luongo can keep up his improved play.
-How about a bra, or even a block of wood gets thrown on the ice if Wellwood scores.
-Michel Ouellet will get time with the Sedins tonight. Let's see how that works. Damn, the top line shuffling is never-ending. Just call Carter back from the Swiss League already!

I'm liking the Canucks' chances as they steadily improve. I say a 3-2 win.

T Tags: Canucks Coyotes game+preview November+6+2008 Wellwood Doan

Ulfie Samuelsson a candidate to coach the Islanders

Ulf told Expressen.se (translated from Swedish:

"One never knows well when you're done with their education, but after having worked with teams in both the AHL and NHL, I am well soon ready."

I wonder if he'd teach his players how "knee" the opposing guys. Dirty Ulfie. Never liked him.
Samuelsson has been Gretzky's assistant coach since June 2006 and has 1 year left on his contract, but it seems as though he'd jump at a head coaching upgrade.
Ulf would be the first Swedish coach in the NHL if he suceeds.

T Tags: Ulf+Samuelsson+could+coach+Islanders candidate

Canucks 3 Coyotes 1: Hank is no longer the Stank

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 times for a Canucks team that seems to be getting all of their ducks in a row except for ONE THING: Defensive consistency. There were a few momentary lapses in reason on defence but regardless, an improvement.
I'm sorry, but Bieksa+suck=Bieksuck. He has not found his game yet and continued his follies. I don't care if he had 2 assists, he needs to tighten up defensively and make right plays at right times.
Aside from that, Gretzky has more grey hairs after tonight and the Canucks look poised to make some noise as they play their last 9 games against Northwest Division rivals. NOW is where it really counts.
I am liking the coaching ability of the Vigneault. Splitting up the Sedins 5-on-5 and playing them together 4-on-4 and on the power play is brilliant and is paying dividends.

Damn it! The 3M line got better as the game went along but didn't deliver quite as expected.

That was a knee-on-knee by Ballard on Raymond, but I think it was unintentional because he was going for the hip check. I don't think Mason will miss any time.

I just want to give a shout out to Dan Carcillo right now. Thanks for being so good and entertaining earlier in the game and then letting your true low-IQ colors show in the 2nd half of the game.

A blunt question: Where the fuck did Canucks PPV TV find Craig McEwen? In the slums? How the hell did he get a job on TV?? Terrible.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, but there was no luck involved in tonight's game. The Canucks had the skills.

BEST CANUCKS

1. Henrik Sedin. It's about fucking time.
2. Willie Mitchell. Over 28 minutes played and he was solid.
3. Dan Sedin. 6 shots, no goals, but IMPROVEMENT.

GAME SUMMARY

HIGHLIGHTS



T Tags: Canucks Coyotes Review Dan+Carcillo Pyatt Sedin slumps

A NIGHT FOR REVENGE

Time to avenge the 2-0 loss at the hands of the Coyotes last week. The Canucks rebounded greatly against Dallas on Saturday afternoon and can hopefully keep up the same momentum heading home to play the damned Dogs tonight. The buzz around Vancouver today is about Trevor Linden, who before the Dallas game apparently "closed the locker room doors before the game, locking himself inside only with his teammates, and spoke to his team. The details of the speech have not, and will, not be shared publicly however the affect it had on every Canuck was, and is, evident." That is terrific stuff from a gutsy long time leader of this team. Morrison said of Linden's speech:

"When a guy who has that much experience speaks, guys listen. Guys have a lot of respect for him and what he said really hit home and it hit home with a lot of guys. It was the right time for that and he did it in just the right way.”

It would be a terrible disappointment if the Canucks would stink up GM Place tonight and lose another game to the Coyotes. I just don't see it happening. For me, now what I am anticipating more than watching Burrows and Kesler is the 3M Line: Markus, Morrison and Matt Pettinger. Those guys could give the Coyotes fits tonight.
-Are the Sedins going to break out any time soon?
-Will Ilya Bryzgalov, who has a 1.30 goals against average against Vancouver this year, stop us in our tracks?
-The Coyotes lost their last game 5-2 to the Oilers. Don't expect Phoenix to be a sinch tonight, as they are still fighting for a playoff spot.
-Nathan McIver will play tonight instead of Luc Bourdon. Vigneault feels that McIver brings an element of grit and toughness that will be needed tonight.
-I say the Canucks take this one 4-2. Burrows scores into the empty net.

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST
TV: CANUCKS PPV. Dammit!

T Tags: Canucks Coyotes Preview Revenge Linden+Motivation+Speech

Canucks 0 Coyotes 2: Live Blogging in 10-minute segments

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 1

The 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 that is a good sign, after getting pulled in last night's game against the Ducks.
Shots through the first 10 minutes: Coyotes 11 Canucks 2.
---------------------------------------------------
Did you see how Naslund acted after Jovo tagged Morrison? He stood in between the Canucks and Jovo and went into Jovo's face like a ref would and told him to stop the roughing. That's not cool. He should have popped him one. Nazzy is too passive. He reminds me of Jesus I think.
There's a lot of emotion in this game. With just under 3:00 left, Alex Burrows fought Mad Man Dan Carcillo and got beat up. But at least he refused to quit. But now we've lost our new-found sniper to a major penalty. In that scrum, Kesler also managed to get a 10-minute misconduct. Sucky, these are the wrong guys to lose in a game, but that is the way they play.
This is not the start the Canucks needed. They were outshot 24-7 in the first period. The Coyotes are doing what I wanted to see the Canucks do more of: shoot the puck more and crash the net. They'll need a serious pep talk from Viggy to spark them.
-Damned Wild got a point against the Devils because it went to a shootout and they lost. Boo....The Oilers are down 3-1 to the Avs early. Damned Coilers. The Preds did lose the Kings, so thank you L.A.

PERIOD 2

Niko Kapanen has just scored with just under 10:00 left in the period. A powerplay goal. The Canucks had outshot the Coyotes 5-1 until the PP happened. But Vancouver still isn't shooting enough. They are trying for the perfect play repeatedly. Wasteful, because now the Dogs are leading 1-0, and the Dogs look like the more desperate team.
------------------
The Canucks absolutely squandered a powerplay opportunity with about 4:00 left in the 2nd. They just couldn't click. At least they started to shoot the puck more after that. Bryzgalov is having an easy night and Luongo is getting no support from his squad. Now that Kesler and Burrows are more available, I expect them to be a factor in the 3rd. God knows the Swedes and Pyatt are not going to get it done. They look and ACT like their are slumping. They over-pass the puck, fumble the biscuit and don't shoot enough. At least Naslund is TRYING, and he is back checking well.
The Coyotes are keeping the Canucks to the outside in their zone. I guess that makes it tough to crash the net or get the shots and passes through. Notice how many shots the Coyotes block?
Shots in the 2nd: Canucks 12 Coyotes 6
Shots after 2 periods: Coyotes 30 Canucks 19

PERIOD 3

The Coyotes have just scored to make it 2-0 with 12 and a half minutes left. Hank the Stank Sedin coughed the puck up just outside the Canucks' zone and the Coyotes broke in and scored. Dan Winnik from Hanzal. The Sedins continue to struggle offensively and now defensively. As a result, Vigneault has split them up. Not like that's going to help. They'll suffer from separation anxiety. Jesus! Just bench the dweebs!
The shots in the 3rd were 5-1 Dogs up to the goal, mostly because the Nucks had to kill 2 penalties. Just not a good road game by Vancouver tonight.
-I'd complain about the call on Bourdon for hooking on Doan, as it was a couple love taps, but then Mason Raymond just sold a hook on Derek Morris with 7:00 left.
-Canucks went 0-for5 on the PP tonight.
-Proof that Naslund has no confidence? Burrows and Markus just broke in 2 on 1 with only a few minutes left. Burrows passed it to Naslund, who hesitated before he shot it, giving Bryzgalov time to move across and stop it. The old Naslund would one-time and bury it.
-The Coyotes are now in the hunt, only 3 points out of the 8th spot.
-It doesn't get any easier for the Nucks. They play in Dallas on Saturday. Like Jim Hughson said in the dying seconds: the roller coaster ride Canucks season continues....

Shots in the 3rd period: Coyotes 15 Canucks 5
Overall shots: Coyotes 45 Canucks 24

Best Canucks of the game:
1. Luongo. Poor Louie, he brought his game tonight. not many of his teammates did.
2. Markus Naslund. Struggling, but managed 7 shots in 16:46 played.
3. Fill in the blank.



GAME SUMMARY

T Tags: Canucks Coyotes Live+blog

Canucks must rebound tonight against the Coyotes

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 to sharpen up, but the rest of the team as well. But that likely won't happen in such a crucial game.
These teams have split their season series with a win each. Each game was only won by one goal. Tonight begins the second half of the season series between these 2, as the Coyotes will play Vancouver again at the Garage on the 17th (next Monday).
To prove Phoenix's inconsistency check out their last 5 games.
11/03/2008 ANA 2 @ PHX 3
08/03/2008 OTT 4 @ PHX 2
06/03/2008 MTL 4 @ PHX 2
05/03/2008 PHX 2 @ DAL 1
01/03/2008 CGY 3 @ PHX 1
2 wins in their last 5, but they can show up and compete with the Ducks and Stars.

The Sedins looked a little better last night, but couldn't make it count on the scoresheet. Naslund was invisible for most of the night.
Regardless, I'm guessing that one of the 3 scores tonight. I say the Canucks take this hard-fought game 2-1 in the shootout, with Alex Burrows netting the winner. This game could be a snoozer offensively, with not too many goals scored on either netminder. I'm on a bit of a roll predicting winning scores and teams. Anybody wanna top my guess?

I will be semi-live blogging this game tonight, in 10-minute segments of each period. My opinionated side is really going to come out tonight I'm sure.

Who to watch for:
Shane Doan. He has 2 goals and 5 assists in his last 5 games against Vancouver.
Peter Mueller. Wears #88 and looks like a bigger Patrick Kane out there. He's got skills and is one of my fave rookies this year.
Ilya Bryzgalov. I can't remember the last time I saw an acquired goalie make such an amazing impact on a team. Breezie is damned good, which could be bad news for a Canucks team that can't score many goals lately. Vancouver will have to screen him and deflect shots from the point...try get him off his amazing game.

Game Time: 7:00 PST
TV: Sportsnet Pacific

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Sad news....according to JJ at Canucks Hockey Blog, this will be Jim Hughson's final season as a Sportsnet play-by-play guy. He is being swept up long-term to replace Bob Cole apparently. Who will replace Hughson? My guess is Shorthouse. Check out JJ's site for the rest of the story.

T Tags: Canucks+Coyotes+Preview

Canucks-Coyotes Preview

The Canucks probably got back home near 3:00 AM this morning. I'm not going to over-analyze this one except to say that if the Coilers beat the Coyotes last night 5-2, then we can definitely beat the Desert Dogs. At least we aren't going to get pushed around by the Coyotes, for the most part. We should be able to take advantage of a road-weary Phoenix team, and use our home ice advantage to win this one 4-1, to make amends for last night's death.
Any other guessers out there?

PS:

- Luongo is 3-0-0 with a 1.95 GAA against Phoenix since he joined Vancouver last season.
- Phoenix had won 4 in a row prior to losing to Edmonton last night.
- More from Canucks.com: Curtis sanford will play in goal tonight. Kris Beech will make his debut tonight. Can't wait.
Hey, does anyone else get the feeling that Jeff Cowan is going to be placed on waivers with the acquisition of Beech? Just a thought.


T Tags: Canucks Coyotes Preview

Canucks-Coyotes Preview

I am Christmas Crammin today so no big preview post. I'll just let The Great One hollah out my prediction:




T Tags: Canucks Coyotes Preview

Sunday Ramblings

I couldn't agree more with what Curtis Sanford said post game after last night's 2-1 shootout loss to Edmonton.

"We know that they got an unbelievable shootout record this year," Sanford said. "Garon and Roloson have been solid for them back there and they have some young guys that can put the puck in the net when it's just them and the goalie. You have to respect that and it gives you all the more reason to close it out in regulation time or the overtime."

The Canucks looked better last night and got stronger as the game went on but really didn't bury their chances. Garon is a Canuck-killer, in regulation/OT but especially the shootout. It seems that players are better to shoot high blocker side on Garon. Kesler did and it worked in the shootout. Garon seemed to leave that side open. But he just cannot be beaten along the ice, as he is way too flexible, as Ron and Don pointed out in Coach's Corner.
In front of fans and family, Jason Jaffray was given over 15.5 minutes of icetime and managed ZERO shots, but one fight against Steve Staios in OT. Too bad. He should have been given a chance in the shootout.

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From TSN:

Just two months after serving a lengthy suspension for a hit on Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg, the New York Islanders forward is facing punishment time again after receiving a match penalty for trying to step on Jarkko Ruutu's foot.

"Trying". Did he actually make contact with Ruutu's foot? Did Ruutu sell it? I have no clue and can't tell from the highlights footage.
But Simon is a 7-time offender and 2 months ago served a suspension for using Hollweg's face as a baseball. TSN has a poll up on what fans think Simon's suspension should be. So far, they don't favor Simon's career in the NHL:

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Bryan McCabe will miss 6-8 weeks as he suffered a broken hand injury against the Habs on Saturday night. Apparently his hand has 3 broken bones. Surgery is obviously required.
Usually, I'd say this is a blessing for the Leafs team, and it still could be perhaps. But McCabe deserves some credit for the Leafs' recent success as he has elevated his game. Check out his stats over the past 10 games over at ESPN. At least he wasn't a minus player over the previous 8 games before last night's loss to Montreal. He was a minus 1 last night only because the moment he broke his hand, the Habs went down the ice and scored.

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Random question: when is Ilya Bryzgalov going to recieve a painted mask or have one made up? His white mask sucks.

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On the topic of goalies: can you believe the play of Alex Auld with the Bruins? Check out the difference in his stats playing for Phoenix compared to Boston.

T Tags: Canucks Oilers Review Chris+Simon+suspension Bryan+McCabe+hand+injury Bryzgalov+mask

Canucks-Predators Preview / Ducks / Auld / Recchi

CANUCKS VS PREDS

The Canucks roll into Music City tonight still not playing their best hockey. They remained undisciplined against Chicago yet still managed a win.
When are the Sedins going to break out again?
Word is that Vigneault wants to play Curtis Sanford in one of the next 2 Canucks games. I would hope that would be tonight, and save Luongo for the Penguins on Saturday night. (Crosby must lose)
CONFIRMED: Sanford will play tonight, according to Rotowire.

This game is about revenge as well, as the Preds beat the Nucks 3-0 on November 1st.
Look out for Jason Arnot, who broke a Predators record last game with 12 shots in one game against the Leafs. Arnott also had 1 goal and 1 assist in the Preds shutout over the Canucks 1 month ago.
-The Preds have won 3 of their last 5.
-The Canucks have won 4 of their last 5.

I think we beat Nashville 4-2 tonight and get our revenge. Arnott breaks his arm from taking 20 shots.

GAME TIME: 5:00 PST
TV: SPORTSNET PACIFIC

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DUCKS CAP

I thought that Niedermayer's decision to play again would put the Ducks over the cap. But does it really? Not according to Hockey Analysis:

Burke is talking about making a deal anyways. But would that be to move a defenceman for a good forward? I can see Beauchemin or Schneider being on the block. But let's see if Burkie gets any takers.

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AULD SHIPPED TO BOSTON

The Bruins are having serious health issues with their goaltenders this season, and have acquired Alex Auld to help out, in exchange for Nate DiCasmirro and a 5th round pick in 2009.
The B's lost Tim Thomas to an apparent ankle injury last night, and his status is unknown. But it's probably not very good if the Bruins went out and got Auld.
Manny Fernandez has back spasms and a knee issue that have not been resolved yet. His return is delayed.
Tuuka Rask is only 20 years old, so I suppose the Bruins won't put too much pressure on him. This is where Auld will help out....maybe. Auld isn't that good. Poor Alex has moved from shitty-defensive team to shitty defensive team in his brief NHL career.

I don't know much about DiCasmirro, except that he's a 29 year old left winger, and has not put up serious numbers in the AHL. But he can fight though.

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RECCHI'S NHL FUTURE OVER?

The Penguins have assigned Recchi to their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The last big name Penguin to go that route was John Leclair, and look what happened to him! I still can't believe that nobody wanted Recchi..... crazy.
I just listened to Dave Nonis on Team 1040 mention that Recchi is a risk at his current dollar value and that he isn't gambling on him.
In my opinion, I disagree. Recchi is worth the gamble. Geez, he only helped Carolina win the Cup 2 years ago.

T Tags: Canucks Predators Preview Alex+Auld+traded+Bruins Niedermayer Ducks+to+trade Recchi+sent+to+minors

Canucks-Wild thoughts / Bryzgalov

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 Place. That was a feel-good moment.

-The Wild can be feisty and dirty. They are frustrated evidently. Boogaard thinks Ohlund should get 5 games. I think Boogaard should shut the fuck up and get a lobotomy. Ohlund's golf swing is being reviewed by the League right now.

-6 Canucks goals by 6 different Canucks is a thing of beauty though. And it looked even better watching it in High Definition.

-Alex Edler is getting better and better. He was huge last night. Loved that hit on Boobaby.

Canucks-Wild Highlights

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Ilya Bryzgalov signs with the Coyotes, huh. Well the Dogs were 3rd on my list for Breezie destinations. His impact in Phoenix was immediate as he and his new teammates shutout the Kings 1-0 this afternoon. Wow. Gretzky gets himself the best goalie he's had yet. Should be a lethal shot in the Coyote's arm.....if they can learn to score more.

T Tags: Canucks Wild Ohlund+slash Bryzgalov+to+Coyotes

Blake's battle / more

From TSN:

"This morning I shared with my teammates news that I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia," Jason Blake said on the team's website.
"It is highly-treatable, and I have begun taking a pill on a daily basis that has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer. The prognosis, and certainly the expectations of my physician, myself and my family, is that I will live a long, full and normal life. This situation will not impact my ability to live my life as I otherwise would, and will not affect my ability to perform at my highest level for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I'm looking forward to my first season with the Leafs and helping our club compete for the Stanley Cup."

Hopefully, Blake fully recovers from this disease.
From a professional standpoint, Blake is in a bit of a dilemna. During preseason, Blake looked to click with Sundin on the top line, but in Toronto's game on Sunday, Ponikarovsky and Antropov rejoined Sundin on the top line and showed instant chemistry.
Blake needs to find a good fit in T.O. and earn his $4 million per season salary. In time he just might.
It's too bad Wellwood is injured. I'd like to see those 2 play together, with Wellwood as the great setup guy to the sniper Blake.

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TSN is also reporting that the waiving of Freddy Meyer by the Islanders may have been done to clear way for Bryan Berard to play on Long Island. We'll see. He was there on a try-out basis already.
Meyer will make a decent depth addition to Phoenix. But they need more offence don't they? Meyer showed alot of offensive flair in 2005-06 with the Flyers, scoring 6 goals and 27 points on 57 games, but has fallen dramatically since.

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It was great to watch Mike Keenan on HNIC's After Hours on Saturday night. Mike had to settle down a bit after the Canucks had just beat Calgary's sorry asses. But when he did, you could see the friendly fun side of him. A music buff. Loves to sing on stage. You know, just to shed a bit of that "Iron Mike" perspective that we have of him. I always did appreciate the honest side of the guy. He pulls no punches.
Keenan does have a way of getting the best out of some players and the worst in others. It appears that Daymond Langkow is already reaping the rewards, scoring 4 goals in 2 games. It's early. But you know that Langkow, Iginla, Huselius, and Tanguay are going to get a ton of icetime under Keenan, who loves to shorten his bench whenever necessary.
Now, is Keenan going to get the Flames to win on the road this year, or how about win at all?? The Flames still don't look like they have established the obvious lacking identity of a winning team.

T Tags: Jason+Blake+Leukemia Freddie+Meyer+waivers Mike+Keenan+After+Hours

So long, Mike Ricci

The most beautiful man in hockey has retired today. For the most part of his career he was a 3rd liner with Quebec, Colorado, San Jose and Phoenix and still put up decent numbers. He scored 605 points in 1099 career regular season games. He scored 66 points in 110 playoff games, where he seemed to really excel as a clutch guy.
The highlight of his career came in 1996 where he played a pivotal role with the Avalanche in their Cup victory, scoring 6 goals and 17 points in 22 playoff games that post season. It was his play there that turned him into one of my faves.
Ricci is 36 years old. He is retiring a lot because his neck surgery has gone as well as he planned.
The guy rarely took a shift off. A terrific defensive forward.

Ricci Bio.

T Tags: Mike Ricci retires

Alex Auld finds a new home

From TSN:

The Coyotes have signed Auld to a 1-year deal today. The 26-year-old spent last season with the Florida Panthers. The native of Thunder Bay, Ont., had a record of 7-13-5.
Auld has a career record of 46-44-13 in five NHL season with Florida and Vancouver. He also has a 2.89 goals-against average and .902 save percentage.
Auld played for Canada in the 2006 World Hockey Championship in Latvia and won a bronze medal with Canada at the 2001 World Junior Championship.
He was selected by Florida in the second round of the 1999 draft.

This officially makes the Luongo trade a stinker for Florida and seals the deal.
Tomas Vokoun is going to handle the heavy workload in Florida now anyway.
Auld was making $1.475 million in Florida. It's unsure about how much time he'll play in Phoenix, as they already have Mikael Tellqvist and David Aebischer. Looks like a trade may be in the works.....the crease is crowded in the desert.

Alex Auld bio at Hockey Goalies.

T Tags: Phoenix Coyotes Alex+Auld signed

Ted Leonsis on Facebook / Hawks/Coyotes swap forwards

My world just got a bit smaller today. I noticed through Eric McErlain from Off Wing Opinion that Washington Capitals, Wizards, etc owner Ted Leonsis is on Facebook. So I took the opportunity to ask him a question there that has plagued me about the Caps just to see if he'd answer it.

I know the Capitals have signed Nylander this year to center Ovechkin and that was a good start. However, with all of the Cap space you have, why wouldn't you have made a pitch at Briere or Gomez?
Are the Caps slowly building from within and not dishing out big bucks on UFA's?
I'm sure you've heard that question a million times.

To my suprise, he answered my question within a few hours.

I dont intend to use my Facebook as yet another way to answer Caps fan's questions-- if you would like--please email me at Washingtoncaps@aol.com and I will be glad to answer.However...
Why do you think signing Nylander at $5.5 million; and Poti at $ 3.5 million; and Kozlov at $ 2.5 million not dishing out big bucks? That is $11 million in new salaries out the door. We will sell $2 million more in tix next year for those signings:-). We pay Olie $ 5.5 million. We will soon have to pay Ovechkin and Semin huge dollars-- and there ya go-- the entire salary cap will be spoken for.

Points well made. I guess my question would have been better off asked last summer. This is the first summer in a while that the Caps have actually made a bit of noise in the signings of Nylander, Poti and Kozlov. All 3 players I would not have chosen, but that is just my opinion.
But the way Ovechkin (naturally) and Semin are playing, they will get big paydays next summer, and you can tack on about another $10 million at least to the Caps' salary expenditures next summer. They currently sit at about $32 million.
But this is all beside the point. The best part is that Leonsis makes himself readily available to fans online and that is both smart and admirable. See Ted's Take as an example.

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The Black Hawks have added gritty checking center Kevyn Adams to their roster today from Phoenix in exchange for winger Radim Vrbata. Points-wise Phoenix wins, as the streaky Vrbata put up 14 goals and 41 points last season. But Adams is one of my faves because he gives 100% every time he is on the ice. He is a defensive and faceoff specialist. So really, both teams win, because both players address specific holes in both rosters.

T Tags: Ted+Leonsis Facebook Coyotes+trade+Adams Hawks+trade+Vrbata

Na na na na hey hey hey goodbye!

Roenick, a nine-time All-Star who played with four teams, sent a text message to a reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer reading, "I'm retiring; is that still news?" The story was posted on the paper's Web site Wednesday.

Yes, you egotistical freak, that is still news.
-The 37 year-old has never won a Stanley Cup
-His best days were early in his career with the BlackHawks. He had 2 consecutive 107 point season there from 1992-1994.
-He reached the Finals with the Hawks in 1992. In 18 playoff games that run, he had 12 goals and 10 assists. I actually liked the bugger back then.
-His career stats during the regular season and the playoffs are impressive.

But I am not convinced that he is done. A desperate team could make him an offer and he could accept it by the end of the summer. Roenick is all talk. In April of this year, Roenick told the Arizona Republic that

he was leaning toward playing again next season, adding that if any team wants to sign him he'd play for the league minimum salary of $450,000.
"It's not about money right now," Roenick said. "I don't care (about that). It's just to play and have fun and play on a team that fits my heart and my mind."

Roenick said there were four teams he'd like to play for, the Coyotes among them. The others are Chicago, Dallas and San Jose.
Why would one last hurrah in Chicago be out of the question? If they offered him a shot you KNOW he'd take it.
So I am taking his words with a grain of salt.
Meanwhile, just in case we never see his sorry ass on an NHL ice surface again, I give to you: The Best of Roenick on YouTube.

-Disco Roenick Inferno
-Disco Roenick Inferno 2
-Roenick Tribute
-Damned JR beats the Leafs in OT to close out the series.
-JR makes a funny pitch at JFJ to play for the Leafs.
-Roenick 2005-06 compilation video (short, sweet and bloody hilarious!)
-Roenick's top 10 soundbites
-Roenick and Tracey Morgan ESPN NHL 04 commercial.
-"It's tricky to shoot the puck to shoot the puck when you're old and suck it's tricky. It's tricky tricky tricky tricky."

T Tags: Jeremy+Roenick Retires Please Thank+you+Jesus

Canucks / Coyotes Preview

After yesterday's hockey day from heaven, I am almost finding it difficult to even motivate myself to watch this game, as it really has no benefit to Vancouver except to win their 50th game, end the season on a winning note and put a few extra grey hairs on Wayne Gretzky's head. Oh, and to possibly give Roenick a loss in perhaps his final NHL game.
Are we going to see a not-so-urgent Canucks squad now that they have clinched first in the Northwest? Probably.

Points-Blank
The Canucks have won all 3 games against the Coyotes this season. An interesting point at Canucks.com: The Canucks have not swept this season series since 1993-94, when the Coyotes were known as the Winnipeg Jets.

What the hell is up with Kevin Bieksa? Ron MacLean mentioned he left the Shark Tank with a cast on, and there has been nothing in the media that gives an update on his condition.
I see a commentor at Canucks and Beyond mentioned that the CBC guys said that Bieksa had gone for preliminary x-rays and that they came out fine. Ah, we'll find out in a couple of hours.

You would think that Luongo will get the start tonight to give him a chance to catch Brodeur and pass Bernie Parent. Then again, if you are scoreboard-watching and you see the Devils beating the Islanders 4-0, why bother?

Speaking of..THAT is the game that I care about today! Go Devils!
Wait a minute...the Devils aren't playing Brodeur, they are playing Scott Clemmenson! Booo!!
My predictions for the Canucks game, though

3-2 Canucks.
Canuck goals: Smoke, Naslund, Morrison
Dog goals: Roenick (2)

Anyone else?