Not the Sundin show, but the Bernier show

“It’s timing, where you come in and shoot, you jam yourself a little bit. And when you’re trying to make a pass (it goes) over a stick,” Sundin said post game. “It felt exactly like where you are at the start of a season, where you’re trying to get it back, but the only way to get it back is to play games.”

No, Sundin did not get a 5 point night in his debut. He was hardly even a factor. 15 minutes of ice time over 24 shifts, zero goals, no assists, no shots on net, one hit and 9-for-18 on faceoffs. But it didn't matter because it's almost as if Sundin was a decoy in tonight's game, as a couple of slumping Canucks revived themselves. In only 13:13 of icetime (hint at the irony), Steve Bernier scored 2 goals and added an assist in the Canucks' convincing 4-2 victory over the Oilers. Alex Burrows had 1 goal and 2 assists while Ryan Kesler tallied 2 assists. Yes, the Canucks got scoring from unlikely sources tonight. The best part was that they out played the Oilers in the 3rd period while being up 3-1, showing the killer instict that has been lacking in recent games.
To top it off, Demitra didn't just score into the empty net to bury the game...nah he took a slap shot to make it look even more convincing.
This was a great start for the brief Sundin era in Vancouver. The team didn't look distracted at all. Sundin was used sparingly, and the rest of the guys stepped up. Who could ask for anything more than a convincing win?
Jason Labarbera was solid but didn't have to be great. That is Canucks hockey under Alain Vigneault. This is partially why we needed Sundin in the first place: 3 lines that can do damage. Depth.
And to think that Luongo isn't even playing yet.

- Apparently, there were Canucks fans pissing off Craig MacTavish behind the Oilers' bench. I missed that part.

- Ohlund vs Souray. Huh....Ohlund faired better against Iginla.

- What are Labarbera's stats as a Canuck? Well before the game they were sickeningly good. If IHDB updated them after tonight they should look like this.

Sundin, Wellwood, Bernier and Burrows post game interviews. These guys look excited.

- Oilers fans boo'ed Sundin every time he touched the puck. But he "didn't hear them."

BOXSCORE

HIGHLIGHTS


T Tags: Canucks Oilers game+review January+7+2009 Sundin+debut Bernier highlights boxscore

Live Blogging Sundin's first game as a Canuck

Most eyes will be on the Canucks-Oilers tilt tonight as Sundin makes his debut. I am co-moderating the game for Canucks.com's live blog, as seen below.
Will the Canucks explode with energy with their new teammate? Will Mats be a distraction? How about the Canucks pull out a win for Jason Lababrera tonight and put some distance between themselves and the Oilers in the standings!





T Tags: Canucks Oilers Mats+Sundin live+blog

Sundin ready, now can the Canucks stop the red hot Oilers?

“It’s great he’s finally here,” said Pavol Demitra. “It’s a huge game. Edmonton is playing great right now so if Mats can help us, it will obviously give us a little more jump. I think he came at the right time and definitely he came to the right place.”

Link to the story at Vancouver Sun.
The right time, in a sense yes. The Canucks have lost the last 2 games in a shootout. Sundin should be a difference-maker there. But bottom line is that this team needs to focus and not rely heavily on Sundin to be Jesus. Everybody pulls their weight. If they do, then I think the Coilers are meat tonight.

As for why Hansen was sent down, AV said:

“Jannik for the last seven or eight games, we felt that his play had slipped a little bit," said Vigneault. "Obviously we talked to him about it and when push came to shove, these last few games here we thought Jaffray and Bolduc were a little bit better."

More of a game preview later.

PREGAME NOTES

- Ales Hemsky will probably not play (concussion)
- Fernando Pissani is out (broken ankle)

- Erik Cole, who I am a big fan of, has 3 goals and 6 points in his last 5 games. He is finally picking up the pace.

- Ryan Johnson is about a week away from returning. Hos broken foot is healed, but his finger injury is still hampering him. Can't wait for him to come back.

"We talked about a reasonable amount of ice time to get him going. I think he’s fine with it. He told me at the end of practice that he’s good mentally and physically." - Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault on easing Mats Sundin into the lineup. (Vancouver Sun)

With Sundin playing with Wellwood and Raymond, I would assume that he will be eased into action 5 on 5. But when a power play occurs, I'm sure he will get a lot of ice time, preferrably with the Sedins. It could be a complete Swede PP line with Sundin, Sedins, Ohlund and Edler. Impressive.

-It may seem like the Canucks are somewhat stinky lately, and they are in the fact that they lost to Atlanta. However, in the past 3 games they have earned 4 of a possible 6 points.

- The Oilers are going to come out hard tonight. If they win, they take the 8th spot in the West, held by the Coyotes. That would also put them 4 points behind Vancouver. Yes, it really is getting that close.

LUONGO A WESTERN CONFERENCE ALLSTAR

From CDC:

Vancouver Canucks are pleased to announce that goaltender and captain Roberto Luongo has been named to the Western Conference All-Star Team for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, Quebec, on January 25th. Luongo will represent the Vancouver Canucks for the annual event.

How can anyone read that without calling bullshit? The guy hasn't played since November 22. Stupid popularity contest.

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST
TV: SPORTSNET

This is a big day in Canucks history with Sundin playing here for the first time. Come hang out at Canucks.com's live blog of the event.

T Tags: Canucks Oilers Game+preview January+7+2009 Sundin+returns injury+updates Hemsky Pisani Ryan+Johnson

Sundin could play Wednesday against Oilers / Schneider sent down

A fan at the CDC forums heard on Team 1040:

Tom Larscheid just said that AV is gonna run with

Raymond Sundin Wellwood
Sedin Demitra Sedin
hansen Kesler burrows
Hordi bernier Jaffrey

Just listening to him on team 1040 , Thats gonna be the Lineup Against Edmonton.

Can't always trust forums, right? OK, so let's see what Brad Ziemer from the Vancouver Sun just wrote:

Mats Sundin will travel to Edmonton with the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, but won’t decide until after Wednesday morning’s game-day skate whether he will play that night against the Oilers.


Sundin participated in his first full practice with the Canucks late this morning and will work out with the team again Tuesday before travelling with the Canucks later in the day to the Alberta capital.


“We talked about it today and it looks like I am going to go either way,” Sundin said.

Sundin was non-committal when asked if he thought he would make his Canuck debut Wednesday night against the Oilers

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think after another practice tomorrow we’ll see. It felt good today skating. It’s how you feel tomorrow morning and how you feel maybe Wednesday morning and see how the body reacts when you skate at this pace. We’ll see.”

So don't bank on him playing in Edmonton just yet.
Mats practiced on a line with Wellwood and Raymond today.
What he said about Wellwood:

“Kyle is a very smart player as you guys have seen here,” Sundin said. “To me, he has got that hockey sense that comes natural to him. He understands the game, he understands where players are on the ice around him and understands where to go to get goals and assists and so forth.”

What he said about Raymond:

“He was flying out there today. I really enjoy his energy and his skating. He made some great plays out there. It was nice to have some young fresh legs out there, too.”

Demitra missed practice with a sore groin but will play against the Oilers.

---

From the same Sun article: Cory Schneider was sent back down to the Moose today. It looks as though Curtis Sanford is back. That being said, Jason Labarbera will start in his 4th straight game against the Oilers Wednesday. Good to see Alain Vigneault stick with the hot goalie.

T Tags: Sundin+may+play+Wednesday+against+Oilers Cory+Schneider+sent+down+to+Manitoba Curtis+Sanford+returns

Oilers beat Canucks / No Sundin until Tuesday

I won't even get too much into the Canucks-Oilers game except to say that the Canucks stabbed themselves in the foot by taking too many penalties and then put the heavy pressure on when it was too late. Vigneault addressed that post game.
Intense 3rd period wasn't it? 14 shots to 3 for the Nucks but to no avail. The Oilers scored 2 PP goals to the Canucks' 1.

Sundin was reportedly expected to land in Vancouver on Saturday. But that has been delayed to Tuesday. So Ben-Angt Gustafsson's prediction of Sundin playing for the Canucks by January 10 may be about right. He wants to persuade Mats to play for Sweden in 2010.
Like I said...distractions...
Sundin will no doubt kick start our power play, amongst many other things. Obviously Pavol Demitra can't get the job done, nor the Sedins. Sundin's presence will be welcomed here. In the meantime the Canucks need to put together a solid game like we all know they CAN. It's just not happening right now.
Sanford looked fine tonight, but his team didn't bail him out.
How do you like the play of Dwayne Roloson? Yeah, 39 years old and still ticking. Doesn't surprise me one bit. What surprised me was the Oilers' play in front of Rolie the Goalie. Pretty impressive. The Oilers supposedly sucked right? Well eat your words. They aren't toast just yet. The Northwest Division race is only just heating up, in my opinion.

The game after a stinker and before Sundin comes to town

That’s definitely the tough part, getting the turkey out of you the next morning. But I think it will be a little bit easier being a home game. You get to sleep in your own bed and really enjoy the full Christmas experience and when you wake up Boxing Day, you turn the page and get ready to go. - Shane O’Brien on getting back to business tonight after the holiday break. -Shane O'Brien, Vancouver Sun.

It's not just the stuffing the Canucks have to get over, it's the 5-0 destruction the Sharks handed them on the 24th, a game they barely showed up for.
I read through some of my posts from October until now, looking for other stinker games, and the best I could come up with was the 5-2 loss to the Sabres on October 17 and the 3-1 loss to the Flames on November 29. Besides the obvious trend of the Canucks perhaps taking too many penalties, not showing up, getting outshot in those games there is another: the Canucks would lose the next 2 games after each sleeper.
But there is a more positive stat to throw out there: the Canucks are 2-1 against the Oilers this season. Both wins came at home, where they play tonight.
The Canucks have won 3 of their last 5. The Oilers only 2.
From Canucks.com:

The Oilers have won six of their last nine road contests, and head to GM Place for the second time in 10 days following a 4-2 loss on Dec. 17. Edmonton is 2-5-1 in its last eight visits to Vancouver.

Also:

The Oilers are looking to string together back-to-back victories for the first time since opening the month of December with three straight wins.

INJURIES

-Ethan Moreau is questionable after injuring his wrist blocking a shot against the Oilers' win over Phoenix on the 22nd.

-I know we all miss Luongo, but how about Ryan Johnson? There's a character guy that I've missed since he broke his foot and finger weeks ago.
In regards to Luongo, there is no talk of a timeline except "week to week". I talked to my cousin at the family dinner last night about groin injuries for goalies, as he plays net locally and does summer goalie camps, and he said it's a tough injury to have. He said that you can be walking around feeling fine for long periods of time and then all off a sudden you'll feel pain walking up stairs, for example. He projects 2 more weeks for Luongo. I'm not so sure about it after hearing of my cousin's experiences. 2 weeks would be terrific wouldn't it?
How about the Canucks just play better without Luongo?! They do it in stretches and are inconsistent. I hear many Canucks fans wondering if we should be getting a different backup goalie while Luongo is out. My opinion on that wanes. How about the team plays better? Curtis Sanford looked great in relief of a rubber-stricken Cory Schneider last game. How about the coach rides Sanford for a while and the team buckles up in front of him?!
It's Friday today but it feels like Monday, why? Because it's a big week in Vancouver. We play 3 in a row at home against the Oilers, Senators and Flyers. The team needs to establish some form of consistency in Luongo's absence and while Mats Sundin practices with the team yet does not play. He reportedly arrives tomorrow.
Distractions everywhere. Focus boys!

FROM ENEMY LINES

Good for them. I know many long suffering Canuck fans who seemed to be on the edge of a dream before a Jovo dumbkoff penalty or Bertuzzi the Brave decided to alter time and space. Perhaps no fan group in the NHL deserves a Stanley Cup more than Vancouver.

And you know what? They might just do it. - Lowetide

Great piece about Canucks fans, management by Lowetide today.

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST
TV: SPORTSNET

Canucks.com live blog is happening!

T Tags: Canucks+Oilers+game+preview Friday+December+26+2008 Mats+Sundin+Vancouver+arrival losing Luongo

Canucks beat Oilers 4-2 on Linden night

What a terrific tribute to Linden pregame. Linden shed no tears before his speech up to the point of his banner being raised. Much like his father, he braved the tears of joy and pulled off the most classiest act I've seen in a jersey retirement ceremony, deflecting almost all of the attention and praise from himself and directing it to his former teammates, family, etc.

"This is an incredible day," said Linden. "To the fans of Vancouver and the province of B.C., it's hard to express my gratitude to you tonight. Thank you for letting me into your lives. Thanks for being incredible, passionate hockey fans."

Linden speech Part 1



Linden speech Part 2: I can see our friends Roger and Krista in the stands at the 5:50 mark. Lucky bastards! Listen to what he says about people seeing his jersey in the rafters...class personified:



Here is a clip of his jersey being raised:


Then the Canucks come out and beat the Oilers in mostly sound fashion to let Linden go home even more proud.
I'm not sure about the injuries to O'Brien and Salo, but it looks like Salo could be out a lot longer than #55. It's hard to replace glass when you break it.
The Hansen-Sedin line clicked with 5 points: 3 for Dank, 2 for Hansen and 1 for Hank. A great game by them.
You can also see that Kesler and Burrows are beginning to claw their way back to becoming offensive threats.
What I really don't get was AV's lineup change of Wellwood centering Hordichuk and Brown on the 4th line to start the game. Strange.
The Canucks kept the Oilers to the outside for most of the game. I thought that Sanford was steady in goal with every shot minus the Gagner goal. He deserves another look in the next game.

BOXSCORE

T Tags: Trevor+Linden+retirement+night retired+jersey Canucks+beat+Oilers December+17+2008
Trevor+Linden+retirement+night+video speech

Linden night - Canucks-Oilers preview

This is a big day in Canucks' history. Canucks legend Trevor Linden will have his #16 retired and there will be all sorts of festivities surrounding the Canucks-Oilers game.
At 6:00 pm the celebration ceremonies begin on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific, or you can watch it at Canucks.com. It's going to be a tear-jerking and suiting tribute to Mr. Canuck.
At 8:00 pm there will be a roundtable hosted by Barry MacDonald with special guests Dean Linden, Kirk McLean and Norm Jewison.

Linden's jersey is going to look great next to Stan Smyl's #12.

The Canucks will most likely feel the emotion of this tribute and hopefully play an ultra-inspired game against an Oilers squad that had their butts handed to them 9-2 by the Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Once again, you can expect fireworks in this game with all the emotions and the rivalry alone. Keep in mind that the Vancouver lost 3-0 to the Oilers last Saturday in an un-inspired effort. I don't see them sleeping in this one.
I'll update this post all day with any player interviews or lineup changes.

11:53 AM
Sami Salo is doubtful for tonight. Where once he had a groin issue, he is now apparently suffering from the flu...again. Sometimes I really thing we need to either trade this guy or waive him. Then he scores an OT goal against Detroit and I like him all over again.

Thanks to Canucks.com for this tidbit:

On Sunday against the Panthers, the Canucks set a new team record for the three fastest consecutive special teams goals in a single period when Pavol Demitra and Kyle Wellwood tallied power play markers followed by Ryan Kesler’s shorthanded goal in a span of 2:08 during the second period.

That was pretty impressive wasn't it? Adiose Panthers!

From Sanford today:

"It’s up to one of us to take the ball. We can’t be winning one, losing one. One of us has to get on a roll. Until the coaching staff sees that, it might be back and forth."

No kidding! One of you guys get on a roll already! Yeesh!

Linden said that he was "hocked and overwhelmed" by the honor that he is about to receive. I think sometimes you just have to know when you're good, Trevor! Don't be so bashful!

In case you have lived under a rock for the past 16 days, Canucks.com has had a special on their site called "16 days of Trevor Linden. The complete archive of that can be found here. Lots of great Linden history there.

CDC has a video clip up on Wellwood too. The players love him. No, he's not the fastest skater, nor does he have a huge physical game, but he's in the right place at the right time frequently. I don't think many people thought he'd be a sniper, because he's known for his playmaking abilities. But this year he's changed that. Worth a look.

3:00 PM

A new Gate 16 at GM Place has been intrduced in honor of Linden. The big 16 unveiled in the snowy weather today. I wonder how many city slickers won't make the game because of reckless snowy driving. Everyone take the Sky Train!
Said Linden today:

“I’m hoping to keep it together, that should be a challenge,” Linden told reporters this morning at GM Place. “I’m hoping to have fun and obviously speaking to 18,000 people is not my forte. But I think it is going to be a fun night. I know how hard (the Canuck staff) have worked on putting this night together, so I think it is going to be a great night.”

T Tags: Trevor+Linden+jersey+retirement December+17+2008 Canucks Oilers Game+preview

Canucks finish a 7-game road trip tonight against the Oilers

They have gone 2-3-1 on this trip and really need to finish it at 500 and go home. Enough of these insane road trips already. After tonight the Canucks will play 4 straight and home, and 8 of their next 12 games at GM Place.
According to TSN, Sami Salo is still not ready to play for tonight. Doesn't matter. If Rob Davison is going to beat up on Edmonton like he did the Predators, then he's the better choice for tonight, in my opinion, because it's going to get violent if the Canucks played the way they did against Nashville. It was a new step in a physical direction.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

The Oilers seem to be finding some form of success lately. Despite losing 2-0 to Florida last game (the Panthers are streaking it up with Craig Anderson in net-Oilers threw more than 40 shots at him), the Oilers beat the Sharks Kings and Stars in recent games. Their power play is better than ours at 11th overall (having Souray and Visnovsky helps) but their PK is 29th overall.
The Canucks are 7 points ahead of Edmonton, who sit 3 points out of 8th spot in 11th place.
Edmonton has a better road record than home record so far. 10-8-0 on the road and 3-4-2 at home not-so-sweet home.

Ales Hemsky has finally arrived this season. After starting the campaign ice cold, he now has 28 points in 27 games.
Sheldon Souray is healthy enough this year to have 8 goals (4 on the PP) and 21 points in 26 games. That is why he is being paid the big bucks.
What the hell has happened to Erik Cole? I thought his style would suit the Oilers' more wide-open offensive style but that has not happened yet. The once 30-goal scorer has 3 goals and 8 points in 27 games this season. Wow.
The Oilers really had a great 1-2 punch on offence last season with the kids providing the secondary scoring. The kids being Cogliano, who has 8 goals this year, and Sam Gagner, who has hit a major sophomore slump, with 1 goal and 5 assists in 24 games. Ouch.
Yeah, there is too much wrong with the Oilers these days.
A plus for Edmonton? Dwayne Roloson is packing the goods lately. I am surrounded by Rolo-haters here, but I always stand by my opinion that he is a good goalie.
Complete Oilers player stats here.

Bytes: Craig MacTavish talks about the Canucks being a formidable team, the Oilers' 4th line struggles, and well hell even more compliments about the Canucks. Yeah, basically that the Oilers are measuring themselves up to us because we are so great....etc.

Looks like this will be a penalty-filled aggressive game. My hunch is that the Oilers will have the better power play and could quite possibly take this one. The Canucks are going to have to put Luongo out of their minds for a while yet and continue their tightened-up play in front of Sanford. We'll see what happens. It will no doubt be entertaining as hell: a power play-ridden, visor-fightin' blood bath.

Last time these 2 teams played on October 25th the Canucks' organization unveiled the #7 mystery and the team destroyed the Oilers 6-3. Here are the highlights:



Love that Wellwood goal! The Canucks actually scored 4 PP goals that night.

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST
TV: CBC

Canucks.com Fan Zone has a live blog up tonight. That is the place to go to hang with ultimate Canucks fans and put some alcohol down your throat perhaps!

And what's this? An Oilers lament of sorts written by Matt at the Battle of Alberta to the tune of "Bowling For Soup."
Hey, keep your head up, Matt! I think the Oilers will turn it around.


T Tags: Oilers+Canucks+game+preview Sam+Gagner+cold Hemsky+hot Salo+groin+injury

Where's your crown King Wellwood?

It's no secret that I have been a Wellwood fan since he first played for the Leafs. It's great to see a story like this where he has been blasted for his lack of fitness, becomes unwanted through waivers, then becomes needed because of a Demitra injury, and then performs as well as he has. That's 3 points in 2 games. That would be the game-winning goal he scored last night. Was that a pretty goal or what? What patience he has with the puck. His talent is undenied. The Canucks have found themselves a power play specialist.
Another thing that I like about Wellwood is that he'll chase the puck in the corner knowing he is going to get hit, but rather than turn the puck over, he makes a smart pass right before he gets whacked. Instinct. Wellwood has it. For as long as Wellwood lasts in Vancouver, this is becoming an enjoyable ride seeing him play.

“For me, the power play gives me a chance to handle the puck and things like that, when you get that early in the game, you get into the game a lot more.” - Wellwood post game

Wellwood's ice time has increased over the past 3 games from 10:54 to 14:58 last night.

MISC

-Luongo looked much better. That game-saver in the 3rd was plain sick.
-Good to see the other kids like Hansen and Raymond really kick it up a notch.
-Still seeing our d-men get caught up ice a lot. I don't like it. Too aggressive. To Jovo-like.
-The power play is so back it's not even funny. 4 PP goals last night. The Canucks went from 29th in the NHL on the PP to 14th in one night.
-the Canucks are 7th in the NHL in goals per game (3.50)
-They are 5th-worst in goals against per game (3.50)
-They are 28th in the League in shots per game (25.8)
-They are 15th in the NHL in shots against per game (30.1)

But it's all about Wellwood for me at this point. The Canucks had blown a 3-1 because:
1. Luongo flubbed a wrister from Robert Nilsson for the 3-2 goal
2. Mitchell got caught up ice on the 3-3 goal and the Oilers had an odd man rush the other way. Staios bagged that one.

The Oilers had tied it and we were worried. The momentum was not in our favor. But leave it to Cool Hand Kyle to save the day.



Even The Yankee Canuck is loving the Wellwood. Or at least, he's surprised.

T Tags: Canucks+kill+Oilers October+25+2008 Wellwood+rules

Canucks should be energized playing the Oilers tonight

Alain Vigneault has been saying that the best Canucks players have been practicing early and with a vengeance since they returned home from a gruelling road trip. They would be Luongo and the Sedins, who have not consistently been the best guys since game 1.
-From Canucks.com:

Since opening night, the Canucks have surrendered 13 first period goals over the past six games. They have surrendered a first period goal in each of those six games, and only in the game against Detroit last Thursday did they limit the opposition to less than two first period goals. Last season, the Canucks had a record of 3-11-1 when allowing more than one first period goal. Conversely, they had a record of 20-11-5 when they did not allow a single first period marker by the opposition.

At some point the Canucks are going to tighten up defensively. I just don't know when.
Jason Krog is going to receive a massive chance to once again prove himself at the NHL level, playing on the Canucks' top power play unit with the Twins.

"They [the Sedins] have such chemistry and seem to know where each other is, but they also are very good at getting the other guy the puck, too, so my job is going to be whenever there is a 50-50 puck, get it, get it to them and after that get open and be an option for them."

Yeah yeah. That's what every guy who plays with them says. We just need somebody to be an Anson Carter one of these days. Steve Bernier was tabbed as Carter 2, but has only shown moments of brilliance at an inconsistent level. He has 2 goals and 4 points in 7 games with only 11 shots. That won't cut it. He has been demoted down to the 2nd power play unit with Kesler, Wellwood, Raymond and co. Not a bad place to be either. Maybe he'll click there. I believe Pyatt is off all power play units.

The continuing saga of Kyle Wellwood.

Now here's a guy that I am really pulling for. There is a Metallica song on their new album that really reminds me of Wellwood. It's called Broken, Beat and Scarred. The first lines are
You rise
You fall
You're down
Then you rise again
What don't kill you makes you more strong.

Here's hoping Wellwood puts out another fine performance and actually breathes some life to that 2nd line. Make us forget that we even have a guy named Demitra, for a month or so anyway!

The Oilers have a bit of injury woes themselves right now.

-Shaun Horcoff is questionable for tonight's game after colliding with Colorado's Ben Guite in the Oilers' 4-1 loss to the Avs.
-Steve Staios has missed the last 2 games for personal reasons.
-Fernando Pisani is day-to-day with back issues.

There are a few Oilers who like to start scoring:

Sam Gagner: 5 games played, no points and 15 shots. The sophomore jinx is alive...for now. A player with that kind of talent has to come around. Not against us hopefully.

Kyle Brodziak: 6 games played, no points and 6 shots.

Ales Hemsky- 6 games played, no goals and 5 assists.

More Oilers stats here.

There are murmurs of Darcy Hordichuk and Rick Rypien returning tonight. That would be a good thing. Those are character guys who showed some chemistry together on the 4th line.
Glass Joe Salo is day to day with a sore groin.

Matching Speed

The Canucks probably shouldn't try to match the Oilers' speed game tonight. Not all of our guys can do that. For once I'd like to see Vancouver play a better puck possession game, slow the Oilers down in the neutral zone and make them turn the puck over, and not get confused in their own zone.

Goalie match up

Matt Garon continually impresses me. He looks like Luongo in stature but he's more agile and flexible. He alone could stop us tonight. Luongo needs to be that guy and has not been yet.

It's going to be a great game. I love watching these 2 teams go head to head. Both teams are coming off losses. The Oilers are finishing a 3 game road trip. The Canucks should have lots of energy playing at home again and having not played since Tuesday.

4-3 Canucks I'd say. Possible shootout again.

T Tags: Canucks+Oilers+preview October+25+2008 Wellwood Krog+promoted Sedins stats

Thoughts on Canucks winning AGAIN against the Oilers

I don't have many thoughts actually. It's preseason. I just can't read too much into it.
Yes I wish the Bernier-Hodgson-Demitra line could have gotten on the scoresheet.
Yes I think Demitra was floating.
es I am going to develop a man-crush on Steve Bernier this season (I kid. But the kid is good).
I liked the 2 wins we got over the Coilers for bragging rights.
I liked the play of Luongo and especially Sanford.
Hordichuk is the next Gino Odjick, right?
Ryan Johnson is a great fit. He's already clicking with Burrows and Hordichuk. Perfect. The CDC guys think Vigneault should stick with that line. Perhaps. They also think Kesler could be the 2nd line center. Absolutely.
But it's only preseason.
Below is the boxscore from last night's game. Look at all the ice time Demitra got. I didn't know there was enough helium out there for him to float that long.

T Tags: Canucks+Oilers+preseason game+2 Demitra Hodgson

Different-looking Canucks squad faces Oilers tonight

From Canucks.com:

The Canucks preseason home opener will feature a lineup with Canuck veterans, Roberto Luongo, Henrik Sedin, Sami Salo, and Kevin Bieksa.

Also on this squad are newcomers, Pavol Demitra, Darcy Hordichuk, Steve Bernier, and Ryan Johnson.

But the most anticipated debut for the Canucks is undoubtably 2008 first round draft pick, Cody Hodgson, who has been turning heads since entering camp September 12. Canuck fans have been waiting all summer for Hodgson to put on the Canucks sweater and step onto the ice at GM Place, hoping to make a mark on the team that will stick all year.

Last night I really wanted to see Krog and Wellwood strut their stuff. But tonight it's all about Demitra, Bernier and Hodgson. Sure, Hordichuk will probably fight Stortini. But I want to see the offence. Is Hodgson going to leave his mark and solidify a spot? It's looking more and more like Hodgson could be the Canucks' #2 or #3 center and not Kyle Wellwood.

As for the Oilers, I am anticipating watching Gilbert Brule on an up-tempo Oilers squad. Will the 2005 first-round pick find his stride in Edmonton?

T Tags: Canucks Oilers Preseason Game+2 roster Cody+Hodgson Pavol+Demitra Steve+Bernier

Preseason game #1: Canucks 4 Oilers 3 (SO)

Yes, it's just pre-season, but it was still enjoyable to watch the Canucks take this one. I'll keep this in point form.

- The Souray-Visnovsky combo will be feared all year long, no doubt about it. If Souray can stay healthy he is going to put up serious numbers.
His 25:47 of ice time was second only to Mattias Ohlund's whopping 26:34.

- All the talk surrounds Kyle Wellwood and his conditioning. He assisted on the Canucks' second goal and bagged a beauty in the shootout, showcasing his talent, yet you could see from AV's post-game comments that he's not entirely thrilled with him. Even Ryan Walter said that Wellwood is a "long ways away". That doesn't bode well for the former Leaf. He had better develop a 6-pack and score 3 points per game or he probably won't make the final squad.
He's a small guy too, and really got pushed off the puck easily. Stick him on the PP and he's gold though.

- Cory Schneider was the 3rd star of the game and deserved it. We have a real "keeper" in Schneider. He seemed nervous to start out but really settled down as the game went on.

- For a guy that led the AHL in scoring last year, Jason Krog did not dominate. He looked alright, but not a real standout.
However, his shootout goal was just sick.

-Matt Garon is large and fully capable goalie. He should take over the #1 role in Edmonton.

-Who the hell is Canucks' #54 Dan Gendur?

-Opinions on Don Taylor as a play-by-play guy? I'm not sold on that concept. Sorry Don.

BOXSCORE

T Tags: Canucks Oilers preseason

Canucks lines for pre-season game 1 vs Oilers

D.Sedin - Wellwood - Pyatt
Pettinger - Krog - Simek
Jaffray - Kesler - Gendur
Cowan - Rypien - Raymond
Labrie

Ohlund - Heshka
Mitchell - Baumgartner
Rahimi - Edler
Davison - Sharrow

Cory Schneider between the pipes

Source

Game time: 6:00 PST
TV: Sportsnet Pacific

T Tags: Canucks Oilers Preseason Lineup

Stupid Ethan Moreau hit-and-run article inspires stupid Photoshop image

Whether Moreau and co. hit a motorbike and bolted or not really doesn't matter. Hey, I've done that once before. I'll admit it. Dishonorable it was. But that jackass shouldn't have parked that little Honda Civic behind my Chev pickup. I couldn't see it in my mirror!
In other NHL news today, Scott Niedermayer took a dump this morning and used thin toilet paper. Should have used Scotties.



T Tags: Ethan+Moreau hit+and+run Vancouver motorbike picture image Photoshop

Remembering the Gretzky trade in 1988

Shock, disbelief, tears and angry that my hero was leaving the Oilers to join an American team. Even as a 14-year old, I thought Gretzky belonged in Canada. Gretzky WAS Canada. All of my Gretzky hockey cards, stickers, photos, books and even my Wayne lunchkit from elementary school seemed worthless. I was angry.
But not nearly as angry as the Oilers fans I'm sure, who mostly blamed then-owner Peter Pocklington for the trade and even Gretzky's wife Janet, who I believe was living in California at the time. Hell, they were only married 24 days earlier and were expecting a child.
The original news audio and some Oilers fan reactions from that dreadful day can be found here at CBC's archives. Just listening to it gave me flashbacks.

There was something Gretzky said in that interview that was absolutely true, even though fans may not have thought so at the time: "The Oilers are a good team with or without Wayne Gretzky."
Mike Krushelniski and Marty McSorley went to the Kings with The Great One in exhange for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, first round picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993, plus $20 million in cash. The cash seemed to be the kicker didn't it?
The 3 first round picks turned out to be Jason Miller, Martin Rucinsky and Nick Stajduhar. None of those players benefited the Oilers much. Wasters. In fact, the Oilers were pretty lousy at drafting after the Gretzky trade up to 1993. No wonder why they took a nose dive after 1990.
Speaking of 1990, this year in Oilers' history is what now stands out in my mind the most in regards to the Gretzky deal. The year that the Oilers won the Cup without Gretzky. It didn't take long for them to have success after Wayne did it?
Here is the Oilers playoff roster that made won the Cup in 1990:

FORWARDS

Mark Messier- New captain of the team. 31 points in 22 playoff games. A wrecking machine.
Jari Kurri- 25 points in 22 playoff games. How about his 93 points in 78 games in his first season without Gretzky.
Glenn Anderson- 22 points in 22 playoff games. Remember his end-to-end special in the '90 Finals against the Bruins? I believe that was the Cup-winning game as well.
Esa Tikkanen- 24 points in 22 playoff games. Drafted 80th overall by the Oilers in 1983.
Craig Simpson- 16 goals and 31 points in 22 playoff games in 1990.
Petr Klima- Marathon OT hero; garbage can helmut
Craig MacTavish- His 5th year with the Oilers.
Martin Gelinas- First year with the Oilers after being a part of the Gretzky trade as a rookie.
Joe Murphy- Was streaky but came through out of nowhere sometimes. Drafted 1st overall by the Red Wings in 1986.
Adam Graves- acquired from the Wings along with Petr Klima and Jeff Sharples in November 1989 in exchange for Jimmy Carson (a piece of the Gretzky trade), Kevin McClelland and a pick.
Kelly Buchberger- drafted 188th overall by the Oilers in 1985.
Reijo Ruotsaleinen- acquired from the Devils in March 1990 for Jeff Sharples.

DEFENCE

Kevin Lowe- with the Oilers since 1979.
Steve Smith- No one was laughing about you scoring on your own net the previous year, hey Stevie? One year later he wins the Cup to make ammends.
Mark Lamb- 17 points in 22 playoff games. Lamb was claimed off waivers from the Wings in October 1987.
Randy Gregg- The Doctor. Oiler vet.
Craig Muni- His 4th season with the Oilers. Signed as a free agent by the Oilers in August 1986.
Charley Huddy- with the Oilers since 1980.

GOAL

Bill Ranford- Was unbelievable in the 1990 playoffs. Won the Conn Smyth Trophy. Ironically, he was playing against the Bruins' Andy Moog in the '90 playoffs. Ranford was traded to the Oilers along with Geoff Courtnall in March 1988 in exhange for Andy Moog.
Ranford was so good in 1990 that Grant Fuhr ended up being his backup.

The most amazing thing is how much Mark Messier emerged out of the secondary role behind Gretzky after the trade, scoring a career-high 129 points and winning the Hart Trophy.

Gretzky was right. The Oilers were good without him.

T Tags: Edmonton+Oilers+after+Wayne+Gretzky+trade Mark+Messier 1990+Stanley+Cup+roster

Steve Tambellini hired as Oilers' GM

Speaking of jumping ship to a rival team: Steve Tambellini has left the Canucks as vice president and assistant GM and has joined the Oilers as their new GM. Kevin Lowe has been promoted to the position of president of the club. Haha. Yeah, may as well get Lowe out of the GM picture since he's good at making enemies!
Tambellini served with the Canucks for 17 seasons. He is obviously ready for the new opportunity and promotion.
Kevin Lowe was the Oilers GM for the past 8 seasons.
So let's see what Gillis does with the new vacancy. Maybe he wants full control of the Canucks ship. Not sure. Maybe it's time for the Steamer to get a promotion.

More personal info on Steve Tambellini at Wikipedia.

Best of luck out in the flatlands, Steve!

T Tags: Kevin+Lowe+promoted+Oilers+President Steve+Tambellini+new+Oilers+GM

Lowe turns Coilers into Oilers within a couple of years

It wasn't that long ago that Lowe was letting Ryan Smyth go at a trade deadline to the dismay of Oil fans everywhere and grasping at RFA's like Dustin Penner and pissing off Brian Burke to no end. But sometimes all fans need is a little patience. The reconstructed Oilers team of last year missed the playoffs by only 3 points and suprised a lot of people. They lost impact players like Shawn Horcoff and mad man Ethan Moreau for huge parts of the season, while newbs like Sam Gagner (13 goals and 49 points), Andy Cogliano (18 goals and 45 points), Robert Nilsson (10 goals and 41 points) and Kyle Brodziak (14 goals and 31 points) all stepped up and contributed. These guys are only going to get better. The overpaid Dustin Penner ($4.25 per season for another 5 more seasons) managed 23 goals and 47 points. He is projected to exceed that you would hope.
I was fully in favor of the trading of Jarret Stool and Matt Greene to the Kings for Lubomir Visnovsky. Greene's size and aggressiveness will be lost, but now imagine Sheldon Souray AND Visnovsky running your power play. That is scary if you think about it. Visnovsky offsets the loss of Joni Pitkanen, who was traded to the Canes for Eric Cole. If Cole stays healthy, he will fit right in to the Oilers' structure. He's fast and tough. Great addition by Lowe. Cole recently stated that he views the Oilers as an opportunity.

"This is more about opportunity. There's going to be a tremendous opportunity for me to play with two tremendous hockey players, and that's not to say I wasn't in Carolina, but I'm looking to play a bigger role, more of a leadership role," said Cole.
"I'm going from a team where I was maybe in the middle of the road, maybe even one of the younger guys, to being the old goat in the room. I'm excited about everything."

Cole could score 40 under the right circumstances. He scored 30 goals in 60 games in 05-06.

I also liked the move of trading wide-eyed pain Raffi Torres to the Jackets for promising center Gilbert Brule. Brule tore it up with the Vancouver Giants several years ago but has not found his scoring touch at the NHL level yet. In 146 NHL games, Brule only has 12 goals and 32 points. He's only 21 years old. Maybe the run and gun style of the Oilers will change that.
Torres' numbers have dropped over the past few years, so this is a worthy gamble.

So, this is their depth chart. Check out the Oiler's current roster.

Forwards

Cole-Horcoff-Hemsky
Nilsson-Gagner-Cogliano
Penner-Brodziak-Pisani
Moreau-Stortine-Brule

Defence

Souray-Visnovsky
Staios-Smid
Grebeshkov-Gilbert

Goal

Roloson
Garon

Doesn't Oilers' goalie Garon look like Luongo in stature? Except he's better in shootouts than Louie is. The 6'2 207 pounder played in 46 games last year, had a 2.66 goals against average, .910 save percentage and 26 wins on a non-defensive team. Roloson's numbers were less stellar, at 43 games played, a 3.05 GAA, a .90 save % and 15 wins. Garon is a force to be reckoned with at this point.
And so is the team. They can come at you effectively with all 4 lines and should get contributions from all 4. That is going to make them even more of a pain in the ass to play against in 2008-09. A playoff spot really isn't out of the question for these guys, and I can respect Lowe's abilities to recreate this team the way he has.
Judging by how much cap space Lowe has left, I believe he is about done adding to this team.

So are they better than Vancouver right now? Debatably no, in my opinion. Close call though. Vancouver still has a premier goaltender and a stacked defence. The Oilers can run and gun all they want but I think tight defence will win more than not.

T Tags: Edmonton+Oilers 2008-09 preview

Lowe fires back at Brian Burke...finally

"Where do I begin?," started Lowe. "He's a moron, first of all. Secondly, he really believes that any news for the NHL is good news. Thirdly, he loves the limelight and I don't think anyone in hockey will dispute that. Lastly, he's in a pathetic hockey market where they can't get on any page of the newspaper let alone the front page of the sports, so any of this stuff carries on."

"I mean, if he wants to debate what our offer sheet did to them or to the salaries, anytime," he explained to Team 1260. "The reality is, Rick Nash's contract a number of years ago, (Patrice) Bergeron's and (Ilya) Kovalchuk's; that sets the standard - that's been going on for decades. I'm sick and tired of it. I know everybody in hockey is. I know our peers are like, 'Well, that's Burkie.' This guy is an absolute media junkie and I guess he's achieving what he wants because he gets his name in the headlines. But the reality is, I hate the fact that my name is linked to his. He's an underachieving wanna-be in terms of success in the NHL. He won a Stanley Cup? Great. I've won six Stanley Cups, you want to count rings? Who cares, it's just a little pathetic that he carries on."

It's amazing what a lot of pent-up anger can do to aid a verbal laceration.

More on Lowe's rant can be found at TSN.

T Tags: Kevin+Lowe+speaks angry+at+Brian+Burke rant feud