Scoreboard watching on Tuesday night

The Canucks can find themselves out of a playoff spot before they even play Nashville on Wednesday if:

-Minnesota beats Toronto on Tuesday night and the Ducks beat the Coyotes or lose in overtime. That would tie the Wild with Vancouver at 51 points with a game in hand. The Ducks would be 2 points ahead with a win or 1 point ahead with the OT loss.
So you had better cheer for the Leafs and Coyotes on Tuesday night, or pray to the Almighty. Whatever floats your boat. C'mon...you can do it. It's for a good cause.

MORE ON THE CANUCKS

Alain Vigneault put the Nucks through somewhat of a rigorous practice on Monday, seeing that none of the guys played except for Luongo. Some of the guys were in Hawaii. Mats Sundin spent some time in Whistler with his fiancee. He didn't skate but worked out.
AV talked about Mats yesterday:

“Obviously this was probably a challenging moment in his career coming in midway through the season,” Vigneault said. “He’s been getting better every day, Today he stepped on the ice and I thought that’s the best he’s looked skating-wise and hands-wise.

“He is a key to our success obviously. He’s a big component and we need him to play well and I think he’s going to rise to the occasion.”

Damned rights he will.

-Pavol Demitra is questionable for Wednesday's game with a sore groin.

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Canucks still sit in 7th spot / Pat Burns is one tough S.O.B.

Losses by the Blue Jackets, Avalanche and Ducks tonight have provided the Canucks with some fortune. They still barely hold on to 7th spot. That's insane considering that they have lost 6 games in a row and collected only 2 of a possible 12 points in those games. From what I can recall, some of this fortune is a combo of the Canucks having a 12-6-2 record before Luongo was injured and the "barely treading water" 10-12-3 record while Luongo was injured. It is also a testament to the teams holding the 5th-12th spots in the West, and how average they have been. Yes, the Canucks still have life. Yes, they are slowly improving.
The concerning issue right now is that every team just behind the Canucks (minus the 9th place Ducks) has 1, 2 or 3 games in hand on them. Yet not one of them looks poised to make any major use of those games in hand. The Wild are sans Gaborik, the Jackets are/were riding a hot goalie in Steve Mason, the Stars have struggled with consistency (even though they shouldn't be) and the Avalanche are riddled with injuries as well.
The Flames are going to be awfully tough to catch down the stretch as they aren't showing many signs of slowing down. Nice shootout goal by Bertuzzi tonight to clinch the win.
The fact that the Oilers are doing as well as they are doesn't surprise me. The fact that they struggled so mightily earlier in the season did. But with Roloson playing as well as he is, Eric Cole coming alive finally, and the strong return of the enigmatic Ales Hemsky, the Coilers look to be in good shape.
Back to the Canucks. Yes I am feeling more and more optimistic about this bunch. They keep looking better and better. The San Jose game proved they can still play Vigneault's style and I like that. It was also great to see Luongo return to form so quickly.
Some are saying that Luongo should skip the All Star game and rest his groin. From what I've heard from a goaltender/goalie coach is that you don't really want to sit around and rest after returning from a groin injury. It's better to keep playing.
Canucks management is cautioning him.

“It’s a huge, huge honor for a player to be selected to play in the all-star game and we certainly do not want to deprive Roberto -- or any player -- of that honor,” Canuck assistant general manager Laurence Gilman explained late Wednesday. “It’s a matter of weighing what’s in the best interest of the team and Roberto. Ultimately, the decision is his.”

If he aggravates his groin at the All Star weekend festivities I swear I'll toss myself off a bridge into a river with weights tied to my feet.
Word is that Mats Sundin will spend the week off in Vancouver and continue working out. That is a good show of dedication on his part. He simply has not found his groove yet for the most part. He will. Should we call Doug Gilmour or Alex Mogilny out of retirement? Let's re-unite the Sundin-Roberts-Mogilny line! I kid. But that was a good line for the Leafs a few years back.
And speaking of the Leafs, I want to wish former Leafs coach Pat Burns nothing but success in is latest bout with lung cancer. The guy is like John Wayne. If anyone can get through this, Burns can. He is such a strong person, as John Torterella alluded to today.
Burns is one of my fave all-time coaches. Is this guy tough or what? See below. Listen closely to this tantrum by Burns...



Here is another rant by Burns. You gotta love his spirit.

Tech Tags: Western+Conference+standings January+21+2009 Canucks+improving Pat+Burns+lung+cancer video

Matt Cooke helps out Canucks / Slumps happen

Matt Cooke's 2 goals to help the Penguins beat the Ducks tonight actually did us a favor. It launched us one point up in the standings because the Ducks have now played the same amount of games as Vancouver but have scored less. Thanks Cooke!
-The Devils beat the Blue Jackets to keep Columbus 3 points behind us.
-Now watch out for those Oilers, who beat Colorado tonight to move 2 points behind us with 2 games in hand.

The Canucks aren't the only team currently holding a playoff spot that have struggled during the season.

-The Capitals lost 5 games of 7 in late November.
-The Penguins lost 9 of 14 games in all of December and have lost 6 of 9 in January. That's a lot of losses there.
-The Flyers lost 6 games in a row at the very beginning of the season, and look at them now.
-The Atlantic Division-leading Rangers lost 6 of 12 games in December.
-From October 24 to November 14 the Devils lost 8 of 10 games. They would then go on to win 9 of their next 10.
-The great Canadiens lost 8 of 14 games in the month of November, and Koivu was criticized for not speaking French. Oh mon Dieu. They would rebound and win 8 of 13 in December.
-The Blackhawks have lost 5 of their last 9.
-The Flames may be hauling ass right now, but they lost 4 of their first 5 games in October, 5 of 8 in early November, and 5 of 9 in early December.
-The big and bad Bruins lost 6 of 11 in October.
-The Ducks lost 5 of 6 games to start their season, 5 of 6 in mid November (all home games), and 8 of 13 in December.

Feel any better yet Canucks fans? It makes me feel more confident. At least the Canucks are stinking it up now and not in March (yet). There is plenty of time left for this team to turn it around, even if it means we start winning a slew of games when we are in 10th spot in the West. I believe it will happen. I believe in this team. One way or another it will start rolling again. Sundin needs a bit more time. So does Luongo. A lot has happened to this bunch in the past few weeks with the aforementioned players, the backup goaltender situations in Luongo's absense, Sanford's exit, a dismal powerplay, etc. Like someone here said earlier, "this too shall pass." I mean, look at all the shit Frodo and Sam had to go through just to get the damned ring into the fire at Mount Doom.... haha.
Convinced? Still not happy? Try this:



T Tags: Western+Conference+standings January+2009 losing streaks shit+happens Canucks

Western Conference standings causing panic for Canucks fans?

Being 3 points up on 8th spot Phoenix isn't exactly reassuring, especially when you consider how often the Canucks have been winning lately.... not enough. This circus in Vancouver will finally come to an end whenever Luongo makes his return. In the meantime I anticipate seeing what Jason Labarbera can do for us. I hope this little experiment works. Maybe he'll play his heart out, seeing that he is a BC boy.
Will Sundin make a huge difference with the Canucks even without Luongo in goal? So many question marks. So much WAITING. I hate it.
I am looking forward to seeing what this team is capable of with Sundin, Johnson and Luongo back in the lineup. We could be a deadly force. But we are going to have to WAIT for that to happen.
Let's see what the Canucks can do on their stupid and brief road trip on January 1st and 2nd where they play back to back nights against Nashville and Atlanta. If they win both games they should have a better cushion in the standings, and I can stop worrying about them. At the same time, the Canucks' road record is dwindling and now sits at 9-9-2 compared to their home record of 11-6-1.
Makes me want to drink. Speaking of that, I hope you all enjoy your New Years Eve festivities. I wish you all the best in the coming year.

T Tags: Canucks Western+Conference+standings December+31+2008 Sundin Luongo Ryan+Johnson Jason+Labarbera

Zandberg's fearless predictions: Western Conference

I never got why some people make predictions so early, especially with the Sundin and Shanahan saga for example. But I think that now it is about the right time.
Some people don't get why pundits and experts even make predictions. Well I am here to say: "Because it's fun, that's why!"

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Red Wings. No brainer. Not the strongest division and the most-loaded team. I do not think the Wings will repeat though. I think the team in slot 2 will do that.

2. Stars. I'm sold on these guys. And why isn't anyone giving Fabian Brunnstrom any credit? I've drafted him late in every pool I'm in. When I get him people say: "Ah shit! I forgot about him!" These guys pushed Detroit to the limit in the playoffs even without their top 2 D-men.

3. Who the hell is going to win the Northwest Division? It's going to be close. Very close. Just to shut up all of the Vancouver nay-sayers, who have no clue about what they are talking about, I have the Canucks barely taking it. This team is better than it was 2 years ago.
Where's the scoring going to come from? How about I whack you over the side of the head? By committee. The first 3 lines will score. Oh yes they will.
Now, somebody give Sami Salo full armour so he doesn't hurt himself again. How about all of our D gets armour? I really don't want a repeat of last year's injury compilation. Hell, those guys wore out the road to the hospital. They had to re-pave it.

4. Sharks. It should be close between these guys and Dallas for top spot in the Pacific. Their powerplay is going to be scary.

5. Ducks. We should see a return to form for the quacks. Having Selanne and Niedermayer play a full season will do that. Is Getzlaf going to score 100 points?

6. Flames. Bertuzzi? Bah! Cammalleri is good, but he replaces Tanguay. Calgary isn't that much better than last year's team. Or is it? Can Keenan continue his rule with an iron fist? I smell a "tuning out" of Iron Mike this year. Just a hunch. Maybe I should rank these guys in 7th. Ah piss on it.

7. Oilers. Who's mocking Lowe now? The Oilers have depth up front and one cruel blueline in Souray and Visnovski. Can Souray and Cole stay healthy? Are the kids going to suffer from a sophmore slump? Answers: probably not and no. The Oilers continually get better. They could win the Northwest.

8. Coyotes. Love the youth movement here. I think Gretzky is finally going to have a playoff appearance as a coach.
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9. Avalanche. How hard can Raycroft push Budaj or vice versa? The goaltending situation here is the big question mark. Let's see if Forsberg returns at Xmas to boost the team. How will Granato fair in his 2nd try at the helm?

10. Wild. Any team coached by Lemaire can't completely flounder. Adding Brunette was good. But he's no Rolston. How much longer can newly-acquired Owen Nolan keep up his improved play?

11. Predators. I can't believe they finished 8th last season. I underrated them last year and I'll do it again this year. Can Jason Arnott pull off a stellar season twice? Doubt it. Jan "god" Hlavac is gone. How hard will Radulov play if he returns? That case isn't even resolved yet. It's close. Too many question marks/controversy surrounding this team.

12. Blackhawks. I don't trust Huet just yet. Just my opinion. If Khabibulin isn't there, who's going to push Crystalballs? Besides that, Brian Campbell isn't going to save this team. I don't like how the Hawks got rid of a lot of their veterans. Now they could be too young. We'll see. But they are moving in the right direction in the long term.

13. Blues. A crap shoot between these guys and Columbus.

14. Blue Jackets. A crap shoot between these guys and St. Louis. If Peca is right, these guys will be in the playoffs. Peca is probably smoking too much greens.

15. Kings. The rebuilding continues.

T Tags: Western+Conference+predictions 2008-09