All Things Canucks

Edmonton Comes to Town

2011-01-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

This should be a much more interesting game tonight than the previous game against Calgary. Edmonton's got speed and exciting young players and they play a very up-tempo style of game. I expect the Canucks to win this one, extending their record points streak to 15 games. Vancouver's shown that they can lock down the Oil and not allow them to use their speed to gain entry into their zone throughout the year so far.. I expect them to do much of the same.

Schneider's expected to get the start tonight, Lui will start in Detroit tomorrow night. Kurtis Foster is a healthy scratch for the Oil and Strudwick will come into the lineup in his place.

Well, I was kinda right...

2011-01-06T00:57:00.000-08:00

A goalie did steal the show. The Canucks were flat (expected, most of the time the first game home off a road trip is low energy) and Calgary was playing decent, but Luongo stole the game. Too bad the boys didn't get him the shutout, but a win is a win.

Next up, Edmonton on Friday. I expect the streak to live throughout the weekend, beating both Edmonton and Detroit back to back. The Canucks haven't lost the 2nd game of a back to back yet this season, and they have the talent to play like they did tonight and still find ways to win, which should take care of Edmonton.

Canucks vs. Flames, still a rivalry?

2011-01-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

With the Canucks icing probably the best team in it's 40 year history (ironically on it's 40th anniversary), and the Flames looking rather directionless, disinterested and mediocre, is there still a true rivalry between the two Northwest Division foes?

True rivalries are bred in the playoffs, these two having a rather storied history against each other in the playoffs. They've met 4 times, and each time the victor has gone to the Stanley Cup. They play against one another 6 times in a course of a season, but is that enough to keep the rivalry ignited? It's been 6 years since these two last met in the playoffs. There are but a handful of players on either team that was playing in that series. On Vancouver's end, the Sedins and Sami Salo are the only Canucks left from that 2003-2004 team. On Calgary's, there was Jerome Iginla, Mikka Kipprusoff, Craig Conroy, and Robyn Regehr.

If there is reason for rivalry now, it is between the fans of the two teams more so than the teams themselves. Vancouver would tell you Chicago's their biggest rival because of recent playoff history, but ask any Canuck fan what they think of Calgary and they'll let you know that they still hate the Flames, probably more than the Hawks. I'm sure it's the same way for Flames fans, in fact I know it is just from message boards and websites I lurk on a regular basis.

Tomorrow night, one of 3 things is going to happen.

1. The Canucks will lose, they are due for a loss and their play as of late is looking like a loss will happen sooner rather than later.

2. The Canucks will win, and win big (14 goals for the last 2 contests for the 'nuckleheads)

3. They both play a chippy 'in your face' game and the goaltenders steal the show.

My money's on 3, Calgary's playing a little better and Van's play as of late hasn't been too hot.

Vancouver @ Dallas 5pm PST

2010-12-31T14:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight should be a good and gritty matchup between Vancouver and Dallas. Vancouver comes into this game with a 8-0-1 record over the past 10 games. Dallas meanwhile is 5-3-2 in the last 10 and coming off a loss to Detroit on Wednesday. Dallas is an impressive 12-5-3 at home this year while the Canucks are 9-5-3 on the road. Schneider will get the start in net tonight.

Vancouver needs to come out hard in the first period and try and get a goal in early as Dallas likes to hang around long enough to get the extra point in OT/SO at the very least. I do expect Vancouver to win this game, not a slight on Dallas because they are a good team but I don't see any signs of Vancouver's game letting down right now. Usually when teams are at the end of a streak they start to win games they shouldn't have won, and I haven't seen many signs of that as of yet.

The Predictable Outcome

2010-12-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

Just as I suspected, the long layoff affected Philly the way I thought it would affect them, and the Canucks came out hard at the start like I suspected they would - knowing Philly just had a long layoff and would probably take a good period before they got their legs back. Unfortunately they didn't get their legs back, and Vancouver's on fire right now.

Not a bad game per say, but I expected more. Hopefully next time these two meet, they both have their "A" game on. The highlight (and not in a good way) was Jody Shelley pretty much knocking out Andrew Alberts with <10 minutes to go in the game. Not surprising knowing Jody Shelley, but why was he even on the ice in the midst of a blowout?

Potential Stanley Cup Preview?

2010-12-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night will be the first meeting between Philadelphia and Vancouver this season. Both touted as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, and both dominating their respective conferences this month.

Philadelphia is coming into Roger's Arena with a 7-2-1 record for December. Vancouver is the NHL's hottest team, going 9-1-2 so far this month.

I give the edge to the Canucks tomorrow night, for 3 reasons. 1 being, the Canucks are at home and they rarely lose in Roger's Arena. 2, Philly's without Chris Pronger and regardless of who they have on their team, you cannot replace a Chris Pronger. 3, Philly hasn't played since the 20th, losing 5-0 to Florida. Normally I'd expect a big bounce back game, but that's an awful long layoff and most teams with that much time off are sluggish out of the gate.

How good are the Canucks?

2010-12-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

Is what we see, what we get? Am I the only one who's watching this team and realizing that we haven't seen the best of this team yet?

For one, Roberto Luongo's been very inconsistant. He's been better, but he's still not the Luongo of 2006-2007. The Luongo the Canucks need him to be to not just get to the Stanley Cup, but to win it. Does this team really need him to be that good though? This team can score a lot of problems away, prior teams needed him to be perfect to win.

The defense is a lot better this year than last. They are allowing fewer scoring opportunities and the transition game is top notch. They do not seem to be as active on the scoring front as last season so I do see room for improvement. It'll be interesting to see who they deal to make room for Sami Salo. Rumor has it he should be ready to go sometime in January. Bieksa's been really solid this year defensively so dealing him is not as much of a no brainer as it used to be. Ehrhoff is a free agent at the end of the year, but dealing him would drasctically decrease the Canucks transition play.

The Sedins have been average, in my view. They have not been putting up the points like they did last season, they are merely 'PPG' players so far this year. Ryan Kesler however has been magnificent and is making up for any points the Sedins aren't getting this year with his stellar play. He needs to contunie this level of play come playoff time, he's been dismal so far in the playoffs but perhaps he's ready to turn the corner and be the player the Canucks need him to be when it counts the most.

It's almost game time, Edmonton tonight should be a win - even if the Canucks come out flat. Look for Kesler to lead the way, he has all season long so far.

Will Roberto Luongo Bounce Back?

2010-09-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

After having the worst season since his rookie year statistically, the big question in Vancouver is "Can Luongo lead this team to a Stanley Cup?". The real question, in my view, is why he had such a bad year in the first place. Last season his goalie coach was on a part time basis, so much so that when you heard Ian Clark was in town helping Luongo, you knew he was going to be the Luongo the Canucks expect - a brick wall. With a new full time goalie coach, Luongo should have a more consistant year at the very least.

The single biggest reason for his statistical drop? The style the Canucks play, and the lack of quality defensemen (due to injury) allowed high quality shots to get through to Luongo, resulting in more goals scored. Combine this with a lack of consistancy due to a part time goalie coach and I think it's obvious why he seemed to struggle from time to time last season. The re-tooled defense should help, not because of skill (honestly I do believe Mitchell and Salo are more talented than Hamhuis and Ballard), but because of durability. Statistically, Luongo has a trend. Here are his career stats:

YEAR TEA GP GS MIN W L T OL GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
99/00 NYI 24 20 1292 7 14 1 0 70 3.25 730 660 .904 1
00/01 FLA 47 41 2628 12 24 7 0 107 2.44 1333 1226 .920 5
01/02 FLA 58 56 3030 16 33 4 0 140 2.77 1653 1513 .915 4
02/03 FLA 65 61 3627 20 34 7 0 164 2.71 2011 1847 .918 6
03/04 FLA 72 72 4252 25 33 14 0 172 2.43 2475 2303 .931 7
05/06 FLA 75 73 4305 35 30 0 9 213 2.97 2488 2275 .914 4
06/07 VAN 76 75 4490 47 22 0 6 171 2.28 2169 1998 .921 5
07/08 VAN 73 73 4233 35 29 0 9 168 2.38 2029 1861 .917 6
08/09 VAN 54 54 3181 33 13 0 7 124 2.34 1542 1418 .920 9
09/10 VAN 68 67 3899 40 22 0 4 167 2.57 1915 1748 .913 4
CAREER 612 592 34937 270 254 33 35 1496 2.57 18345 16849 .918 51

He's only had 2 consecutive years where his stats rose, from 2002-2003 through 2003-2004. He trends from high, to low, back to high, etc. Last year was a trend down year, history tells us this year will be his 'up' year. All that matters will be his performance in the playoffs in the end, but if he has a strong season, one would hope that it would carry over to the playoffs.

Christian Ehrhoff & Alex Edler

2010-09-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

Could Vancouver end up with 2 #1 D-men by next year? I'm not expecting it, but I did not expect Ehrhoff to come in and perform the way he did.

At times, he legitimately looked like he was a #1 defensemen last season. I'll be interested to see if he can maintain that level of play next year. I'm thinking he can, although improvement from last year I think is expecting too much. He's a great skater with tremendous offensive vision, if he can pull his defensive game to the next level I don't see how anyone could say he's not a #1 d-man. I suppose if he brought his offensive game to yet another level, he could be considered a #1 as well, ala Dan Boyle or Mike Green. As it stands now, 9th in Norris voting, 3rd among defensemen in +/- with a +36, first among Canucks d-men with a TOI average of 22:47/game, and 1st among Canucks d-men in points with 44 points (13th overall amongst d-men).

Alex Edler made some real strides in the playoffs this past season, showing that he could use his body to make defensive plays and be effective. He was dynamite against the LA Kings and looked like he could be a #1 defender, especially when he played physical. He idolized Mattius Ohlund and adapted a bit of Ohlund's style, but he seemed to have left the physical aspect Ohlund has back in Sweden. If he is anything like Ohlund, he'll be a dependable, durable, solid defenseman in the NHL for years to come. I'm really hoping he takes the next step this year, but at the same time, we've been waiting for that next step for a few years now. I feel he's been a bit of the victim of expectations, he's a young D-man (24) and defensemen tend to be late bloomers, but if he doesn't take that next step soon I fear he'll be nothing more than a #3-4 d-man. Not that being a #3-4 is terrible of course, but Vancouver's swimming in that type of D-man currently.

Right now, it's wishful thinking on my part for Vancouver to have 2 #1 d-men by the end of this coming season. Stranger things have happened so I cannot rule it out (can anyone sit there and tell me they thought Hank Sedin would win the Art Ross and Hart Trophy? Ever?), but chances are, not gonna happen. I do feel that if any d-man makes the transition to a #1 defender, it'll be Ehrhoff, not Edler. Ehrhoff's entering his prime now and poised to lead the offensive charge in Vancouver. With the additions of Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard, I don't expect Edler to be relied on as much and that could impact his game, possibly for the better, possibly for the worst.

It'll be interesting to see how things unfold with these two defenders.

Is ThisThe Year?

2010-09-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

On the eve of the start of the 2010-2011 season, it's become clear to me that expectations have never been higher for the Canucks. As fans anticipate the start of the regular season, I find myself in awe of the media hype surrounding this year's edition of cup hopefuls. But perhaps this time, they truly are cup contenders and not mislabelled pretenders.

Up until 2 years ago, I'd expect a Canucks squad to bow out in the first round. Get upset by a lower seeded team. Listen to the excuses. Wait for the coming year. "Next year will be the year!". Now however, the winds have changed in Vancouver. New management with a 'moneypuck' vision - a history within the NHL first as a player, then as an agent, and now as a mastermind in the ultimate puzzle that is managing a stanley cup contending team within the constraints of a salary cap. So far Mike Gillis has fared well, and Canuck fans might be looking at the best team the organisation has ever iced in it's 40 year history. But is it good enough to beat the reigning champion Chicago Blackhawks, the team that's ended Vancouver's cup hopes 2 years in a row?

Time will tell... but perhaps for good luck I'll try a different method. Maybe I'll wear my sweater for home games, and my jersey for away games.