I’ll start with the Smoke and Mirrors analogy because the Canucks are sure not what they are supposed to be. Since the game in Boston on January 7^th, some 10 games ago, the Canucks have survived mainly on goaltending and a few players that would make up a line.

Six of those games went to either overtime or a shoot-out. The Canucks were fortunate, no make that lucky, to win four of those and lose the other two. They were not even close to being the better team in nine out of the ten games.

Those teams were the Bruins, Panthers, Lighting, Ducks, Kings, Sharks, Blackhawks and of course last night against the Wings. During these ten games the Canucks shots for-and-against average was 34 and 29.

The lowest shots per period averages out to 5.5 with the high being 10 (BOS) and the lowest 9 (LA), 8 (SJ), 7 (EDM), 6 (CHI), 4 (TB), 3 (ANA), 3 (DET), 2 (FLA), 2 (SL). Most of the low shot totals were recorded in the second period (5 times), third period (4 times) and first period (twice).

I don’t recall in recent memory a number of games in succession, where the Canucks have had such a number of low shots in any given period. It’s also safe to say that if you went back and totalled up the number of low shots in any given period this season, that the second would be the prominent one.

Goal scorers during these ten games were Ryan Kesler (5), Cody Hodgson (5), Daniel Sedin (4), Alex Burrows and David Booth both (3), Mason Raymond (2) and the following with one: Henrik Sedin, Dale Weise, Alex Edler, Jannik Hansen, and Manny Malhotra.

In most of those ten games it was the goaltending of Roberto Luongo (4W-3L) and Cory Schneider (3W-0L) that allowed the Canucks to even have an opportunity of stealing a point or two. The record for the last ten games is 6-2-2 but is this just smoke and mirrors, or is the glass half empty or full?

The phrase rope-a-dope was made famous by the five-time Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali in his fight against George Foreman in 1974. Ali in many of the early rounds leaned against the ropes protecting himself with his arms and gloves, while letting Foreman punch away.

By the eight round Foreman, frustrated and exhausted, was floored by an Ali combination, and Foreman failed to make the count.

So after going to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup, and all the games leading up to it, have the Canucks figured out that they will need every ounce of energy to return to that pinnacle – and defeat their opponent? If so, are they that good that they can take a period off most nights, win enough games, and still have enough in the tank come playoff time?

Unless something goes sideways in a hurry they look to be heading to another Northwest Division Championship. This assures them of no worse than a third seed ranking and home ice advantage in the first round.

So with that in mind, do they really need to push for the number one spot in their conference or better yet, waste a lot of gas trying to win the Presidents’ Trophy?

Is the home ice advantage that big in the playoffs? Let’s see, at home they won three of four against Chicago, one of three against Nashville, three of three against San Jose and three of four against Boston. But we all know that most important seventh game at home didn’t matter at all, as they lost 4-0 to Boston.

So maybe another drive to the Presidents’ Trophy is not worth a team that enters the playoffs spent getting there.

In closing this out, if the Canucks are playing a form of hockey rope-a-dope and this takes them to the Stanley Cup final, with a whole lot more healthier bodies, then I for one am down with that.

Ice Bits: Very noticeable in these last ten games has been the speed of the opposition through the neutral zone, the wide gap between the ‘Nucks D-men and forwards, and the lack of consistent back-checking by the forwards. The speed through neutral ice entering the Canucks defensive zone, makes it hard for the D-men to not back in or get caught flat-footed. That’s why you’re seeing the opposition go around the D like pylons and the out-numbered rushes.

Best Canucks last night were Luongo, followed by Kesler, Booth, and the always hard working Max Lapierre.

The Sedins right now look slow. I mean outside of maybe Andrew Alberts and the goaltenders, they are the slowest skaters on the team anyways. Besides that, they are easily taken off the puck and are predictable. Add that all up and there’s not too many teams that won’t be able to continue shutting them down.

So because Jannik Hansen is now a goal-scorer (13) does that mean he’s not going to finish his checks? After leading or being near the top in hits for the past two seasons, Hansen currently sits in seventh spot with 64 Hits. On the other hand Kesler, who has played five fewer games, has 69.

Hansen needs to remember what made him successful if he is going to continue to be effective, or maybe he’s drank the same rope-a-dope kool-aid.

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Google Images and Yahoo Sports!

Video Credits – YouTube

Stats Credits – http://www.hockeydb.com, http://www.nhl.com/ice/statshome.htm, http://capgeek.com, http://canucks.nhl.com.

Quote Credits – The Vancouver Sun and Province

To catch all the news, updates and new articles as they occur, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/nucksiceman. For up to-date scoring for the Chicago Wolves see The Wolves tab on the home page.

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Cory Schneider’s performance last night against the Chicago Blackhawks is proof of why the Canucks will not trade him this season. After turning aside 15 Chicago shots in the second, and a season highlight stop on Brendan Morrison, the Canucks team owes a dinner to Schneider, as he was the main reason the Canucks stole the two points from the Hawks.

Having now beaten the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks, the Canucks management are more than satisfied that Cory could play in the playoffs if needed. Let’s not forget that Schneider is only one Roberto Luongo groin tweak away from playing full time.

As I have written on numerous occasions, Schneider is the Canucks insurance policy not only in case Luongo is injured, but also in case Lu has a melt-down in the playoffs.

On another note, some of the rumour talk that is going around is pure garbage. Take for instance a few nights ago when the Sportsnet hockey panel, and in particular Doug MacLean, spoke up about a trade with the Anaheim Ducks.

He had Corey Perry going to the Canucks for Cory Schneider, Mason Raymond and Cody Hodgson. MacLean went on to say that the Canucks thought that Eddie Lack could be the backup. Are you kidding me!

I’ve already explained why Schneider will not be going anywhere. Cody Hodgson is now the third line centre that the Canucks were missing last season – and he has 14 goals. As for Mason Raymond, I agree, but the Ducks would never trade Perry for Raymond. Now if the Canucks threw in Keith Ballard and a draft pick – maybe, but highly unlikely.

MacLean must not have done his research because Lack has NO NHL experience! Not one game! It took Schneider 136 regular season AHL games, 34 AHL playoff games, 10 NHL games and three seasons, before he made it as the full time backup with the Canucks in 2010-11 . So Eddie Lack is not going to replace Schneider as the Canucks number one backup this season, simply no way.

Since I’m on the topic of trade rumors, let me present a few of my own thoughts on who the Canucks might add. As I stated a couple of months ago, they still need a top 6 or at least top 9 forward who can play and be a physical presence. They also need a top 4, or if that is not possible, a top 6 defenseman for depth.

Let me preface this subject by stating that I think that only the NY Islanders, Buffalo, Montreal, Carolina, Columbus, Edmonton and Anaheim will be sellers, because of their positions in their respective conferences.

All of those teams have UFA’s at the end of this season which would be attractive to the Canucks. I don’t see anyone on the NY Islanders but the following teams have various assets that I feel could help the Canucks down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Buffalo – Brad Boyes, 6’ 1, 195 lbs, 30 years old, with a salary cap of $4 million. Don’t forget that the salary is pro-rated for the number of games left in the season come trade date. This season to date he has only 3G, 9A, but if he could return to the 33 goals he scored four season ago (2008-09) when he was with the St. Louis Blues, then he could play as a top six forward and specifically on the Ryan Kesler line.

He is a more physical player than Mason Raymond, who I believe the Canucks will try to upgrade on.

Paul Gaustad, 29 years old, 6’5”, 220 lbs., $2.3 million cap hit and plays left wing. I mention Guastad only because of the uncertainty with a Canucks farm club player that could fit that fourth line position also. I’m speaking of Byron Bitz.

Bitz is currently with the Chicago Wolves, has only played 10 games, and is playing himself back into shape. Due to injuries, he has only played an average of 60 games over the past three seasons and mainly in the AHL. Since Bitz is a Canucks roster player already, he would not count against the cap.

Montreal – there has already been a lot of chatter about Travis Moen and why not. Moen is 30 years old, a decent size at 6’2”, 215 lbs., plays the left wing and is affordable at $1.5 million. He would fit in nicely on the third line and add that physical presence that is missing.

He will chip in with the occasional goal, but he wouldn’t be added for that reason. Crashing and banging, along with dropping the gloves when he has to, is his forte.

Hal Gill is 36 years old, 6’7”, 240 lbs., $2.2 million cap hit, and is a left hand shot. Gill brings 105 games of playoff experience and can use his size to advantage. One problem I see here is he’s not a defender with a lot of foot speed.

So when the pace picks up even more during the playoffs, will he be able to retrieve and head man the puck before it’s turned over? His big asset is his size in front of the net, and the Canucks could sure use him there.

Carolina – Tuomo Ruutu, 28 years old, 6’1”, 202 lbs.,$3.8 million cap hit, plays left wing, and has averaged 20 goals and 61 PIM over the last three seasons. Personally I like his Finish feistiness and he reminds me of his older brother Jarkko, except he has more scoring ability. Known to play with an edge and especially in the playoffs, Tuomo could play with Kesler and Booth, and really make that line even more effective.

Bryan Allen, 31 years old, 6’5”, 226 lbs., $2.9 million cap hit, and shoots left. I can still remember when Allen was drafted by the Canucks in the first round, fourth overall in 1998. He has always been a physical player, has a booming shot from the point, and he would not be coming to a team where he doesn’t know anyone.

Let’s remember that he was with the Canucks until 2005/06, when he was packaged as part of the trade to Florida for Luongo. Out of all the UFA D-men that are available from the teams that I mention – here’s a player the Canucks should really take a run at. This is a player that could play as a top four D-man.

Edmonton – the next two players would be added for extra depth and toughness. First of all D-man Andy Sutton, 36 years old, 6’6”, 245 lbs., $2.1 million cap hit, shoots left (don’t they all) and would rank as a 5/6 D-man on the charts. You sure cannot question Sutton’s toughness, or his ability to clear the front of the net. And who doesn’t need more depth than the Canucks come playoff time? This might be a rent-a-player but it’s all part of the master plan.

Anaheim – George Parros, 32 years old, 6’5”, 232 lbs, plays right wing and his cap hit is $875,000. This guy is a tough, affordable, fourth-liner, who would add some grit down the home stretch. He may not score any goals, but he will surely deter the opposition from taking liberties come playoff time.

All of the above teams mentioned would obviously be looking for draft picks, players, or a combination of both, depending on each team’s needs.

I hope that GM Mike Gillis at least adds some grit and depth to the forward and defense positions that the team needs. Whether it will be any of the above, only 28 more days will tell.

Ice Bits: Although Cody Hodgson had maybe his worst game in the last 15 and didn’t win any puck battles in the first two periods – he did score the tying goal (his 14^th). Same goes for the Sedins, but leave it to Daniel to score the OT winner, from Henrik of course. And for Dave Bolland – that was bottom to top bunk and in.

Best Canuck other than Schneider last night – Alex Edler. Never mind that he had two assists, three hits, this time the stats don’t adequately reflect the great job that he did playing the man, moving the puck, or joining the attack. Maybe, just maybe, this player will receive some attention come time when they announce the candidates for the Norris Trophy.

Amongst NHL D-men, Edler is number two in points with 36, number 11 in goals (7), and on the Canucks, first in Hits with 102, first in Blocked Shots with 75 and is third on the team in points with 36. If his +/- rating of plus one was more like Alex Burrows plus 20, then Edler would warrant stronger consideration as a Norris nominee.

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Google Images and Yahoo Sports!

Video Credits – YouTube

Stats Credits – http://www.hockeydb.com, http://www.nhl.com/ice/statshome.htm, http://capgeek.com, http://canucks.nhl.com.

Quote Credits – The Vancouver Sun and Province

To catch all the news, updates and new articles as they occur, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/nucksiceman. For up to-date scoring for the Chicago Wolves see The Wolves tab on the home page.

Note: www.nucksiceman.com is now mobile friendly. From the web address on your iPhone, you can choose Options/Mobile formatted and the site will appear in its entire living colour for you to view. Check it out.

After watching all of the Canadian Women’s Soccer team’s games on television, it was decided at the last minute to purchase tickets on-line and go to the game last night featuring Canada vs. Mexico. As I’ve discovered, and I’m sure you have too, there’s no comparison between being at live events and watching on TV, whether it’s hockey, football, baseball, golf, soccer or any others.

It doesn’t matter how large your new HD state-of-the-art television is, it just cannot pick up the exhilaration of the spectators, what’s happening around you or the complete 360 degree view that you have of the game and the crowd. There was plenty to take in even before the game commenced as the Mexican contingent, although vastly outnumbered, were a boisterous group and could be heard above the Canadian fans. There was an ongoing rivalry between two especially rambunctious groups located at opposite end zones.

Even before the start of the match I noticed that the music being played in BC Place was going to be an issue. When Canada’s team was leaving to change after warm-up, or re-entering when being introduced at the start of the game, the music was at a level that it muffled the excitable applause and cheering from the pro-Canadian fans in attendance. That was a shame. BC Place should take notice of this, because the fans should be allowed to be heard above the music, as we all know that it is a part of having the home field advantage.

I have come to appreciate this game of soccer the more that I watch it, coming to understand about how it is played, how physical it actually is, the talent players have in being able to kick or pass with either foot, head the ball, cuddle it in their bodies and drop it to their feet to play without using their hands, passing it to a player in flight and defending – which I believe is called tackling in soccer.

The Mexican side were very physical and there were numerous occasions when the referee could have either called a foul or a free kick, and neither was done. Out of all the games I watched during this CONCACAF tournament, including some other non-Canada games, this was by far the worst officiated.

It looked very much like the referee was trying her best to give the advantage to Mexico with her non-calls. Melissa Tancredi was tackled at least ten times, twice in the box, which should have resulted in a foul being called but the only thing Tancredi received was a yellow card in the second half for arguing another non-call.

At the same time that Tancredi was scoring Canada’s second goal, Mexico’s number eight, Guadalupe Worbis, tackled Christine Sinclair, again in the box, so viciously that Sinclair couldn’t get up and had to be helped off the field.

If that wasn’t a foul, then I must not understand what is! The tackle by Worbis was hard enough that it just about knocked Sinclair out of the match. Anyway, I digress – let’s carry on.

The match started out being a very tight contest with Mexico hemming in Canada for the first five minutes as Canada couldn’t get over the centre field mark. When Canada figured out how to take advantage of this pressure they started pushing Mexico back into their half and at the fifteen minute mark Christine Sinclair, from a nice touch pass from Tancredi, opened up the scoring. That brought the 22,954 fans to their feet and BC Place became a rock’n joint.

The second goal at the 23^rd minute came from Tancredi, with Lauren Sesselmann providing a laser like cross which Tancredi finished.

I thought Tancredi was the most dangerous player all evening for Canada. She had a number of runs down both sides and was a threat to score every time she got within striking distance. In the first half she had a great chance but ended up pushing it just outside the goalpost.

The first half finished 2-0 for Canada, which is probably the worst score for any team to have. Mexico started the second half on the offense, attacking like there was no tomorrow. They were rewarded at the 67^th minute when Mexico’s Veronica Perez, off of a corner kick, blasted one through a maze of players past a screened Karen LeBlanc.

This ignited the Mexican side who pushed forward trying to tie the game up. You could definitely sense the angst amongst the Canadian fans as the stadium became quiet, except for the Mexican fans who had now really cranked up the volume.

There were a couple of near misses when LeBlanc had to deflect some shots from the goal, and a number of corner kicks that were dangerous, but Canada was able to recover and start their push back.

Sinclair and Tancredi to me are similar to the Vancouver Canucks Sedin twins, as they seem to know where each other are at any given time during the game. This time it was Tancredi that set up Sinclair with a long ball through the middle, which Sinclair ran on to, chipped over the Mexico goalkeeper’s head, and with one bounce it was into the open net. Talk about precision. If the bounce had been a touch higher it would have cleared the goal altogether.

Canada’s third goal locked it away, and even with the extra three minutes added on to the end of the game, Mexico was not going to steal Canada’s spot at the Olympics in London.

As the game came to its conclusion, the crowd rose with thunderous applause to salute the Canada side. The players made their victory lap around the field, stopping in front of the vociferous Section 249 to gather a Canadian flag and continue their jaunt around the field to salute the fans.

What really impressed me was the time that the team members took to sign all the young fans’ signs and whatnot. Even after the game was 15-20 minutes old – they were still there signing autographs.

This was definitely a family affair with a lot of children and young adults attending, which bodes well for the future of women’s soccer events. Next stop – the Olympics in London.

Pitch Shots – I was really impressed with the smallest member, in stature, of the women’s team – one Desiree Scott. Talk about a bull dog attitude. Scott just never quit in her relentless pursuit of the ball and her tackles usually resulted in the ball being taken away.

Another player that caught my eye was midfielder Sophie Schmidt, who I thought has played a strong two-way game throughout this tournament and especially last night against Mexico. Karen LeBlanc made a couple of saves-of-the-game in the second half to preserve Canada’s victory.

In conclusion, with the emerging play of Melissa Tancredi, it looks like Canada has a second player who can be as dangerous as Christine Sinclair. This should help Canada immensely at the London Olympics.   

I will watch the final CONCACAF match against the United States, but with Canada assured of a berth in London, I would rather see Canada beat the U.S. in London rather than Vancouver.

I now have Christine Sinclair with nine goals and six assists for 15 points.  As a player, she is most definitely in the top five in the world in women’s soccer.

I first watched Christine Sinclair when she was just 19, at the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship, played in Edmonton at Commonwealth Stadium. She finished with 10 goals, won the Adidas Golden Ball, was the Golden Shoe winner for her 10 goals, and tournament MVP.

I must confess that I am not a soccer aficionado, because growing up in Alberta I played hockey, baseball and football, and only a bit of soccer during P.E. at school. What I have come to admire is the talent that soccer players possess – especially Sinclair.

During the 2002 FIFA Championship I found myself learning the rules of the game on the fly, and got very involved in the cheering as a Canadian supporter. Losing to the US 1-0 was indeed a bitter pill to swallow, but this just cranked up the juices to see more.

No, I did not follow local women’s soccer but I did watch closely whenever the Canadian Women’s team was on television. Sinclair played the following year for Canada at the Woman’s World Cup where she took home the Bronze Boot. Boy. Could this girl ever play.

She has collected a bushel of awards such as the Canadian Soccer Player of the Year starting in 2005, right through to 2011. She has been a FIFA nominee for World Player of the Year five times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2010).

As of January 19, 2012, she had scored 124 goals for the Canadian national team. One of those goals was the memorable winning goal on a penalty kick in the finals of the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualification.

Sinclair has served her country proud with 11 years on the national team, and participated in three FIFA Women’s World Cups (USA 2003, China 2007, and Germany 2011). The only trophy that has eluded her is the World Cup and of course an Olympic medal, but the latter may still come about.

Recently I have watched all of Canada’s games in the 2012 CONCACAF qualifiers, as the home country attempts to earn an Olympic berth in London. By my rough count I have Sinclair with 7G, 4A, in 3 games, which just blows me away. I am amazed at her talent, whether it is making a run with the ball or setting up her team-mates for scoring opportunities.

I have watched her score with either foot, and her awareness of where the opposition and team-mates are, well it’s Gretzky-ish. She truly does dominate when she has possession of the ball, and with Canada’s new triangle attack approach, the opposition has a hard time marking her.

With a win this Friday over Mexico Canada will be assured of going to the Olympics. It doesn’t matter what happens in the final against presumably the USA team, as the two top teams will qualify. Sure it would be nice to beat the Americans, but for me, I would rather that happen at the Olympics.

I sure hope that the local soccer fans get behind the Canadian women’s team and turn up in large numbers to cheer them on in this historical game. Just to watch Christine Sinclair rise to the occasion as true greats do – would be worth the price of admission.

Pitch facts – Some little known ones at that – Christine is the niece of former Canadian international and NASL’er Brian Gant, and Bruce Gant, a former North American Soccer League player. So as you can see, soccer intertwines her relatives.

It will be interesting to see if Coach John Herdman stays with goal keeper Karina LeBlanc or goes with the Erin McLeod. I would think that LeBlanc will be the choice, as she is the more experienced with 90 caps to McLeod’s 62.  

 Sinclair’s Stats

With the steady play of Vancouver Canucks Chris Tanev yesterday against the San Jose Sharks, the picture of the defense just became a whole lot clearer. Now if that had been his first game as a pro, it would have been a different picture, but after watching him for 33 games I concur with management that he can play in the top four on D. If my memory serves me correctly, this was the first time that he has played in the top four and he didn’t look out of place beside Alex Eder.

Last night I kept track of a stat that you normally wouldn’t hear about in a game. It was how many times Tanev was able to clear the defensive zone with one pass without giving it away. I counted nine outs and only one giveaway, and that one was in the third period. Even when he knew he was going to be drilled into the boards by Joe Thornton, he chipped the puck out along the boards.

His reads were excellent, in both the defensive and offensive zones, and his first time passes were not much more than six to nine feet to the forward. Along the boards in his end, he seems to magically come out of the scrum with the puck and what really has always impressed me about him, is his quick release of the puck once he has decided where he is going with it. He’s still “Mr. Cool” with the puck, doesn’t panic, just a quick read and out!

This isn’t a revelation to me, and shouldn’t be to you either after watching him play last season.

If there is still any concern about Tanev, it would have to be that he’s a string of guy and you wonder how much pounding he could take in a full NHL season. For now though, he gives the Canucks another option if any of the other top four D-men go down once Sami Salo returns.

Will Tanev stay once Salo returns, which is expected this coming Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers? I don’t believe so, because it’s not play-off time so the Canucks will not be carrying nine D-men. Further, he’s an entry level player on a two-way contract, which means he doesn’t have to clear waivers, unlike Alex Sulzer or anyone else the Canucks feel they would like to send down.

Also, if the Canucks did want to send any other D-man down, they expose that player to waivers and the chance that they could lose him, while still paying half the salary. With D-men being a prized commodity in the NHL, and the Canucks being so tight to the salary cap – Tanev is the only choice.

This does open up another discussion on a recent article I wrote about over-paid depth players, and particularly Keith Ballard. I don’t mean to pick on him but if Ballard’s contract was a couple million or even $2.5 M, I could see the Canucks keeping him for depth, especially with what has happened in the last four years to the back-end. Realistically, the Canucks need to add even more depth with another forward and D-man, and it would help if they had more than $455,899 to work with at the trade deadline.

Tanev’s continuing steady play at the NHL level now allows GM Mike Gillis to consider trading Ballard if a deal could be done that would help the Canucks. At this time I’m not going to go into who is available that might help this team, but I will say this… if there is another top four or six D-man, along with a tough third line winger, that can put this team back in the Stanley Cup final, then it should be done. I also realize how difficult it is for Gillis to make a trade in the NHL’s “cap age”.

At least the Canucks should feel more secure in their options and direction with Chris Tanev on board, which is more than they could have said before the loss of Salo.

Ice Bits: Stop me if I’m repeating myself, but Alex Burrows is playing some of his best hockey of this season these last 10 to 12 games. It may not always show up in point production, but his defensive play without the puck shows me how complete a player he is. Throw in his penalty-killing and the work he does for the Sedins, and I would have to say that his contribution goes unnoticed way too often during the course of a game, especially from the television color commentators.

Looks like David Booth has picked up right where he left off before his injury. A goal and an assist last night and one goal against the Kings in his last two games. He has added the spark that seemed to be missing from the second line, and with his speed and talent he opens up some space for Ryan Kesler.

The other player from that line that has made a difference is Chris Higgins. Now that he has stopped taking the antibiotics that were affecting his energy level, Higgins is back to the player we have come to admire since the start of the season.

Roberto Luongo did not have a very good game as he allowed two goals on what – five or six shots? But after the performance he had against the LA Kings in which he stole a point for the Canucks, he’s allowed an off night and he did stop enough shots for a win against the Sharks.

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Google Images and Yahoo Sports!

Video Credits – YouTube

Stats Credits – http://www.hockeydb.com, http://www.nhl.com/ice/statshome.htm, http://capgeek.com, http://canucks.nhl.com.

Quote Credits – The Vancouver Sun and Province

To catch all the news, updates and new articles as they occur, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/nucksiceman. For up to-date scoring for the Chicago Wolves see The Wolves tab on the home page.

Note: www.nucksiceman.com is now mobile friendly. From the web address on your iPhone, you can choose Options/Mobile formatted and the site will appear in its entire living colour for you to view. Check it out.

There are three Vancouver Canucks that are currently being paid a combined total of $10.9 million, for arguments sake, let’s call it $11 million.

From lowest to highest they are: Manny Malhotra ($2.5M per – 1 yr. remaining), David Booth ($4.2M per – 3 yrs. remaining) and Keith Ballard ($4.2M per – 3 yrs. remaining). I’m going to deal with them one at a time. So first – Manny.

At the time of this writing Malhotra has 13 points (4G, 9A) in 47 games, is a +/- minus six, has one game winning goal, total ice time is 611 minutes, 15^th on the team in Hits, third in the NHL in face-off percentage (57.8) but 50^th in total face-offs taken. He has played, what seems as a majority of his ice time – on the fourth line.

From what I have read and watched of Manny, he seems to me to be a leader and a class act, but…isn’t $2.5 million out of line to pay for a fourth line centre? In this day of the “Cap”, shouldn’t the Canucks be looking for a more reasonable player IF Malhotra is going to be relegated to the fourth line?

It is great to have a player like that for depth, and he may very well end up playing on the third line, but let’s face it, the Canucks need to add some players by the trade deadline (40 days away) in order to have a realistic run in the playoffs, and any savings creates extra cap space.

The players that are needed… I will talk about in a soon to be written article.

The current market rate for a fourth line centre seems to be around $1 million, so for Malhotra the Canucks are paying a premium of $1.5 million. Now I realize that the eye injury seems to have greatly affected Manny’s game in other areas than the faceoff circle, and I empathize with that, but as the players and management always say – the game is a business.

Do I think they would move Malhotra at the trade deadline? I don’t think so, because I believe the Canucks have a certain loyalty towards him. So, I guess in Manny’s case – it’s status quo.

David Booth – Who knows where his point total would be right now if he hadn’t sustained that knee injury that caused him to miss 18 games. With his goal last night he has 13 points (6G, 7A) in 21 games, which means he has the same amount of points as Malhotra. He has played mostly on the second line with Ryan Kesler, which would fit in with a salary for a top six forward, but last night he scored his goal on the third line.

Does it really matter which line he plays on as long as he can score 25 – 30 goals? Probably, because his ice time on the third line (12-13 min) would not be the same as the second (15 min.), which means his opportunities for scoring are reduced.

If Booth had not got injured he was on pace to score approximately 25 goals. But at $4.2 million, isn’t that a bit steep for that kind of production? In five and a half seasons in the NHL, Booth has played an average of 60 games and has completed a full 82 game schedule just once (2010-11) – while with the Florida Panthers. Not quite your durable player for $4.2 million.

So my question here is, are the Canucks paying too much of a premium for David Booth? On paper my answer is yes, but if he’s a top six forward instead of a top nine, scores 30 plus goals, and excels in the playoffs, then maybe that’s the cost of doing business.

Keith Ballard – this defenseman was brought in with the expectation of being a top four D-man, and so far he has been playing in either the fifth or sixth spot, or pushed down the depth chart – into the press box. The latter position is nowhere near what a $4.2 million D-man would play on any team in the NHL.

His 54 Hits ranks him in a tie for ninth spot with Dan Hamhuis, while playing about 457 minutes less than Dan. His 55 Blocked Shots, which is third on the team, tells me that with more ice time he would probably be the leader, because he’s only 15 behind Alex Edler.

On most teams you will find that the D-men lead in giveaways and the more they play, the higher the total goes. Ballard has the third most (27) but only one ahead of Edler, who has played 452 more minutes. I think you can tell from what you have seen of Ballard’s play, and those figures, why Ballard is in the third pairing for D-men.

By the time he had played his first handful of games last season, Keith was in the Canucks coaches’ doghouse. The only thing that has changed this season is that he has played more games – but only because the depth is not as deep.

This depth, by the way, is something the Canucks need to address by the trade deadline.

If the Canucks have come to the conclusion that they made a mistake with Ballard, then they cannot, and I emphasize CANNOT, pay a third pairing D-man $4.2 million to play. That premium of $3 to 3.2 million just doesn’t work in any team’s budget, especially the Canucks, who have only got about $600K of cap space, and are looking to add a couple more players before the trade deadline.

My final question would then be, are the Canucks paying too much of a premium for Ballard’s depth spot? I think you know the answer as well as I do – YES!

Will they try and move him before the trade deadline? I believe if they knew that Chris Tanev would survive a tough playoff schedule, and he just doesn’t seem built for it, then they would. This would then free up enough cap space to add a quality, and maybe even a top four, D-man who is heading towards unrestricted free agency.

Can anyone think of one on the Nashville Predators team – and I do mean a UFA? Yes Ryan Suter is that D-man, but that’s another story.

Ice Bits: You can tell how much the Canucks miss Sami Salo by the promotion of Aaron Rome up to the top four D-men. As much as Coaches Vigneault and Bowness feel he belongs there, I beg to disagree. Rome is not a top four D-man, which tells you just exactly what the coaches think of Ballard.

David Booth was one of the better Canucks last night against the LA Kings and looks to be returning to where he left off before he was injured.

I wonder if the Canucks ever thought of making Ryan Kesler a winger. He loves to shoot rather than pass and his goals to assists ratio lean more towards a winger than a centre.

Not sure why Kesler got upset with Vigneault’s recent statements about his play. Anyone that watches this team knows that Kesler is not even close to his play of last season, and yes – he is trying to do too much.

Last night against the Kings was another example in a long list, of him still trying to beat two and three players at the blue line, instead of distributing the puck to the open winger.

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Google Images and Yahoo Sports!

Video Credits – YouTube

Stats Credits – http://www.hockeydb.com, http://www.nhl.com/ice/statshome.htm, http://capgeek.com, http://canucks.nhl.com.

Quote Credits – The Vancouver Sun and Province

To catch all the news, updates and new articles as they occur, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/nucksiceman. For up to-date scoring for the Chicago Wolves see The Wolves tab on the home page.

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After the lump of coal that the Canucks served up on December 23 against the Calgary Flames, they figured they would reproduce it again – just in case you missed it. Last night against the Anaheim Ducks, the Canucks put on a performance that warrants a refund to at least the ticket holders that were in attendance.

Are you telling me that as a full season ticket holder, that I don’t get a refund for a no-show by the team that was on the ice replicating the Canucks? Come on Mr. Aquilini, you’re in the construction business. So, if you built a development that was below standard and had problems, you wouldn’t repair it or knock something off the price?

Well, that game last night wasn’t even close to the entertainment value of the price of those lower bowl seats that you charged me.

In other words, the tickets weren’t worth the paper they were printed on. What happened to the team that’s built on the Detroit model of consistency? Where’s the pride amongst these overpaid athletes that are always telling us what a tremendous job they have, and how fortunate they are to be playing in the NHL?

Seems to me it must be more of the rhetoric that we hear during the player interviews.

You always hear about the players giving back to the fans for their support. I’ve got an idea. How about if the players all give back last night’s salaries to the fans to cover their ticket costs? There were only a few exceptions that I would leave out of the fans refund.

Cody Hodgson seems to come to play on most nights and he definitely must have been doing something right, because he worked real hard, which is more than I can say for about 95% of the rest of the team. He scored a wicked goal on a wrist shot in the first period to tie the game, which by the way, would be the closest the Canucks would come to the Ducks.

You can’t fault Roberto Luongo, when the team in front of him leaves him hanging out to dry, or in this case like the practice goalie. He did his best but when you are out-shot 22-5 by 6:51 of the second period, you know there’s not much defensive support.

Obviously the Christmas giving is still amongst us, because the Canucks had four giveaways in the first period, to go along with nine in the second. The Canucks were coughing up the puck like someone with a bout of whooping cough, and the Ducks’ eyes were as big as saucers, because they all took turns going one-on-one with Luongo.

Aaron Rome finished with a minus three. Now this makes perfect sense because he had three giveaways, and they all ended up in the back of the net. He looked like he hadn’t played a game since his suspension in the Boston final.

Now I don’t mean to pick on Rome because he had plenty of company. Take Kevin Bieksa for one. He looked like he was out for a stroll in the park. Problem was, the Ducks were the robbers picking his pocket most times he handled the puck. That must explain the three minor penalties he picked up for trying to catch the crooks.

Another telling sign for him and Dan Hamhuis,  they had NO hits between them.

Max Lapierre, as he has done for most of the season, tried to add some jump to the game, but he can’t do it by himself. Keith Ballard, who for some reason keeps getting selected to sit out, was the ONLY player on the plus side – with a plus one. Hey Coach, did you happen to notice that by any chance?

I liked the play of Alex Burrows, who has been very steady for a number of games, and Jannik Hansen had spurts where he found some energy, but by and large, this game stunk!

So Mr Aquilini, where can I go to get my refund?

Ice Bits: Maybe Mike Duco should have played in place of Manny Malhotra. At least he brings energy and physical play to that line. Not sure what’s wrong with Chris Higgins but he hasn’t been the same since his last incident with that recurring infection  Just doesn’t seem to have the same jump and pursuit.

Maybe my memory is starting to go, but when was the last time the Sedins played like they were interested? I just about overlooked the other player that finished on the plus side (+ one). That was Alex Sulzer.

The Canucks better be ready on Tuesday night or the LA Kings will put a big hurt on them.

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Google Images and Yahoo Sports!

Video Credits – YouTube

Stats Credits – http://www.hockeydb.com, http://www.nhl.com/ice/statshome.htm, http://capgeek.com, http://canucks.nhl.com.

Quote Credits – The Vancouver Sun and Province

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      A top nine forward that can play and is tough.

Mike Gillis on TEAM 1040 radio said that the Canucks are looking to add some toughness in the form of a forward that can play on either of lines one through three. My comment on that is – what took you so long? Now hold on a minute Mr. Gillis, before you go scouring the league – what about Dale Weise?

Here’s a player that has great speed and has shown he can score at the AHL level. In 194 games he scored 57 goals to go along with 54 assists, and we have already seen that although he’s not a great fighter, he will drop the gloves with most who ask.

He has yet to play any extended time on the second or third lines, so just how do the Canucks know whether this 23 year old, drafted in round four – 111^th overall, is not another Alex Burrows or Jannik Hansen in the making?

Also, in order to pick up a top nine tough forward who can score, just who is Gillis prepared to give up, either from the current roster or from the Chicago Wolves? You can bet that anyone who plays the role of a top nine forward that is tough and can score, is not going to be given away even if they are a UFA at the end of the season.

            Is Cody Hodgson currently looking more like a second line centre?

Yes, I know he has been recently playing on the second line, but Ryan Kesler is the centre with Hodgson playing on the wing. Unless an injury was to happen to Kesler, there is no way that Coach Vigneault is going to move Kesler down to the third spot for Hodgson. With Cody playing on the wing, which is not his natural position, he does not participate in any face-offs unless Kesler is thrown out of the circle, so just how does he improve in that area?

Since Hodgson has gone on a tear during the last nine games, he has played in a number of games where he has not only been better than Kesler, but at times was the best player on the ice. If this proves nothing else, it shows the Canucks management that they will have the depth at centre to compete against any team in the play-offs. Hopefully Hodgson will have proved by that time that he should be played at least 15 plus minutes a game, rather than the 12.6 minutes he has averaged over his first 44 games.

Hodgson reminds me of a young colt that wants to get out and run. If the Canucks are purposely reining him in, they should instead realize he needs to be let out to gallop.

      There’s no way that Cory Schneider will be traded this season.

There’s no arguing that Schneider is a blue chip asset and could fetch a very good player in return, and the Canucks would never trade Cory for just draft picks, but the Canucks need him as an insurance policy in goal. Why? Pretty simple really – Roberto Luongo has had too many melt-downs during the last three playoffs. The other reason is that the Canucks have no one on the farm that is ready to be Luongo’s backup.

Eddie Lack, who had a tremendous rookie season, has being going through an average sophomore year (9-8-3), and even though his GAA of 2.50 and Sv % of .920 are more than adequate, he has NO NHL experience. Matt Climie actually has better numbers as far as wins/losses (11-5), similar GAA (2.56) and Sv % (.924), but he has only 2 NHL games to his credit. So, the Canucks do not have a backup for Luongo on the farm if they were to trade Schneider.

Furthermore, even if the deal brought the Canucks a top six player, it would also have to involve a goaltender that is a number 1A. No, I don’t see the Canucks gambling on something they don’t know when they have “Schneids”, who they know could play in the playoffs if Luongo was either injured or went cold – and do a very, very, good job.

            Can the Sedins finally prove that they can be Great Players in the Playoffs?

I think I should preface this statement before I go off on a tangent. There should be no questioning from the ‘Nucks Nation that the Sedins are elite players, just look at their numbers and awards.

Their toughness always seems to be questioned but they’ve been healthier than Kesler or Alex Burrows over the last three playoffs. The problem lies instead in whether the Sedins will ever be dominating, or at least be top players, in the playoffs.

There’s not a team in the NHL that makes it to the playoffs that cannot shut down a one-line team. If you’ve followed the ‘Nucks for any length of time you will know that the Canucks have been just that with the Sedin line, what with the constant injuries to Burrows and especially to Kesler. Do you think the Bruins would have shut the Canucks down so noticeably if Kesler had been healthy and able to play like he did against Nashville?

If the Canucks are ever to win a Stanley Cup, they will have to have four good lines, with the second and third being healthy enough to compete. So that’s what Mike Gillis has attempted to do this season, and from what I can see,  he now has some depth at forward. This means that if Burrows goes down, there are a number of interlocking parts that can play with the Sedins without reducing the effectiveness of the other lines.

I keep saying that I don’t think the Canucks can ever win the Cup with the Sedins, because they can’t compete in the tough sledding. But maybe I’ll sing a different tune if the Canucks ever get through to the Final – with at least a healthy second line.

Ice Bits: Henrik and Daniel Sedin, along with Alex Edler, were named today to the NHL All-Star Team. Joining them will be Cody Hodgson, who was named to the All-Star Rookie team.

Interesting that Keith Ballard will sit out tonight in place of Aaron Rome. Well not actually, as Rome plays more physical than Ballard. With the Canucks playing the Blues tonight they will need all the help they can muster in that area.

Which forward will be in the press box when David Booth returns? If certain players are pushed down one line, does that mean that Manny Malhotra is the odd man out?

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Google Images and Yahoo Sports!

Video Credits – YouTube

Stats Credits – http://www.hockeydb.com, http://www.nhl.com/ice/statshome.htm, http://capgeek.com, http://canucks.nhl.com.

Quote Credits – The Vancouver Sun and Province

To catch all the news, updates and new articles as they occur, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/nucksiceman. For up to-date scoring for the Chicago Wolves see The Wolves tab on the home page.

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This game had everything that you could want in a play-off game, except it was a regular season one in January. Right from the drop of the puck the Bruins displayed their intimidating physical style of play like a pack of wolves, attacking in groups. It’s pretty obvious that the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins do not like each other and it didn’t take long before the fights began.

At the 3:54 click of the clock a scrum took place by the benches, as Alex Burrows was changing, and from there it was gang warfare. Nathan Horton took on Dale Weise and I have to admit I was wrong about what I previously said about Weise. He more than accounted for himself in that fight, and throughout the game played a real physical style. In fact, he was the most physical Canuck on the ice.

All the players on the ice got involved in the melee, including some that weren’t, like Milan Lucic who appeared to come off the bench. That’s what the referees thought also, as Lucic received a game misconduct for leaving the players bench.

Lucic, this supposed tough guy, had his chance to prove it during this brawl, but I didn’t see him take on Kevin Bieksa after he had torn the helmet off of Beiksa’s head and Kevin went back at him. Seems to me Lucic was looking for someone he could actually beat, as he went after Alex Burrows, Dan Hamhuis and then tried to get at Max Lapierre.

I don’t remember Nathan Horton being a real tough guy either when he played with Florida, but it seems everyone on the Bruins is a whole lot tougher with the pack backing them, including some guy named Benoit Pouliot. Anyway, over 100 penalty minutes were dished out and this time the Canucks got their fair share of power plays, and this time after 23 previous attempts – it came alive.

It was a costly game as the Canucks lost two players to injuries, which I believe will show up as concussions. The first was Andrew Ebbet who was knocked out of the game from a shoulder to head collision by Dennis Seidenberg and second was Sami Salo from a low check by Brad Marchand, who I will address later.

Here’s what I saw during the game that I liked and disliked, and there was plenty to choose from.

First of all, my LIKES.

Special teams – after going 2 for their last 23 power play attempts, the Canucks went 4 for 11 and shut out the Bruins on theirs (0/7), which was a key point in winning the game. This included a couple of power play goals on the Brad Marchand major and game misconduct, when he low dived Sami Salo who appeared to come down on his back, and his head bounced off the ice.

Salo was not happy as he struggled to his feet and tossed his stick into the boards and skated directly to the dressing room, which ended his night. That folks, looked like a concussion type blow to the head resulting from a cheap dirty check. But at least this time, the Canucks made the Bruins pay as they went ahead 4-2 early in the third period.

Physical play – A number of Canucks showed up to play the physical game and did not back down from the Bruins. Dale Weise, Max Lapierre, Alex Burrows, Mason Raymond, Jannik Hansen and yes – even the Sedins were finishing checks. Over 100 minutes in penalties with 60 of those coming in the first period, showed me that the Bruins’ intention was to run the Canucks out of the arena. It didn’t work as the Canucks scored the first goal on the power play.

Sure, the Canucks can still use some more toughness, but at least they didn’t succumb to the Bruins’ intimidation.

Cody Hodgson – I could have sworn that Hodgson got two goals but it looks like they gave the first one to Burrows, with Hodgson receiving the assist. Coach Vigneault only played Hodgson 5:53 minutes at even strength but was rewarded with 5:26 on the power play. That is where Hodgson excelled, as I thought he was the most dangerous and best Canuck player, and not just because he scored the winning goal.

This guy is going to be a very important player for the Canucks because if Coach had allowed him, he would have shown that he can play in the physical games better than the Sedins. He’s starting to remind me of Bryan Trottier who played on all those New York Islander Stanley Cup teams. Cody is built low to the ice, stocky and strong on his skates, not afraid to go to the tough areas, and his intelligence on the ice reminds me of the Sedins.

It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Hodgson has an even better second half and is a key in the play-offs.

Goal-tending – Here I recently wrote an article about the keys to a Canucks win over Boston, thinking that Roberto Luongo would be playing, and instead Cory Schneider starts in net. I suppose it was a wise move as the Canucks did win, and Schneider played extremely well, for the first time in his career in front of family and friends.

Schneider was particularly sharp in the third period when the Bruins poured it on trying to tie the game, after closing to within a goal and out-shot the Canucks 19-10. When Cory plays, it never seems like he is out of position and nothing seems to faze him. He battles hard in front of the net for his space and that’s not easy against the Bruins who overload that area, bringing the defense at times.

What a tremendous win that was for Schneider and well deserved.

DISLIKES:

Five-on-five play – The Bruins dominated the Canucks in this game just as they did during the play-offs, outscoring them 3-0. So without the power-play, the Canucks would have lost and lost big. It didn’t seem to matter in what area of the ice it was, the Bruins took the puck away at will and counter-attacked like the mad dogs they are.

In that part of the game their physical play really dictates the tempo, and their resulting scoring chances – of which there were plenty. Not many of the Canucks D-men were willing to go into the corners for the puck in their own end and the turnovers were numerous.

If these two teams were to ever meet again in the play-offs, the Canucks would have very little chance again without their power-play. Because five-on-five the Bruins are the better, stronger team.

Alex Edler – in what was the most important game to this point in the season, Edler played his worst. I lost track of the amount of turnovers that he had all over the ice. These included giving the puck away on a power-play in front of his net, resulting in a penalty-shot, to a pass in his zone up the middle of the ice, picked off, with Schneider having to rescue him.

He was like a lottery machine gone wild spitting balls up all over the place but instead of balls it was pucks. The sooner the Canucks can get rid of this guy the better this team will be, and I don’t give a rats behind if he’s the top point getter amongst NHL D-men this season.

Sorry folks, but this guy isn’t a money player, never will be, and is a soft player that does not like it when the going gets tough. If the Canucks ever get a shot at a Shea Weber type, then Edler should be at the top of their list to trade.

Cheap Dirty Hits – by the Bruins, which is just their way. No wonder they are either first or second in the NHL in penalty minutes. If it isn’t sticks held high or elbows to the head, it’s checks like Seidenberg’s hit to the head on Ebbet, the low dive hit by Marchand on Salo, or Horton’s take out of Manny Malhotra’s knee with his stick.

It’s one thing to play physical, but another to be downright dirty. At least this time the referees called the flagrant penalties and it cost Boston the game – so justice prevailed and the bully lost.

Insertion of Andrew Ebbet – Why, in a game against the most physical team in the league, would Coach Vigneault play Ebbet, all of 5’9” and 175 lbs, instead of Mark Mancari? As it was, Ebbet lasted 1:32 before he was knocked out of the game by a check and the Canucks played a man short for basically the whole game.

The Sedins – I still do not think the Canucks will win a Stanley Cup with the Sedins. Why? Because they have yet to prove that they are money players in the play-offs, especially in five-on-five play. Take a look at today’s game as the Bruins did exactly the same thing they did in the play-offs.

Granted, Henrik Sedin did score a power-play goal and Daniel received a second assist on Ryan Kesler’s power-play goal, but the Twins were neutralized five-on-five by Boston just as they were by other teams in the play-offs.

In closing, I have to say that this was the most emotional game of the year for me, and I suspect for the ‘Nucks Nation. Now if only the play-offs were starting tomorrow, because that game got me primed for more.

Ice Bits: If Sami Salo is out with what I suspect may be either a shoulder injury (history of) or concussion, and if Aaron Rome is not able to play on this road trip, it will be interesting to see if either Kevin Connaught or Yann Sauve get the call. The last I heard about Chris Tanev is that he was out again with an injury.

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Google Images and Yahoo Sports!

Video Credits – YouTube

Stats Credits – http://www.hockeydb.com, http://www.nhl.com/ice/statshome.htm, http://capgeek.com, http://canucks.nhl.com.

Quote Credits – The Vancouver Sun and Province

To catch all the news, updates and new articles as they occur, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/nucksiceman. For up to-date scoring for the Chicago Wolves see The Wolves tab on the home page.

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The Canuck players can verbalize all they want about the non-importance of the game against the Bruins in Boston this Saturday, but the reality is that it’s another litmus test for this team. At the time of this writing the Canucks are on top of the NHL standings with Boston two points behind them. With the Bruins playing the Flames tonight, they may be tied with the Canucks for first place by Saturday, so there’s a lot riding on the Saturday game.

Here is what some of the Canucks had to say about the Boston game. Kevin Bieksa said “I think it’s being blown out of proportion. For us, it’s just another regular-season game. I think we need the two points more than anything. We don’t have to prove anything to anybody. I think we just want to go in there and win a hockey game. That’s all there is to it.”

Henrik Sedin said “When you play a team in the final, which I haven’t done before, it’s special. It’s special, I think, when you don’t play them that much. I mean, it’s going to be once this year. I think, in the end, it’s the two points that matter so we’ll see what happens.”

Roberto Luongo on the other hand was probably voicing the correct sentiment when he said “It’s a game we’ve been looking at for a while. I think the boys are excited to play it. It’s going to be fun. Obviously we didn’t end up where we wanted last year, but getting a chance to go at it again is going to have a feel of the final from last year.”

This is going to be a game that does not have the importance of the final one last season. The Canuck players can step over the line if they like, because although it’s worth two points, it’s still a regular season game. If they don’t feel like getting mugged by Brad Marchand, because the referees won’t call it – they don’t have to.

With that being said, I feel that there are several keys for the Canucks to prevail in if they are to win this game.

Goaltending – Tim Thomas is currently ranked number five against number nine Roberto Luongo. Thomas was of course the Conn Smythe Trophy winner and was a big part of the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup. On the other hand, Luongo had a meltdown in Boston, but you already know about that.

Very simply, Luongo will have to be better than Thomas for the Canucks to have a starting chance, or else it’s game over. Luongo has been playing his best hockey of the season during the Canucks recent run, and if he can continue this trend he will give the Canucks a chance to win. Protecting his goal crease will be a priority.

Defense – As you may remember, the Canucks D was pretty decimated by the time the seventh game rolled around. Gone was Dan Hamhuis in the first game, Andrew Alberts was playing on a bad knee, Alex Edler broken fingers, Aaron Rome was out with a suspension, Christian Ehrhoff a bad shoulder - like who wasn’t ready for the infirmary.

This time, except for Rome who is still recovering from a hand injury, all the current D-men are relatively healthy. If they can stay that way during the game, Luongo should receive help in keeping the Bruins from trampling him in their dash to the net.

Physical play – It’s not a coincidence that the “Big Bad Bruins” are a fraction behind Philadelphia, who leads the NHL in penalty minutes. With 15.9 PIM per game, the Canucks will be facing a team that likes to intimidate their opposition by playing on the edge and pushing it to the limit.

The Canucks will be hard pressed to match the physical play of Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Shawn Thornton, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara and Adam McQuaid. There’s not one Canuck that can handle Chara, Lucic, Thornton or McQuaid if they drop the gloves. Since it’s only a regular season game, and if the game is not close, do you think the Bruins will care whether they pick up more penalties?

The Bruins know exactly how they beat the Canucks and they will come out and try to carry on with what was successful last time – and that goes for the after-the-whistle scrums also.

Vancouver, if they are able, MUST match the physical intensity to be successful, because they won’t win any fist-a-cuffs.

Special Teams – This whole game plan of beating the opposition with the power play when a team takes liberties with the Canucks only works IF the power play is successful. Going into the Saturday game, the Canucks by my count are 2 for their last 23 attempts. What’s that – a 9% success rate? With Boston having the fifth best penalty-kill, this will be a huge mountain to climb.

So if the power-play does not come alive, just how is that going to stop the Bruins from running the Canucks out of Boston?

Oh, by the way, did I mention the Bruins +60 to the Canucks +35 - in goals for/against differential!

Officiating – This shouldn’t be a key to any hockey game but with these two teams it always seems to be. Is this conspiracy against the Canucks that has been floating around the internet more about the lack of respect that the Canucks receive from the referees? Is this all about the Canucks that refuse to fight because it’s not their way that is at the root of that disrespect?

I sure hope not, but I don’t see the Detroit Red Wings receiving these types of non-calls from the referees.

So the most anticipated game of the season will take place this Saturday and the above five keys will play important roles in the Canucks leaving Boston with a win and two points. This is one game that I will rise early for to watch at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time. Wouldn’t miss it for the world!

Ice Bits: Look for Mark Mancari to draw into the lineup in place of Andrew Ebbet. With the Canucks so close to the salary cap, it will be interesting to see if Byron Bitz, now with the Chicago Wolves, will be called up when he’s ready. The Canucks definitely need his physical presence.

I wonder what Mason Raymond is thinking in returning to the place where his career was just about ended? I can still see the check into the boards where he folded up like a pretzel and broke his vertebrae.

If Milan Lucic roars down the boards again, will Dan Hamhuis shy away from the hip check that ended his play-off season?

With a healthy Ryan Kesler, who I know will be pumped, and Cody Hodgson, who did not play in game seven, the Canucks will have the centre position matchups that they did not have last time.

This will be a game that the likes of Alex Burrows, Jannik Hansen, Chris Higgins, Max Lapierre, Andrew Alberts and Kevin Bieksa, truly love to play.  

Photo Credits – AP, Getty Images, Google Images and Yahoo Sports!

Video Credits – YouTube

Stats Credits – http://www.hockeydb.com, http://www.nhl.com/ice/statshome.htm, http://capgeek.com, http://canucks.nhl.com.

Quote Credits – The Vancouver Sun and Province

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