Bahston Comes Into Town

Last night Milan Lucic (pictured above) was honored at the Vancouver Giants game, his former team, for his time spent there. Hopefully this evening will not be his night. Boston started the season as one of the best teams in the NHL, just destroying opponents. This was mainly fueled by Tim Thomas, who is still playing exceptional: 27-8-6, 1.99 GAA, .939 S%, 7 SO. It is unclear if he will get the start or Tuukka Rask (one of the great names in all of sports by the way), who has been up and down this year.

 Although this is the first, and only, meeting between these two, the Bruins are a different team than they were at the start. They shipped Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart to Atlanta for Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik, Joe Colborne and picks to Toronto for Tomas Kaberle, and they also picked up Chris Kelly from Ottawa. Boston currently sits third in the East with 75 points, but are actually fourth in overall points. They are on a three game win-streak, but more importantly better away from TD Waterhouse Garden than in it, posting a 19-7-4 record on the road.

The Canucks are coming off a win against St. Louis on Thursday, but a loss against the Canadiens on Tuesday, in which they were outplayed. We saw an encore of that in the second period against the Blues, which Cory Schneider addressed as being a problem throughout the season. However, the Canucks are 22-5-5 at home, so this should be a good match-up looking at the records. The big concern is if Thomas starts. His record speaks for itself, and if they come in with a second period let down, Boston has the talent to take over the game. The Bruins scoring is fairly spread out over the roster, so anyone can put the puck in the net, so line match-ups will be the key. 

Quick Update

My work has been insane lately. Just started a new job and have been going in early and coming home late. That added with the time difference, the third period got underway at 11:45 for me last night, I have not been able to post as much as I want, and I have noticed my spelling and grammar is rather poor. Once I get through training I should be able to come up with a more definitive schedule, which will allow me to post as much as I like. I have also considered the possibility of bringing on another person as well, but who knows. I also have someone working on a banner/art for a background so it will have a more original feel to it.  Hang in there it shouldn't be much longer.

No Blues In BC Last Night

Pretty solid showing last night, minus those 74 seconds in the second period. I'll start off by ranting for a bit about that. They came out flat in the second period, after just dominating the first. The fourth line, which Hodgson had the most ice time at 5:03 (thanks to a reader for that), was even generating scoring chances, and netted a goal, albeit from Sami Salo, but Oreskovich and Glass had assists. When a team comes out flat with a two-goal lead, that's coaching and leadership. If the coach isn't getting on their butts to keep it up or reminding them there's two periods left, then the captain should be, or at least one of the alternates. It was ridiculous.

All that being said, when they did play well, they looked solid. The Sedins passing was tight, the Kesler line was looking productive, third line was high energy, as always, and as mentioned before even the fourth line was producing in their limited minutes. The Defense looked great as well, Tanev and Hamhuis generated two great scoring chances. And Schneider? 28 saves, .933 Save Percentage, and made some great saves in traffic, so the usual. That ginger has been on fire (pun intended), and I am actually excited for his starts. And of course, I can't help but mention my boy Manny. The third line is playing spectacular and he is the engine that makes it go, which isn't a slight against Hansen, and especially Torres. I am going to miss him next year for sure. Next up Bruins on HNiC, doesn't get much better than that.

The Blues Come To Town

For this to even be an idea for a jersey should have gotten the Blues kicked out of the league, just awful. Anyway, in three previous meeting with the Blues this season the Canucks are 1-2, with the Sedins being held to only 2 combined points. Right now the Blues sit 13th in the West, with only 63 points. However, this is a different team than when we saw them last. Eric Brewer, Erik Johnson, and Jay McClement, who were traded recently, or Jarolslav Halak who is on IR. They also have the additions of Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk, both of whom are having solid seasons, and have caught on well with their new team. Although the Blues have dropped two in a row.

The Canucks are coming of being outplayed by Montreal, but kept it close. They should look tighter tonight, and Hamhuis and Ballard should not have as much rust as two nights ago. Also, as I mentioned in the previous post, if Tanev hadn't made one of his two mistakes it would have been a different game. I am not blaming him for the lose everyone makes mistakes, and they're a good enough team to overcome mistakes. I would like to see Schneider in net tonight, but Alain might not want to mess with Luongo's confidence after a couple mediocre starts.

Nucks Go Down

Where to begin? How is it that a team missing five Defenseman played better than a team missing three? Tanev looked lost out there. I mean he wasn't exactly Mattias Ohlund of the early 2000s before hand, but giving up a breakaway to a guy playing in just his 28th NHL game was ridiculous. Then "playing the body" on Kostitsyn was bewildering. If you are going to hit someone HIT THEM, if not then play the puck. He looked like he decided halfway through to not hit but followed through anyway. I don't even want to go into that Gionta goal. All five Canucks were below the circle and the smallest guy, in traffic mind you they saw him, they knew he was there, scores on a rebound.

Then they have six powerplays and convert on two of them, which isn't terrible, but when you consider one they didn't capitalize on was a 5-on-3 that is unacceptable. This is the sixth seed in the East. You have the most points in the league. Not only do you have the same team you have had for awhile, you got two top Defenseman back. I am not trying to take anything away from Montreal. They came out firing on all cylinders, and the Canucks looked confused and unable to counter it. Why? I have no idea. But when something like this happens it is usually a coaching problem. The score does not tell the story here, Montreal dominated, and it could have been a lot worse, because they missed some chances down in the third.

Les Habitants Come To Town

The Canadiens come come into Rogers Arena tonight on a bit of a slide. They are 4-4-2 in their last 10 and on a 2 game losing streak. Their last game was of course the Heritage Classic, in which they were shut out 4-0 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. They currently sit 6th in the Leastern Conference, 3 points ahead of the Rangers and 4 points behind the Capitals. Carey Price has been the best player on the team by far, but has lately come down to Earth.

The big news for the Canucks, of course, is the return of Hamhuis and Ballard. This is a huge relief for not only the goalies, but for the blueline as a whole. I am sure they will have limited minutes, but I would rather have them on limited minutes than not at all. And this is in now way a slight against Sauve and Oberg, they filled in very well. I think they both have upside, especially Sauve, I look forward to seeing more of him on the ice at Rogers Arena. Should be an interesting game.

Sauve Down, Ballard Back?

 

Sauve was sent back down to Manitoba today. This has to mean Ballard will be back tonight. As it sits now the Canucks have just five healthy Defenseman listed on the roster. Unless they will be calling someone up, which I don't think is the case, this will be a huge boost. Not just Hamhuis but Ballard returning as well will take some pressure off the goalies. I thought Sauve played very solid in his 3 games with the big club, and I look forward to seeing him progress in the near future.  

Just As I Thought, Big Dan Is Back!

TSN is reporting Dan Hamhuis will be playing Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens when they come to the friendly confines of Rogers Arena. This is big for the Canucks. Five Defenseman out...FIVE! Its just insane, and this is a sign of good things to come. They are also hinting at Ballard's return as well. That might be pushing it at this point, but if he is ready to go, this would be a huge boost to the blueline. Very happy right now.

I figured at least Hamhuis was returning. I mean, why send Oberg down if Hamhuis wasn't ready. This also means there most likely won't be much movement out of Vancouver at the trade deadline. Unless Gillis is looking to make a big splash and really move some people.

Heeeeeeeeee's Baaaaaaaaack.

I was preparing a post that was essentially a list of reasons why Hodgson should be recalled. Apparently Mike Gillis was reading my mind. I am pretty excited about this, mainly because it will be a chance for some other guys to rest, and a chance for Hodgson to get some good experience. He has already played 5 games for the Canucks this season and has two points, one of which was his first career goal, in Phoenix on February 2nd. The timing of this is perfect, you have what you hope is a very good young Center, and you have three top Centers in the league to show him the ropes. Manny on face-offs, Kesler on back-checking and defense, and Henrik on scoring and creating plays. Not to mention a few other veterans that can give him pointers. I hope this isn't too brief of a call-up. Evan Oberg was sent back down to Manitoba.

This must mean Hamhuis is ready to comeback. The roster on the Canucks website, lists six active Defensemen on the roster, with Hamhuis as one of them. Hamhuis of course has been out since February 10 with a concussion. He, and Ballard, participated in the morning skate on Saturday, and Hamhuis reportedly passed all his post-concussion tests. Lets hope the big guy is ready to return, they need him.

Weekly Grades, February 13-19

A feature I am going to attempt to establish here on Nucks on the Pond is a weekly grading system. I am hoping to post one every Sunday that goes through how the forwards, defense, goalies, and coaching did throughout the prior week. This may suffer through weekend trips or if I have a busy work schedule, however, I think its more than possible. I spent a good chunk of time today setting up a spreadsheet with formulas and tables, so from here on out it shouldn't be all that time consuming. Here's what I have so far:

The Canucks had a busy week last week playing four games, with a back-to-back starting Monday in St. Louis with a 3-2 loss, and then to Minnesota Tuesday for a 4-1 win against the Wild. Alberts broke his wrist in St. Louis, which made the loss that much worse. On Thursday it was off to Nashville where the injuries continued to pile up as Bieksa fractured his foot when he was blocking a shot, with a 3-1 loss on top of it. However, the week ended well last night with a 5-2 victory of the Dallas Stars back home in Rogers Arena. In that span they scored 12 goals with 9 goals against, with the goalies playing fairly well combining for a 1.83 GAA and a .935 S%. They did average roughly 27 shots per game, with 8 PIM per game (minus Torres' Fighting Major).  

Forwards: B The Centers played well, with Henrik and Manny both in the 60% range in Face-off Wins, and had a combined 10 Points and a Plus 5 rating. Manny was probably the best winning key face-offs in the offensive zone and playing solid on the PK. Henrik was a bit soft on the back-check (see Goc's goal in the Nashville game), and Kesler was in the 40% range on Face-off Percentage. The Wingers combined for 15 points, a Plus 6 rating. Like usual Daniel was the best with 3 Goals and 1 Assist, but Torres chipped in with 2 Goals and 1 Assist, as did Hansen, making the Torres-Malhotra-Hansen line the best this week by far. Tambellini is still on a cold streak after his unexpected scoring to start the season.

Defense: C+ I considered giving them an Incomplete due to all the injuries, but thats the easy way out. Injuries are a part of the game, and you have to deal with them. The entire Defense posted 0 Goals with 6 Assists, a Plus 5 rating and 20 PIM. With the loss of Alberts and Bieksa, we were introduced to Yann Sauve and reintroduced to Evan Oberg. I thought Sauve looked pretty good, he played in 3 games, had 5 shots and had an even rating. He also had a goal-saving play in the Nashville game, robbing Steve Sullivan (I believe) of a rebound chance. Oberg had just one shot, but also posted an even rating. Neither posted any points. So they did not contribute all that much, but didn't hurt the team either.

Sami Salo also made his triumphant return from an ACL injury. Ideally his comeback would have been slow considering the type of injury he sustained, but with Defenseman dropping like flies, he was accelerated, and I thought he responded pretty well. He had a 2 Assists, a Plus 1 rating, and 4 PIM in 4 games. He will have to lead this unit until they can get some guys healthy, but he did average just over 20 Minutes per game this week.

Goalies: B Combined they went 2-2, with a 1.83 GAA, a .935 S%, 9 GA and made 104 Saves. Schneider played against the Wild, and was the main reason the GAA and S% were so low. He stopped 28 of 29 shots in the game, and looked very sharp. The only goal he let in was on a sharp angle from Buttercup (Clutterbuck) and he was caught not looking, so its something he can work on. 

Luongo posted a 2.67 GAA and .904 S%. I cut him some slack though for a all the new Defenseman and he was hung out to dry a couple times (Rome's "blown tire" in Nashville). He made some huge saves though (especially in traffic) that reminded of how great a goalie he can be. However, he did let in a couple soft ones.

Coaching: B- There were some good points. Having Malhotra taking offensive zone PP face-offs paid off in the Minnesota games, and they seemed to match up pretty well with other teams lines. However, the back-checking looked lazy, and there were two instances in the Dallas game where they had too many men on the ice, one time with about 8 guys out there. Now for whatever reason they weren't called for it, but sloppy line changes are on the coaching staff.

Hope this wasn't too long for you guys. A lot happened with the Defense this week, and I probably over-analysed the goalies, but I put in the work so I figured I would use all of it. I will learn how to consolidate the more I do this. What are your guys grades?

Red Alert!

Love a 5 goal night! Raffi was on fire, with two goals and a fight, and Daniel netted two as well, with an assist. Some very good passing from Malhotra on Torres second, and the 3-on-1 with the Sedins and Burrows was a thing of beauty. Once again the third line looked the best, not just because Torres got two goals, but because once again they were relentless on the forecheck.

However, the score of this game really doesn't reflect much of this game. Henrik and Torres' second were only 33 seconds apart and with only about four minutes left. Despite out-shooting the Stars 38-24, it was a close game. This was mainly due to sloppy play. The Canucks had seven plus players on the ice at two different times (first and third), and despite some pinpoint passing on the rush, they had some trouble getting the puck out of their zone. 

Sloppy play can be fixed, but the bright side is, it wasn't the mix-and-match blueline. The defense played pretty damn good, especially Sauve. Also I find it funny how Dallas showed their true colors after the game, when Frstic went after Rome. Its starts from the top down, and Morrow has always been a sore loser. Its ok Brendan, its not the Canucks fault you can't pass and your defense can't score.

This would be a good one for Sports Illustrated (per Scot Oak), this week's sign of the apocalypse: all 5 Canucks goals were scored by gingers.