The Worst Game Preview Of All-Time

Its almost 9 am on the East coast, yes I am referring to Ohio as the East coast, and I am at work on a Saturday to check people in for our job fair. Furthermore I am a salary employee, so no OT. But the topper? No computer, so I am writing this on my mobile, hence the title, and the horrible grammar and spelling that lay ahead.

So the Canucks are playing the LA Kings today in an afternoon game. What I do remember about the Kings this year is they are underachieving. This is a very different team than the Canucks played in the first round, even though the players are much of the same. The biggest subtraction is definitely Alexander Frolov, who bolted for the Rangers. They added Alexei Ponikoravsky, and just added Dustin Penner at the deadline.

Despite the team's poor season, Jonathan Quick has been putting up decent numbers if I remember correctly. The Kings were hoping this would be the year Steve Bernier became the number one guy, but he has yet to step up. Just what the Canucks need right now, face another hot goalie. The Kings much talked about Defense from last year actually got an upgrade in the off-season with the addition of Willie Mitchell, but streaky performances from Jack Johnson (recently found out not the singer) and Drew Doughty have plagued them. Should be an interesting game.

UPDATE: I have calmed down from my game review yesterday. It is insanely frustrating though to read that stuff coming from a team captain, but XBox and working out did the trick.

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Wait, Who Got Shutout?!

I was going to be civil about this, I even told my friend in Kelowna I was going to. I see no reason to kick the team when they are down, that is until I read this. Really Henrik?! REALLY?! Best game in three to four weeks, huh?! You got SHUTOUT by the TENTH team in the West, AT HOME! You had just as many shots, and just as many Power Plays. Also lets not forget the fact in the last three to four weeks, you actually scored a goal in a game, even won a few of them.

He refers to Raymond hitting the crossbar: "...Mason hit the crossbar, we could have easily won this game." I know English isn't his first language, but math is universal, 1 is greater than zero, but it still isn't greater than 3. This is despicable coming from your captain. You aren't the Dark Horse here buddy, you are the CAPTAIN of the LEAGUE LEADING team, and you just got shutout by an inferior opponent, at home. Show some fire, show some emotion here. You think Steve Yzerman would be ok with getting shutout at home by a tenth ranked team this late in the year? How about Dale Hunter, or Mark Messier? You think they would just shrug this off? Even Nik Lidstrom wouldn't say something like that.

I am not mad they got shutout, its like Burrows said, things like this happen in an 82 game schedule. His comments made sense, because he isn't the captain. I don't want Henrik to come out and destroy his team to the media, or say how the guys aren't good enough. You are good enough, you wouldn't be leading the league in points if you weren't. But show a little emotion, and for the love of God, don't say this was your best game in three or four weeks. I thought this team was lacking leadership from the coaching staff, but it seems more and more like it is coming from on-ice leadership as well.

Oh but the coach. Alain would not let such ho-hum statements fly. You can always count on your coach for lighting a fire under a team. ""We went into the third I thought in pretty good shape and we made a mistake, we lost a puck battle, and they had a two-on-one in front of our net and made us pay for it." Really? Because what I saw was both Defenseman watching the puck carrier and Geoffrion, whoever that is, just standing in front of the net. I guess we can call that a two on one. Oh and I almost forgot about the Defense. So happy to have Hamhuis and Ballard back. Not like Hamhuis got stripped, which led to the second Nashville goal. How about the play when Mason Raymond went to skate out of the zone, halfway up his own left circle, and dumped the puck back to...no one. I thought that illustrated the teams lack of Defense very well. Losses happen, being shutout at home happens, but when its the first one at home all year, and in early March, when you should be playing your best hockey, and then the coup de grace of saying it was your best game in the last three or four weeks? That is despicable, and explains a lot about this team the last three years.

At least they are being consistent. They continue to hang their goalie out to dry.

Invasion Of The Hillbillies!

Work is too busy to make even a half-assed attempt at photoshop. The Predators are coming off an overtime loss in Edmonton from Tuesday night. They are currently 10th in the West, but only one point out of eighth place. They aren't that far off from when the Canucks played them a few weeks ago when there was a log jam of about eight teams tied. In that game, which the hillbillies won at home 3-1, the Canucks looked less than sharp, so hopefully they will play them better at Rogers Arena. The hillbillies are 4-4-2 in their last 10.

Over to the Canucks side, the big story has been Chris Higgins who is still out from a thumb injury he sustained on February 25, while still with the Panthers. He has stated he is anxious to finally get on the ice with his new team, and feels energized being tossed into the playoff picture. I for one am anxious as well. I am assuming he will be on the fourth line with Glass and Lapierre. They might substitute him for Hansen on the third line, but with the way those guys have been playing lately I wouldn't want to mess with a good thing. But it appears we will have some time to ponder this thought, as no timetable has been set for Higgins return.   

May Day! May Day!

Great way to get yourself back on the score sheet for sure. It was a great feed from Kesler, but Mason put it in the back of the net beautifully going back hand. Then he comes through again in the shootout. Nash starts off with a goal, and then it comes down to Mason, who slaloms down the ice and makes another nice move to keep the Canucks in the game. Burrows also made a nice move to keep the shootout going after Antoine Vermette scored in the fifth round. But it wasn't until the eighth round. With the game on his stick Raffi just skates toward Steve Mason and buries a wrist shot. There's that third line again.

What makes Raffi's goal even better was the way the goaltenders played in this one. Mason was very solid, stopping 25 of 26 shots, including some great chances in overtime. But Bobby Lou was even sharper, stopping 30 of 31 and making some stellar saves in the shootout to keep the Canucks alive. It also appeared to be breakaway night for the Blue Jackets at Rogers Arena. It felt like every period they had at least two breakaways or near breakaways. But Loungo showed why he is considered one of the best when he is on his game. That was the most encouraging thing by far.

I also thought Lapierre looked pretty good. I know he got a penalty about 30 seconds into his first shift, but it was a little suspect, and I think Upshall helped the ref make up his mind. He was also out there for Columbus's goal, but he isn't exactly a plus player anyway. New linemates, new team, he will find his legs soon enough. Still liking this acquisition. One bad game doesn't mean it was a bad trade. Next up the hillbillies from Nashville.

Billy Blue Jacket Comes Rolling Through Town

Lapierre might be new to the Canucks, but it seems he and Keith Ballard are well acquainted. Him and the other new acquisition, Chris Higgins, have made it to Vancouver, however, Higgins will sit out with a sore thumb. So Lapierre will be on a line with Glass and Tambellini. I am looking forward to seeing how they mesh. 

On to the Blue Jackets. They are coming in currently 12th in the West with 68 points, but just four points out of eighth place. Even though they lost their last game, 3-2, at Nashville on Sunday, but have gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Rick Nash is leading the way for them, of course, with 29G, 27A and a plus 6. Although RJ Umberger has been contributing nicely as well. 

Even with this little hot streak they are on, Columbus is a very beatable team. They recently acquired Scottie Upshall and Sam Lepisto from Phoenix for Radislav Klesla, and claimed Craig Rivet off waivers from Buffalo. The Red Wings are three points behind, and rolling right now. They need a big win here to right the ship. Its also Trevor Linden Night at Rogers Arena, it would be a shame to lose on a night honoring a player that has meant so much to this franchise and city.  

*Also if anyone knows why I am calling them "Billy" Blue Jacket will receive my respect, sorry kind of broke right now*

So Long Evan We Barely Knew You. Hello Chris and Max

So yes I realize this happened awhile ago, but I was stuck at work, and missed the deadline. This was mainly due to the fact one of our customers didn't know the difference between Ontario, California and Ontario, Canada, even though one is a city, and the other is an entire province. Stellar right? Needless to say somethings got screwed up. 

Anyway, the Canucks made two trades today. The first shipped Evan Oberg and a third round pick in this year's draft to Florida for Chris Higgins. In 48 games Higgins has 11 Goals 12 Assists and is a plus 5 with the Panthers this year. Not exactly the scoring punch they were looking for, but he is solid. Plus there wasn't much the Canucks could do unless they gave up major pieces.

The second trade sent Joel Perrault and another third round pick this year to the Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks for Max Lapierre and MacGregor Sharp. Lapierre was sent to Anaheim earlier this year from Montreal, where he wasn't exactly popular. But he is a good fourth liner, and that seems to be the theme here. Higgins might catch fire, depending on who he is playing with. He does have 11 points in 22 career playoff games. MacGregor Sharp is a 25 year old C/LW from Vancouver. He has only eight games of NHL experience, and seems to be a third or fourth liner as well.

So Mike Gillis solidified the bottom two lines, unless he plans on some kind of shake up, which I doubt. Oberg played in two games this season, but could have a future as a third pairing Defenseman in the NHL. Perrault is a veteran journeyman, who played in only seven NHL games this year. I am happy about Lapierre, but confused about Higgins Your thoughts?

Also Hodgson and Oreskovich were sent down to Manitoba today.

Trades?

With the Canucks being so close to the cap, any trade at this point seems impossible unless they unload a major commodity for another, or picks and prospects. The only two players I could see them realistically unloading at this time would be Burrows and Raymond. However, the major obstacle there is salary: Burrows at $2 million per year until 2012-2013 season, and Raymond at $2.5 million for one more year. It wouldn't be impossible to move them but they would have to give up some high-valued prospects or draft picks in the deal.

I would not necessarily be opposed to such a thing, if it allows them to obtain a top winger that they are lacking at the moment, save for Daniel. How would you guys react to say Raymond, Hodgson and a variation of picks for a scoring winger? Might seem a lot for a rental type player, but if it gets the team over the top, is it that bad? Problem also would be finding a proven scorer at around Raymond's salary. Also just glancing at the standings shows that many teams are hovering just around the playoffs, with teams even in the 12, 13 and 14 spots being close to making an eighth seed. This means if any of those teams are trading, they will be requiring a lot in return. And nobody wants to make a Mike Milbury type deal (see bottom of post). As much as I love Trevor Linden, that deal was awful.

Breaking News From Mike Gillis....Kind Of, But Not Really

Had trouble finding a picture of just Scott Oake and Kevin Weekes. But last night on After Hours on Hockey Night in Canada, we got the pleasure of seeing Ryan Kesler, who apparently has a clothing line now, and Canucks GM Mike Gillis. First off Kelser's clothing line doesn't look all that bad, although, the logos seem to be huge on some of the pieces, but if I have a little disposable income I might get something. Also Kesler dropped an S-Bomb, which was hilarious.

Secondly, Scott and Kevin's interview surrounded mainly around trades when it came to GM Mike Gillis, and he...was less than clear. They asked if he was talking to any other GMs and he said he was talking to all of them. They asked him if he was going to make any deals, or if he was in the process of making any deals, and he responded by saying they are very close to the cap right now, but that doesn't mean they won't consider any deals sent their way. Ok??????? I don't blame him for not being as candid as humanly possible, and I wouldn't want him to lay all the cards on the table, but give us something Mike, I mean even Ken Holland gave us something. 

Weekly Grades, February 20-26

The Canucks played three games this week (yes I am counting the Montreal game), and went 1-2. They were outscored 8-6, which doesn't look that bad at all, but sadly the only good, complete game they played was last night against Boston. Montreal controlled that game, despite the final score, and the Canucks were only able to score on the PP. You should be able to get some even strength goals on the sixth seed in the East. They came out like a gun shot against the Blues on Thursday, and dominated the first, going up 2-0. Then they let the Blues score twice in about 70 seconds in the second. They were able to go ahead in the third to secure a win. Saturday night was a different story. They got chances but couldn't score on a red hot goalie, Tim Thomas, and the Bruins capitalized on the opportunities they created. So here are the grades:

Forwards: C+ Kesler and Sammy were each minus 4. Raymond had 11 shots, and zero points. The Twins had two points, collectively, during 5-on-5 play. That is ridiculous, considering two out of the three games were against teams pretty far back from the Canucks in terms of team stats. The one shining light, again, was the third line. Manny, Raffi, and Hansen, combined for 4 points, a plus 6 rating, and was around 55% for face-offs. They appeared to be the only line that played at full speed every second they were out there. Now you can say the Twins play more minutes, and they do, but guess what? They are also exponentially more talented than the third line. They need to step it up. The fourth line of Glass-Oreskovich-Hodgson looked good as well. They didn't help all too much, with limited minutes, but didn't hurt the team either, combining for a plus 2 rating. They also generated some good scoring chances all week.

Defense: C I know blue-line has been banged up. And I know this is the first full week that Ballard and Hamhuis have been back, but they both combined for six shots in three games. Ehrhoff was the lone bright spot here, getting three points and an even rating. Salo went -3 on the week, Tanev got caught out of position leading to two goals in the Montreal game, and Aaron Rome, was Aaron Rome, two shots, minus 1 rating, and was a solid third pairing guy. They weren't moving guys out from the front of the net, and need to get better on their positioning. Something has got to start working here.

Goalies: C Once again this was dominated by Schneider. He got the start against St. Louis, and stopped 28 shots, allowing two goals. He came up with a bunch of key saves, and survived his teammates deciding not to back-check or clear guys out from the front of the net, in the second period. Luongo, played solid despite his stats: 0-2-0, 2.50 GAA, .898S%, with 44 Saves. He was hung out to dry in the Montreal game, giving up a break-away goal, and some porous defense. He played solid on Saturday, but was outplayed by Tim Thomas, you know the 36 year old coming off hip surgery. He has got to get better if they want to go far.

Coaching: D+ Obviously Alain has not solved the problem of his team just deciding to take entire periods off, or get dominated by a six seed from the East. Sometimes the top lines, save for Kesler, and Raymond for the most part (despite his lack of point production), decide that back-checking is more of an option rather and would rather save their energy. Tanev was out of place twice in the Montreal game, both led to goals. Hey Alain, I know you are missing a lot of Defenseman but you might want to spend more time in practice working with the ones you have, so problems like these don't keep occurring.

Next week they are at home Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Thursday against the Nashville Predators. Then they go on the road on Saturday to play the LA Kings. These are all winnable games, and there is no reason why they shouldn't at least for 2-1, especially when two games are at home.

Bruins Maul Canucks

Ok, so they didn't necessarily get mauled. It was a very close game. Both goalies played very well. It just came down to who was going to take advantage of their opportunities, and that was Boston. It wasn't for a lack of trying, the Canucks out-shot the Bruins 28-25, and had three Power Plays to the Bruins two. They had their chances and they didn't capitalize on them. Boston's first goal, scored by Nathaniel Horton, came down to who was on him, Mayson Raymond. And it wasn't for a lack of trying on Mayson's part, Horton is a big guy, and Mayson had trouble putting the body on him and Horton was able to stay in front of the net.

The hometown boy Milan Lucic put the game away in the third with a rebound goal, which Luongo had no chance on. There was a huge group in front of the net, and Luongo went to his right, where the puck was going, but it hit a body and came right to Lucic who had the whole left side open. Also, I am not taking anything away from Tim Thomas. I said it in the preview, he has been outstanding all year. He is the reason Boston has been at the top of the league for most the year. The Canucks have to figure out a way to put the puck in the net though, because it won't be getting any easier down the road.