Wow! It is deje vu, like last year. Even though we are down 3-1, it ain't over until the fat lady sings. Remember in 1994 when we went to the Stanley Cup final, game 7. Did we give up then? No!! That's is why we made it. Can we beat Chicago? Absolutely! We need to stand behind our team and quit pointing fingers and focus on the positive. We can do this. It has been done before. Let's just do it. I believe, "solidarity" is what it takes. Do you believe? It worked for us for the Olympics, let's gi
Wow!!! I cant wait for the game tonight!!! The only thing that I look forward to all week is Dancing with the Stars and Canucks Hockey!!!
I just had an idea...what if Roberto does Dancing with the Stars???? OMG!!! Do you think he will do it???
Anyway I hope they figured out that Buff guy. My brother Matt was at the game on Wed and was sitting first row when Buff did his celebration. He said it was worse then seeing Roberto lying face first on the ice after Versteeg got one by him. "Get up
Following their 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3, the Canucks have essentially one option in Game 4: Win.
There are 4 things the Canucks need to do in order to have reason to celebrate...
Although the Minnesota Wild managed to come from behind twice in one playoff run while down three games to one (against the Colorado Avalanche and our beloved Canucks), it is the exception, not the rule in the NHL. Very few teams are able to win 3 straight games in a series, particularly
My May 6th edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary starts of with in-person footage from GM Place of Jannik Hansen's goal.
I welcome my good friend Jesse Manibusan, a Catholic songwriter and speaker, to offer his views on a couple of topics. He starts off by announcing a bombshell: that he is the long-lost brother of Henrik and Daniel.
Then, Jesse has some strongs words for one Dustin Byfuglien, including some thoughts on how to slow him down.
Music is "Hockey Night in Canada" recorded
I was lucky enough to attend last night's game and after Shane O'Brien's weak holding penalty a fan sitting in front of me stood up and yelled, "where's Gary Bettman?" If that didn't sum up the game, I don't know what did. A disappointing 5-2 loss puts the Canucks behind 2-1 in the series, but perhaps more concerning was the way the Canucks handled themselves.
Some believe the loss can be attributed to the Canucks' more physical play, but I don't think that was it. I don't think it was the H
The team is dong well, as we all can see. Though to win this series we might need a ramp up in one area. That is hits. When Chicago has had the upper edge in play a lot of may be contributed back to energy created by big and timely hits.
Come on guys, lets get the job done here.
Cheers and Regards,
Captain Bob
For the May 4th edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary, I come to you from downtown Vancouver as the roof of BC Place is being deflated. The 28 year-old stadium will be getting a brand new retractable roof (too bad it wasn't ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics).
Like the roof of BC Place, I felt deflated after Vancouver's 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in game 2 of the their 2nd-round NHL playoff series. I name 3 things that concern me (burying chances, power play, and lack of firepower) a
As a Canucks fan I was very nervous going into game 2. I put a little extra Vodka in my Coke Zero to try to steady the nerves. My fingernails were already long gone. After the Canucks found a way to win game 1 in Chicago, I knew that the Hawks would approach this like a must-win game and I just hoped the Canucks could weather the early storm. That, of course, didn't happen. Quite the opposite actually. The Canucks pinned the Hawks deep in their own zone for the better part of 7 minutes waiting f
It’s not theteam; it’s the couching that needs fine tuning. It’s not only physical couchingthat the team needs; it’s the mental and psychological coughing that is ofgreater importance to win a hockey games. I am doing this so that my deardaughter Shanah is not disappointed big time when it’s all over.
Let us look at Game 2; when Canucks were up 2 –0, the psychological couching kicks in. At this point all the players must beconvinced that they have it in the bag; it’s a winner. At this point t
Ouch! After all the positive things that went right for the Canucks in Game 1, a letdown had to be expected. We couldn't dominate the Hawks for 2 straight, could we? I mean, they're not L.A. That said, after the early goal and its follow up, it looked as though maybe we could sneak out of Chicago with a second road win. Alas, the boys let opportunity slip through their fingers. We couldn't match the intensity of the Hawks who were playing a desperate brand of hockey to match their situation. The
It's like a first date gone bad.
The Canucks started out well, with a strong 2-goal first period performance that, apart from a Brent Seabrook tally, silenced the crowd at United Center.
But if the first period is anything like an introductory phase between two people on a first date, the second period was the actual event and the Canucks simply didn't show up.
There's nothing worse than being stood up, and although the 'Nucks didn't allow the Blackhawks to score any goals in the middl
It may be a little premature to say that this Blackhawk team is in trouble, but they don't look like the dominant superpower that they think they are. In fact there are only two teams in the playoffs that have given up more goals than they've scored. Montreal is the obvious one, but the other is Chicago. Doesn't sound like a superpower to me. I don't think it's a stretch to call this a must win for the Hawks. Going into Vancouver, where the Canucks have been all but unbeatable, down 2-0 would be
(Note: You can find this post with embedded videos here. I'll also be live-blogging Game Two at <I><a href="http://www.canuckpuck.com">Canuck Puck</i></a> and at <a href="http://www.sportingmadness.ca"><i>Sporting Madness</a></i>. Puck drops at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific. Come join me then!)
After the Canucks' <a href="http://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2010/5/2/1454607/sunday-morning-coffee-we-came-in">5-1 demolition</a> [<b>Ke
In an interview earlier today with Rick Ball from Team 1040 Radio, Kevin Bieksa says the Vancouver Canucks have already forgotten about last game and are focused on Game 2 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Roberto Luongo waits in the tunnel prior to player introductions during Game One versus the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center in Chicago (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
After a commanding 5-1 win over the Blackhawks in front of a stunned sell-out crowd at the United C
Ah...is there any other league out there that uses more cliché phrases than the good old NHL? I mean, duh, would you be telling Canucks not to battle hard for the upcoming Game 2 - or any other game for that matter - against the talented Blackhawks? Of course not, but that's why so many bloggers and self-claimed professionals alike can get away with putting up titles like that in the first place.
So let's go through why, obviously, Canucks will have to show up against the Blackhawks tonight.
In the May 3rd edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary, I offer a few insights and observations into the Canucks' dominating 5-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in game 1 of the their 2nd-round NHL playoff series.
I compare the game to the Canada-Russia quarter-final game in the recent 2010 Winter Olympics, as both games were rather disappointing (from a competition standpoint) given the considerable hype that preceeded them.
In noting Roberto Luongo's magnificent game, I point out that a
With just one Canucks playoff game to dissect this week, Number Crunching takes a page out of the playbook of our road warriors and gives Game 1 the full court press with the best stats from the Round 2 series opener. And because we're just so darned nice out here on the West Coast, we decide to give a shout out to a long-lost friend who just couldn't be here with us.
BALANCING ACT
<img src=http://cdn.nhl.com/canucks/images/upload/2010/05/may0110_hawks24_t.jpg class="imageFloatLeftFra
An impressive start to Round 2, boys. You were skating well, playing the body and showing incredible poise and patience. I particularly enjoyed watching the D play perhaps their strongest game of the playoffs. Goals from 4 lines, one goal against (on a 5 on 3, mind you). SOLID effort for a road game!
I was more than a little worried about the way period 3 began. It reminded me a lot of the early games of the LA series and last year's CHI series. You stopped skating, started grabbing and takin
[The original piece can be found here]
The Canucks kick off their second-round matchup with the Blackhawks today at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific. I'll be live-blogging it at Canuck Puck and <em><a href="http://www.sportingmadness.ca/">Sporting Madness</a></em>, so feel free to stop by then and chat! To get you set for it, I interviewed <b><a href="http://twitter.com/jim_neveau">Jim Neveau</a></b> of Fanball's excellent Chicago blog, <i>&l
The May 1st edition of Clay's Canucks Commentary comes as the Canucks and Blackhawks prepare to renew acquaintances in game 1 of their 2nd-round playoff series.
I decide to pop a few Canucks names, Blackhawks names, and other related phrases into an online anagram generator to see what would result. See what happens with phrases like "Byfuglien has a big butt", "Kane is a goof" and "Canucks win cup."
http://www.claytonimoo.com
http://www.twitter.com/claytonimoo
This promises to be an
One of the more famous lines from Jurassic Park came from Samuel L. Jackson. "Hold on to your butts" basically warned the audience to strap on your seat belts and get ready for a hell of a ride. Seventeen years later I think that same phrase could apply in the second round series between Chicago and Vancouver. Jim Hughson might want to say those words before the puck drops in game one. There will likely be no introduction and no character development. There will certainly be no love story. No, t
<img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q124/cdnuniguy/AHL/Moosesign.jpg" width="120" height="180" class="imageFloatLeftFramed">Well, Moose fans, the season is over. The Hamilton Bulldogs retired the Moose in overtime in Game Six of their series, and won the series by a 4-2 margin. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed because I would have liked to have seen the Moose advance to at least the second round of the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs, but it wasn't to be. That's the trouble with profes
Less than 24 hours after the Washington Capitals proved that I am not sniffing glue or huffing unleaded gas (if you read my earlier predictions, I said that the Capitals weren't that good and were going to exit early) it's time for the second round.
The first round had some of the best and most entertaining hockey I've seen in years. Seven of the eight series went to at least six games and the only one that didn't (Philadelphia beat New Jersey in five) was a pretty big upset. Montreal beat Wa