http://forum.canucks.com/index.php?app=blog Community Blog List Syndication Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:48:25 +0000 kevin.kinghorn@canucks.com (Canucks Community) IP.Blog 60 According to the Optimist Code, "an optimist shall try their best to find the positive in every situation, regardless of how daunting the task."

In the spirit of this code, I've been challenged by a fellow optimist to take on the curious case of Kyle Wellwood.

Oh boy. This is akin to playing minesweeper on expert. There are red flags everywhere.

From Trailer Park Boys Randy to a fan favourite, Wellwood had quite the first season in Vancouver in 2008-09. He showed up for camp out of shape and was called out for it, he then dropped Big City Cupcakes from number two on his speed dial and got his act together.

The result was a butterfly-eske transformation, one that even surprised Welly himself as he finished the season with 27 points. Some fans were even mistaking Wellwood for one of the most dynamic Canadian players of all time.

Now, not so much.

Even after dropping more weight this off-season and getting ample opportunity to produce with all of Vancouver's injuries earlier this year, Wellwood has been as useful as a flashlight in a horror movie. He's like a drunken text the Canucks wish they could take back.

The numbers are Shakira's hips: Wellwood has one assist for one point in 17 games ranking him 568th in the NHL for points. He's gone nine whole games, or 540 minutes, without finding the scoresheet with no end in sight.

The pride of Windsor, Ontario no more, Wellwood has fallen behind former WWF wrestler Killer Kowalski on the city's list of people who have done stuff. Burn. His bio at town hall has even been changed to read: "Even a broken clock gets it right once and a while. C'mon Kyle." Double burn.

Apparently Apple has been lying all these years because getting Wellwood out his mother-of-all-how-are-you-in-the-NHL-pudding-has-more-consistency slump, there's no app for that. But, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And yes, it's daylight, not a train coming at you head-on.

Throughout Wellwood's career, he's collected the most points on Thursdays (28) and Saturdays (44) than any other days and of Vancouver's remaining 61 games, 25 fall on those days. That's a start.

Most people love December because it means the holiday season is among us, Wellwood is a fan of the twelfth month because he has 29 points in December, the most of any month during his career. Now we're talking.

Goals aren't going to score themselves, even if it's a Thursday or Saturday in December, and the first step to Wellwood overcoming his slump is acknowledging his chronic Triggeritis – not to be confused with Pufferotis Triggeritis, a compulsion to build large aquariums to house every kind of pufferfish and triggerfish.

In 17 games Wellwood has only 17 shots on goal, Bruno Gervais of the New York Islanders is the only other NHLer to have as many shots in as many games without scoring. Wellwood is at his best when he puts stick to rubber, as his early career numbers indicate: in 2005-06 he had 45 points and 117 shots and in 2006-07 he had 42 points and 99 shots.

If Wellwood starts pulling the trigger and shooting, I'm optimistic he'll wake up from this nightmare and be back on everyone's holiday shopping list before long, including Alain Vigneault's.

I'm doubly optimistic that for some odd reason, Wellwood will score his first goal of the season on Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks, a team he's never recorded a point against.

Who is Optimist Prime? He's an eternal Canucks believer whose glass is always half full, even when it's empty.

Throughout the 2009-10 season, Optimist will take a lighthearted look at the Canucks while never losing the faith. It's Cup time baby!

]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:35:00 +0000
Clearly some junior staffer at the health office was reading up on their Alberta counterparts and was titillated at the prospect of a little face time. Why else would you attack the Canucks for following protocol when it comes to getting the H1N1 shot?

We're all aware of how Darryl Sutter and the rest of the Calgary Flames upper (mis)management slithered their way to the front of the line for H1N1 shots – ahead of high-risk children - back on October 30th which cost two Albert a Health Authority employees their jobs.

At the time B.C.'s chief medical health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, railed against the Flames' AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat, for also jumping the queue.

What of the Canucks? Despite the fact that the Pig Flu had costs the Oilers a few points in the standings in late October, the organization publicly said they would wait until all the high-risk cases had been vaccinated and shots had become public before players would receive theirs.

On Friday, Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, told an Ottawa news conference that "we are broadening our recommendations for the use of unadjuvanted vaccine. Specifically, the doses of unadjuvanted flu vaccine will be made available to healthy people between the ages of 10 and 65 and those with healthy immune systems so they can be vaccinated as soon as possible."

Based on that recommendation, the Canucks organization arranged for flu shots on Tuesday – not Friday, not Monday, but Tuesday.

And who rears their head in the media Thursday? None other than Dr. Perry Kendall, clearly drunk on his own fleeting celebrity stemming from his Calgary Flames grand-standing.

He claims in a Vancouver Sun story the Canucks definitely jumped the H1N1 vaccine queue.

"They were out of sequence," he was quoted as saying. Really Dr. P? Whose sequence? Could it possibly be your private sequence? Because your own government released a statement Friday clearing "healthy people between the ages of 10 and 65" for the vaccine.

What a reeking pile of self-aggrandizing garbage. Dr. P, you should be ashamed. You're slamming the Canucks without just cause for your own personal gain.]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:10:00 +0000
It seems that midnight may be about to strike for the Avalanche's Cinderella start to the season if it hasn't already.

The Avs have just one win in their last five games and, for the most part, have not looked good in the losses. One positive for the Avs is that their offence is continuing to click. They scored three times against a tough Flames squad to open their road trip on Tuesday and found the net four times on Wednesday in a losing effort to the Oilers.

The return of Milan Hejduk to the lineup has certainly been a welcome sight. Hejduk missed two games earlier in the season with a back injury but has three goals in his last two games. Hejduk's move off the top line and onto a unit with rookie Matt Duchene also gives the Avs a chance to spread around some of their offence and force the opposition's defence to focus on more than just the top unit featuring Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski.

Keeping pucks out of the net has been a different story.

It would have been easy to chalk up their eight goals allowed to the Canucks six nights ago as an aberration were it not for the fact that defensive lapses have occurred more often than not over the last five games. They gave up five goals to the Oilers on November 8th, rebounded with a better defensive effort in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Blackhawks on November 11th, had that forgettable night against the Canucks on November 14th, seemed to right the ship with a 3-2 win in Calgary this past Tuesday, but then gave up six goals to the Oilers in a loss on Wednesday.

Based on this recent pattern, tonight's meeting should shape up to be a much tighter, relatively lower-scoring affair and that certainly seems more likely with Craig Anderson expected to return to the crease tonight.

The Canucks chased Anderson from last Saturday's game after beating him four times on 22 shots, but the 28-year old responded well in his next start stopping 34 of 36 shots in a 3-2 win over the Flames. He watched from the bench on Wednesday night as his Avs team squandered a two-goal second period lead en route to a 6-4 loss.


Read the complete Canucks.com Tale of the Tape preview here. (Updated on the morning of each game)]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:30:00 +0000 Evgeny Kurbatov to Gazovik Tyumen

Amur Khaborovsk released Dmitri Semenov

Dinamo Riga signed Tyler Arnason

The Columbus Blue Jackets loaned Nikita Filatov to CSKA Moscow for the rest of the season

Vasily Koshechkin is now with Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Stat Leaders:
Goals: Marcel Hossa with 17
Assists: Alexei Yashin with 22
Points: Maxim Sushinsky with 31
Goalie: Kari Ramo with a 1.79 GAA

Canuck Property:

Kirill Koltsov: GP:22 G:2 A:14 +/-:8 PIM:22
Ilya Kablukov: GP:21 G:3 A:4 +/-:-2 PIM:8
Ilja Krikunov: GP:20 G:5 A:11 +/-:3 PIM:18]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:04:00 +0000 A break in the schedule and with 21 games already in the books equals a good time to review the first quarter of the Vancouver Canucks 2009.10 season.

At the outset of the season, if told the Canucks would be sitting at 11-10-0 after the first 21 games, there may have been cries of outrage among those in Canuck Nation. After all, this was a team that had stated from the beginning that getting off to a good start would be crucial to their playoff hopes given their enormous 14-game road trip (actually an eight-game trip before the Olympic break plus a six-game trip coming out of the Winter Games) beginning in late January and stretching through to mid-March.

21 games into this season, however, and it is still virtually impossible to gauge this season's version of the Canucks. At no time during this season have the Canucks had the benefit of a fully healthy lineup and not only have the amount of injuries been staggering, they've been to the likes of some of Vancouver's key performers including Daniel Sedin and Roberto Luongo.

Strictly going by the numbers, the Canucks are behind their pace of last season. After 21 games in the 2008.09 campaign, the Canucks sat first overall in the Northwest Division and third overall in the Western Conference. This season, the Canucks entered Wednesday trailing the division-leading Colorado Avalanche by seven points after the same number of games played.

Keeping in mind that game no. 21 of last season happened to be a key turning point for the team's fortunes as it was the afternoon contest in Pittsburgh where the Canucks lost Roberto Luongo for what turned out to be a 24-game stretch, barring the same misfortune and with Daniel Sedin's return on the horizon, the Canucks expect to be in a much better position as far as their roster is concerned as they drive towards the mid-way mark of the season.

As far as individual performances go, here are some of the best and worst of the first quarter of play for the Canucks in 2009.10:

THE POSITIVES

Henrik Sedin (12-11-23 in 21 GP)

For Henrik to have 23 points at this stage of the season is no shocker. For him to be able to do so without the winger who's been his linemate since he was in diapers is a bit of a surprise. 17 of his 23 points have come in the 17 games since Daniel's injury.

The biggest surprise with Sedin is that, after last Friday's hat-trick, he finds himself with a team-leading 12 goals. He's currently on a pace for a 40-plus goal season although it's probably a safe bet his goal pace won't continue through the rest of the season especially when Daniel gets back into the lineup as Henrik will likely to go back to his more familiar role of set-up man. However, it's probably a good thing for the Canucks to know that if they did choose to split the Sedins somewhere again down the line, Henrik at the very least can hold his own and actually can find the net on a regular basis.

Ryan Kesler (5-14-19 in 21 GP)

Last year's Team MVP looks to have picked up right where he left off last season as he's been one of Vancouver's most consistent point producers so far this season. The biggest change with Kesler is whereas last season much of his success was attributed to playing with Pavol Demitra and Mats Sundin, this season Kesler has been the one credited for sparking improved play among some of his new linemates. He had showed good chemistry with Michael Grabner (prior to his injury) and seems to be a big reason for some of Mason Raymond's offensive success of late.

After 21 games played last season, Kesler had just 13 points (5-8-13). He's had a reputation of getting stronger as the season goes along so he'll definitely be a player to watch for the Canucks as they near the midway mark of the season.

Mason Raymond (8-5-13 in 21 GP)

After two seasons of tantalizing Canuck fans with his blazing speed but frustrating them all at the same time with his inability to finish, Mason Raymond looks like he's finally been able to put it all together. Raymond had just 23 points (11-12-23) all of last season (all career-high numbers) but is on pace to shatter all of those numbers providing he can stay healthy and not go into one of his trademark prolonged slumps.

Last season, he teased Canuck fans posting 10 points (5-5-10) in his first 13 games but went into a funk for most of November. After bouncing back with a decent December, he went into hibernation again for most of the rest of the season. He had just four points from January to the end of the regular season. Canucks fans are certainly hoping for a different path for Raymond this season.

Honourable Mention: Christian Ehrhoff/Andrew Raycroft

Christian Ehrhoff came to Vancouver with the reputation as a point-producing defenceman and so far he hasn't disappointed. He leads all team blue-liners with goals (3) and points (12) but perhaps most surprisingly, he leads the team with a plus-nine rating. The biggest knock on Ehrhoff coming from San Jose was his defensive game but that hasn't been an issue so far. Last season, he finished minus-12 with the Sharks.

We don't expect to see too much of Andrew Raycroft from now until the midpoint of the season (barring injury to Roberto Luongo) but give him credit for keeping the ship afloat during the six games Luongo was out. His 2.18 GAA and .916 save percentage still have him ranked as statistically the best goaltender for the Canucks this season. If the season were to end today, his GAA would be the best by a Canucks netminder since the NHL lockout.

THE UNDERACHIEVERS

Kyle Wellwood (0-1-1 in 17 GP)

He was last year's feel-good story but the only thing Kyle Wellwood's feeling this season is the heat after getting off to the worst start of his NHL career. For a player who redefined himself as a goal-scorer last season Wellwood's lack of shots this season have been especially alarming.

Through 17 games played, Wellwood has just 17 shots on goal - an average of one per game. He has had more than one shot on goal in just three of his 17 games played this season. Last season, he had 94 shots in 74 games played.

Kevin Bieksa (1-10-11 in 21 GP)

After scoring 11 goals and netting a career-high 43 points in 2008.09, much more was expected of the Grimsby, Ontario native coming into this season. However, it's been a struggle for Bieksa at the offensive end of the ice. Bieksa hasn't scored since opening night in Calgary although his point production has been somewhat better in recent games as he has four assists in his last four outings.

It's hard to compare his production this year versus last since he missed eight of the first 21 games (ended up missing 9 of the first 22 games overall) with injury. However, through Vancouver's first 21 games last season, Bieksa had already tallied three times and had the same number of points as he does right now despite appearing in just 13 of those first 21 games in 2008.09.

Alex Edler (0-10-10 in 21 GP)

He had gotten progressively better in each season since entering the NHL, so Alex Edler's sudden struggles this season are a bit hard to explain. He had a career high in goals (10) last season but has yet to find the back of the net in 2009.10. He is also on pace for the first time in his career to finish on the minus side of the plus-minus rating.

But before Canuck Nation starts going into a panic, consider that Edler had an equally slow start through the first 21 games of last season (which included two missed games due to injury). At this time last season, Edler had one goal and five assists. Seven of his 10 goals last season came on or after January 31st.

Dishonourable Mention: Alex Burrows

12 points (4-8-12) in 21 games and a shared spot in the top-five of team scoring isn't too shabby but, based on the way he finished last season, it's understandable why Canucks fans are considering this start to be a disappointing one for Burrows. In his defence however, Burrows point production isn't too far off from where he was at this time last season. Through the first 21 games of the 2008.09 season, Burrows had 13 points (6-7-13).

It's easy to forget that Burrows didn't really hit his stride until he was placed on a line with Henrik and Daniel Sedin last season, but with Daniel's injury he hasn't had that opportunity much this season playing mostly on makeshift lines. One thing that's been noticeable looking at his numbers this season is that he's spreading the points around in more games. He has just one multi-point game this season whereas last season, through the first 21 games, he already had four multi-point outings.

THE JURY'S STILL OUT

Steve Bernier (6-4-10 in 19 GP)

He is the NHL's version of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. On some nights, he can look like a dominant power forward and goal scorer. On others, you'd have to check the official roster to see if he's dressed. What we can tell you about Steve Bernier is that he's off to a slightly better start this season than he was in his first year as a Canuck.

Through the first 21 games last season, Bernier had five goals and nine points. He has six goals and 10 points so far this season and that's playing in two fewer games after he had to sit out a pair of contests earlier due to a bout with the flu. Coming out of last Friday's win over the Avalanche, the Bernier bandwagon is full again thanks to his first two-goal game of the season. Where it will be five, or 10, or 15 games from now is anybody's guess.

Mikael Samuelsson (8-7-15 in 21 GP)

When the Canucks signed Mikael Samuelsson away from the Red Wings in the off-season, they figured that being in the right scenario he could be a consistent 20-goal scorer (even though he had only reached the mark once in his career). A quarter into the season, he looks like he's certainly everything the Canucks have said he will be.

However, for those who read the Game Notes on a regular basis, you'll also know that Samuelsson tends to play his most productive hockey in the month of October and this season that appears to be no exception. After 12 points in 14 games during the season's opening month, Samuelsson has managed just three points in seven games in November. Through the first 21 games last season with Detroit, Samuelsson had five goals and 18 points.

Sami Salo (0-2-2 in 14 GP)

With just two assists at the quarter mark of the season, it's tough to suggest Sami Salo's start is anything but a disappointment. However, Salo gets the nod in the "jury's still out" category for the reason that the Canucks seem to be in a transition mode with Salo in terms of his role with the team. His penchant for injury makes it tough for the Canucks to consider him an everyday player. Instead, it almost seems like an added bonus when Salo is in the lineup.

Certainly, the Canucks would love to see more production out of him when he does suit up. But even then, the Canucks re-tooled this off-season adding Christian Ehrhoff and Mathieu Schneider and, combined with the likes of Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler assuming they will eventually snap out of their respective funks, have four defencemen who can be relied on to generate offence from the back end meaning the pressure on Salo should be lightened somewhat. At this point last season, Salo had one goal and eight points despite missing four of the first 21 games with injury.

Vancouver's 2008.09 record from Game No. 22 to Game No. 41: 8-9-3


Daniel writes the Tale of the Tape preview prior to each Canucks game. More of his work can be found here.]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:03:00 +0000
Exactly why were folks so bloody high on this team to start the season? Was it just me or were even the most bitter, yellowed Canucks haters calling this the best team this franchise has seen? Even Tony G – that bastion of searing Canucks vitriol - was calling Mike Gillis team a legitimate playoff contender.

No way.

Ehrhoff, yeah, he's good. Better than Ohlund? Yeah, probably. But what else changed on the back end? Willie is no faster and no less likely to fire a puck up the boards in the dying moments of a crucial playoff game. Bieksa is no bigger, nor any more able to clear the front of his crease. Edler meaner? No.

Up front this team has only gotten smaller and less skilled. Granted, they don't have to deal with Demitra's messes, but they also have zero semblance of a second line. Kesler, Raymond and whatever else AV has inked in beside them simply isn't good enough. The Flames have more offensive upside than this team and that's solely because they have Renee Bourque.

And the Twins – oh god the poor Twins – they still don't have a winger. And I'm beginning to think they never will. John Leclair? Cam Neely? Dan f-ing Heatley for chistsakes. Anyone with some size, smarts and finish. Anson – I heart Europe – Carter was able to pop 30+ for the twins and was out of the league two years later. What does that tell you? Stay with me here… They can turn poop into gold. Imagine what they could do with some lead; lead that planted itself in the crease and kept its stick on the ice.

And then there's Lui. What of Luongo? He's not a bad goalie. He's a very good goalie even. Certainly capable of getting hot at the right time just like anyone else. BUT, can any team really afford to spend $7 + million a year between the pipes when guys like Cam Ward and Chris Osgood can carry a team further for a fraction of the cost? I would say not.

Too small. Too soft. Not skilled enough to play an offensive game and not gritty enough to play a grinding defensive game. And too expensive in the crease to fix what ails them.]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:01:00 +0000 With Daniel Sedin out, Henrik has found a way to keep up his point per game play, something that people didn't think he was capable of. For their entire careers the Sedins had played together, and rarely missing a game, no one really knew just how talented the twins were individually. In 17 games without his brother Daniel on his wing, Henrik Sedin has had 17 points, capped with a hat trick night against the Avalanche.

While Henrik has struggled without his brother, there's been a positive side to his time with different line mates. Henrik's biggest struggles have been in the face-off dot, but when you look at the numbers that have come out of his time away from Daniel the Canucks are going to come out on top when Daniel returns to the line up. One of the biggest criticisms of Henrik was his pass first mentality.

Since Daniel went down, Henrik's had to adapt his style of play and start shooting more and it's finally paying dividends. The perfect example was his hat trick goal against the Avalanche. He was wide open at the side at the net, and in year's gone by we've seen him wide open in similar fashion, and he's elected to pass. He's starting to shoot more, he's starting to go to the net, and without the cycle, we're starting to see some of the real talent Henrik Sedin possesses. Most importantly, he's proved to us that he doesn't need his brother to continue being a point per game player.

With Daniel's return, what happens to Henrik's play? Does he go back to his pass first mentality since his brother will be there to do all the shooting? Daniel needs someone to set him up. Anyone can set him up, and he can find the back of the net. That's why he's led the Canucks in goals the last couple of seasons. With that in mind, the Canucks could use another player with a shoot first mentality and now would be the perfect time to experiment with splitting up the Sedins.

With Daniel's return, I'd be interested to see how the team would fare if Henrik started and centered the first line with Samuelsson and Burrows, while Daniel joined Raymond and Kesler. It's a gamble worth a try, and with the way Henrik's found his own, certainly if there was any time to try this, now would be the time.

The only downside to the gamble is if it pays off Burrows would likely resume his spot on the 3rd line. It's clear that Burrows just isn't the player he was last year without both the Sedins to play with. If splitting the Sedins results in more goals for this team, for the time being I'd certainly entertain the two on separate lines. Even if Daniel returns and joins his brother Henrik, the Canucks are going to come out on top because this time apart has shown Henrik that he doesn't always have to pass the puck. Why have one offensive-minded, shoot-first twin, when you can have two?


Mozy is a fan of the underdog – first Bryan Allen, then Alex Burrows, and now Jannik Hansen. His passion for the Canucks led to the Canucks Hockey Blog and a lot of #Canucks tweets on his Twitter account.]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:48:00 +0000
Wellwood's game has struggled on a whole though. He's getting time on the Power Play, on the Penalty Kill, and everything from his play in the face-off dot, to his stats on the score sheet are suffering. He has the lowest face-off winning percentage of the four centers on the team, and averaging 14 minutes of ice team a night, he's got less points than a handful of players getting substantially less shifts and minutes than him per game. He's been inconsistent all season and now's the time to start doing something about it. His face-off performance has been spotty and inconsistent, and in 17 games he's averaged as shot per game, however he's gone without a shot in 5 of his 17 games played this year. It factors that if he's not shooting he's not going to get the chances. Wellwood's gotten play on the Canucks PP, and with it's effectiveness in the early part of the season, the excuses for Wellwood's sub par play are slowly disappearing.

Seven players have played less games than Wellwood this year and have point totals equal to or greater than him. He's playing with line mates that are finding ways to provide offense, and yet he's not getting in on the play. Something has to be done to get Wellwood motivated again. Last year after he was publicly lashed by Vigneault's comments his motivation showed results. This year, coming into camp ahead of the game having dropped a number of pounds it seems the former Maple Leaf just doesn't have that hop in his step. Wellwood needs an awakening. Hordichuk was benched and came back looking better. He made an impact and was actually visible on the ice even though his role isn't to get on the score sheet. With the Canucks depth and bodies, if the injury list shortens and we have a few extras Wellwood needs some time in the press box to get his head together because he's struggling on all fronts and the Canucks need him to be a part of the secondary scoring this team expects.

The Canucks have a lot of motivated players in the bottom six who look a lot better than Wellwood. Hansen's return has been charged and in his two games so far he's making his case to get off the bubble. Pettinger has come back a man reborn to fight for a roster spot after doing a tour of the Canucks minor league affiliates, and with players like Bolduc and Rypien, both capable centers, Wellwood has to start earning his spot or he's going to find himself in the press box ordering delivery during the games.]]> Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:06:00 +0000 So since I got my class 5 license about a month ago, I have been test driving many cars. They included the Lancer, Corolla, Civic and SX4. (all 2009 models)
Eventually I chose the SX4 (which is made by Suzuki) mainly because of its trunk space, and because it looks different. You can learn more about the SX4 here. It's great to finally have some freedom and not be stuck taking the 'great' transit system Edmonton has.
Other than that, I have only one more month until my first semester is done. I'm doing ok, but I could do better. I just hope that after i finish this course I can achieve my goal of being either a Peace officer or Police officer.
You guys take care and have a fantastic week! I know I will, I'm still pumped after that 8-2 win on Saturday! Can't wait to wear my jersey all around E-town this week!

-The Hornet]]> Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:57:00 +0000
Riding a hot powerplay, the Canucks 5 on 5 offense was non-existent and they weren't aggressive. Time and time again we watched other teams crash the crease and as a result, good things happen. The Canucks looked to have finally learned that last night as their scoring woes were thrown out the window. The Canucks offense right now with out Daniel Sedin and the host of others injured is one dimensional and plays an overly defensive game. The Canucks conservative play has been their detriment on nights where one player doesn't stand out and single handedly win the game.

Against the Avalanche the Canucks finally figured out for themselves that crashing the crease, going to the net, and not backing off is the key to victory. It seems whenever a goalie faces the Canucks they get hot. Or have an outstanding game trying to out duel Luongo. The Canucks key to victory is crashing the net. They don't have to be dirty like some teams, but they're a fast team that utilizes their speed to get back up ice and then fall short by not going into the crease. Henrik got two of his three goals by going to the net, Bernier was left wide open in front, and Hansen potted his in similar fashion.

The Canucks showed us a glimpse of the offense and the style of play that we've come to expect from a team which on paper is one of the best and well balanced teams in the league. With players finding their own while injuries run rampant, the Canucks have to find a way to win 5 on 5. The Canucks in their recent three game losing streak would get frustrated without the man advantage and it showed in their lack of goals. In the 3 game losing streak they managed to score just 3 goals. The Canucks, victims of a terrible schedule have a week between games and have lots of time to take what they did in Denver, and make sure they utilize that same play, mentality, and style of play to victimize the Avalanche in what stretches the definition of a "home and home".]]> Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:16:00 +0000