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[PGT] Wild @ Canucks


-Vintage Canuck-

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amazing effort put out there tonight by our secondary forwards. raymond, hansen especially looked dynamic. mason is really perfecting that reverse-solo-cycle he does along the blue line, just a thing of beauty!

another solid effort by a canucks goaltender, we make it pretty damn tough for teams to beat us with our play from the net out.

6 in a row, let's keep this ball rolling!

oh yea, screw you konopka!

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The unfortunate thing is, he won't be in contention for the Vezina unless he has a starter's workload this season, no matter how good his numbers are. Look at Brian Elliott last year. He didn't even get a sniff of the Vezina. You have to be the undisputed starter on your team and Luongo is not that.

The fact is, both Canucks goalies are Vezina calibre. Hopefully the team decides on one soon so whoever it is can compete for some hardware!

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<p>

<br />

amazing effort put out there tonight by our secondary forwards. raymond, hansen especially looked dynamic. mason is really perfecting that reverse-solo-cycle he does along the blue line, just a thing of beauty!<br />

<br />

another solid effort by a canucks goaltender, we make it pretty damn tough for teams to beat us with our play from the net out. <br />

<br />

6 in a row, let&#39;s keep this ball rolling!<br />

<br />

oh yea, screw you konopka!<br />

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The unfortunate thing is, he won't be in contention for the Vezina unless he has a starter's workload this season, no matter how good his numbers are. Look at Brian Elliott last year. He didn't even get a sniff of the Vezina. You have to be the undisputed starter on your team and Luongo is not that.

The fact is, both Canucks goalies are Vezina calibre. Hopefully the team decides on one soon so whoever it is can compete for some hardware!

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Good game overall but we should of lit up these guys, not scratched out a 2-1 win (even though it was my GTD prediction going in). Our offensive stars are looking woeful right now, but our depth guys are carrying this team as well as offence from the blueline.

The Sedins were at times good but still ways off. Their passes weren't clicking and couldn't finish any plays. I'm blaming Burrows on the finishing bit - he had some glorious chances set up by the Sedins but couldn't score. Seriously, Kassian belongs on this line. The Sedins got roughed up pretty bad in this one and Burrows, although he tries and has the right heart, just isn't big or imposing enough. The one time Daniel got hit in the back along the boards Kassian was on the ice and he basically started a 1 man scrum, grabbing anything he could. That big body is what the Sedins need, not just to defend them, but to score from in front of the net.

Kassian showed off his serious skill with that sick pass to Bieksa today as well. I'd wager to say he's not just the biggest on this team, but probably one of the most skilled, definately top-5. He has amazing hands and hockey IQ, which is why he belongs on the top line. Some great hits too from this guy, he should NOT be on our 3rd line. Kassian deserves top-6 minutes, he's simply been our best forward all season long.

Raymond obviously had a great game, defences are starting to be weary of his speed and show him some respect. He's got a similar effect to the Sedins - dragging opponents in and freeing up his linemates. This guy is really starting to flourish, and that was one sick play passing it to Ballard on the Hansen goal. As for Hansen, one of his best games. A forechecking force all game long and great goal, he was our best PKer too. Schroeder didn't have a great game but had some chances and helped start the Hansen goal by winning a puck battle along the boards.

I thought Higgins and Lapierre had great games, very involved and plenty of hits. Ebbett wasn't great, had 1 good shift all game but that was it really.

Our defence was great today, limited great scoring opportunities but really let go in the last half of the game. Great goal by Bieksa, he's really catching on now, and Edler was making solid passes all night long. Ballard had some nice plays too and Tanev was usual and solid. Now Garrison, another brutal game. His poor play along the boards on the PK lead to the Wild goal, he had time to rim it around the boards but instead held it, lost it and it ended up right in front. This guy missed a few passes too, missed a couple of shots and wasn't very physical, I fear he was a one-hit-wonder or worse, never was that great defensively. Garrison deserves to be this team's new whipping boy but I'll give him until the half-way mark before completely crucifying him.

Luongo was great. Kept this team in the game, when it really didn't deserve to win. 2 goals for and that man shots against in the last half of the game, this one could have gone either way but Luongo won a goalie duel. He was great when it counted most, big clutch saves late in the game to keep this team the lead, something it's been blowing a lot lately. Finally the Canucks learn to hold onto a lead as opposed to scoring and running away with one, or blowing it and winning past regulation. Solid win, he deserves the next start.

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Next game against the Stars, the Canucks should go right back to Schneider. I have a feeling they only interrupted Schneider's 2 game streak of good play and put Luongo in tonight because of his amazing numbers against the Wild at home. They should have the same mindset with Schneider, who happens to have a career 4-1-0 record, 1.41 GAA and .960 Save% against the Dallas Stars.

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One other thing I wanted to talk about:

One player who is criminally underrated and under appreciated, not just in Vancouver but league wide, is Kevin Bieksa. Sure, every now and then we see Casual Kev and his lazy, sloppy play but nobody ever talks about how much he contributes to the offense. He's a legitimate 40 point defenseman, scoring wise, but he's also a fantastic skater who constantly skates effortlessly into the zone with the puck and creates chances. Look at how he scored his goal tonight: right in front of the net. Add in the toughness element and he's a very special kind of defenseman, which is why he's getting paid the money he is.

I feel like his bad games every so often only get talked about, yet nobody talks about the good side of Kevin Bieksa, which is actually the side we see most of the time. Nobody talks about the unique skillset he brings to the table. Is it only me that sees this rare kind of player who has some snarl, skates well, and creates offensive chances consistently?

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