ItTakesAnArmy

They will eventually run out of chickens to sacrifice, Markstrom steals another one. This 40+ shots against is just not "playoff" calibre hockey, the Goalie STOLE another one. At the rate he is playing he will be burned out by the middle of March, March, THE toughest month on the schedule. January's 9 games in 18 days will look like a vacation by comparison. Once they get a lead the game sure becomes boring.

Canucks should be showering the schedule maker with presents for this gift. LA, another 2nd in a back to back AND without practice for five days. The remainder of the season has become need to win games. The hockey gods were not st nice, most of the teams around the Canucks won yesterday. Well we see if Doughty has backbone.

4-3 Kings Nucks score first Miller scores

Canucks did great holding the Pens to zero shots in the first period but only got 6 shots themselves, It was like watching the old New Jersey Devils. The team shooting percentage was outrageous 4 goals on 14 shots? Now a total of 14 shots for the game is not good. The Oilers still have a goalie issue. . Van has home ice advantage but cannot continue to constantly win games with only 14 shots on goal. Green has last change but may have to rely solely on the PP for offense Edmonton wins this one, they are not tired, sated and on a holiday with their Dad's and the Pens still got over 20 shots in one period at that

Oilers win 4-3 McD with the GWG Oilers with more PIMS Canada wins 5-4

Unfortunately AFTER the trade deadline, hopefully a stupid fan takes charge, one that realizes that if the team is even just in a playoff spot, that going 4 and 0 in the playoffs at the cost of another 1rst and more hurts the team and the fan base. March is so bad they could even be up by 4 points, the frequency of the games makes even a small injury, a week, to the wrong player, a disaster. They will need more than 69 points by February 29 to be an outside bubble team but they would need more than 23 points in March and three other teams to falter. some of the best TDL deals come to fruitation the following season.

5-3 pens 1pt.

I think Crosby has missed more games in Vancouver, apart from the Olympics, than he has played here over his career seems that way anyhow. The Nux have revenge, Pens tired, home ice last change and the chase for the last wild card playoff spot going for them. The Pens might be happy thinking about going home and giving out Christmas presents, they may give one to the Canucks too. This is the last game before the big day and home is on the horizon already this road trip is a success for them. This is one of the 5 or 6 wins this month that I guessed because it follows a back to back, a tired team wanting to go home. Mail it in. Put a fork in them they are done already!

They have to be in a playoff spot and 8 points up to even maybe consider being a buyer, although I don't see how with the team capped out. March is the back breaker, the schedule catches up to the Canucks. The roster is not good enough for the playoffs, the team might be better than last year, which isn't hard but, other teams improved more and faster than the Nucks. The injury excuse is just that, Sutter hardly played last year and had not been a huge contributor, Ferland never contributed, Graovac, even Demko, all these injuries are not core players, 3rd and 4th liners should be able to be replaced from the farm especially after stocking the shelves for 5+ years. Injuries are an excuse. Magic? they can't win 4 out of 7 games in regulation now, can you imagine a 100 hits with hardly any penalties and playing until a team wins? Who backs up Markstrom, Demko? One off the mask and he is done. A byproduct could also be that more vets will walk for nothing and the team will be losing more assets, Benning will have to trade more of the future to try to keep the team in a hope of a playoff spot only to blame injuries for not making it, not his fault you see, somebody else's

Did you know that Curt Fraser's fist goes from the top of your forehead to the bottom of your chin? Second biggest hands next to Howe's.

About right, then they tried a couple of years and then tanked, traded away some of those young players for more picks and turned it around in 3 years

And they are still in the bottom third of the league and that was only Canadian teams some of which have not had 5 top ten draft picks.

All the time, as Bonus stated, he was glad to coach a team that didn't tank for a change like most teams do. Sometimes the tank shows that the franchise is more important than the job, shows strong leadership, evaluation and decision making abilities. Jim's job has been easy, he really only has to work about 2 months, because the team is capped out he can't work on trades, a built in excuse. He doesn't work hard to negotiate contracts, pretty much give what the agent works out a lot of times that includes a clause, extra term or more than market salary. Looking at the draft day footage he isn't much involved with who the players are sometimes. The team should keep an open ear to any trade offers because they still are only one player away from not winning, this group pretty much has to 100% healthy to have a chance nightly. If a team offered a high draft pick and a backup goalie it might not be a bad idea to start grooming DiPietro and Demko for the future, save some cap space and have a goalie to expose in the Seattle draft. But really tank talk should be around February 20th or so if they are still 8 points out of a wild card, it doesn't look like they are in for a top three finish unless one of those teams falls apart or tanks early to get the better trade offers.

That was a bit of surprise but not much, they can't lose them all they are too good for that.

This sounds kind of negative but seeing how the team is having so much trouble winning 4 games every 7. I hope they are out of it early in the year because March is unreal tough. based on current play they win only 6 of these. 16 games in 30 days starting off with one of 4, four, back to backs. They better be in a playoff spot by 8 points at the minimum by the TDL if Benning sells off more of the future to save his job.

They are both decent except when they start talking about absurd things and think it is hilarious. At least not every show sounds like either an apology or sales job for the Canucks. "Hey they lost 8=0, got out shot 65 to 10, but boy that Hughes sure skated good eh?"

Markstrom's out?

Not sure the team is better though and not much younger really. No I do wish Jim learned from past mistakes but he either wants the team capped out and signing questionable players or he just keep making mistakes Nuts and Bolts From scratch, an expansion team in 3 years, the playoffs and in year 8 the first of a few cups, posting in here just look at what is happening, same as before and before and ....with the same excuses err reasons. Just wait until the schedule gets hard, February and March are a beast and marathon. Not schizophrenic, closer to gullible, so many believed by trading away the future 1rst round pick, that the team was making the playoffs so when they play to their level they get really excited, the wrong way. Long time since a playoff overtime, in the PO the entire team keeps playing until there is a winner, all the players not just a few hand picked. Hey, Vegas is .500 on the road and the Nucks are .500 at home.

https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/VAN/

Yes I knew Jason Botchford

Hmm I didn't think they would break him until after the first period

Watch tonight, at least 5 times you will see a forward stop to let him go by and play defence.

Learn from past mistakes, see what didn't work and don't do it again. Ask why isn't the team playing in the playoffs, Pro sports is measured by winning, standings indicate competence against your peers, team vs team with a Champion being chosen as the best. Maybe because that has never happened here merely looking good losing is the status quo, maybe it is "aim low, avoid disappointment" I guess if you have lost faith in the team's ability to win, then a person find little crumbs to satisfy their lowered expectations. When Benning was hired he made the team older, the oldest the Canucks have ever been, it was his trades and signings that made the team that old. The team now, is still older than league average if Edler plays, Demko replaces DiPietro or Ferland replaces Gaudette. I have seen you post this kind of stuff before so I have to ask Are you interested in seeing this team win a Stanley Cup? Or winning at all?

I disagree with the word "Panic", it demeans the intellect of this market and makes seem like shallow fans with expectations of instant imprvement. Disgust is more to do with that after 5 years of Benning, this team is behind other teams in rebuilding,has fewer draft picks playing, is capped out and cannot make trades, have so many players other teams don't want because of contracts or play, disgust that so people still don't see how much the future is negatively affected by these contracts and players locked into this team for years yet. No posters and fans should not panic, this team is right where they are, bottom third of the league, one or two very young players are not going to get the team an additional 30 points over night. I say disgust, do you have some other adjective?

Then you have Pettersson, Boeser and Horvat playing defence or some other forward