DIBdaQUIB Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 No back-patting at all and the new players are further evidence Fact is, the haters pooh-poohed those changes as irrelevant, as either lateral or even backwards moves saying the team would be no better and likely worse. The whining about Bonino being unable to replace Kesler's stats, Vrbata and Miller old and too expensive, Dorsett a waste of a pick, and Sbisa the Duck's whipping boy. It's not hard to go back and look if you don't remember.It's one thing to be overly optimistic but some people just get off on being negative and contrarian, even when illogical, as if it "makes a name for them" or something.I agree those who dismissed the moves as wrong or inadequate were overly negative and as it turns out wrong. However, those who were concerned last year about the team's play and it's ability to compete were justified to say so and as it turns out, correct that the team had issues and needed change.I was certainly one of those who was unhappy with how last year unfolded and how the team played. I was very encouraged by all the changes the ownership made to address the team's issues and so far, it has worked very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Lord Baltimore Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 A much better attitude than the "Tank for McDavid mentality" Oh yeah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfstonker Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 You're getting some crap, but I agree somewhat. If we can beat the California teams in California, then we can say for sure if this success is real. That said, I think it is safe to say the team has improved from last season. It's like Willie has given the twins a whole new reason for playing. I haven't seen them so free rolling and innovative for 3 years. Sometimes they even look ballsy when challenged. It's as if the whole team have had their straight jackets removed and told "just go out and play and enjoy yourself" Their compete level last night, even when 2 down was incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfstonker Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 no harm in being excited, heck Im enjoying watching the team pull some Ws together. Fact of the matter for me is that 6 of our 9 wins have come vs the bottom 6 teams in the league. Beating the Blues when they were battling a team flu... solid win. Beating the Habs on a western swing and in the middle of a slump... solidish win. Beating the Flames the first game of the year... expected at the time. So while some fans expectations are beginning to rise, remember to temper your excitement a tad as we've been dealt a nice hand of teams to start the season against. Should this roster come out of Cali with 4 of 6 points, I think Ill start to believe in blue... But really theres a much tougher set of opposition on the horizon, and the current record could be somewhat of a smoke screen due to some lack luster competition despite the fact that anyone can win on any given night in this league. The good news, 3 of the teams 4 losses have come on the 2nd half of back to back games. Thats an encouraging statistic for me. Dont get me wrong, I would love for this team to be for real. Really enjoying watching all 4 lines get in and play hard. That Richardson line showing some real solid control in the O zone. 4th line produces again. Bonino has a sick snapper. Heres hoping we see more of the same vs SJ, LA, and Ana!! Well Calgary are 3rd in the league and the Habs are 7th. The fact we beat them has only allowed us to prevent them placing even higher. So I don't think it is fair to try to diminish the Canucks achievement because if we had lost these games we would be looking up the league at them and saying "yeh but they are pretty good this year" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Fig Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I attribute the good start more than anything else to having 4 lines who can all play. It's good for team chemistry too. If the key players on any team start carrying too much weight, it's going to get to them sooner or later, and that's what happened last year. Even a team like Chicago...Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, those guys know they won't get played to death because that team employs 4 lines and uses them. The Canucks need to keep doing that and I'm sure Willie will. Gotta keep making things easy for your top players to have any chance of doing anything later in the year. On top of that, the entertainment factor has been much better so far. The circle-the-wagons-and-block-every-shot stuff from last year was dreadful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I was wondering more of, why is one of them wearing a fake jersey. because it well represents our fan base, i see so many fake jerseys in the lower mainland... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VANcanucks92 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 WD prob has a big part in it, his reputation as a players coach is defintely showing as it seems game in game out they are batteling and Ive noticed outshooting the opponents almost on a game to game basis, deff like what im seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenap Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Feel the difference between two debuts in the NHL: Las year Kellan Lain was put to fight Calgary goons, and his first NHL game lasted 6 sec. This year Bo Horwat took the opening face-off. Team culture is different, that's why we have different result.) This is what I call turning around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancaesar Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 My thoughts on the upcoming jaunt through California: I think San Jose is beatable. LA will be tough. The Canucks' recent record against the Kings is pretty depressing (4 wins in the last 13 games). Jonathan Quick can beat anyone almost single-handedly when he's on his game, which is most of the time. Also, you can't underestimate the Drew Doughty factor. The Canucks don't have an answer for him. Look what happened in Nashville the other day. Weber and Rinne is all it took to shut down the Canucks' offense. Doubhty and Quick are arguably even better. LA's forwards are as good on paper as any in the league. But even though it looks like a difficult matchup on paper, I think the Canucks will provide a stiff challenge for the Kings. Linden Vey will have something to prove. The game could go either way, but if I was an odds maker, I'd probably make the Kings the favorites. Then the very next night, it's league-leading Anaheim. Kesler will be in beast mode that night. You can count on it. But so will Bonino and (hopefully) Sbisa. This would be a far more winnable game if it wasn't the 2nd of back-to-back games, and the first game wasn't against the Kings. As it stands, I fear the Canucks will play extra hard against LA and leave little in the tank for their game against Anaheim. I would see beating San Jose and keeping the next two games close, even if they're losses, as an acceptable outcome. Pushing either LA or Anaheim to overtime and getting that extra point would be gravy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 As it stands, I fear the Canucks will play extra hard against LA and leave little in the tank for their game against Anaheim. Perhaps that depends on how much of the team has motivation to show up a certain ex-teammate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 After 13 games last year the team had a 8-4-1 record. This year it's 9-4-0. Let's see how this plays out over the next 10-15 games before we call it a turn around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monteeun Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 However, if we beat Sharks and Kings and lose to Ducks...I'll still be fine with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 The turnaround is this quick because the right people were hired by the Aquilinis. They realized that this team needed direction and found it. The turnaround is this quick because players who were more concerned with themselves rather than being team players are gone. The remaining veterans are truly a great nucleus to build from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 We did start with pretty much the same record as last year, but we're a much deeper and better team this year. No way we collapse that badly again. I would agree there...The reason that we inevitably collapsed last year was because we didn't/could not roll the four lines..Mr Tortorella only rolled the 2.5 lines (teams like LA rolled their 4 lines and easily wore us down)....It's starting to look obvious that JB has a much better/clearer idea of what kind of players a team needs to succeed,as opposed to MG. I don't see us collapsing..at the moment we're going from strength to strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amish Rake Fighter Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I was wondering more of, why is one of them wearing a fake jersey. Messier probably sold it to them at triple the price and told them it was real. I could see him doing that...and then coming back later for more money...and then coming back again and taunting them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice orca Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Messier probably sold it to them at triple the price and told them it was real. I could see him doing that...and then coming back later for more money...and then coming back again and taunting them. Then coming back in a comercial making more money and taunting them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Tamland Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 This team is not last years team! Not even close We were 9-4-1 last year at this time... Once again, wait until the half way point and the trade deadline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolwut? Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 We were 9-4-1 last year at this time... Once again, wait until the half way point and the trade deadline. This.. why is it so hard for people here to understand.. I get being excited about the product on the ice but that doesn't mean you can throw logic out the window. This team has done very well thus far.. it is a Marathon, not a sprint. This hot start could mean F-all if they are not consistent and steadily improving over the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Tamland Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 This.. why is it so hard for people here to understand.. I get being excited about the product on the ice but that doesn't mean you can throw logic out the window. This team has done very well thus far.. it is a Marathon, not a sprint. This hot start could mean F-all if they are not consistent and steadily improving over the season. And remember, we went undefeated in December. I like Willies rolling of four lines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocanucks1916 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Before we get too excited about the "turnaround", we should probably keep in mind that the Canucks started 8-4-1 last year. Never hurts to be positive, but let's not plan the parade just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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