SB Nation - Steve Bernier

Oh My..The Canucks DO Have A Pulse!

Sean Zandberg — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:21:39 -0000

That was a game the Canucks didn't have to win, but needed to. I'm sure they had a bit of fatigue issues themselves, having arriving in Vancouver the day after the Preds game, but they still took it to the Thrashers, who were playing in a back-to-back situation. I'll keep this in point form.

-I don't think Ilya Kovalchuk liked being limited the way he was. His anger boiled over at Ryan Kesler late in the game. Kovalchuk played 27:03 (wow), had 1 assist and only 3 shots and a -2. Rich Peverley continued his point-producing ways, tallying 2 assists, 2 shots and was a +1. Nik Antropov scored a goal, was a -2, and played over 23:00. Many of those minutes he was on the ice too long, to the dismay of Atlanta coach John Anderson. John Shorthouse and John Garrett said he looked like the Leafs version of Antropov more than the Thrashers version. I laughed. Nothing doing for Maxim Afinogenov either. The Thrashers tried for the stretch passes all night long to spring breakaways but the Canucks would have none of it.

More after the jump

-Thanks to yoata, Steve Bernier's middle name is now "Almost". That guy just can't bury his chances lately. Not consistently anyway. He still finished with 1 assist, 3 shots and a +1.

-It's all about the Sedins tonight. When they play games like that, we win. Daniel had several chances to score 4 goals. He finished with a hatty and 10 bloody shots! Whoa!

-Brother Hank had 2 assists. He is now 3rd in NHL scoring with 38 points, 1 behind Marian Gaborik and 4 behind Jumbo Joe Thornton.

-2 assists for Alex Burrows tonight. He could have scored a couple but was either snake-bit or missed the net.

-This game could have been a worse result for the Thrashers if not for Ondrej Pavelec. I thought he looked pretty good after the Canucks scored a few flukey ones on him earlier in the game.

-With Kyle Wellwood benched, Darcy Hordichuk got the call. But all he did was get into a fight, show some hustle, and play a MERE 4:29. Huh.

-For a supposed tired team...the Thrashers looked pretty quick throughout the game, but mentally their game was not there.

-Look at the shots on goal (click on the BOXSCORE link). The Canucks never let up on these guys.

Great game!

-For the record: the Canucks PPV channel (once they go off the air) turns into a "fireplace" channel. That's so smart. Now I can cozy up all by myself to a fake fire because my wife left me because I watch too much hockey. Thanks, Canucks! How about you put a vintage Canucks game on instead? You know...so I can get the best bang out of my $13.00?

BOXSCORE

HIGHLIGHTS

MY 3 STARS:

1. Daniel Sedin...duh

2. Henrik Sedin

3. Rick Rypien. That's throwing the champ a bone. He didn't get a lot of ice-time, but was a force every time he was on the ice. Ripper...I love you man! Is his killing of Boris Valabik on YouTube yet? Why yes it is. Here ya go:

And just to throw in a screen capture...check out the Van fans after the Ripper fight...

Yeah..don't EVER eliminate fighting from the game. Ever.

Kesler Hits "Rock Bottom"

Sean Zandberg — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 09:33:05 -0000

After the 5-3 loss to Carolina Ryan Kesler told the media:

"When the team loses and you're looked for to provide offence and you're not able to, that makes this loss even tougher for myself," said Kesler, who instantly knew it's been 14 games since he last scored. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't (frustrated). "I think this is rock bottom for me." It's only up from here." I'll keep staying positive and I'll get out of this slump."

Despite his 14-game goal-scoring slump, Kesler still has 5 goals and 20 assists in 29 games, 79 shots on goal and a -1 rating. His 20 assists rank him 17th overall in the NHL. It is fair for him to be a bit hard on himself, but there are others who should perhaps be a little more critical of themselves. Regardless, in his first 10 games of the season, he scored 3 goals and 5 assists. In the next 10 games he registered 1 goal and 8 assists. In his last 10 games he has no goals and 8 assists. While I can understand his desire to score goals, at least he is putting up assists

and decent point totals.

I hate seeing him nearly crucify himself in front of the media when guys like Mikael Samuelsson ( 2 goals and 4 assists in his last 10 games played), Kyle Wellwood (2 goals and 4 assists in his last 10), Steve Bernier (4 goals and 3 assists in his last 10) or Mason Raymond (2 goals and 6 assists in his last 10) are not doing the same. I know it's a contract year for Kesler, but he's not that much worse than several others.

Hang in there, Keslord, you'll bag one soon. Until then, keep up your great efforts.

How Will the Olympics Affect the Canucks?

nucksandpucks — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:55:13 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Soon to be enemies...

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It's less than three months until the 2010 Olympics kickoff, and speculation is rampant about the makeup of the Canadian and other national teams. It appears that a number of Canucks will skate on "home" ice in February, as a few players are likely to make their respective national teams. After the jump I give a rundown of what Canucks we can expect to see skating on GM Place ice during the Olympics, and raise some questions about the impact this might have on the latter part of the season.

Canada

Locks: Roberto Luongo

Other possibilities: none (sorry Kyle Wellwood)

United States

Locks: Ryan Kesler

Other possibilities: Mathieu Schneider (a dark horse, but maybe a PP specialist)

Sweden

Locks: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Alexander Edler

Other possibilities: Mikael Samuelsson

Russia

Locks: none

Other possibilities: Sergei Shirokov? Okay, maybe not.

Finland

Locks: none

Other possibilities: Sami Salo (If he's healthy he should be on the team)

Germany

Locks: Christian Ehrhoff

Other possibilities: none

Slovakia

Locks: none

Other possibilities: Pavol Demitra (if he's healthy); Mario Bliznak (I don't know what Slovakia's depth is like, but hopefully they don't need to dip too far into the AHL ranks to ice a team)

If Only They'd Qualified

Locks: Michael Grabner (Austria); Jannik Hansen (Denmark)

So the Canucks could have up to 10 regulars playing in the Olympics. While it will be awesome to see our boys putting it on the line for their country, how will the team fare coming out of the Olympic break? The Sedins, Kesler and Luongo will all potentially be fatigued. Who will step up for Vancouver? We'll need Raycroft to shoulder a bigger burden, which he has demonstrated the ability to do. Secondary scorers like Alex Burrows, Mason Raymond, Kevin Bieksa and Steve Bernier will need to step up. Wellwood will have spent two weeks laying by the pool, so he should be good to... oh, wait, never mind.

It will be an interesting time for the Canucks, as it will for other teams with significant international contingents. Throw in Canucks' epic pre- and post-Olympic road trip, which will rival the journeys of Odysseus, and the new year looks like a giant wildcard for Vancouver. How do you think the Canucks will respond? Will the Olympics help us? Hurt us? Make no difference? Hopefully one of our boys can pull the rare Olympic Gold and Stanley Cup feat in 2010. I'm looking at you, Luongo.

Evacuate The Dance Floor: Blackhawks 1 Canucks 0

Sean Zandberg — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:10:57 -0000

More photos » by Darryl Dyck - AP

I don't know where he is, Bryan! All I know is that he has a long stick and he wears #8! Hold me!

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Final shot count: Canucks 30 Hawks 17

It what was projected to be perhaps a goal-fest turned into a chess match between evenly (?) matched teams. Sure, Antii Niemi stole the show tonight, but I have to be honest here: he had to be solid not GREAT. Niemi was solid along the ice with his saves and that is where the Canucks put most of their shots tonight. It reminded me of a recent Andrew Raycroft game or two where he was "dominant". That is where you can also credit the rest of the Blackhawks team for limiting Vancouver's quality chances. However, they were hardly any better than we were.

Ugh. To have the game decided by a lousy-bounce goal by Bryan Bickell....depressing. I can hardly fault the Canucks' play except that they couldn't present a formidable scoring chance on Niemi except for Steve Bernier's breakaway, which was stopped by Auntie....along the ice.

Daniel Sedin may need another game or two to get into his groove. Kyle Wellwood especially is running out of chances. No shots or points for him tonight. That is all I have to say about this mishap. So unfortunate. Now we wait until Thursday for the next game to see what our team is made out of.

Chicago got their "revenge", and no taxi drivers were hurt in the process.

BOXSCORE

HIGHLIGHTS

3 Stars:

1. Aunti Niemi

2. Jonathan Toews

3. Roberto Luongo

Off the Post - November 22

Conico do Mayo Miracle — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:00:11 -0000

[UPDATE] - The NHL suspends Danny Briere for 2 games for his hit on Scott Hannan... is it just me, or has he been a little violent lately?
[UPDATE, thanks to Section223] - Don't expect Torrey Mitchell tomorrow... and Dan Boyle is questionable.
[UPDATE, thanks to Tarlinian, Pizzle and Section223] - Torrey Mitchell is back from Worcester, though he might not be in Wednesday.
[UPDATE, thanks to idunno723] - Benn Ferriero, Ryan Vesce, and Logan Couture are headed back to Worcester.
[UPDATE, thanks to Nael M.] - The Sharks might be in Europe next season... dammit.
Wooooo! We're #1!
This day in history...
- November 22, 1963 - does it need an introduction?
- November 22, 1999 - Wayne Gretzky is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
- November 22, 2008 - the Sharks had 35 points... in just 21 games.
The Sharks Store is holding a Black Friday sale on November 27 - up to 33% off on jerseys.
Broad Street Hockey's recap of a decisive Sharks victory.
How are our former Sharks doing? Five players of note.
- #1 = A look at former Shark defenseman Matt Carle's success with Philadelphia.
- #2 = Christian Ehrhoff is doing pretty well for himself up in Vancouver.
- #3 and 4 = Milan Michalek scored his 100th career goal, while teammate Jonathan Cheechoo notched another goal for a season total of... two.
- #5 = Steve Bernier has three goals in his last two games (both against Colorado).
How awesome is this photo? Thanks to the Sharks Foundation and the Reading Is Cool program.

Three Sharks are in the top 7 for the early Art Ross race, while Dany Heatley in particular leads the pack in the Rocket Richard run-off (granted, A.O. is injured) and in PP goals, and is tied for first in game-winning goals.
Two Sharks fun facts = Heatley finds the back of the net one out of four times he shoots, and Derek Joslin, believe it or not, actually leads the league in something.
Ross McKeon's power rankings return.
Mirtle calculates the number of NHL man-games lost to injury, and San Jose comes in at 13th.
Fear the Fin - ranked 17th among hockey blogs.
Dallas Stars winger James Neal gets suspended for 2 games after hitting Derek Dorsett from behind. Dorsett's collapse is chilling to watch.
Jeremy Roenick shoots the shit, including referencing the Neal hit.
The NHL eyes a second team in the Greater Toronto Area.
The national teams pining for Olympic gold.
Steven Stamkos provides a goal for the ages, against the Anaheim Ducks... a shame it wasn't televised in Tampa. (Note - Stamkos also has points in all but 4 games this season)
Road trip photos, if you're interested.
Pickles' first fight.... ever.

OK, So The Canucks CAN Score

Sean Zandberg — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:08:29 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

"I know that's you Daniel. Hank would never score a hatty."

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I hope you all got to watch that game last night. The Canucks answered their critics by demolishing the Avalanche 8-2 in front of their own fans. What a game. The Canucks continued the effort that they showed in the loss to Detroit, except this time they made life hell for Craig Anderson (who was pulled) and Peter Budaj. They held a meeting after the Wings game and mentioned that they had to get more traffic in front of the opposing netminder. Well done!

-Only 2 Canucks forwards had no points: Kyle Wellwood and Rick Rypien.

-3 defencemen had no points: Christian Ehrhoff, Willie Mitchell and Sami Salo

-Ryan Johnson, who had 7 assists last year, tallied 3 against the Avs.

-Henrik Sedin scored his first hat trick in 667 games played.

-8 Canucks had multi-point games. Steve Bernier's hand got softer, as he scored 2 goals.

-Legendary Canuck-killer Milan Hejduk played over 17:00, had zero points and 2 shots. Suck it, Milan.

-Welcome back to the NHL, Tom Preissing! How's that -4 treating ya?

-Colorado outshot the Canucks 34-30, including 16-8 in the 3rd. The Canucks scored 4 goals on those 8 shots.

-The Canucks' power play went 1-for-6

-I may or may not have gotten drunk due to celebrating.

BOXSCORE

HIGHLIGHTS

The Blues Get Their Revenge

Sean Zandberg — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:03:26 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

Fair enough, Blues fans. Even Lou got Perrowned on this night.

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So the Blues got their revenge tonight, winning 6-1 in convincing fashion. Why am I not surprised? Before the game I said (in response to Temujin's 4-1 Blues win prediction):

Funny you say that, because I’m thinking along the same lines. If I was a betting man, which I am, I’d pick the Blues because:
-Revenge factor
-Hence the McDonald-Boyes shows gets going
-the layoff and possible lousy play in front of Raycroft = Blues goals.
5-2 Blues in an angry, penalty-filled night.

Well the prediction came true mostly. Andy McDonald scored 18 seconds into the game (assisted by Brad Boyes). McDonald had 1 goal and 3 points, Brad Boyes had 1 goal and 4 points, and some schmuck named David Perron scored 3 goals. The Blues got only their second win on home ice by playing a stellar game.

Already down 5-0 going into the 3rd period, the Blues outshot the Canucks 8-2 in the final frame and 30-23 overall. We never saw a Rypien-Janssen fight, rather, Tanner Glass and Darcy Hordichuk fighting the Blues' goon and perhaps those were the highlights of the night. To make this sound even more pathetic, Janssen handled himself pretty well in both tilts.

3 Canucks finished -3 tonight: Steve Bernier, Alex Burrows and Sami Salo. The Blues' Barrett Jackman, Andy McDonald and Brad Boyes managed a +3 rating. Chris Mason more than avenged his Game 4 flubbery by stopping 22 of 23 Canucks shots.

That was an absolute fail by the Canucks, pure and simple.

BOXSCORE

HIGHLIGHTS

QUOTED:

"I don't know if it was too much time [off] or whatever — we weren't sharp," said Henrik Sedin, who scored the lone Canuck goal in the third period.

"We gave them too many chances and left Razor out to dry. It wasn't good enough. It's inexcusable. We didn't create a whole lot."

The rousing reception to the in-house game promotion said it all Tuesday.

Reminded that the St. Louis Blues needed one more effort to hit the five-goal plateau and reward the Scottrade Center faithful with free Big Macs, there was a fan frenzy. After all, Andrew Raycroft had allowed four goals on nine shots through the opening eight minutes.

Anybody hungry? -The Province

Price / Halak - The Stats - October 2009

Chris Boyle — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:15:02 -0000

Entering the 2009 season the Canadiens franchise had plenty of unanswered questions. The goaltending question is an eternal one in Montreal and with both Price and Halak entering RFA years, 2009 should offer no reprieve. Late 2009 has mimicked early 2009 as inconsistency has plagued Carey Price. Jaroslav Halak although solid on nights, has also not taken the opportunity presented to him by Jacques Martin and cemented the number one job.

With neither goalie grabbing the hammer, the majority of fans have aligned themselves on one side or the other. I refer to them as Team Price and Team Halak. Both teams seemingly rise and fall with each performance. Both teams rally to attack one side should they falter and boast and offer, "I told you so's" when they excel. The 2009 campaign got off to a rousing start for Team Price as he opened the season 2-0 and was outstanding leading the Canadiens to a 2-0 start despite being out shot 81-44 and having 148 shots directed at him in 128 minutes. When Halak faltered in Calgary, the attacks on Halak and the management team for not starting Price were loud. Then Price was bombed in Vancouver and after Price lost 3 straight the controversy was back and Halak was awarded another start. Team Halak struck back. Halak offered up two strong starts in a row and Team Halak was now mounting their high horse. After 14 goals in 229 minutes the lines had once again become blurred. So what has changed?

Not much. Both goaltenders continue to fail to elevate themselves from an approaching platoon. Price and Halak have almost identical save percentages, while Halak holds the edge in goals against average. Halak also has a superior record at 5-2, but it has been accrued against inferior opposition as his opponents winning percentage is .545 (25-20-10) while Price's 2-5 record was accrued against a .650 opponents winning percentage (25-13-3).

Note: records reflect the team record when the goaltender faced them. I did not reference the Islanders as 5-4-5, but as 1-3-3 (their record when Halak faced them on Oct 22 and 1-4-4, their record on Oct 26). It would be disingenuous should Atlanta slow down to reference an under .500 record in April when they were hot and 4-1-0 entering Montreal on Oct 20.)

I used the Roy/Hayward duel as an analogy before the season, but I do not remember really caring who played in 1988, just that I hoped the Canadiens would win. This recent controversy has taken on a life of it's own. I get the feeling that some fans have begun to put their personal vindication of their opinions above the success of the team. It is why I refer to the divide amongst Canadiens fans as different teams. It is utterly exasperating because to this point it is the equivalent to arguing who is crazier, Amy Winehouse or Courtney Love? They are both batshit crazy.

I have gone over EVERY goal in October and 80% of them were unstoppable, they have both let in some suspect goals, but none more so than the other. Neither has significantly outplayed the other. One seems to be the Tortoise, one seems to be the Hare. Price at his peak has been dominant (Maple Leafs, Sabres, Blackhawks), but he has a tendency to nap and crash back to reality (Canucks), while Halak goes out, saves the pucks he should (Thrashers, Islanders), doesn't stop the ones he shouldn't (Flames, Penguins, Rangers) and offers a steady compliment. At the end of the day, their statistics are not that different. It was the same story last season. The goaltending is NOT the problem, it is the easy scapegoat. It is the simple corollary.

My opinion? If this team was a legit contender I could understand the cry for consistency and the Halak argument, but with a team that looks to be middle of the pack I would ride out the inconsistencies of the goaltender with the higher ceiling. The fanbase seems to have settled on goaltending as it's scapegoat and is happy to ignore the lack of secondary scoring, abysmal defensive zone coverages and atrocious special teams. The goaltending is but a symptom of a greater issue; targeting the symptom of anemia by drinking 5 red bulls a day does nothing to cure lymphoma. As each issue is addressed individually, the goaltending will miraculously improve.

For those who want to jump to emotional conclusions, this is probably not the article for you. I don't believe in simplistic judgments based on flawed statistical categories, so I have pieced together as many statistics I could for you to make your own judgments. I have tracked every goal. I have tracked where the shots are coming from, how many are blocked, how many are wide, where they are being scored from on the ice, where they are being scored on the goaltender, even strength, powerplay and save percentage from each distance. My intent is to track these things all season and give you a comprehensive month to month look and offer a comparable for Price and Halak, as well as eventually a comparison to their league leading peers.

I avoided statistical manipulation, there is no "remove the seven goals Price gave up against the Canucks and his SV% is.....". If you chose to ignore the winning percentage of the teams faced to make your argument, so be it. If you want to ignore the video evidence of each individual goal, be my guest. I have provided as much information possible in one place and hopefully through this research and presentation, Eyes on the Prize will be able to offer you a more rounded look for you to form your opinions.

SHOTS AGAINST

Price and Halak's statistical achilles heel is that they play behind a porous Montreal defense. A defense in transition and minus its best player, struggled in October to limit shot attempts. Beginning with the season opener when the Leafs directed 92 shots at the Montreal goal (46 shots, 21 missed shots and 25 blocked shots) Price and Halak have been faced with a consistent barrage. Price has been facing almost a shot attempt per minute on the ice (412 shot attempts in 436 minutes). Compare that to Tim Thomas who has faced 444 shots attempts in 542 minutes or Martin Brodeur who has faced 502 in 672 minutes.

The basic assumption behind these charts is the closer the shot to the net, the more likelihood of it resulting in a goal. The short charts below would reinforce this assumption as the majority of goals given up by Halak and Price increase the closer they move towards the goal and their save percentage also declines with each one.

Looking at his charts, Price has been almost flawless from 50+ ft and has really struggled from 20 ft and in. He only surrendered 3 goals in October outside of the slot and almost half (12 of the 25 goals) were scored within 10 ft of the net. Contrast that to Tim Thomas who only faced 8 shot attempts in all of October from within 10 ft. and Martin Brodeur who faced only 12 shots AT THE GOAL in 236 more minutes (almost 4 full games).

Depending on your perspective, his struggles could also be blamed on terrible special teams as 12 of the 25 goals he allowed in October occurred on the penalty kill (some may blame the penalty kill struggles on Price, I believe the video evidence below proves otherwise) resulting in a massive drag on his save percentage. The results between his even strength save percentage and penalty save percentage is a staggering .268. From .935 five on five to .667 shorthanded.

Halak has been very dominant between 20-40 ft. allowing only one goal all season, but he has also been victimized by the Canadiens soft defense down low as his SV% below 20 ft. is only marginally better than Price's .692. Where Halak has outdistanced Price is his consistency. His penalty kill SV% and regular strength percentage have not suffered from wild swings like Price. Although his 5 on 5 is not in the .930s, he has maintained an .850+ special teams percentage, a huge improvement on Price's .667. Halak has been a much more consistent option for the Canadiens through October 2009-10.

If the Canadiens can limit the shot opportunities below 20 ft. and improve their penalty kill, you will witness a spike in Price and Halak's numbers. Hockey is a team game and goaltending statistics are a reflection of team play. Can a superstar goaltender overcome defensive shortcomings? Yes, but not to the extent where he will lead the league statistically. Can an average goaltender look like a superstar when insulated in a strong defensive system? History has shown that answer to be yes. Rick Wamsley in 1982, Bob Froese in 1986, Byron Dafoe in 1999 and Roman Cechmanek in 2001 all had huge statistical years that were never duplicated on other teams. When you combine a superstar goaltender with a defensive coach you get Patrick Roy in 1989.

Unfortunately the Canadiens possess neither a superstar goaltender, nor an elite defensive coach. Carey Price has the potential to be a superstar, but at 22 is still midway through a steep learning curve. Halak at 24 has proven over the last 12 months that he is an NHL caliber goaltender, but has not shown that he can make the leap to the next level yet (and for those with short memories, Halak was a major question mark through October 2008).

GOALS AGAINST

The Canadiens goaltenders allowed forty-six goals in October and while watching the games I rarely found fault with either goaltender. I could easily have just referenced my memory to make my points, but I decided I would go through each goal individually and try to assess blame. I tried to assess the goaltenders positioning. Were they playing too deep in the net? Were they over committing to the shooters? Were they over pursuing the play and creating opportunities while scrambling back in to the play? How was their gap control, puck tracking, anticipation and rebound control? Were they exposed because of defensive zone turnovers? Deflections? Poor defensive zone coverages? etc etc.

Through 46 goals I found 1 bad goal and 8 that were suspect. I considered a goal suspect if there was a screen involved but the goaltender hadn't battled through the screen, if a shot from in close was stoppable if the goaltender was at his sharpest (ie. Raymond off the wing in Vancouver. If Price was sharp, he has the ability to make the save. So even though it was a partial breakaway, more often than not I expect Price to make that save from that angle, but it can not be categorized as a bad goal) or if the goaltender made a small technical error.

I also tracked where the goals beat the goaltender. I illustrated it below with the five main zones + the zone across the bottom which represents goals scored into an empty net (cross crease feed or tap-in). It was interesting that all the heat Price takes for his glove hand that Halak was more vulnerable allowing over 30% of his goals high glove-side.

Video evidence below (Goals deemed bad or suspect are in bold.)

1. Gill giveaway behind the net. Ponikoravsky one-time from the slot beats Price low stick side. No chance. 25 ft
2. 5 on 3 PP. Tomas Kaberle slap shot tipped in by Stajan at the side of the net. No chance. 9 ft
3. 5 on 4 PP. Scramble in front of the net. Matt Stajan taps it into an empty net. No chance. 5 ft
4. Point shot redirected. Tim Connolly pounces on loose puck and beats Price low stick side. 25 ft.
5. Ryan Kesler breakaway from the blueline. Great move beats Price along the ice glove side. 2 ft.
6. Mason Raymond in alone off the boards slides it through Price's 5-hole. Stoppable. 5 ft.
7. 5 on 4 PP. Tic Tac Toe to Steve Bernier who had an open net. No chance. 9 ft.
8. 5 on 4 PP. Price makes the initial save. Sedin all alone shovles it into an empty net. 10 ft.
9. 2 on 0 breakaway. Price cheats pass and Henrik Sedin makes him pay beating him high glove side. 8 ft.
10. 5 on 4 PP. Price stops initial point shot, Samuelsson puts the rebound through the 5-hole. 9 ft.
11. Scramble in front of the net. Price commits to one shot and cannot recover. No help from the D. 8 ft.
12. Mike Comrie wrist shot beats Price high glove side. Looked stoppable. 34 ft.
13. 5 on 4 PP. Point shot tipped in low stick side. No chance. 21 ft.
14. Defensive zone turnover leads to O'Sullivan alone in the slot. Beats Price low stick side. 28 ft.
15. Hejduk shot deflected in off Gorges. Price may have stopped it if his stick was in position. 30 ft.
16. Cumiskey throws the puck towards the front of the net. Deflects in off Belle's skate. No chance. 10 ft.
17. Ryan O'Reilly out of the corner untouched, Price makes the save, but cannot stop the rebound. 11 ft.
18. Chris Neil in the slot all alone. High glove side. No chance. 26 ft.
19. Daniel Alfreddson one timer on a 5 on 3 powerplay. Low glove side. 31 ft.
20. Alex Kovalev all alone in the slot. Snapshot blocker side. 30 ft
21. 5 on 4 PP. Alex Goligoski shot from the point on the PP. No screen beats Price high glove side. 55 ft.
22. 5 on 4 PP. Chris Kunitz clear cut breakaway from center beats Price 5-hole. 15 ft.
23. Kris Versteeg behind the goal shot deflects off Bergeron in between Price's pads beating him 5-hole. 8ft.
24. Cam Barker one-timer from the faceoff dot. Price is deep, shot beats him high glove side. 31 ft.
25. Patrick Sharp one-timer from the slot beats Price low glove side opposite to his momentum. 37ft

1. Eric Nystrom in the slot unchecked. Snapshot beats Halak high glove side. 19 ft.
2. Slap shot from the point. Tipped in front by Nystrom beats Halak low stick side. 13 ft
3. Slap shot from the point off the post. Jarome Iginla bangs in rebound beating Halak high glove side. 19 ft.
4. Kronwall slapshot from the blueline through a screen beats Halak high stick side. 60 ft.
5. Colby Armstrong from the faceoff dot beats Halak low glove side. 25 ft.
6. Halak gives the puck away behind the net to Josh Bailey allowing for an easy tap-in. 5 ft.
7. Halak stops initial shot, Ansimov left alone and beats Halak high glove side. 6 ft.
8. Ales Kotalik left alone in the slot. Beats Halak high glove side. 14 ft.
9. Gilroy slapshot from the point. Halak may have been screened as he is beaten low stick side. 61 ft.
10. Marian Gaborik breakaway from the blueline beats Halak 5 hole. 5 ft.
11. 5 on 4 PPG. Tambellini drives hard to the net. Halak is not set and exposes his 5 hole. 5 ft.
12. 5 on 4 PPG. Spacek giveaway leads to a cross crease feed and an easy redirection for Jeff Tambellini.
13. Turnover. Guerin feeds Crosby all alone at the side of the net. One-timer beats Halak low-stick side. 17 ft.
14. Halak stops initial shot, rebound to Sidney Crosby who beats a sprawled Halak top shelf glove side. 19 ft.
15. Halak stops point shot, scramble in front and Rupp puts home the rebound beating him low stick side. 5 ft.
16. Crosby alone in front, spin-o-rama. Halak makes initial save hits Crosby's skate and trickles in 5-hole. 5 ft.
17. 5 on 4 PP. Point shot rebound to Ponikoravsky in the slot who wraps it home low stick side by Halak. 15 ft.
18. 5 on 4 PP. Lee Stempniak slap shot from the point beats a screened Halak high glove side. 54 ft.
19. Cross crease feed to Ponikoravsky, beats Halak from a bad angle with a perfect shot high stick side. 19 ft.
20. 6 on 5. Kaberle takes a point shot that deflects off Hamrlik and Spacek to beat Halak low stick side. 63 ft

The October verdict: Patience is required. Patience for a Canadiens team integrating 10-12 new players. Patience for a team that is missing its only legitimate All-Star. Patience for a coach who is still installing a new system and approach and finally patience for the two kids between the pipes.

Chris Boyle is a frequent contributor to Eyes On The Prize and goes by the handle Wamsley.
He is a lifelong Habs fan and the editor of fantasysensehockey.net.

Pick The Rival: The Pacific Division

Yankee Canuck — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:51:34 -0000

Mattingly, shave those sideburns hippie!

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With no hockey for a few days, let's pick up our rival thread from the offseason. If you don't recall, we're going division by division to figure out who the Canucks rival is in each and why. Or maybe you don't need a reason and it's just blind hatred. Hey, no need to get overly scientific about it. Check out the Northeast, Atlantic and Southeast selections.

Today we'll take a crack at our first western conference division. The Pacific division has given Vancouver fans such memorable moments as the first franchise loss, games in Japan, more reasons to love watching Pavel Bure and some NHL 94 sprinkled in.

Anaheim ~~Mighty~~ Ducks

Franchise Record: 68GP, 34W, 23L, 9T, 2OTL, 79pts

The Ducks and Canucks are no strangers at the trade table. In 1996 Vancouver landed Mike Sillinger in exchange for Roman Oksiuta (c'mon, that's a great name). Sillinger played just one season before being traded to the Flyers. In 1999 the teams tried to make a deal work with the late Peter Zezel going to Anaheim but it was nullified because he refused to report (stay classy Burkie). In 2006 Anaheim sent Keith Carney and Juha Alen (who never saw a NHL game) at the deadline in exchange for Brett Skinner and a 2nd round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft. Carney played 18 games for Vancouver before moving to Minnesota. This past September he accepted a Vancouver camp invite before retiring for a second time. And lastly in 2007 Vancouver picked up Ryan Shannon and a conditional pick from Anaheim for Jason King and a conditional pick. Shannon was moved to Ottawa for Lawrence Nycholet (and we all cry a little bit inside) and King played four games for the Ducks before moving to the German Elite League (we'll always remember the mattress line).

In 45 games played over the past decade (playoffs included), Vancouver is 19-18-1-1 against the Ducks with seven ties. Last year each team scored 19 goals in four contests against the other team's netminder. In more recent times Anaheim brought the hammer of hurt to Vancouver in the 2007 playoffs, dispatching the Canucks in five games. Though it should be noted three of those games went into overtime, Luongo had some bathroom issues and Rob Niedermayer is the biggest asshole in the Northern hemisphere.

Fun fact: In 1997 these teams opened the season playing two games at Yoyogi Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The two split the games by a score of 3-2 in each game. It marked the first NHL game in history to be played outside N. America. Scott Walker becomes the first player to score a NHL regular season goal outside North America.

Later on that season Gino Odjick got his 371st penalty minute (fighting of course) in a game against the Ducks. That broke Odjick's previous PIM record of 370 from 1992-93 and made him the most penalized player in the league that season.

If you have some time to kill, why not relive the Halloween nightmare between these two from last year, a 7-6 SO victory for Vancouver that took 13 rounds to decide.

Dallas Stars

Franchise Record: 158GP, 60W, 72L, 22T, 4OTL, 146pts

How evenly matched are the Stars and Canucks? In the past decade, the teams have met 49 times (including playoffs) and Vancouver is 22-22-2-2 with one tie in that stretch. And goals? Each team has scored 120 goals. Daaaamn. (note: this doesn't include Friday's game which ruins this otherwise amazing coincidence)

In my eye, the teams have only met up once for a significant deal. Back in 1995, Vancouver sent Greg Adams, Dan Kesa and a 5th rounder (later traded to LA which became Jason Morgan) in exchange for Russ Courtnall. I guess these days you could look at their current squad and see Marc Crawford and Alex Auld hanging around and be reminded they gave way to Vigneault and Luongo respectively. Anyone care to trade 'em back?

Fun fact: The 1988 draft was big for both clubs: the Minnesota North Stars took Mike Modano with the first overall pick and Vancouver followed up in the second slot by taking Trevor Linden. But both teams didn't fare so well in the second round. The Canucks selected Leif Rohlin, a much-praised prospect who never panned out in the NHL. The Stars took Link Gatez, nicked named "The Missing Link," who wasn't much on the ice but certainly provided some humor off of it.

You probably knew I was going to roll out this video. It's just too good not to.

And good call by Sean for reminding me about the Bure's elbow to Churla.

Los Angeles Kings

Franchise Record: 212GP, 90W, 87L, 32T, 3OTL, 215pts

The Canucks and Kings have played 41 times in the past decade and Vancouver holds a slight edge, going 18-15-2-1 with five ties to boot. Though if you consider LA has been awful for a few seasons now, that record isn't terribly amazing.

What is amazing, however, is LA's willingness to accept our flawed goalies and try and make heads or tails with them. In 2001 Vancouver accepted future considerations from the Kings in exchange for Felix Potvin. Potvin was great for the Kings, helping them squeak into the playoffs and upsetting the Red Wings in the first round (hooray!). Vancouver's future considerations eventually became a third rounder in 2002 named Lukas Mensator who has never played a NHL game but is a handy trivia answer in case someone asks you if Vancouver has a Czech goalie. Indeed they do.

In 2006 we all got a good laugh when Los Angeles sent a second and third rounder round to Vancouver for Dan Cloutier. Riddled with injuries, Cloutier only played in 33 games in two seasons for LA, netting them eight wins. In return the Canucks drafted Taylor Ellington with the second rounder in 2007 and then traded the third rounder last summer to Buffalo for Steve Bernier. That'll do pig, that'll do.

Fun fact: Next to only one other team (who we haven't looked at yet in this rival series) Vancouver has played the most games against the Kings. Vancouver has taken more points from playing Los Angeles (217) than any other franchise.

Oh yeah: the Kings won the franchise's first game too. Booo.

Let's go old school: I have no idea what the year is, but I think it's Snepsts blowing up Schultz so that's worth looking for.

Phoenix Coyotes

Franchise Record: 157GP, 79W, 56L, 20T, 2OTL, 180pts

If nothing else, Brad May gets some love between the two franchises. He was originally acquired by Vancouver back in 2000 with the Canucks sending a conditional pick in the 2001 draft back. In 2003, May was reacquired from Phoenix for future considerations. Also, in 2001, Phoenix sent Tyler Bouck, Trevor Letowski, Todd Warriner and a 2003 3rd round draft choice (who Vancouver flipped to Edmonton in a separate deal and the pick became Zack Stortini) in exchange for Drake Berehowsky and Denis Pederson.

Since the team has been in Phoenix, there hasn't been much of a palpable anger between the two. Over the last decade Vancouver holds a commanding with a record of 23-11-2 against Phoenix with four ties. However, when the franchise was in Winnipeg, the Jets and Canucks had some notable games. Speaking of which...

Fun fact: Pavel Bure played his first game against Winnipeg in 1991. He was held off the scoresheet (much like another rookie Russian Canuck you may have hear of recently). But here's a rare look at Bure's first game anyway where you can see just how much jump he had:

San Jose Sharks

Franchise Record: 82GP, 40W, 31L, 9T, 2OTL, 91pts

No notable trades (pick swaps mostly) between the two squads until this summer when Christian Ehrhoff was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on August 28, 2009 along with Brad Lukowich in exchange for prospects Patrick White and Daniel Rahimi. In case you're curious, White has six points so far with the Gophers and Schroeder has five. meanwhile, Rahimi has an assist and is -9 in the Swedish elite league and Luko has seven points for the Texas Stars.

The Sharks have spent much of the past decade stomping the Canucks, going 21-4-2 with four ties and scoring 125 goals to Vancouver's 103 in the same span.

Fun facts: In February 2001 the Canucks and the Sharks played the first scoreless draw in Vancouver. And, in March 2007, Roberto Luongo posted his 39th win of the season in San Jose setting a new franchise record for wins by a Vancouver goaltender in a single season. The following month Vancouver beat San Jose again for their 49th win of the season (a new franchise record) and captured the NW crown with 105 points (another franchise record).

Since most of the videos out there aren't terribly interesting, let's enjoy watching Vancouver flatten the Sharks in everyone's favorite game, NHL '94. (0/12 on one-timers? tisk tisk)

Poll

Who is Vancouver's biggest Pacific division rival?

Anaheim Ducks

145 votes

Dallas Stars

93 votes

LA Kings

10 votes

Phoenix Coyotes

1 votes

San Jose Sharks

35 votes

284 votes | Poll has closed

On The Road Again: Canucks-Wild Preview

Sean Zandberg — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:04:26 -0000

GAME TIME: 5:00 PST

TV: CITY TV (Yay Baseball is done, so it may be on Sportsnet as well.)

THE ENEMY: HOCKEY WILDERNESS

UPDATE: 1:37 PM PST: From The Province:

Team general manager Mike Gillis said the team will explore the feasibility of getting vaccinated during the Canucks’ five-game, 11-day road trip through the United States, where H1N1 vaccine may be more available through the country’s private, for-profit healthcare system.

No panic. Just cautionary stuff in light of Bernier's flu. Next up: another Elvis sighting, the anti-christ emerges, and the sky falls.

UPDATE: 12:04 PM PST: Here's a little nugget to store in your head: In the 4 games since RyJo went down, the Canucks went 10/12 on the PK... 83.3%. That stat from the Opiated Sherpa on Twitter.

UPDATE: 11:24 AM PST: Oh for the love of Mary, it appears that Steve Bernier is suffering from the flu and will miss tonight's game. The lines, according to Ben Kuzma at The Province look like this:

Burrows-H. Sedin-Bieksa

Raymond-Kesler-Samuelsson

Glass-Wellwood-Rypien

Hordichuk-Johnson-Pettinger

On D:

Mitchell-Ehrhoff

Salo-Edler

Schneider-Rome

Raycroft

No that is not a type-o. Kevin Bieksa on line 1. Wee! This is so fun! Hat tip to vancitydan for the heads up.

*********************************

After a huge and chaotic win over the Rangers on Tuesday, the Canucks hit the road for 5 straight games, including a back-to-back scenario tonight and tomorrow against the Stars. This isn't going to be easy. The Wild have won 2 straight games against the Rangers and the Penguins and have won 4 of their last 7. There is belief out in that neck of the woods that Minnesota has turned their game around.

However they currently sit last in the Western Conference with the Ducks achieving a 5-9-0 record thus far. They are 4-1-0 at home and a lousy 1-8-0 record on the road. This fate, and they sit 13th in the NHL on the power play (Canucks are 6th) and tops in the NHL on the penalty kill (88%). The Canucks' PK is ranked 19th (79%). It's 5-on-5 where the Wild don't succeed, as they rank last in the NHL in that department (Vancouver is 18th). If you analyze the stats by following those links you'll also see that the Wild do not score a lot of goals (2.14 per game average) and allow too many (3.00 goals per game.)

This is a Wild team that is in transition. Under former coach Jacques Lemaire's long-term regime, the Wild were told to play scrutinizing defence. New coach Todd Richards is trying to get them to open up a little.

As for the Canucks, some key players are close to returning. Both Roberto Luongo and Ryan Johnson (edit: AND Jannik Hansen) are on the flight out of Vancouver. With Mario Bliznak being sent back to Manitoba yesterday, there is a chance that Johnson could play. Edit: Apparently Henrik Sedin's foot is fine.

-The Canucks have established themselves as a good team at home (7-2-0) but have not had much success on the road either (2-5-0).

-There is a part of me that wasn't caring much about the injuries anymore the way the Canucks tightened up after the Ducks blowout several days ago. They are playing solid hockey in front of Andrew Raycroft now. Can they keep this intensity up? They'll have to against a terrific goalie in Niklas Backstrom.

-Ryan Kesler's 5 points in 2 games has everyone talking not only about him being a lock for Team USA (16 points in 16 games), but also for the captaincy to be handed to him. Trust me, I thought the same thing after the last game. Not going to happen though. Get over it.

-Can we please see Rick Rypien fight Derek Boogaard?

The Canucks won the first of 6 encounters with the Wild on October 17, 2-1. The next day the Wild traded prospects and a 2nd round pick in 2011 for Chuck Kobasew. He has 2 points and 5 shots in 7 games with the Wild. Ouch.