SB Nation - Alexander Edler

Look Out! Here Come The Preds!

Sean Zandberg — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:00:22 -0000

PREDATORS (22-11-3) AT CANUCKS (20-16-0)

GAME TIME: 7:30 PM

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

UPDATE (11:23 AM): It was apparently heard on the Team 1040 that Pavol Demitra is back practicing with the Canucks...already. They must have good drugs in Slovakia. Just tuned in to the Team and if you gauge what AV said...Alexander Edler could play tonight.

UPDATE (1:08 AM): Salo and Johnson are expected to play tonight. For more on that, and some praise by AV for O'Brien, check out the Vancouver Sun.

UPDATE (1:24 AM): Jason Arnott is "questionable" for tonight with an upper body injury.

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

Oh no! Not another Central Division team! No! The Canucks are 1-7 against that heinous group. Turn on the game and pop an anxiety pill, right? Well, maybe not. There are a couple possibilities/reasons why the Canucks might show up for this one.

A. They usually follow lackluster efforts with good ones.

B. Nashville sits 4th in the West. The Canucks won't be playing down to their competition. Nashville is 7 points ahead of Vancouver.

Almost amazingly, the Canucks can still find themselves in 8th spot tomorrow night if they beat the Preds and ~~Dallas loses to San Jose in regulation tonight~~.(DONE!) Detroit and Dallas play on Wednesday and will probably push us out then if we sneak in.

The Preds are rolling right now. Since their 4-2 win over the Canucks on December 8th, they have a 5-0-1 record. They have won 4 in a row (Canucks don't know what that is like), and have a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games. Good lord, is this Nashville we are talking about? What gives?

In the 4 game winning streak, there are a few unlikely heroes in Nashville's lineup:

-Patric Hornqvist has 4 goals and 7 points, earning him the NHL's 3rd Star Of The Week.

-Marcel Goc (good buddies with Ehrhoff) has 2 goals and 4 assists.

-Joel Ward has 1 goal and 5 assists.

Then we have what should be the usual suspects:

-David Legwand and Martin Erat have 2 goals and 4 assists each.

-Steve Sullivan has 3 goals and 1 assist.

-JP Dumont (3 points) and Jason Arnott (2 points) have slowed down. Doesn't mean we should discount them. They can strike at any moment.

So Nashville has a lot of good things going on right now, especially with the scoring from several sources.

How do the other stats add up?

COMPARATIVE STATS

-GOALS PER GAME: Canucks 5th, Preds 13th

-GOALS AGAINST PER GAME: Canucks 10th, Preds 16th

-5 ON 5: Canucks 6th, Preds 11th

-POWER PLAY: Canucks 5th, Preds 26th.

-PENALTY KILL: Canucks 19th, Preds 28th

SHOTS PER GAME: Canucks 11th, Preds 12th

SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME: Canucks 10th, Preds 11th.

WINNING % WHEN LEADING AFTER 1: Preds 3rd, Canucks 6th

WINNING % WHEN LEADING AFTER 2: Preds 1st (100%), Canucks 8th (.933)

FACEOFF %: Canucks 11th, Preds 14th

Sad, isn't it? We are better than them in most statistical categories but are still 7 points behind them. Crazy to think that in Nashville's 4-game winning streak they have scored 23 goals, but only 1 of them on the power play, which goes along with their ranking above.

I would really appreciate it if the Canucks would just calm the hell down and play their game. They need to stop getting caught up-ice. They need to play an aggressive, consistent, and defensively sound game. Can someone please teach them how to properly break out of their own zone? Please!

Willie Mitchell said Monday: "We have to go into this one prepared to win 1-0 or 2-1," said Mitchell. "If we do that, we'll be more consistent."

Oh, and check out Kevin Bieksa's disdain about having his ice time reduced. There is some finger-pointing going right now.

Can we clone 12 Ryan Keslers? Is that possible?

Canucks' D May Get A Minor Facelift / Grabner Close

Sean Zandberg — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:04:19 -0000

Thanks to Missy for passing on the link.

Jason Botchford from the Province reports that Alexander Edler is practicing with the team and is close to returning. Botchford also states that the way Aaron Rome was practicing with the team, he will probably replace Mathieu Schneider for Friday's game against the Capitals. Schneider is looking bewildered out there and is a step behind most of the time. We are also not getting the production from him on the power play.

I'm all for Aaron Rome jumping in. He's quicker and hopefully more steady in the defensive zone. It won't hurt to get Edler back either.

**********

Also, Michael Grabner is close to returning. He is saying he feels no pain right now after skating. Alain Vigneault has said today that sending Grabner to Manitoba for a conditioning stint would be "logical."

Vancouver Canucks 2010 Olympic Preview

Yankee Canuck — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:26:58 -0000

Let's flip a coin. [Tenders Lounge]

View full size photo »

We already one great post at Olympic hopefuls for Vancouver but, as you may have seen, the SB Nation Hockey group has been running a series of previews as well, so Sean and I have to run one more least the higher-ups flog us.

We disagree on some of these too but that's the fun part. Here's our take on the Vancouver Canucks who - for the first time ever? - have the easy commute.

Pack Your Bags & Walk To Work

Roberto Luongo

#1 / Goalie / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 205

Born: Apr 04, 1979

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Roberto Luongo	20	1124	10	9			48	2.56	531	483	.910	1

Roberto Luongo (Canada) - Let's get the big one out of the way. The meltdown that was the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino left a bad taste in Lui's mouth. Everyone knows he's been eying these winter games in his own city like a fat kid froths at a cake from 100 yards off. Let the haters hate on him, but he's a lock and we all know it. But the starter? Probably not. Brodeur is still the pony to bet on and his November numbers were ridiculous (8-2-1, 1.67 GAA, .939 S%). Expect Luongo to pass Fleury and be Canada's #2 man between the pipes.

Daniel Sedin

#22 / Left Wing / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 185

Born: Sep 26, 1980

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Daniel Sedin	8	1	6	7	3	4	0	0	1	0	30	3.3

Daniel Sedin (Sweden) - I don't think any other team can offer what Vancouver offers Sweden: an entire scoring line. Daniel had four points in eight games in 2006. And unlike in Vancouver, Daniel won't necessarily have to shoulder the offensive load with guys like Alfredsson, Backstrom, Eriksson, Zetterberg and Holstrom around. And I didn't even have to mention that Forsberg character either.

Henrik Sedin

#33 / Center / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 190

Born: Sep 26, 1980

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Henrik Sedin	26	14	14	28	5	18	3	1	3	0	57	24.6

Henrik Sedin (Sweden) - Yeah, see above. Same deal with points from 2006. Creepy.

Mikael Samuelsson

#26 / Right Wing / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 213

Born: Dec 23, 1976

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Mikael Samuelsson (Sweden) - What does Sammy offer? Prior Olympic experience? You betcha: in 2006 he added four points in eight games for team Sweden. Stanley Cup experience? Check. Can sort of tell the Sedins apart? The jury's probably out on that one.

Sami Salo

#6 / Defenseman / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Born: Sep 02, 1974

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Sami Salo	19	0	2	2	3	2	0	0	0	0	30	0.0

Sami Salo (Finland) - Great grandma's fragile chinaset Batman...the last thing poor Sami needs is MORE icetime. Finland's blueline isn't too deep as far as the NHL goes (only Timonen, Pitkanen and Koistinen spring to mind) and they can always elect to raid the European elite leagues or the KHL for replacements (Ossi Vaananen!!!). Salo has played in 10 Olympic games and has scored one goal and added three helpers.

Christian Ehrhoff

#5 / Defenseman / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 205

Born: Jul 06, 1982

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Christian Ehrhoff	28	6	11	17	9	10	3	0	0	0	59	10.2

Christian Ehrhoff (Germany) - Blastoff is one of the few shining stars for Team Germany. This will actually be his third appearance in international play: he was the second youngest player back in 2002 and had two points in five games back in 2006. He'll join Schuber and Seidenberg on the blueline and get a truck load of work since Germany is, well, awful (they haven't finished higher than sixth in damn near 20 years).

Nearly A Lock

Ryan Kesler

#17 / Center / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 205

Born: Aug 31, 1984

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Ryan Kesler	28	5	21	26	2	28	2	0	1	0	72	6.9

Ryan Kesler (USA) - Sean disagrees with me and I can certainly see why. However he wasn't a lock when the roster was first looked at this summer. He needed to go into camp, gel with the linemates and prove his worth. He's had a strong season so far and, though guys like Kane and Parise have past him on the scoresheet, Kesler has more points than both Brown and Backes so chances are he'll make it. He better too since he already went ahead and guaranteed a medal.

Work To Do

Pavol Demitra

#38 / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-0

Weight: 200

Born: Nov 29, 1974

Pavol Demitra (Slovakia) - I'm sure Demo would like nothing more than to join Hossa, Gaborik and Chara representing Slovakia, but obviously he has to be able to play first. It's probable he could be replaced by someone like Nagy or Satan if he can't make it. And, even then, I'm curious how Vancouver would feel letting him go play for the Olympics when he has yet to skate for the team. Demo clearly has the most work to do of all the current roster players.

Alexander Edler

#23 / Defenseman / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 220

Born: Apr 21, 1986

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Alexander Edler	28	3	19	22	2	12	1	0	0	0	51	5.9

Alexander Edler (Sweden) - Edler's slow start coupled with a deep Swedish blueline (Lidstrom, Ericsson, Ohlund, Kronwall and maybe Hedman) probably nixes him from consideration.

Adiose, Devils. Bring On The Flyers!

Sean Zandberg — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:04:45 -0000

More photos » by Rich Schultz - AP

Burrows deflects the puck past Marty Sucky Brodeur in Period 1 of the Devils-Canucks game. What followed was pure bliss.

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GAME TIME: 4:00 PST

TV: Canucks PPV

THE BULLIES: Broad Street Hockey

Update: 12:30 PM PST: Roberto Luongo will start again tonight, leading some to speculate that Andrew Raycroft will start against the Hurricanes on Saturday "morning". I'd say that is a fair assessment.

Update: 12:05 PM PST: There is a lot of pressure on the Flyers right now. They had a 4-7-1 record in November after storming out of the gates with an 8-2-1 record in October. Personally, I think they'll snap out of it and make some noise soon.

Update: 9:32 AM PST: Danny Briere, who has missed time with the flu, will return to the Flyers' lineup tonight. Simon Gagne (abdominal -hernia surgery) is still about 3 weeks away from returning.

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

How about that game against the Devils? The Canucks have to be joyous on the quick plane trip to Philly right now. They put on a hell of a clinic against the Devils.

- 5 points for the Sedins and Burrows combined.

- 1 goal and 2 assists for Alexander Edler.

- Sami Salo scores his first goal of the season!

- 1 goal in 12:14 played for Jannik Hansen. Well played, sir.

- Roberto Luongo was better than Martin Brodeur, but don't let that taint your Team Canada starting goalie prediction.

- Martin Brodeur allowed 5 goals against for the first time since the Devils' first game of the season against......the Philadelphia Flyers. True story. How ironic.

- Shane O'Brien did NOT take even 1 minor penalty but was a -1. Still, I thought he played well.

- Patrick Elias: 0 points. Zach Parise: 0 points. So many other goodies here.

The Canucks improved to 5-8-0 on the road, and are now only 1 point away from 8th spot in the West. Now comes a huge test for them: playing the Flyers in a back-to-back situation, where they are 2-3 this season.

-The Flyers have had 4 days off.

- Brian Boucher will play in their net instead of Ray Emery. The Flyers are saying they are "riding the hot hand" by playing him. From the Flyers' site: Boucher played just once in the Flyers’ first 17 games, losing 4-1 to San Jose on October 25 at the Wachovia Center. Since then, he has led the team to a 3-2 win in Los Angeles on Nov. 18; stopped 13 of 14 shots in relief of Emery on Nov. 23 in Colorado; and made 28 saves on 29 shots in a 2-1 win over the Islanders on Nov. 25 in addition to last Saturday’s performance. In his last 4 games played, Boucher has a 2.01 GAA and a .930 save percentage. He is 2-3 in his 5 starts for Philadelphia this season.

- the Flyers are 2-4 in their last 6 games played. They are 1 point out of a playoff spot as well.

- The Canucks went 0-for-1 on the PP against the Devils. New Jersey went 0-for-2. New Jersey, like I mentioned before, don't have a great blueline presence. The Flyers do. Like him or not, Chris Pronger has 4 goals and 18 points with his new team this year. Watch out for him, plus Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle on the D.

- The Flyers are rough and tough, so I would expect that Alain Vigneault ices the same lineup against Philly, keeping team toughness intact.

Vancouver started their road trip with a bang. Now...can they keep it up? We shall see. More updates to come.

Game 25 Preview: New Jersey Devils vs. Vancouver Canucks - 12/2/2009

John Fischer — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:00:16 -0000

by Bill Kostroun - AP

New Jersey Devils' Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston had huge afternoons against the Islanders on Saturday, racking up 4 points each. What will they do tonight against the Canucks? (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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The Time: 7 PM EST

The Broadcasting Info: MSG+ for the TV; 660 AM WFAN for the radio

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (17-6-1) vs. the Vancouver Canucks (14-12-0)

The Last Devils Game: Think of a snowball at the top of the mountain. Think of something - say a Richard Park slapshot - causing said snowball to start rolling. Think of the New York Islanders being in the way of that snowball. The Devils grew to dominate the game and blow out the Islanders 6-1 at the Rock, the biggest win of the season so far and their third straight win.

The Last Canucks Game: The Vancouver Canucks drew the league leaders, the San Jose Sharks, on the second half of a back-to-back set. It didn't end well. The Canucks kept it close until Manny Malhotra broke the deadlock late in the third period; and so the Canucks went onto lost 4-2. Sean Zanberg of Nucks Misconduct recapped the game, describing it as a "snoozfest" and the GM Place crowd as "lifeless."

The Goal: Discipline. Vancouver is a team that will make anyone pay for taking dumb calls. Sure, they didn't show that off against the San Jose Sharks. But they have the third best power play success rate at 24.3%, just behind Anaheim (24.5%) and Columbus (24.8%). While the Devils are disciplined in terms of penalties (9.6 PIM/G is third best in the league), I'm also referring to being disciplined on defense. The Canucks in general are a high scoring team, averaging 3 goals a game - the ninth highest average in the league. While Devils fans can be confident in new U.S. citizen Martin Brodeur between the pipes, leaving him out to dry or having him bombarded with high quality shots could lead to disaster against Vancouver.

For a Vancouver perspective on tonight's game, Nucks Misconduct is a good place to check on. Read on for my thoughts on tonight's game.

The big story in the run up to tonight's game is that New Jersey Devils are getting healthier. Rob Niedermayer, Jay Pandolfo, and Johnny Oduya all returned to practice earlier in the week. Per Tom Gulitti's reports, Oduya returned to practice on Tuesday whereas Niedermayer and Pandolfo came back on Monday. While a return to games hasn't been set in stone outside of Oduya not playing, Jacques Lemaire hopes to have Niedermayer back in the lineup for tonight's game against Vancouver. Actually, Gulitti reported that Lemaire thinks both Niedermayer and Pandolfo could be ready for Vancouver, but both players' comments suggest otherwise.

Of course, it's not all good news. No, apparently, Jamie Langenbrunner "tweaked" something and didn't practice on Tuesday. According to Gulitti, it's apparently something with his back - something that has long been suspected as a back injury. Now, he's presumably played with that nagging issue so far and he's done pretty well regardless.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jamie Langenbrunner	24	5	17	22	8	6	1	1	1	0	68	7.4

It's not clear whether that will mean he can't play against the Canucks. After all, Langenbrunner had this to say to Gulitti:

"I’ll see how I feel when I wake up in the morning," he said. "I didn’t think it was going to be an issue today, so. I would assume that I’ll be bettter tomorrow., I worked with [team massage therapist] Tommy [Plasko] today and I feel better.

...

"I practiced yesterday and felt fine and felt fine all days yesterday," he said. "I woke up this morning and I didn’t feel so good and I wasn’t able to loosen up like I wanted to."

I think Chere summed it all best in his headline: Niedermayer and Pandolfo are probable, Langenbrunner is questionable, and Oduya is out. With respect to the roster size, the Devils can activate one of Niedermayer and Pandolfo without making any moves. Should Langenbrunner just get scratched and the Devils want both Pandolfo and Niedermayer active, someone has to go to Lowell. Most likely Vladimir Zharkov to start, as he can go freely between New Jersey and Lowell without waivers. So keep an eye on Chere and Gulitti during the day. If the Devils make a roster move, you can bet on both Niedermayer and Pandolfo returning.

As far as my guess for the lineup, I'm going to assume that those moves do happen and that Langenbrunner is good to go. I really hope he is, the Devils really can't afford more injuries to their top 6 forwards.

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Niclas Bergfors
Brian Rolston - Patrik Elias - Jamie Langenbrunner
Jay Pandolfo - Rob Niedermayer - Dean McAmmond
Andrew Peters - Rod Pelley - Matt Halischuk

Andy Greene - Bryce Salvador
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Mark Fraser - Matthew Corrente

Martin Brodeur
Yann Danis

If only Niedermayer is activated, expect Dean McAmmond to slide to that left wing position and either Zharkov, Ilkka Pikkarainen, or Eckford would be scratched. Likewise, if Pandolfo is only activated, McAmmond would likely center that third line and play with Halischuk on his right wing. Should Langenbrunner not play, I'd guess Zharkov would be back in the lineup in some way. Of course, these are all guesses and I will most likely be wrong in some way.

Either way, it'll be up to the top two forward lines to crack a pretty good Vancouver defense (28.7 shots against per game average, 11th in the league) and Roberto Luongo, the other high-profile goaltending candidate for Team Canada.

	GP	MIN	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Roberto Luongo	20	1124	10	9	48	2.56	531	483	.910	1

OK, they aren't great numbers, but he's very talented all the same. When he's on, he's frightfully Brodeurian in how difficult he is to beat. Sure, Brodeur and Lemaire says this game

Moreover, the Canucks don't have a big pairing to lead their defense. Kevin Bieksa (22:10), Willie Mitchell (22:04), Christian Ehrhoff (21:44), and Alexander Edler (21:31) have very similar time on ice averages, which suggests to me that Alain Vigenault doesn't like to have one pairing or one line carry a heavy workload. Looking at Behind the Net's even strength numbers notes that Willie Mitchell, far and away, faces the highest quality of competition. So I assume he's the "#1" on the blueline. That said, none of these four really stick out in shots against/60 differential when they are on and off the ice. The biggest positive is Edler with 1.1 less shots per 60. But all of Vancouver's defensemen have a shots against/60 of 27 or less when they are on the ice, which speaks to an overall good effort by the blueline.

Either way, the Devils forwards probably won't have a weak defensive pairing they can pounce on unless one of those four defensemen is having a bad night. On the flipside, Vancouver may need those four defensemen to have equally good nights due to the Devils' top 6. I think it's fair to say that Zach Parise and Travis Zajac will be big players on offense for the Devils, but I would pay additional attention to how Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston play tonight. Both enjoyed 4 point games against the Islanders and showed some real good chemistry between each other. If they can showcase some of that again, it won't be just useful (if not important) for tonight's game but further evidence that it wasn't some flash-in-the-pan, everything-just-clicked moment. Hopefully, they'll get some points and command attention.

With respect to offense, as mentioned prior to the jump, the Canucks power play is something I think the Devils should avoid as much as possible. Tempting the third best power play in the league is never a smart idea. Leading the forwards for Vancouver is Henrik Sedin and his 14 goals and 14 assists; with playmaking Ryan Kesler following close behind in points with 5 goals and 19 assists. The production, like New Jersey, is shared throughout much of the rest of the line up - namely by Mikael Samuelsson, Mason Raymond, and Alexandre Burrows. Actually, Vancouver's defensemen show up high on the scoring list as well: Ehrhoff has 17 points (tied with Raymond for fourth most on the team), Edler has 16 (tied with Burrows for sixth most on the team), and Bieksa has 11 points. So the attack seemingly can start at the point, or at least the defensemen usually has a hand in Vancouver's offensive successes.

Essentially, on paper, this is a pretty solid Vancouver team in my view. I'm not sure why they are 14-12-0 and stuck behind a 5 teams in the Western Conference (Prior to Tuesday's games, 5th place LA: 32 points. 10th place Columbus: 30 points). Perhaps they aren't very good on the road? A road record of 4-8-0, 29 road goals scored against 40 road goals given up indicates that, yes, they aren't good on the road. What does that mean for tonight? Who knows.

All of this speaks back to Devils needing to show discipline on the ice. They can't just float through tonight's game and hope Vancouver will do the same. They can't take stupid calls or make dumb errors and hope Vancouver won't take advantage. Ideally, the Devils would perform as well as they did on Saturday against the Islanders. I don't think the Devils will explode for 6 goals or dominate in possession by the the third period the way they did. I don't think Vancouver will break down like that, especially after keeping their last game close until the end, despite not looking so good overall. They'll at least want to give a better effort after that game. Maintaining a solid defensive game in their own end while striking ahead and staying out of the box will take discipline. I think if the Devils do that, then they got a good chance on stretching their winning streak to 4 games.

Steve will have the GameThread up later today. Check out Nucks Misconduct to learn more about tonight's opponent. Please feel free to share your thoughts on today's game, today's latest news relevant to tonight's game, and discuss the opposition in the comments. Go Devils!

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.

Canucks Stats That Make Me Want To Jump In Front Of A Bus

Sean Zandberg — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:16 -0000

-As Tweeted yesterday, the Islanders have 1 more point than the Canucks.

-The Canucks are ~~only 1 point ahead of~~ now 1 point behind the Oilers

-Vancouver is now 3 points out of a playoff spot and 7 points behind the Northwest Division-leading Avalanche.

-Kyle Wellwood and Sami Salo have zero goals and 2 points this season. Darcy Hordichuk has 1 goal and 2 points in less games. Matt Pettinger had 1 goal and 2 points in 7 games played. Rick Rypien has more points than they do (3). The last time Wellwood scored a goal was in game 4 of the St. Louis series. The last time he scored a regular season goal was on April 4 against the Oilers. In his last 72 regular season games played, he has scored 7 goals and 8 assists. He has 18 shots in 19 games this season.

The last time Sami Salo scored a goal was in game 2 of the Chicago series. The last time he scored in the regular season was March 1 against Columbus. That was about 36 regular season games ago. Where's the cannon, Sami? Oh right, "guys block more shots nowadays."

-Alexander Edler has hit the net 42 times in 23 games played this season. He has 0 goals. The last time he scored a goal was in game 2 of the Chicago series. The last time he scored a goal in the regular season was March 27 against Colorado. Last season the Canucks were 8-1-1 when Edler scored a goal. Somebody buy this guy one of them Sears kiddie nets with targets on it for Xmas. And make sure you give it to him a few weeks early.

-Brendan Morrison has scored 7 goals and 17 points in 23 games with the Capitals this season. He makes only $300,000 more than Wellwood does. Yeah yeah, he plays with higher-skilled players, but it's still sad. It almost makes me wish....

-There are 2 teams in the NHL that do not have an overtime/shootout loss this season: Pittsburgh and Vancouver. That is more of an intriguing stat than anything else, but if a few of those 11 losses were decided in OT or a shootout, things would not look so bad. Edit: I see The Province has just caught on to this concept.

It's time for Vancouver to shed the .500 hockey club image. It's not good enough. Teams that finished 8th in the Eastern and Western Conferences last season were 11 and 9 games above .500 hockey. Consecutive wins over Colorado and a hard fought 1-0 loss to Chicago is a good start. Let's hope they continue to progress. The guys that are slumping are going to have to snap out of it, and quick.

Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks: Game Recap

nathaneide — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:36:47 -0000

More photos » by Tom Olmscheid - AP

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Minnesota Wild 2-5 Vancouver Canucks

The Minnesota Wild, according to coach Todd Richards, are a team that needs to play with a sense of urgency. They simply aren't showing it and every single player on the roster needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask themselves what they can do to improve the play of the team overall.

Sure, Kyle Brodziak had two goals, Cal Clutterbuck was a +2 and had five hits, Niklas Backstrom has been the backbone of the franchise (even though he was pulled tonight) and Chuck Kobasew gives his all at both ends of the ice, but there isn't a single guy on the team who can't improve right now.

Martin Havlat is bordering on bust material and is a -12. Petr Sykora is ridiculously streaky. Brent Burns has kissed his Olympic hopes goodbye and sits at -13. Mikko Koivu can't motivate the team on his own and Erik Belanger went out early with an "upper-body injury." After two good wins over the Rangers and Penguins, one would hope this team would take a step forward, but tonight was a massive step in the wrong direction.

The positives tonight? Well both Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Brodziak continue to provide the kind of effort this team sorely lacks. Brodziak is cleaning up rebounds down low. Clutterbuck is providing energy to a lackluster team and trying to hit anything that moves. Brent Burns had an assist, giving him six points (2-4) in his last eight games.

The negatives? Backstrom had an off night, giving up four goals, including two softies. Martin Havlat was a pitiful -3. Derek Boogaard backed up three good games with a stupid double minor and was essentially benched the rest of the night. The Wild gave up an NHL-leading fourth shorthanded goal of the season.

I don't even know what to say at this point. Let's just put it aside and concentrate on Saturday when the Dallas Stars come to town.

Please read the game recap over at Nucks Misconduct

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Alexandre Burrows (1 G, 1 A)
Kyle Brodziak (2 G)
Alexander Edler (2 A)

Questions to Answer

Will the Wild be the first team to 10 losses, this time? Yes. But with Carolina and Toronto both having 7 points, the Wild aren't the worst team in the league.
Will the time off have a negative effect? They certainly came out slow against a team riddled with injuries.
Does putting a solid Nick Schultz on with Brent Burns allow Burnsie to get into the play without causing too many problems for Nik Backstrom? How about ZZ Top? Burns had an assist and was a 0. Nick Schultz was a -1. Greg Zanon was a 0 and blocked 2 shots. Marek Zidlicky had an assist and was a -1. Frankly, I like the new pairings, but they need to get comfortable.
Seriously, where the hell is Pouliot? Is he dead? Undisclosed concussion?
How long will James Sheppard be allowed to center that line, not perform, without someone else taking his minutes? Sheppard was a -1 in 14:30. He might as well not be on the ice.

When Are We Gonna Score?

Sean Zandberg — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:52:58 -0000

"I don't think that team worked that hard tonight," Ryan Kesler said of the Oilers. "And we got out-worked."

I don't know if that assessment by the Keslord is quite accurate. I thought the Canucks worked hard last night, but are having a tough time scoring. The loss of Daniel Sedin stings now doesn't it? Thinking Pavol Demitra would be a big help right now (god forbid)? Well I wouldn't blame you. As the Province put it today:

Whether the Canucks ran into a hot goalie in Nikolai Khabibulin or not, it's evident skill and goal-scoring are not their strong suits. Not with Pavol Demitra and Daniel Sedin sidelined, along with their 480 career goals. Without finesse, the Canucks, especially their remaining forwards — who have 512 career goals combined — need elbow grease.

Sure, Khabibulin was playing great last night, but there were numerous occasions where the Canucks could have buried their chances and didn't. The Samuelsson chance to stuff it in comes to mind. He put it right into Khabby's pads and not into the open net.

The Canucks seem to be finding identity one step at a time. Their defensive game is there now, which gives them a chance to win (and many of you a chance to go to sleep), but blaming their woes on "running into hot goalies" isn't going to cut it. If you look down the list of the Canucks scoring leaders there are too many players beyond Henrik Sedin, Mikael Samuelsson, Ryan Kesler, Christian Ehrhoff, Alex Burrows and even Willie Mitchell who are not contributing at the expected level.

-Alexander Edler: 0 goals and 3 assists in 8 games.

-Kyle Wellwood: 1 assist in 8 games.

-Mason Raymond: 1 goal in 8 games

-Shane O'Brien: 0 points in 8 games.

Michael Grabner cannot find the back of the net yet. In my opinion, if he bags his first goal his confidence level will rise and he'll score more. He has major league skill but is leaving us scratching our heads right now.

Yeah, I'll finally bag on Roberto Luongo's performance now. Both Oilers goals against last night, Lou poked the puck past his teammates and onto an Oiler player's stick. A poll was put up during our chat with CBC today, and I think the results are fairly accurate:

Now, the team that is having a hard time putting the puck is about to face a Hawks team that has no problem doing that whatsoever. It's making me nervous. However, if the Canucks can turn it around against Chicago, I think they will have righted their ship.

0-4-0 on the road now. This isn't pretty....at all. But I have faith. Oh yes I do.

'Twas the Night Before Puck Drop

nucksandpucks — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:53:43 -0000

More photos » by Jonathan Hayward - AP

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Well, it's finally here folks! The Canucks season kicks off tomorrow against our old arch-rival, and season opener punching bag, the Calgary Flames. In honour of this exciting day, I present to you a poem, inspired by "The Night Before Christmas." Originally I was going to mimic the whole thing, but it turns out the poem is pretty frickin' long - so consider this an abridged version.

I'm sure we will all be going to bed tonight with visions of Stanley dancing in our heads. Or visions of Rick Rypien tuning Brandon Prust. Either way, enjoy the poem and LET'S DROP THE DAMN PUCK ALREADY!!!

THE NIGHT BEFORE PUCK DROP

'Twas the night before puck drop, and throughout GM Place

Nothing was stirring - not puck, stick nor skate.

The jerseys were hung in the dressing room, good,

With an XXXL one for Kyle Wellwood.

Hansen's hand was snuggled all tight in a cast,

And Hodgson is sad ‘cause his pro stint didn't last.

MG, wiping his brow, and AV, plotting traps,

Had just got the roster under the cap.

When out in streets there arose such a riot,

Female 'Nucks fans longing for Pyatt -

Sure Luongo is go(o)d, but he's not such a looker.

But we all hope he thrives in this year's pressure cooker.

The moon on the streets of quiet Vancouver

Lit a city that soon would be gripped by 'Nucks fever.

When, what to my wondering eyes should I see?

Swedish twins! (Sadly not of the hot variety.)

And two agitators, Burrows and Kesler,

Who can be more obnoxious than professional wrestlers.

And more rapid than eagles, a speedster named Mason,

Who, along with Steve Bernier ,20-goals will be chasin'.

And another Swede, with Cup pedigree,

As well as a Rocket, a new Russian mystery.

And three solid grinders, who check and who fight,

Who fly under the radar out of the spotlight.

"Now Edler! Now Ehrhoff! Now Salo, Bieksa!

On SOB! On Lukowich! On Mitchell! On Schnieder!

To the boards to make hits! To the ice to block shots!

Now score on the PP, now score lots and lots!"

So cried Vigneault, as he leapt from his bed,

As visions of Stanley danced through his head.

Canucks fans rejoiced, as the dawn finally broke -

Hockey is back, and everyone's stoked.

"The season is here," we yell and we cheer,

And we hope, and we pray, that this is the year.

So I say to Canuckland, as the season starts up:

"GO CANUCKS GO, AND BRING US THE CUP!!!"