Vancouver Canucks Hockey Stuff

Luongo solid as he stops 45 of 46 shots

Roberto Luongo didn’t get the shut-out but he may have played his best game of the season, when it counted most, as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 tonight at GM Place.

The first period was shaky at best, the Canucks being outshot 21-9, they still came out of the first period up 1-0 on a goal by Rick Rypien.  The Canucks just couldn’t keep the puck out of their zone in the first, and looked a little slow off the start.  They sure came out a lot better in the second period, and Luongo bailed them out time after time again.   During a couple of consecutive Vancouver penalties, Luongo kept the puck out of the net to keep the game 1-0.  It wasn’t until the 14 minute mark that Iginla was able to put a puck past Luongo to tie up the game.  22 seconds later, Mattias Ohlund slapped on from the point which deflected off Calgary defencemen Dion’s stick to sail past Mikka Kiprusoff to make it 2-1 Vancouver.  The third period was a goaltender duel with both goalies all over saving everything coming at them.  kiprusoff looked great in the third making some big saves off the Sedins and the Sundin Kesler line.  It was 2-1 Vancouver up until 14:51 when Ohlund slapped another shot from inside the point that made the game 3-1 Canucks.  Less than 3 minutes later Alex Burrows made a seet interception pass to Daniel Sedin, and the Sedins walked into the Calgary zone.  Daniel passed to Henrik, and after almost fanning on the shot he picks up the puck and rifles it home past Kiprusoff.  4-1 Vancouver.  The best part?  Hearing the taunts in the crowd “Calgary sucks”.  It’s playoff fever in vancouver already.

Tonights three stars were Roberto Luongo with a stunning performance in goal, Mattias Ohlund with 2 goals and 3 blocked shots, and Mikka Kiprusoff.  The Flames ended up outshooting the Canucks 47-25, but the Canucks come out on top to tie the Flames in the Northwest for 1st, although Calgary has the tie-breaker for first in the division as they have more wins.  Both teams now have 2 games left, so the Canucks need to go out and play the LA Kings at home on thursday night at 7pm, and the Edmonton Oilers (who were statistically eliminated from the playoffs tonight) on Saturday in Edmonton at 12 noon.  Both games are available on sportsnet, and you can hear both games live online on streaming audio at team1040.ca.

Popularity: 32% [?]

Lawrence Nycholat Headed to Calgary

Today the Calgary Flames claimed Lawrence Nycholat off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks.   Nycholat played 14 games with the Vancouver Canucks and in that span had one assist and six penalty minutes.  He was born in Calgary and should see more ice time and be a good fit for the Flames.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Edler Signs Extension, Canucks Go 1-1 over Weekend

The Vancouver Canucks played a comeback game on Saturday night, defeating the Calgary Flames by a score of 5-4 after Pavol Demitra scored the game winner with a minute left in the overtime period. At one point, the Canucks were down 3-1, and came back several times to tie the game, and eventually win in the OT session.   The Canucks went 0 for 5 on the powerplay, and Calgary went  0 for 7.  It was an intense game and was a hard fought win for the Canucks.

Last night, the Canucks came back with a goal by Alex Edler in the first period to tie the game against the Washington Capitals at 1-1, however, the Caps would eventually score four more goals onto a 5 – 1 whomping of the Canucks, breaking their 2 game winning streak.  Luongo was eventually pulled in favour of Curtis Sanford, and the Canucks road trip is 1-1 at this point.  They play again on Wednesday at 4:30pm in Detorit against the Red Wings.

The Vancouver Canucks also announced on friday that they have signed Alex Edler to a 4 year contract extension.  Due to club policies, the amount of the contract was not disclosed.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Vancouver Canucks 6 – Calgary Flames 0

In a night that saw the Vancouver Canucks honouring the late Luc Bourdon with a touching ceremony at GM Place, the Canucks played a game that Luc would have been proud of.

The Canucks finally turned a tide of Penalty trouble, though they did give up a couple 5 on 3 power play chances to the Flames tonight.  The Canucks played a great offensive game, and hopefully this is what we’ll see throughout the rest of this season.  Bernier looked great with the Sedin’s getting a beautiful goal 23 seconds into the second period.  Mason Raymond showed everyone at the Garage why he is on this team, with blazing bursts of speed time and timagain, and Pavol Demitra looks very promisng as well.

The Canucks went one for nine on the powerplay, while the Flames were kept off the scoresheet on 6 powerplay attempts, including just over a minute of s on 3 powerplay time.  The Canucks lone power play goal was scored by Mattias Ohlund halfway through the 3rd period, making it 5-0, and the Canucks got a beautiful shorthanded breakaway goal on the Flames power play in the 3rd, scored by Rick Rypien.

Tonight’s goal scorers were: Henrik Sedin (Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler), Steve Bernier (Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin), Alexander Burrows (Ryan Kesler), Alexander Burrows (Ryan Johnson), Mattias Ohlund PP Goal (Taylor Pyatt, Daniel Sedin), Rick Rypien SH Goal (Mattias Ohlund).

The Canucks play again against the Calgary Flames on saturday night in Calgary, as the second game in this home and home set.  Game time is 7pm and will be broadcast on CBC and live streaming online at Team1040.ca.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Canucks open regular season tonight live on CBC at 7:30PM

Good news for Canucks fans, historicaly Calgary has dropped their last five straight season openers.  Sure this does’t mean anything, but we’ll take all the luck we can get as we open the regular season.  The Calgary Flames, who were 5-2-0 during the preseason, will be playing at GM Place with two new big name players, Todd Bertuzzi and Mike Camallerri.  Both off-season aquisitions, Calgary is hoping these players add some spice to the Flames line-up.  The Canucks are hoping to begin the season on the right foot skate, with a win and healthy defenseman.  Roberto Luongo is expected to begin in net for the Canucks.

Be sure to tune in to CBC to catch the game, or listen live at Team1040’s website.  The Canucks will be honouring the late Luc Bourdon during the pre-game ceremonies, something that should not be missed.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Anaheim 4 – Canucks 3

The Canucks just couldn’t pull off a perfect pre-season, after heading into Sundays game against the Ducks, the Canucks had won all 6 of their preseason games.

Vancouver fell behind half way into the first period when Mattias Olund was sitting out for a 5 minute major for boarding, and former Canucks Brendan Morrison scored on the power play to make it 1-0.  It was back and forth all game, featuring a toal of 4 power play goals, 3 of them by Vancouver.

One of the plays of the night was Mason Raymond’s best impression of a young Pavel Bure, going around the offensive zone with complete control of the puck, deking back and forth before lifting the puck up into the back of the net.  Raymond looks extremely promising for the regular season, and will definitely be one to watch.

Goals in Sunday’s game were scored by: Henrik Sedin (Daniel Sedin, Kyle Wellwood), Mason raymond (Alex Edler, Pavol Demitra), Mason Raymond (Pavol Demitra, Alex Edler).

The Canucks pre-season is now over, and they will open the regular season at home at GM Place on Thursday te 9th vs the Calgary Flames.  The game will be broadcast on CBC as well as played live on Team1040 am.  You can listen to the Canucks games live at http://www.team1040.ca

Popularity: 9% [?]

Flames burn 6-1 as Canucks continue to go undefeated in pre-season.

Alex Edler made it 1-0 for the Canucks 21 seconds into the 1st period, and it was pretty much Vancouver all the way in from there.  The Canucks were outshot by the Flames tonight 36 – 23, by new canucks captain Roberto Luongo led his team to victory, with big nights from all four canuck lines.

One thing that is starting to haunt the Canucks again, is their lac of discipline.  They had 9 penalties (21 minutes worth), compared to Calgary’s six, but thankfully Calgary couldn’t convert, even on 2 minutes of 5 on 3 time. 

Jannik Hansen showed his potential for a roster spot come regular season with a two goal effort, and both Alexander Burrows and Ryan Kesler has 3 assists each.  Goals for Vancouver came from Alex Edler (Pavol Demitra, Taylor Pyatt), Jannik Hansen (Ryan Kesler, Alexander Burrows), Pavol Demitra (Kyle Wellwood, Lawrence Nycholat), Lawrence Nycholat (Alexander Burrows, Ryan Kesler), Jannik Hansen (Ryan Kesler, Alexander Burrows), and Mason Raymond (Pavol Demitra, Mike Brown).

The Vancouver Canucks play Thursdy the 2nd against the San Jose Sharks at 7pm at GM Place.  Check out the resource below for tickets to an upcoming San Jose Sharks and Canucks game!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Four players sent down to Moose, three others placed on waivers.

Today Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis reported that four players have been trimmed from the Canucks Roster, and sent down to the Manitoba Moose.  The players sent down include Canucks 2006 1st round choice Michael Grabner, who had a poor outing in the Canucks game in Anaheim, and looks to start the season in Manitoba. The other three include Dan Gendur, Pierre-Cedric Labrie and defenceman Daniel Rahimi who didn’t get to see any pre-season action due to the Canucks extensive depth of defenceman.

Vancouver also placed three players on waivers, hoping that they clear and can then be sent down to Manitoba.  These players are Jason Jaffray, Mark Cullen and defenceman Jim Sharrow.

The Canucks roster is now down to 37 players, and they face off against Calgary on Wednesday night at GM Place, which may be Todd Bertuzzi’s first game at GM Place in a Calgary Flames uniform.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Grabner scores two, shows Canucks what he is capable of in loss to Calgary.

Though the Calgary Flames Prospects beat the Vancouver Canucks Prospects 6-3 In Camrose Alberta Monday, the Canucks can see that Michael Grabner is definitely a contender for a starting line-up job with the Canucks.  Grabner scored twice, and had a big presence on the ice throughout the game.   In other aspects of the game, canucks prospect goaltender Julien Ellis suffered a leg injury, which will sideline him for 8 to 10 weeks.  The prospect Canucks will play again tonight against the Edmonton Oilers prospects, and goalie Cory Schneider will play.  You can watch the game live on Canucks.com at 6pm PST.

Popularity: 8% [?]