Vancouver Canucks Hockey Stuff

The Team1040 reported yesterday that the agent for the Neidermayer brothers has been in contact with Mike Gillis and the Vancouver Canucks.  Apparently the Neidermayers are interested in playing for the Canucks in the 2009-2010 season.  The Neidermayers are natives of Cranbrook BC , and will be Unrestricted Free Agents come July 1st.  With the Winter Olympics coming to Vancouver in 2010, wouldn’t the Canucks be a great fit for Scott and Rob Neidermayer to come and play with?  The Canucks should have enough cap space to sign the Neidermayers and the Sedins.  This goes to say though that Mats Sundin  probably wouldn’t be back, and Mattias Ohlund wouldn’t make a return either.  I would like Ohlund back, but at his price, we could have local BC boys who have proven Stanley Cup experience.  It’s going to be an interesting summer.

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Towel Power was alive in GM Place in Vancouver tonight, as the streaking St Louis Blues came to town to play game one of the playoffs against the also red hot Vancouver Canucks.  Each seat in the arena had a white towel draped over it, and the atmosphere was electric after Vancouver failed to make the postseason last year.

In the first period, the Canucks played a solid hard hitting game.  They exchanged penalties with the Blues, and they both couldn’t score on their power plays.  On a delayed call, Pavol Demitra passed from the side boards to Daniel Sedin who was open in the slot, and he didn’t miss on this opportunity, deflecting the slap-pass into the net to make it 1-0 Vancouver Canucks.  Later in the period, the Canucks got into penalty trouble, ending up two men short for just under two minutes, but the canucks killed it off with some great antics by Ryan Kesler.  The Canucks ended up finishing the first period ahead 1-0.  Johnson and Hordichuk were both assessed 10 minute Misconducts at the end of the period. Johnson got the extra 2 mminutes.

Canucks start the second period on the penalty kill.  And kill it, they did.  A few minutes later and the Nucks are back on the power play.  5 minutes into the second, Henrik and Daniel combine together deep in the St Louis zone, pass it back to salo at the point, and he slaps it towards the Blues net.  it sails through the air and is deflected in by Steve Bernier.  2-0 Vancouver.  The canucks had another powerplay but they couldn’t capitalize on it.  Henrik Sedin took a penalty for hooking with a couple minutes left in the second.  The Blue capitalized on their chance, and put one in past Luongo.  The period ends with the score 2-1 Vancouver.  You knew with this much drama in the second period, that the third would be exciting.

The Canucks came out a little flat to start the third, but they picked it up soon enough.  Both teams picked up their game and started hitting back and forth.  There was a bit of an after the whistle foray behind the St Louis net, and coincidental minors were called.  During the four on four play, Mason Raymond had a chance to bury on while streakin in on the right side,  he beat Mason but couldn’t beat the post, and it rattled of and into the corner.  Alot of hitting back and forth by both teams throughout the period. By the halfway mark of the second period the Canucks were outshooting the Blues 11-2 in the 3rd.  Mats Sundin missed the net on a shot halfway through the third on a play deep in the slot.  I don’t know how  many times Sundin has missed the net this game, he seemed to to be struggling out there. Pavol Demitra had a better game on this line, but it was Ryan Kesler who carried them as usual.  With just under four minutes left in the third period, Henrik almost made it 3-1 after a nifty pass from Burrows from behind the net, but his shot sailed just wide of the net.  A huge flurry ended the third as the Blues pulled their goalie, but they couldn’t get the equalizer! 

CANUCKS WIN!  They lead the series 1-0.  The Vancouver Cannucks play the St louis Blues Friday April 17th at 7pm in Vancouver, it will be the 2nd home game in this series, and live on CBC, and live streaming online on internet radio at Team1040.ca

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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.

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This game went back and forth all night like a yo-yo with a bad attitude.  The first period saw the Canucks go down by a goal early, when Luongo was caught out of position and former canuck Brendan Morrison threw the puck into the wide open net.  The Canucks would tie it up on a goal by Ryan Kesler on a sweet pass from Mats Sundin.  Later in the first there was one heck of a scare when Daniel Sedin was clipped by a high stick in the face, and lay bleeding on the ice.  He stayed on the bench, and got a goal on a skate deflection on the ensuing powerplay.  He then left the bench to get repairs in the dressing room.  The Canucks finished the first period up 2-1.

The second period was a rough and tumble period, featuring lots of hits and lots of penalties for both teams.  It started off with a goal 1:38 into the second period by Henrik Sedin, putting the Canucks up 3-1. Highlight hits were Steve Otts hit as he walked out of the penalty box, taking out Taylor Pyatt who ended up laying on his head.  Pyatt was fine but took a penalty.  Later in the period, Darcy Hordichuk was chasing a breakaway pass into the Dallas zone, when Marty Turco came out to play the puck.  Hordichuk plastered Turco into the side boards and a riot ensued.  Co-incidental penalties were called against both teams.  Another scary moment when Ryan Kesler was knocked down onto the ice and one of the Dallas players hopped over Kesler and caught his skate along the back side of Keslers head.  Kesler looked to be in considerable pain, laying on the ice grabbing the back of his head.  He later returned to play in the third period.  No scoring in the second period.

Early in the third Turco made a huge save to stop a weak backhand attempt by Alex Burrows, trying to make it 4-1.   Not much after, Kesler breaks into the Dallas zone, Darryl Sydor plays Kesler for the puck, but Kesler makes a great move around him and slides the puck in past Turco, to make it his second of the night and a 4-1 lead for the Vancouver Canucks.  Ossi Vannanen gets his first point as a Vancouver Canucks with an assist on Kesler’s goal.  With 11 minutes left in the third period, Oneill gets a nice blueline pass, breaks past the D and after Roberto Luongo fails on his poke check, O’Neill pops the puck into the net.  Dallas keeps the game close at 4-2.  Shortly after the Dallas goal, Willie Mitchell takes a bad retaliatory penalty to put the Canucks on the penalty kill.  After a few shots, the Canucks penalty kill went to work and they successfully killed it off.  The Stars pressured heavily with less than two minutes left in the third period, but Luongo made a few huge saves to keep the Canucks in front.  Henrik Sedin made it 5-2 with an empty net goal with less than 30 seconds left in the game.

Ryan Kesler was the first star, and Daniel was the second and Henrik the third star.

The Canucks continue their road trip with a game on Thursday against St Louis Blues, in St Louis.  they are 1-1-0 on this road trip so far, and the Thursday game will be broadcast on Sportsnet and live online radio via Team1040.ca

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Vancouver Canucks try to go 11 and 2

Another big home game tonight for the Vancouver Canucks, against the Minnesota Wild.  The Wild will try to come in and break their curren losing streak, and gain 2 points to make it into the 8th and final playoff spot in the western conference. Meanwhile, the Canucks will look to gain the 2 points to stay in 5th spot, and ahead of the Wild who would then be on the outside, looking in, on the playoff standings.  If the Canucks pull out another win tonight, they will be 11 and 2 in their last 13 games, after getting points in 16 of their last 20 games.

Hopefully the Canucks can get more offensive production from their defensive corps tonight against the Wild, as Kevin Bieksa has gone 4 games without a point, yet still leads the Canucks defenseman in points.  Mats Sundin had two assists against Columbus, so look for him to produce again tonight as well.  Ryan Kesler has been on fire, and hopefully can start a consistent string of points during the next few games.  The Wild have lost 3 of their last 4 meetings against the Canucks, and have lost their last 3 consecutive starts.

The Wild have a much more defensive oriented game than the Canucks, so look for Vancouver to hit hard and hit early, to try to get on the scoreboard, and make the Wild pay for their defensive play. 

The big question with this game, is the fact that this could be the last game with the current roster, heading into tomorrow trade deadline.  Several Canucks have rumours swirling around them, the biggest being around Alex Burrows, who may be shipped if he can’t sign a contract extension.  Hopefully this rumour, is just that, a RUMOUR, as Burrows leaving the Canucks would throw a large wrench into this teams on ice chemistry.  One big development heading into tonights game is the fact that Brendan Morrison has been placed on waivers by the Anaheim Ducks.  Will the Canucks pick him up?  He would be a great third line center, pushing Wellwood down to the fourth line, as Wellwood sure hasn’t been producing.  We will know by tomorrow morning if the Canucks pick him up, I think it would be a SMART move for the Canucks, bringing back local BC talent that has a proven ability to play and put up big numbers.

Make sure to see the Canucks game live on Sportsnet Pacific at 7pm.  You can also listen to the game on live streaming online radio at The Team, team1040.ca.

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Big game for the Canucks and Maple Leafs

Tonight’s 4pm pst battle between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks will most likely be overshadowed by Mats Sundin’s first return to play in Toronto since not re-signing with the club at the end of last season.  in-terim Leafs GM last season, Cliff Fletcher, wanted Sundin to waive his no-trade clause so that the Leafs could deal him off for assets.  Sundin refused to waive his no-trade clause, citing that he didn’t want to become a rental player for another team.  By the time free agency had begun, the leafs had decided that Sundin did not fit into the plans for their hockey club.  So, once he became a free agent, several teams made him offers, most notable the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers.  Sundin signed with the Canucks in mid-december.  Though Sundin hasn’t had an extremely huge impact on the Canucks team, the play of the team has indeed improved with him in the line-up. 

How will the fans in Toronto treat Mats on his return back home?  Hopefully with cheers, as he spent a great 13 seasons there, becoming Toronto’s all-time points leader.  Tonight’s game will be on CBC at 4pm PST, and you can listen to it live streaming online via online radio at The Team, team1040.ca

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Vancouver Canucks beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2

What a great comeback game for the Vancouver Canucks tonight, after a dissapointing loss Friday night to the Dallas Stars, the Canucks came out with a vengeance in the first period.  Up until 10 minutes left in the third, the Canucks were outpacing the Canadiens in shots by 2:1.  Halak was pulled in the third period in favour of Carey Price, who was looking forward to playing on “home ice”.  The Canucks had a great game out of the Sedin Twins and Alex Burrows, combining for 3 of Vancouver’s 4 goals.  Roberto Luongo made some huge 3rd period saves to seal the win, as the Canadiens were piling on pressure late to try to get the equalizer.  Montreal scored with just over 2 minutes left in regulation to bring the score to 4-2, but that is all they could muster up for offence.

On a strange note, the Canucks didn’t have a single penalty called against them this game, which is only the third time in club history that this has happened, and the only time in the last eight years.   Effectively the penalty kill was at 100% because they didnt have to kill one!  The Canucks offence didnt pour it on the powerplay though, going 0 for 2 i believe.  Ryan Kesler’s goal in the third was a beautiful goal, a sweet slick pass from Mats Sundin to Kesler for the goal.  The other really notable goal of the game was Henrik edin’s goal in the 1st period, I belive it was the first, that was a tic tac toe play.  Started from Sami Salo clearing the puck out of the Canucks zone, up the boards to Burrows, who cleared the Canadiens blue line along the boards, dished across ice to Daniel, and Danny passed it back again to Henrik Sedin, and Hank nailed it home for the goal.

The Canucks are back on the road Tuesday with a stop in Calgary to play the Flames at 6:30pm, broadcast on Sportsnet, and streamed via online radio at the team, team1040.ca.  The Canucks are now sitting at 5th place in the western conference with tonight’s win, and have won five of their last six games.

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Montreal Visits Vancouver Tonight

It’s been ages since I have blogged, but here I am because I am stoked for tonights huge game in vancouver pitting the Montreal Canadiens against the Vancouver Canucks.  Montreal’s Carey Price has been reeling lately, not in form, and will probably sit tonight in favour of Halak, their back-up.    Price would love to play in his home province, having been raised in Williams Lake, a 6 hour car drive from Vancouver.  If Price starts tonight, I’d say Vancouver is in for a LONG troublesome game!  Hopefully Luongo is back in old form soon, as he has been letting in some very weak goals, but then again the defensive corps have been letting him down as well.  The game airs tonight on Canucks PPV at 7pm, and can be lsitend to live on streaming radio at theteam, team1040.ca.  Hopefully the RPM line, Ryan Kesler, Pavol Demitra, and Mats Sundin will click again for the canucks tonight!

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The Canucks Got Him – The Sundin Saga Is Over.

Today the Vancouver Canucks have announced that they have signed Mats Sundin.  Overall terms were not released, and length of the contract hasn’t been released either, but as soon as I find out, I will be letting you know.

Welcome to Vancouver, Mats!

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