Vancouver Canucks Hockey Stuff

Canucks try to take Northwest Division lead tonight.

After a stunning steal of a game by Canucks Roberto Luongo in a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night, the Vancouver Canucks are playing their last home game of the season tonigh against the LA Kings.  LA is officially out of the playoff picture, and it’s their 5th consecutive year being on the outside, looking in on the playoffs.  Last night they beat the Edmonton Oilers, which offically eliminated the Oilers from the playoffs.  They are out to play the spoiler, and if they beat the Canucks tonight, they may spoil Vancouvers chance at the Northwest Division title.  Vancouver broke their 3 game losing snap with that 4-1 win over Calgary, and could jump 2 points ahead of Calgary in the standings with a win tonight, as Calgary doesn’t play until tmorrow.  The benefit to the Canucks?  Calgary plays back to back games friday and saturday, while the Canucks play tonight, get a da off, then fly to Edmonton to finish off the regular season. 

A win tonight will be crucial to the Canucks bid for the Northwest Division title, so hopefully they come out better than las game, so supermanesque Roberto Luongo wont have to make so many crazy saves to keep his team in it.  The team looked good throughout the remainder of the game Tuesday night, so hopefully they realize what they are playing for tonight.

Tonight’s game, Calgary Flames at Vancouver Canucks, is on at 7:0pm at GM Place, on tv at Rogers Sportsnet, and live online streaming on team1040.ca  Canucks NEED this win!

Popularity: 34% [?]

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: 36% [?]

Canucks need to win tonight

After 3 consecutive losses, the Canucks will be in Vancouver tonight to host the Calgary Flames, who came off a big win last night against the LA Kings, to go two points up on the Canucks in the Nothwest division.  Canucks have the 3 games left including tonights game, and the Flames have 4 left including tonight.  For Vancouver to win the division they need to beat Calgary tonight, and win the last two games.  Calgary will have to lose tonight and lose 2 of their remaining 3 games.  It looks impossible, but the Canucks sure kicked themselves in their shins when they lost the last 3 games.  Granted the emotions surrounding the loss of Taylor Pyatt’s fiance are affecting the team, but it’s stanley cup time, the tme that the team has played the entire season for.  It’s time to get their shit together!

Tonights game is in Vancouver, it starts at 7:00pm and is aired on Sportsnet Pacific.  You can listen to the game live online on streaming internet radio via Team1040.ca  The Canucks need a huge game out of Roberto Luongo, and all 4 top lines for scoring depth.  Wellwood has been playing better lately which is a boost, and Sundin had a decent game against the Avalanche.  We’ll see what else they can do tonight to lay down the Flames.

Popularity: 35% [?]

Canucks slip to 2nd in Northwest battle

I don’t have alot of time to blog tonight, so this one will be short and sweet.  The Canucks were down 2-0 after the first period, and climbed to a 4-2 lead early in the second period.  The Sedin twins and Alex Burrows had another great game again, providing alot of highlights and action in the Ducks zone.  The Ducks did however, tie the game up at 5-5 before the end of the second period.  The game ended up going to the shoot-out, and after Pavol Demitra missed  and hit the post on the Canucks first shot attempt, they never did score.  Ducks win it in the shoot-out.  If you ask me, they need to shake up the 2nd and 3rd lines.  Demitra looks more and more like a slug out there, and the only player making a whole lot of action happen on the 2nd line is Ryan Kesler.  I’m not “feeling it” when it comes to the 2nd line right now.  The third line, on the other hand, is playing great.  Maybe promote Wellwood up to the 2nd and send Demitra to the third, I’m not sure.  Just something has to be done.

The Calgary Flames played the Dallas Stars as well, and won in regulation.  With the Canucks now tied in points with the Flames, the Canucks slip to 4th in the Western Conference and 2nd in the Northwest Division.  With the single point though, the Canucks do clinch a playoff spot.  The Canucks play the Flames on tuesday, which could end up being, the must win game of the season.  It sure is matching up to be that way.

The Canucks play again on saturday night April 4 on the road against the Edmonton Oilers, the game starts at 7:00pm, and can be seen on tv on CBC, and listen live online streaming radio at Team1040.ca

Popularity: 26% [?]

Anaheim comes to town, Vancouver defends Northwest

After Tuesday’s huge 2-1 win for the Vancouver Canucks, they will face off tonight against the Anaheim Ducks to defend their lead in the Northwest Division.  Calgary also plays tonight against Dallas, on the road.  If the Canucks pull out a win, they will stay in the lead in the Northwest.  If they lose, and Calgary wins, Calgary can overtake the Northwest, as the Canucks lead them by just one point.

The Ducks come off a big 5-3 win in Edmonton, and are still fighting for a playoff spot.  They have won 7 of their last eight games, with Scott Niedermayer having a 3 point night with 1 goal and 2 assists.   The Canucks are coming off their 2nd most successful March in history, ammassing 11 wins and 23 points, one point short of the 24 points they

Popularity: 10% [?]

Henrik and Daniel Want to Leave

After a streak where the Sedin twins have amassed 41 points with Alex Burrows in just 11 games, the Sedin twins announced this morning that they will not re-sign with vancouver.  The Canucks wanted to sign them for 5.5 million each, and they reportedly wanted 6.5 million.  Thye have now said that they will play out the season, but not play as well because they don’t want to get injured and hurt their chances at being signed for lots of money during free agency.

When asked why he didn’t want to re-sign with the Canucks, Daniel said “I don’t think we can win here.  We can cycle the puck but every time they stick a new forward on our line, our cycle game gets broken up. We need a winger for more than 10 minutes.  Burrows is good but he skates too fast for us, and won’t play pass.  We want to play for Toronto” 

With such a surprise twist this morning, the Canucks have announced they will hold a press conference at 1:00pm PST.  It’s rumoured that they will be sending the Sedin’s to Manitoba until the end of the season, and bring up Grabner to replace them both.  When Alain Vigneault was asked about the situation during this mornings skate, all he had to say was, “Well we’ll see how the season goes, maybe I’ll go to Toronto too and take Roberto with me, and we’ll all win a cup there!”

Popularity: 12% [?]

Canucks Beat Wild 2-1

It was a long boring game, but the Canucks pulled through with an overtime goal by Henrik Sedin to take 1st place in the northwest division tonight with a battle against the Minnesota Wild.  Pavol Demitra was given credit for the Canucks lone goal in the 2nd period, after he banked it out in front from behind the net and the puck bounced off a Wild player and went in behind Wild netminder Niklas Backstrom.

Though killing off a late 3rd period penalty that stretched into OT from a puck that was cleared over the glass by Sami Salo, the Canucks battled through and finally got a couple shots on Backstrom (after not getting a single shot in the 3rd period, the 5th shot-less period in Canucks history),  and one of them counting, with a pass from Daniel to Henrik, and the puck was in the back of the net.

2 months ago the Canucks were 13 points behind Calgary in the northwest, and tonight they are leading the northwest.  It’s been a great turn-around for the Canucks.  With the Canucks leading the divison, they are sitting at 3rd in the Western Conference.  They play again Thursday April 2 2009, at home against the Anaheim Ducks.  The game is available on Sportsnet Pacific and is available on live streaming online radio at team1040.ca

Popularity: 10% [?]

Vancouver Loses 4-2, puts me to Sleep.

No Kidding.  After a great first 7 minutes in the first period where the Canucks were all over the Blues, Vancouver took a few too many penalties, and St Louis rallied behind that.  I t was 2-1 for the Blues just 6 minutes into the 6nd period when Backes scored a nice breakaway shorthanded goal on Luongo.  This is right about when I fell asleep.  It sure didnt seem like I missed much, as I woke up with the Canucks down 3-2 with Vancouver trying to kill off a 5 on 3.  Then, Andy McDonald scored, and that was about the end of the game.

Burrows got a goal for the Canucks in the second frame to tie the game up, but obviously, not enough to pull out what was a crucial win in the points race for the Vancouver Canucks.  They still sit in 5th in the Western Conference with Columbus breathing down their neck.  They need to go into Colorado tomorrow and WIN.

Tomorrow’s game is on Pay Per View PPV and starts at 6:00 pm, live online streaming radio at Team1040.ca.

Popularity: 9% [?]

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

Popularity: 25% [?]

Vancouver Takes on Dallas on the road.

After a miserable loss to Phoenix’s Coyoties on Saturday night, that saw the Canucks score on their own net, deflect goals in past Roberto Luongo, and chase Luongo from the goal during the second intermission, the Vancouver Canucks will be looking to have a big game tonight in Dallas.  The Calgary Flames won last night, putting them 5 points ahead of the Canucks in the Northwest Division, making it seem more and more like the Canucks may not be able to catch up and take the division title.

Shane O’Brien has been rumoured as a cut for tonight’s game against the Dtars, and look for Ossi Vannanen to make his Canucks debut on defence.  This will be the Canucks second game on a 6 game road trip. 

Tonights game is at 5:30pm, is on Sportsnet Pacific, and you can listen to it live streaming on online radio at the team, team1040.ca

Popularity: 11% [?]