How about them Canucks!
- Thread starter #juan
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canucks practice today:
mason raymond with the twins. I like the change around because that line was not working right now,
not saying it will be better with raymond, but worth a try, burrows will be on the 3rd line, that is
if they like how they were in practice, then take it to the game.
I don't like leaving lines together that have gone stale, so hopefully this will improve.
Defense lines have been changed too, don't know who is playing with who, I think they said tanev is
with salo, not sure about the others.
mason raymond with the twins. I like the change around because that line was not working right now,
not saying it will be better with raymond, but worth a try, burrows will be on the 3rd line, that is
if they like how they were in practice, then take it to the game.
I don't like leaving lines together that have gone stale, so hopefully this will improve.
Defense lines have been changed too, don't know who is playing with who, I think they said tanev is
with salo, not sure about the others.
Mason Raymond is one of the most skilled players on the team. They should have put him on weight training to beef him up long ago as well as feeding him "mean pills" three times a day. An old Russian coach once said," Go where the puck is, and arrive in ill humour". Raymond would do well to heed that order.
yes, I agree, he is one of the most skilled players on the team.
I just listened to mike gillis on team 1040, and they did talk about raymond as part of the conversation.
He said they are working with him a lot with videos, so he can always see where he is going on the ice
etc., and how to improve.
He also said that the injury was so severe that they must always remember how difficult it was for him
to return to normal, and then bring his game up to the level it must be.
So it seems they are not forgetting that injury, like we all have, and they are still allowing him a bit
of slack.
I think that injury remained in raymond's head for a long time, even now, as sometimes when he goes into
the boards with another player, he hangs back a bit, so not to get scrunched, a bit of protection for
himself, as he isn't a heavy guy, not built like some other players, (tanev is another light weight),
so they have to be aware of their vulnerabilities.
I'm sure he does work on weights just like all the others, but some people just don't build up like
others, but on the other hand, the others won't fly around the ice with that wonderful skating ability
like he has either.
They also talked to raymond on the phone, and he is looking forward to playing with the twins tonight, he's not sure
if it will last a long time, or a short stint.
There are a few teams not playing well right now, (top end teams). I watched St. Louis last night, and
they didn't look sharp at all, if it wasn't for Halak, chicago would have won by many goals.
Halak has been holding st. louis in many games lately.
Boston is also playing poorly right now.
Detroit doesn't look good.
Nashville is holding their own, not dominating.
The teams who are playing top notch hockey are the ones battling to get in, or stay in the playoffs.
Washington are now playing much better, as they dropped out of 8th place recently, now back in again.
So, maybe its a good thing for the canucks to panic a bit, and get worried about themselves, as those
emotions are good ingredients for picking up their play, and learn how to battle harder again.
They did win lots of games 'not' long ago, while 'not' playing well, and that isn't good either.
we'll see.
If adding Raymond to the twins shows any promise. I hope they stick with it for a few games. The need time to learn to play with each other. Raymond can cycle on the boards as good as the twins. He'll just have to learn to keep his head up so he doesn't get nailed again.
yes, I agree, he could be great with them, hope that happens.
And, its also to help burrows to get going, so maybe, on the third line, he can
relax a bit, and just do 'his' thing, and forget about trying to get the twins
going.
If they ask me, (lol), I will tell them to switch them completely, schneider will become the starter.
But, because these games right now don't make a difference to canucks standings, (I don't think they are
pushing to get presidents' cup again), I guess they will start luongo so they can monitor him right down
to the playoffs, THEN, they better make a decision 'if' he hasn't impressed them, the season is winding
down, and playoffs have to be considered now, and what is best for the team.
The team just isn't playing well enough to make a run for presidents' cup, but if it happens, then that
would be good for home game advantage, and of course the prestige of winning it again.
I would like to see schneider stay in vancouver, and luongo leave, 'even' if they have a great run
in the playoffs, doesn't matter to me, I can see quite easily, along with you that schneider is the
better goalie, and also eddie lack in chicago, is also a huge very good goalie.
luongo has definite weaknesses, 'between his ears', he panics, loses concentration, too emotional,
can't immediately recover from bad play, and can't move from side to side nearly as well as schneider,
and many other goalies as well, and can't find pucks at his feet.
He can look brilliant at times, when he is standing up, and catches a good shot,
or just stops it, but there is so much more to the position, when they are not on
their feet.
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As I've said before, I'm sure the team plays better in front opf Schneider than Luongo. Lu is inconsistant. He can stand on his head and make five impossible stops and then let in two easy ones. A good goal tender can add a lot to a team's confidence. Lu is not doing that right now.
I will never forget how he 'folded' in those two games in boston last playoff finals, he was totally in
a frazzle, he couldn't think, he looked like a goalie playing in his first NHL game.
A goalie can't do that, they must stay calm and focused under extreme stress, that is part of the greatness
of any goaliel, (eg. price, halak, quick, and many others).
So, if he plays in the playoffs again, I will be waiting for him to cave in emotionally again, if he did
it on other occasions, under extreme stress, he will do it again, that is his personality, it isn't
going to change.
He was OK when he played those finals in vancouver, but 'caved' in boston, not acceptable, those
playoffs should have been over in 5 games, he lost the boston games all by himself, put the team
behind, then was pulled, and they were expected to dig themselves out of the hole, and win.
I just had a look at Luongo's contract. 6.7 million a year through 2017-2018 which I think is a big mistake. No trades, another mistake.
Making Lu captain, another mistake. Luongo is an albatross hung around the Canuck's neck by Gillis himself. I think there is a performance loop hole for the team.....If not, send Gillis packing as well.
There is one year in his contract that is a trade year 'if' they want to, maybe that has past.
The cap hit for luongo is now: 5,333.333.00, so if he was traded that is not too
high for another team to handle, if they have cap room, as some teams have to
have enough contract money to come 'up' to the bottom of the cap, that seems
unbelievable to canucks and many other teams, but those teams are out there.
The way it was set up, his salary, and the cap hit are not the same, eg. they
paid him 10 mill the first year, but the cap hit was not that much apparantly.
Thats the reason for the long contract, because they can drag the cap hit thru
all of those years, and 'his' salary will go down over time.
Its confusing, but there must be a web page that compares each year of his
salary, compared to each year, cap hit.
I have to add that I think luongo would agree to a trade to florida, as
his wifes family are all there, and he enjoyed living there, so he might
lift his no trade clause if he knew he could go back there.
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They should win the Prez Cup, St. Lou is starting to show cracks, Detroit is in the sewer, Boston is past the sewer, N.Y.R. is probably the worst threat!
Good effort in the first period, phoenix tied it up, game kind of faded away for canucks, and luongo was
not sharp at all, far too many rebounds, didn't like his game.
And there were other defensive errors as well, bieksa had a tough night.
I did like the line changes, burrows looks much better on the 3rd line, at least for now.
He was the best player on the ice.
I like raymond with the twins, they just need a little time to 'gel' a bit, but it looks like that
could be a very good mix, the twins aren't instant success to play with, they do
their own thing, and any other player has to have a couple of games to figure
that out, raymond has the speed that the twins don't, that is a plus, and he
can be the best defensive one on that line, as well as dish out the puck to them.
Kesler had a very good game, and that line has lots of jump, they need more games together too, to
create better chemistry.
phoenix just kept picking away, made nice passes, and got the job done.
columbus on saturday.
not sharp at all, far too many rebounds, didn't like his game.
And there were other defensive errors as well, bieksa had a tough night.
I did like the line changes, burrows looks much better on the 3rd line, at least for now.
He was the best player on the ice.
I like raymond with the twins, they just need a little time to 'gel' a bit, but it looks like that
could be a very good mix, the twins aren't instant success to play with, they do
their own thing, and any other player has to have a couple of games to figure
that out, raymond has the speed that the twins don't, that is a plus, and he
can be the best defensive one on that line, as well as dish out the puck to them.
Kesler had a very good game, and that line has lots of jump, they need more games together too, to
create better chemistry.
phoenix just kept picking away, made nice passes, and got the job done.
columbus on saturday.
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