How about them Canucks!

[talloola]

Too bad he has some hockey talent otherwise we'd never hear about what a complete idiot he is.

if he didn't have any talent, he would be considered a goon, but he is quickly moving in that direction.
he is arrogant, lacks any iota of sportsmanship or respect for the other team, can't take losing in a
classy manner as most of the players have learned to do before they ever came to the nhl.
he only sees what others do to him, and not what he does to others, thinks his s**t don't stink.

he's beginning to remind me a lot of bertuzzi, and if he keeps going he will do something very wrong to
someone else. long before bertuzzi jumped moore from behind, he carried the same attitude, thought
he was above others, he had a special place at the end of the bench and no other player was allowed
to sit there if he was on the bench, even when the coach asked him to play better defense, he told
the media that 'he didn't play that style of game', in a manner that was critical of the coach to
dare ask him to do that.
a false sense of entitlement.

 

[talloola]

not a bad game, canucks took a bit of time to get the cobwebs out and remember their season has really
started.

both goalies played amazing, and miller had his first all-star like game, he was quiet, cool as a
cucumber, and stopped everything.

oilers didn't look awful, they did some good things, but canucks weren't having any of it, they
checked well, then miller shut the door.

tomorrow against tampa bay, i think eddie lack will play, just assuming, don't really know yet.

glad they got this game under their belt before playing tampa bay, as they won't have time to rest
for a nano second during tomorrows game, tampa has a very good team, as well as stamkos and a great
goalie in bishop.

 

[bill barilko]

...miller had his first all-star like game, he was quiet, cool as a
cucumber, and stopped everything...

Yes I like his coolness around the net and the lack of histrionics-some goalies really hurt their game by making too much of someone crashing the crease Miller just turns his back and concentrates on what he has to do.

I wonder how many games the Oiler coach has-they should be better than they are and we all know the coach is the first to lose his job-IMNSHO they should be more dominant physically given their size.

 

[talloola]

Yes I like his coolness around the net and the lack of histrionics-some goalies really hurt their game by making too much of someone crashing the crease Miller just turns his back and concentrates on what he has to do.

I wonder how many games the Oiler coach has-they should be better than they are and we all know the coach is the first to lose his job-IMNSHO they should be more dominant physically given their size.

they did have a tough guy, but he was a loose cannon, got rid of him. they have a lot of talented young
players, not physical much at all.
i think yakapov has improved this season, over last, and he has some spunk, but he is concentrating on
learning to be a two way player, still making some mistakes, but he is so young, they must give him
more time, he must be only about 22, if that.

eberle has no physical presence at all, and nugent hopkins is very smart, but not physical, hall is
very talented, but not physical at all, same with perron, and they have lots of so so players who
have to focus on doing the right thing, or they will get burnt, and scrivens, although he was very
good tonight, has not been very good thus far.

if they fire the coach, don't know who would replace him right now, as they would have to hire someone
very experienced and highly respected.
the players don't need to change coaches again, as then they have to stop and learn a new system, which
they have been doing too much to this point, i think they should keep their heads up, work hard, and
keep positive and push on, and hope the goalies will help them a lot.

maybe mctavish can bring in some help for them.

 

[talloola]

tonights game will be interesting to see how canucks look against a team that 'according to many', should
be the strength of the east this season.

canucks this far, have done exactly what they needed to do to get this season started on the right foot.
calgary and edmonton must be behind the canucks in the standings right from the get go, then the
canucks have to see, 'what' teams within their division they can compete with, to fight for a
playoff spot.
we can only know what we know at this moment about our team, the future is unknown, but i do like the
start
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.Message:Hedman, Lightning must contend with red-hot Sedins

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Vancouver CanucksLIGHTNING (2-1-1) at CANUCKS (3-0-0)

TV: CBC, TVA SPORTS 2, SUN

VANCOUVER -- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman is off to a great start this season as the NHL's top-scoring defenseman with seven points in his first four games. But the 6-foot-6 Swede knows he'll face a different challenge in his own end on Saturday night.

Countrymen Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin are also off to a hot start on the Vancouver Canucks new top line with Radim Vrbata, and Hedman expects to see a lot of them on the top pairing.

Hedman is from the same hometown of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, and skated with the Sedin twins for a month before the season, but after watching them combine with Vrbata for six goals and 17 points in the first three games, he's not sure that familiarity will help much.

"They have a lot of tricks in their sleeves, so it's going to be a tough challenge," Hedman said. "You can see how they started the season, we have to make sure we stay on the right side of the puck and make sure we stay physical as much as we can on them."

For all the compliments Hedman and Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper paid the Sedins and the instant chemistry they appear to have found with Vrbata, there was just as much praise for Hedman going the other way. The biggest will be how hard new Canucks coach Willie Desjardins works to keep his top line away from the big 23-year-old defenseman.

"He's come a long ways, you watch him on video and he's a real good defenseman, he's turned into a real good player," Desjardins said of Hedman. "The twins know they have to play against anybody at home or on the road, and they'll probably see their share of him tonight, but at the same time we'll try to get the twins in the best situation we can for them to score."

The Sedins and Vrbata didn't skate Saturday morning after combining to score both goals in a 2-0 road win against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Ryan Miller, who made 28 saves in Edmonton for his first shutout as the Canucks new No. 1 goalie, did skate in the morning but will watch Eddie Lack make his first start of the season against Tampa Bay.

Just as Hedman was focused on the Sedins, Lack knows he has to pay special attention to Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who has three goals in his first four games.

"He's probably the best player in the world, or one of the three up there, so I have to be aware wherever he is," Lack said.

Lack is coming off an impressive preseason that saw him stop 57 of 58 shots for a .983 save percentage, but hasn't played a game in 16 days. Lack said he isn't worried about rust. He started last season playing sporadically behind Roberto Luongo, staying sharp in practice with game-situation drills from goalie coach Roland Melanson and posting a .925 save percentage that played a role in the Canucks trading Luongo to the Florida Panthers at the NHL Trade Deadline. Lack struggled while starting 19 straight games after that, but is back in a comfortable spot now.

The only concern was if Miller's shutout would change his start.

"I was a little bit worried when he got a shutout, like, 'Oh, this might change things,'" Lack said with a smile. "But me and Rollie have been talking all week and this is the start I have been looking forward to."

Even with Stamkos set to fire away at the other end.

report: Stanton won't play after pulling up favoring his left leg late in the first period of the 2-0 win against the Oilers on Friday. The Canucks called up Corrado from the American Hockey League on Saturday morning, but it will be Weber playing his first game of the season in Stanton's place against the Lightning. Weber will most likely pair up with Sbisa, a teammate on the past two Swiss Olympic teams. "We're good friends, so if we end up playing together I am sure the chemistry will be there," Weber said. … Gudas will miss a second straight game with a lower-body injury, but he skated on Saturday and Cooper said he would play during the five-game road trip that starts against the Canucks. … Cooper said he saw highlights of the game-winning goal Lightning rookie Jonathan Drouin scored in his first professional game on Friday on a two-week conditioning stint in the AHL. Drouin, 19, who was the third pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, also had two assists and finished plus-3. "It was great to see him go down there and have success in his first pro game," Cooper said of Drouin, who missed most of training camp with a fractured right thumb. "This is his preseason."

Who's hot: The Canucks new top line of Vrbata with the Sedins has scored in all three games so far, combining for six goals and 17 points, including both goals against the Oilers. … Stamkos was blanked in a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, but had a hat trick in the prior game against the Montreal Canadiens. Hedman scored a goal in each of his first three games and had seven points total being held off the score sheet by the Devils.

 

[JLM]

Canucks played a lot better than the score indicated, but they only played for 58 minutes!

 

[bill barilko]

A decent effort especially considering all the marginal players on the Canucks if they work that hard all season they'll do well.

 

[talloola]

Canucks played a lot better than the score indicated, but they only played for 58 minutes!

yes, they did play better than the score indicated. i am pleased with what i saw in this game. it was
a tough test. as expected it took the canucks almost a period to bring themselves up to the level of
play of tampa bay, but they did do that, and for the rest of the game it was quite even.

i am also pleased with willie desjardin as their coach, the structure of their game is very good, the
style of play he has them playing fits them perfectly, and i can see that he is a very thorough coach,
wants to give them the best chance possible to succeed, and i also see that he is a teacher of the
game, and he will bring out the best in each player, and they will want to do their best for him
and for themselves as well.

so, i see them off to a good start, and i am looking forward to this season. hopefully they can make the
playoffs, but this division and conference is very tough, but that is only hindsight, as we all know how
they all were last season, we don't know what this season will bring.

A decent effort especially considering all the marginal players on the Canucks if they work that hard all season they'll do well.

yes, i agree, and some of those players we don't know enough about yet, and they could show us that
they are more than middle of the road players, and of course bo horvat will be given a few games to
see how he fits in too, he is allowed 9 games before they have to either send him back to juniors,
or keep him.

 

[#juan]

I would say that the Canucks, generally, look pretty good. I've drawn an early conclusion that Miller is going to be the Canuck's goto goaltender. Eddie Lack was not helped much by his defense on one of the goals TB got by him. A few more games will help.

 

[talloola]

I would say that the Canucks, generally, look pretty good. I've drawn an early conclusion that Miller is going to be the Canuck's goto goaltender. Eddie Lack was not helped much by his defense on one of the goals TB got by him. A few more games will help.

it will help them a lot when they can bring the second line up to a higher level, they arent really
a one line team, but that second line needs to be a bit better. burrows is playing well, looks like
his old self again.

 

[#juan]

it will help them a lot when they can bring the second line up to a higher level, they arent really
a one line team, but that second line needs to be a bit better. burrows is playing well, looks like
his old self again.

On that subject, I was talking to a friend the other day and we seemed to agree that Vancouver could have three pretty good lines depending how Horvat turns out. Vancouver selected him eighth or ninth over all a couple years ago. In their last game against Tampa Bay I thought they just needed some confidence.......That will come with a bit more playing time. I thought Lack did not look too convincing. Does Vancouver have another goaltender in the system?

 

[JLM]

On that subject, I was talking to a friend the other day and we seemed to agree that Vancouver could have three pretty good lines depending how Horvat turns out. Vancouver selected him eighth or ninth over all a couple years ago. In their last game against Tampa Bay I thought they just needed some confidence.......That will come with a bit more playing time. I thought Lack did not look too convincing. Does Vancouver have another goaltender in the system?

I think it might be better to judge Eddie Lack on the five or six games he played at the end of last season than the single game he's played this season. I thought there were a couple of games where he played every bit as good as Luongo. Give him some time.

 

[talloola]

On that subject, I was talking to a friend the other day and we seemed to agree that Vancouver could have three pretty good lines depending how Horvat turns out. Vancouver selected him eighth or ninth over all a couple years ago. In their last game against Tampa Bay I thought they just needed some confidence.......That will come with a bit more playing time. I thought Lack did not look too convincing. Does Vancouver have another goaltender in the system?

they actually have 3 more good goalies, one has been rented out to another ahl team, and erikkson and
markstrom are the two goalies on canucks ahl team.

they are both good goalies, but i think lack is probably better than both of them at this point. we
must remember how good he has been in the past, and he waited and waited to get into a game, and it
was stamkos who burned him, and he would have done that to any goalie, he is so talented.
i hope lack gets to play more than just once in a while.
and it did take the team a while to catch up to the pace of tampa bay, so that didn't help lack.

i'm interested to see horvat too, and he will get his chance. and of course linden and benning are always
on the lookout for improvement, so one never knows when they could make a change, but for the timebeing,
looks like desjardin has given them a good start, no more defensive shot blocking hockey like last year,
it is an upbeat style, fast moving with good checking, and if they want to play they have to do well,
or someone will take their place, and they all know that, and don't want to sit out.
not sure how he will change things when horvat plays, someone will have to sit out. it would be good
if horvat can stay, but only if he contributes, otherwise he should go back to juniors for one more
year.

 

[talloola]

bo horvat has been sent to utika for a conditioning stint, he is allowed 3 games there i think, as he is
still junior age, and can't stay there longer, he either has to stay with the canucks or go back to
his junior team.

seems like he is ready to play now, so if this move goes well, we'll probably see him with the canucks
soon.

 

[talloola]

home against CanucksTuesday, 10.21.2014 / 12:22 PMSteve Hunt - NHL.com CorrespondentPrintE-mailShare with your FriendsTo:
From:
Message:Stars after first win at home against Canucks
Vancouver Canucks vs. Dallas StarsCANUCKS (3-1-0) at STARS (2-1-2)

TV: SNV, FS-SW

DALLAS -- When the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars play Tuesday at American Airlines Center, two streaks will be on the line.

Vancouver, which lost 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at Rogers Arena, looks to remain unbeaten on the road, where the Canucks are 2-0-0 this season.

The Stars, who lost 6-5 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday in Dallas, still are seeking their first home win of the season (0-0-2).

Facing Dallas is a homecoming for first-year Canucks coach Willie Desjardins, who spent the past four seasons in the Stars organization, two as an assistant to former coaches Marc Crawford and Glen Gulutzan (now part of his staff in Vancouver), and the past two seasons coaching the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League, the 2014 Calder Cup champions.

"Yeah, it's a special game for me. This is a good organization and I know a lot of guys in the organization, so it is a special place," Desjardins said. "So right from the start I knew when this game was going to be."

Desjardins made one small change to his lines from Saturday, moving center Linden Vey from the third to the fourth line and Shawn Matthias, who centered the fourth line against the Lightning, to the left side of the third line.

"I don't think we've had quite what we want out of that line but I think there's lots of different things," Desjardins said. "It's not necessarily the players. I think it's a mixture. I think it's the ice time, lots of different things. They've done a good job defensively and maybe we just haven't got as much offensively from them."

Goalie Ryan Miller was first off the ice for Vancouver and will start his fourth game of the season.

For a second straight game Stars coach Lindy Ruff will start a top line of left wing and captain Jamie Benn, center Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin moving from center to right wing. Against the Flyers that line combined for nine points, including four-point games for Seguin and Spezza. It's a line the Canucks clearly have immense respect for.

"If they put them together [Tuesday], that's a good line," Canucks center Henrik Sedin said. "[Cody] Eakin and [Ryan] Garbutt, that line has been real effective. It's going to be a real tough matchup."

Ruff wants to see his team clean up several areas that cost the Stars on Saturday. Dallas blew a 4-2 lead after two periods against the Flyers.

"I think some of our puck management wasn't good. Some of those decisions hurt us inside the game," Ruff said. "Again, I thought we took a couple penalties that I referenced as stupid. Those mental mistakes hurt us in the game. We had some tough breaks but I thought some of the stuff inside the last game we brought on ourselves."

Goalie Kari Lehtonen was first off the ice for Dallas and will start his fourth straight game.

 

[JLM]

home against CanucksTuesday, 10.21.2014 / 12:22 PMSteve Hunt - NHL.com CorrespondentPrintE-mailShare with your FriendsTo:
From:

Should be interesting. Sure hope the Canucks are all done with losing now for the rest of the year.

 

[#juan]

Should be interesting. Sure hope the Canucks are all done with losing now for the rest of the year.

That may be a little optimistic, but I think this will be one of the strongest teams fielded by the Canucks in quite a while.

 

[JLM]

That may be a little optimistic, but I think this will be one of the strongest teams fielded by the Canucks in quite a while.

Ya think?

 

[talloola]

That may be a little optimistic, but I think this will be one of the strongest teams fielded by the Canucks in quite a while.

i am happy with the changes they have made, they have done very well, and if bo horvat shows he can stay,
that will be great.

BUT, one must be very aware of the rest of the league, so one can be very realistic about what they are
facing, aside from the twins line, then there is a drop off compared to quite a few other teams. dallas
has a very strong offense, but they don't have a top group of defencemen, so hopefully canucks will have
some push against a couple of their defense lines, but dallas also has home ice advantage, last line
change, so they can determine most of the time what lines are playing against other lines.

no, i don't agree that the canucks have one of the strongest teams in quite awhile. the team that
was first overall a couple of times, and for 3 or 4 years had a very strong team, and they don't
have that depth right now, but hopefully over the next couple of years they can build the team up
again, but of course the twins will come to retirement age in the next few years, so when that happens,
then hopefully some of the very young players coming along will be strong enough to pick up where
they leave off.

i am going to watch to see if they can compete in our conference, so that they have a chance to make
the playoffs, not an easy task.

i am very aware of all the teams around this conference. right nowcolorado is struggling, BUT now they
have their number one goalie coming back, varlamov, he is awsome, so that should help them improve again.

the canucks are really struggling in the faceoff circle, that must improve. kesler even though i don't
miss kesler at all, good riddance, he has a great faceoff record, and he is continueing to do that
in anaheim. when the other team gets the puck 80 percent of the time on the faceoff, then they
are starting off with the puck, a really disadvantage for canucks.

i think linden vey and mathias are going to switch positions for this game, 3rd and 4th lines, as
desjardin is trying to improve offense, and faceoffs, so we'll see how that goes tonight.

 

[bill barilko]

First period is over and they're already down 3 goals.