How about them Canucks!

[talloola]

My first thought about the game today in Dallas was "It should be a cinch", now I'm not too sure- the past two games were won partly on adrenalin, by now they've probably lost that and two days probably isn't enough to mend sore joints and muscles, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one. Go Canucks go.

no game is ever a cinch, or should be thought of as an easy win, none of them are, right down
to the bottom team in the NHL
__________________________________________________________________________________
LIVE ON SNET-P(HD) Radio: 1040 Canucks Sun 26/02/2012 12:00 PM Canucks Stars


Date Vis/Home Final

19 Feb 2011 DAL@VAN VAN, 5 - 2
1 Feb 2011 VAN@DAL VAN, 4 - 1
24 Jan 2011 DAL@VAN VAN, 7 - 1
31 Dec 2010 VAN@DAL VAN, 4 - 1
CANUCKS (40-16-6) at STARS (32-26-4)

TV: SNET-Pacific (HD), FS-Southwest

Last 10: Vancouver 8-1-1; Dallas 5-3-2.

Season Series: These teams have yet to square off this season and, subsequently, will meet four times over the next five weeks, beginning with Sunday's game in Dallas. Vancouver swept the season series in 2010-11 -- outscoring the Stars 20-5 in the four contests -- and has claimed the last six meetings overall.

Big Story: Sunday's matinee at the American Airlines Center is a potential preview of a first-round playoff matchup. Both teams were victorious on Friday, propelling the Canucks to the top spot of the NHL standings with 86 points and sending Dallas into the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference with 68 points. Both clubs are playing very well, as Vancouver is 12-1-3 in its last 16, while the Stars are aiming for their first four-game winning streak in nearly four months.

Team Scope:

Canucks: The Canucks certainly needed a day off after exhausting back-to-back wins in the midst of their six-game road trip, on which they are currently 3-1-0. On Thursday, the Canucks ended Detroit's NHL-record 23-game home win streak with a 4-3 shootout victory, then edged the streaking Devils 2-1 on Friday, despite being outshot 31-16. Roberto Luongo was in goal for the monumental win against the Red Wings, while Cory Schneider stole the show in New Jersey. Schneider has won a career-high seven consecutive starts, including six on the road, as he stopped 10 shots in the final period to secure Vancouver's League-leading 22nd road victory.

"That's the reason you have two goalies and two goalies you can trust," said Schneider, who is 14-5-0 with a 2.19 goals-against average on the season. "For me, I know the rest of team is tired, but I'm fresh. I might have that extra jump in a game like this for our guys so it's a situation I take a lot of pride in and want to be the difference-maker."

Perhaps the excitement from ending a historic streak in Hockeytown erased any fatigue for the Canucks, as they still managed to take a 2-0 lead by the early stages of the second period on goals by Aaron Rome and Mason Raymond.

"We got in late last night [at 3 a.m. ET from Detroit] and played another great game," said Raymond, who tallied his seventh of the season and his first in 11 games. "It's great to see [Schneider] play well and get the win that moves us up at the top of the standings -- that's a place that feels pretty good."

Stars: Following two outstanding wins at Montreal and Chicago, the Stars returned to the Lone-Star State on Friday and began a three-game homestand with a 4-1 victory over Minnesota, becoming just the 10th NHL franchise to record 1,500 regular-season wins. Loui Eriksson notched his 20th goal of the season (which was the game-winner), Tom Wandell scored twice and Kari Lehtonen stopped 28 shots for the Stars, who are 4-1-1 in their last six outings.

"We've been talking about that for a month now, wanting to get some wins put together and now we're finally doing it," said Lehtonen, who has allowed just one goal in 60 shots in winning his last two starts. "It’s just an interesting time of the year, with every game so important and we're having fun, so hopefully, we can keep it going."

In the process of beating the Wild for the 16th straight time at home, the Stars also ended an 11-game losing streak in the second half of back-to-back games. Dallas had been 0-9-2 before Friday's win, becoming the last NHL team to record a victory in that situation.

Who's Hot: Henrik and Daniel Sedin were held off the scoresheet last game, but they each have eight points in their last five games. … Mike Ribeiro has two goals and six assists during a six-game point streak for Dallas.

Injury Report: TSN's Bob McKenzie reports that the Canucks have put defenseman Keith Ballard (concussion) on long-term injured reserve, which saves them $4.2 million against the salary cap and therefore frees up space to perhaps make a big acquisition at the trade deadline. Besides Ballard, forward Andrew Ebbett (collarbone surgery) remains sidelined. … Stars forward Jamie Benn hasn't played since Feb. 16 because of a lacerated left leg and is unlikely to play Sunday. Rookie defenseman Philip Larsen took a slap shot to the face early in the third period of Friday’s win and did not return. He suffered a cut on his head, but is probable to play against Vancouver. Forwards Jake Dowell (broken finger) and Brenden Morrow (neck/back) are on IR.

Stat Pack: The Canucks, who have tallied an NHL-best 67 first-period goals, are 34-6-1 when scoring first this season. … According to the Stars' official web site, they are 5-0-1 against Canadian teams this season.

Puck Drop: The Stars (19-0-1) and Canucks (26-0-0) both have not lost a game in regulation this season when leading after two periods.

 

[JLM]

no game is ever a cinch, or should be thought of as an easy win, none of them are, right down
to the bottom team in the NHL

For sure, I was thinking comparatively speaking to the last two games, but now I even doubt that.

 

[talloola]

For sure, I was thinking comparatively speaking to the last two games, but now I even doubt that.

yeah I know, and I'm always so logical that it must become tiring to others. lol

but I have to add, that what I notice many times is that posters do not consider the 'other' team,
and how they want to win too, and how they are playing 'now', as teams go up and down during the
year, and where they are in the standings could be for different reasons other than not being able
to win a game or not.

for instance, dallas has just come home from a very good road trip, are feeling good about themselves,
but they also have some key injuries, but did win without those players, so who knows what they
will do today, and how canucks with influence their game, or visa versa.

If canucks play their best game at any time, the other team will have to rise to the occasion,
and teams do get 'up' when meeting the canucks, they go into the game knowing how difficult it
is going to be, makes them play better, it's about pride and competetive juices, and all of the
players are like that, they don't want to lose any game.

 

[talloola]

well, they almost did it, the game didn't end quite soon enough, oh well, got one point, now on to

phoenix, who are playing very very well right now, another tough game, actually all the games from

here on in will be very tough, especially all of the teams who are battling hard to make the

playoffs, and there are a few of them in this conference, so it will be interesting to see them

battle whomever they play, just like playoffs for them, as that 7th and 8th spot are within

reach for more than two teams, but only two teams can have them.

 

[Mowich]

well, they almost did it, the game didn't end quite soon enough, oh well, got one point, now on to

phoenix, who are playing very very well right now, another tough game, actually all the games from

here on in will be very tough, especially all of the teams who are battling hard to make the

playoffs, and there are a few of them in this conference, so it will be interesting to see them

battle whomever they play, just like playoffs for them, as that 7th and 8th spot are within

reach for more than two teams, but only two teams can have them.

Probably the first time I was glad the OT was over quickly as I got to switch channels and watch the Gold Medal game of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts - had been following the tourney all week and really wanted to see it. Not really disappointed in the game at all. Thought the guys played well but the 'stars' were just not aligned for the win. Looking forward to their game with the Coyotes.

 

[talloola]

LIVE ON SNET-P(HD) Radio: 1040 Canucks Tue 28/02/2012 6:00 PM Coyotes Canucks

Preview Canucks-Coyotes PreviewAssociated Press


Date Vis/Home Final

13 Feb 2012 PHX@VAN VAN, 2 - 1
25 Nov 2011 VAN@PHX VAN, 5 - 0

While the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks were plenty busy prior to the trade deadline, the surging Phoenix Coyotes understandably didn't feel the need to make a change.

The Coyotes look to extend their point streak to 12 games and avenge their only defeat of the month Tuesday night against the visiting Canucks.

Phoenix (32-21-9) was fourth in the Pacific Division at the end of January, but has climbed its way into first by going 10-0-1 in February. The Coyotes, whose only loss this month came 2-1 in a shootout at Vancouver on Feb. 13, have outscored opponents 31-16 during their hot streak.

"We've had an awful good month here and managed to push ourselves to the top of the division," coach Dave Tippett said. "But I think we all recognize with 20 games left, this is going to be a very hard 20 games. We got ourself in the mix, now we gotta find a way to keep ourselves at the top of the mix."

While several teams bolstered their lineups with trades before Monday's deadline, Phoenix opted to stand pat after acquiring forward Antoine Vermette from Columbus last Wednesday.

"We've been playing terrific hockey in the month of February (and) I didn't want to touch the mix on our current roster," general manager Don Maloney said. "Everybody knows their roles and are playing well."

"It's all about price and acquisition price. There was nothing out there that made sense. We just said 'Why fool around with a good thing?'"

Meanwhile, the Canucks (40-16-7) made several last-minute deals. After sending Taylor Ellington and a couple of fourth-round draft picks to Columbus in exchange for forward Sami Pahlsson, the Canucks brought over promising rookie forward Zack Kassian and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani from Buffalo for Cody Hodgson and Alexander Sulzer.

Vancouver also acquired forward Andrew Gordon from Anaheim, sending Sebastian Erixon to the Ducks.

"For our needs immediately and moving forward, we felt that we needed better balance on our team and we needed size and we needed toughness," general manager Mike Gillis told the Canucks' official website.

"I think we got more balance in our line-up, more diversified. If you look at center ice, we've got a lot of strength with a lot of veteran players there ... It's about balance and it's about being able to play in any situation and I think we're better able to play in any situation today then we were."

Gillis hopes to have all his new additions available versus the Coyotes. The Canucks surely can't afford to be undermanned versus Phoenix, which defeated Edmonton 3-1 on the road Saturday for its fifth consecutive win.

Captain Shane Doan scored for the fourth time in three games. Fellow forward Ray Whitney also found the back of net, notching his 21st point over a 17-game span.

Mike Smith made 21 saves to extend his career-best winning streak to 10 games, during which he's recorded a 1.47 goals-against average. Smith, who was spelled by Jason LaBarbera versus the Canucks earlier this month, allowed all five goals in a 5-0 loss to Vancouver on Nov. 25.

The Canucks are hoping to conclude their six-game road trip on a positive note after losing 3-2 in overtime to Dallas on Sunday. Vancouver was on the verge of victory before allowing the game-tying goal to Mike Ribeiro with 53 seconds left in regulation.

Roberto Luongo made 25 saves but surrendered three goals for the third consecutive game.

Luongo is 11-5-1 with three shutouts and a 1.83 GAA over his last 17 meetings with Phoenix. He stopped 23 shots in the Feb. 13 win.
___________________________________________________________________________________

After the trade deadline it will be interesting now to see the new players on
the team, apparantly they both will playing tonight.
I would assume Phalsson will take hodgson's place centering the 3rd line, but
I don't have a clue where they play cassian, he is a very young fellow, a year
behind hodgson in the draft, just turned 21, and his journey to the NHL is just
starting, hasn't played many games on the big team, so I would imagine vineault
will see how he looks in different roles.

they obviously have made a point of getting bigger, with more physicality, and
if you want to hear gillis explain this trade, go into canucks.com and watch
the interview video which will thoroughly explain their thinking behind these
moves.

Cassian will not replace hodgson, they don't play the same position, as hodgson
is a center, with finesse skills, and casian is a big winger with good skills, but
very physical and will help that side of the game for the canucks.

I am very happy for hodgson, as he will step right into either a first or second
line centerman position, as buffalo needed that help, and he won't be playing
in the shadows of henrik and kesler, where he was stuck on the third line, which
is not really where he belongs.

The third line is usually a shut-down line, a balance between offense and very
good defense by the forwards, which is where phalsson will fit perfectly.
They also feel that this new style will take some pressure off of kesler, so
that he doesn't have to play quite so hard 'both' ways to shut down the
opposition, and maybe he can concentrate a bit more on his own offense.

This move is a complete team reorganization move, and nothing to do with replacing
hodgson with cassian as individuals, that isn't the strategy at all.

As Gillis says, this brings better balance overall to the team.

 

[talloola]

It also seems, (from listening to a story on team 1040), that somewhere along the way the 'cody' camp
did ask gillis if a trade would be possible down the road, could they move him because they knew
that because of henrik and ryan kesler being there, his center ice position would not be available on either
one of those lines, so they did realize that his ice time and individual progress would not be what
they had hoped for him, and he could flourish somewhere else.

that fits with the interview with gillis, as when he was asked if cody had asked for a trade, he
would not answer, saying that is personal information that he does not share with the press, but he
also didn't say 'no', which left everyone wondering.

so of course that left the question mark, and sekeres, on team 1040, who seems to have personal connections
with cody's family in toronto, did some digging and came up with the above story.

 

[JLM]

Nice to see the Bean Boys just lost another one! and the icing is they lost to a Canadian team! :smile:

 

[Mowich]

Welcome to the Canucks Zack Kassian, nice game kid. So, the Canucks get another point and the right to play 13 out of 18 games at home - not bad. 3 - 1 -2 on the road which makes this 'loss' a bit easier and still ahead of Detroit by a point.

Mike Smith is outrageous, bet more than a few coaches have their eyes on him. Thought Cory did a good job all in all but needs some help in the shoot-outs.

Van 1 - Phoenix 2

 

[talloola]

Welcome to the Canucks Zack Kassian, nice game kid. So, the Canucks get another point and the right to play 13 out of 18 games at home - not bad. 3 - 1 -2 on the road which makes this 'loss' a bit easier and still ahead of Detroit by a point.

Mike Smith is outrageous, bet more than a few coaches have their eyes on him. Thought Cory did a good job all in all but needs some help in the shoot-outs.

Van 1 - Phoenix 2

yep, good game, too bad they couldn't get the extra point. both of the new players looked very good, and
zack kassian is all they said he is, big, strong, confident, not intimidated by anyone, and know how to play
the game, as he made some very good passes in the game tonight, looked very comfortable for his first game,
and phalsson is just what I thought he would be, dependable, smart, responsible, and able to score if
he gets the chance.

back home now, st. louis on thursday and 'guess who' buffalo on saturday, and cody will be back, and
probably sulzer too.

st. louis and nashville will both be brutle to play against from here on in, and in playoffs, and along
with detroit, san jose, and dallas, the team who makes it out of the west will be banged and bruised
and will have come thru a battle royal, as these teams are all very good, and nashville and st. louis
are very big.

the job gets tougher and tougher all the way to the last game of the season.

 

[bill barilko]

Hansen played well-maybe he's relieved that he's going to be here for a while.

 

[talloola]

Hansen played well-maybe he's relieved that he's going to be here for a while.

yes, he played very well, he is a tough cookie, and must be hated by the other team, as he won't go away,and even though mason raymond gets criticized, I am glad he is still here too,
and tonight he controlled the play, skates miles, puts out nice passes, and drives the opposition crazy,
yes, he's not scoring enough, but I see the rest of his game, and I like it.

I thought booth was terrible till after he had been 'sat' on the bench and missed a few shifts, then
he smartened up, but first half of the game, he was just getting rid of the puck right into the opposition
stick, glad vineault noticed that.

 

[Mowich]

yes, he played very well, he is a tough cookie, and must be hated by the other team, as he won't go away,and even though mason raymond gets criticized, I am glad he is still here too,
and tonight he controlled the play, skates miles, puts out nice passes, and drives the opposition crazy,
yes, he's not scoring enough, but I see the rest of his game, and I like it.

I thought booth was terrible till after he had been 'sat' on the bench and missed a few shifts, then
he smartened up, but first half of the game, he was just getting rid of the puck right into the opposition
stick, glad vineault noticed that.

Alain doesn't miss much does he, talloola - he is such a good coach. Meant to mention that he had me laughing with him the other night when he had a fit of the giggles - the poor guy he completely lost it, loved every minute - it was a very 'human' minute and showed yet another side of Alain. I really like this guy.

The Sportsnet guys were all over Kassain too, they loved his first game with the team and gave him high praise for adapting so quickly to the team. How do we luck out like this, talloola? Gotta give Gillis and his scouts credit. I heard today that Zack has something of a fan base in Buffalo who weren't all that happy to see him go much the way many Canuck's fans felt about Cody.

 

[talloola]

Alain doesn't miss much does he, talloola - he is such a good coach. Meant to mention that he had me laughing with him the other night when he had a fit of the giggles - the poor guy he completely lost it, loved every minute - it was a very 'human' minute and showed yet another side of Alain. I really like this guy.

The Sportsnet guys were all over Kassain too, they loved his first game with the team and gave him high praise for adapting so quickly to the team. How do we luck out like this, talloola? Gotta give Gillis and his scouts credit. I heard today that Zack has something of a fan base in Buffalo who weren't all that happy to see him go much the way many Canuck's fans felt about Cody.

no he sure doesn't miss anything, and he had us laughing the other night too.
i'm afraid the team 1040 guys were outraged that he sat booth and
let raymond stay on the ice, they definitely are irritated in a big way about raymond, and don't know
why he gets ice time, let alone second line ice time. I can certainly see why he does, guess i'm not
quite as focused on the scoring, but aware of the other good things.
They say he skates miles but accomplishes nothing, I don't see that, I see that when he is controlling
the play, 'with the puck', he isn't allowing the other team to have it, then he will dish it out to one
of his own, and of course it always doesn't work perfectly, just like any player in the game, as the
game is so fast, no one controls the puck for long, but 'he' does it longer than many.
And, of course he did score two goals in the last two games, so all is not lost for raymond.

 

[JLM]

no he sure doesn't miss anything, and he had us laughing the other night too.
i'm afraid the team 1040 guys were outraged that he sat booth and
let raymond stay on the ice, they definitely are irritated in a big way about raymond, and don't know
why he gets ice time, let alone second line ice time. I can certainly see why he does, guess i'm not
quite as focused on the scoring, but aware of the other good things.
They say he skates miles but accomplishes nothing, I don't see that, I see that when he is controlling
the play, 'with the puck', he isn't allowing the other team to have it, then he will dish it out to one
of his own, and of course it always doesn't work perfectly, just like any player in the game, as the
game is so fast, no one controls the puck for long, but 'he' does it longer than many.
And, of course he did score two goals in the last two games, so all is not lost for raymond.

I'm with you on Raymond...........................too much emphasis on winning, today, Talloola and not enough on how the game is played, it's all about money and corporate interests, and goals are the only thing that promotes that end.

 

[talloola]

I'm with you on Raymond...........................too much emphasis on winning, today, Talloola and not enough on how the game is played, it's all about money and corporate interests, and goals are the only thing that promotes that end.

winning is everything in the NHL, and that includes how to play the game,or any other sport today, and always has been over the years, its all about
being the best, filling the arena, and that will never change, so along with that, yes, goals
are at the top of the conversation, and that is OK , and the teams must produce goals, and
keep winning, that is the name of the game, BUT in raymonds situation, he isn't paid at the top
of the pay scale, and yes he is expected to chip in with goals, at least 20 for the season, (that
is fair),and
he hasn't been doing that.
I still see the rest of his attributes when he isn't scoring, and they are many. For instance,
if the sedins don't ever score, they don't really do much else, skating isn't the best, and their
defensive play isn't the best, but in raymonds situation he has fantastic skating abilities and can
play the defensive game better than most, his weakness right now is 'only' that he isn't putting the
puck in the net as much as is expected, and I don't think he should be persecuted because of that
as I do believe that part of his game will be back.
It was no different back when there was only the original 6 in the NHL, winning
was everything.

 

[talloola]

I'm off to vancouver for a few days, just want to comment on game with st. louis.

Make a note of how 'big' st. louis is, and how deep they are on all lines, with the exception
of number 10, McDonald, who is a very good player, and just a little guy, the rest of the
team are large.

This team will give other teams lots of trouble come the playoffs, and with hitchcock coaching
them, they have improved in a big way, so there won't be any 'expecting' canucks to beat them,
they will have to work hard to do it, and the only thing canucks might have in their favour is
that st. louis is playing edmonton tonight, so they will have back to back games.
Enjoy the game

 

[JLM]

Two more wins should clinch playoff spot for Canucks! :smile:

 

[#juan]

Two more wins should clinch playoff spot for Canucks! :smile:

That was a very tight game. It was also a boring, defensive, yawn. Burrows played well and worked hard and
he was eventually rewarded with the winning goal. Higgins got the empty net goal.

 

[Mowich]

Two more wins should clinch playoff spot for Canucks! :smile:

Wasn't it Burrows who scored against the Blues last time? They must think he has some kind of magic. ;-)

So Lu has his 58th career shut-out, his 31rst with the team and 29 saves on the night - rock on Lu! He helped keep them in the game until they figured it was time to get serious. :smile:

Again, Zack impressed - great home-ice debut for the kid, he's got some smooth moves. When he grows up he will be dangerous. :smile:

Real defensive game and though as the hosts said it wasn't all that 'exciting' it was down and dirty and hard fought both ways. This is what talloola said it would be and the game unfolded that way. Lots of hits in the game but nothing filthy and some really good hard hits by our guys.

So the Canucks stay retain top spot with 90 points - 3 ahead of both St Louis and Detroit. Well done, Canucks.