Canucks vs. Washington- Second Period

A decent period, though I think the Canucks were allowing Washington to take some liberties (Mr. Ovechkin may want to keep his head up in the 3rd). Nice to see they are still getting shots to the net, and the hard work is still prevalent. The 4th line of Isbister, Ritchie and Burrows has been good, but all 4 lines have had chances tonight. This game is probably the most reminiscent of last year's team of any game I've seen them play this year. Olie Kolzig is really holding his team in the game so far, and is going to need to keep it up if they want any chance of pulling even. And I have to say that maybe getting cross-checked in the head was the best thing that ever happened to Ryan Kesler, as he has continued to be one of the hardest working and most dangerous Canucks tonight.

Canucks vs. Washington- First Period

Finally we see a full period's worth of work and the Canucks truly deserve the 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Pyatt's goal especially was all about hustle and hard work, and holy crap is Willie Mitchell playing mean tonight. You know guys are going to be weary of going into the corners with Big Willie when he has his game face on. Bobby Lou looks good, and apart from the Naslund penalty, a 100% improvement from the last game so far. More after the second period.

Mind your ankles...it's bandwagon time!

Ah yes, nothing like a loss to bring out the best on the CDC board. Despite playing well in the last half of the game (to be fair that's all I watched), the Canucks lost 3-1 to a much improved Carolina Hurricanes team. The reactions on the board?
- Is AV's job in jeopardy?
- do we need to be worried yet.?
- I want your opinion 12

Would you do it? Luongo for Kopitar?
(Perhaps I should explain this one... there is a school of "thought" amongst some CDC'ers that one of the reasons we are going to fail is that in the 2005 draft we chose Luc Bourdon, a Dman ranked 6th in North America by Central Scouting. Forget that there were 9 teams before us, and we were looking for a defenseman first. It all boils down to Kopitar's 12 points are needed NOW, damn a defenseman who may someday replace Mattias Ohlund!!! So let's get rid of the best goalie we have ever had, despite the fact he starts EVERY season like this, for a Slovenian, because that is truly the answer to the problem.)

- Fire Dave Nonis

- Anyone else think the Sedin Twins are overrated?

there are more, but why bother as a number of them simply rehash things already covered in these threads...
It's just amazing to me sometimes the number of so-called fans who are so willing to decalre the season over after a loss... I can't even justify such a thought if the team was 0-9 simply because there is so much hockey to play. Yes their games have been frustrating to watch so far, as there hasn't been a game where you can say they played a solid 60 minutes. But for crying out loud people... The GM is not going anywhere, you don't fire the coach for being 1 game under .500 at the start of the season, and you don't trade the best damn goalie in the league for a guy in his second season.

For those who care to look, there were some positives there, the Canucks answered the bell quite well in the toughness department, Ryan Kesler continued his strong play and Morrison got another goal. The Sedins have been quiet for a couple games now, but compared to some players around the league and the slumps they're in, it's hardly a reason to panic. We have Detroit tomorrow night. They're off to another fine start, and no doubt it probably has something to do with a bizarre combination of stem cell research, black magic and Viagra. But there is something about the Wings that brings out the best in this team, and maybe this is just what we need. But what do I know... after all there must be something wrong with me, because I haven't even looked at the panic button yet.

Sunday Blog Roundup

It's Sunday, and that means it's time for a look at some of the best posts from the ol' blogosphere...

- Rinslet waxes about her on again off again affection for Taylor Pyatt, and her dark, dirty secret

- Alanah at Kukla's Corner shows that even when the Canucks do something that looks a little embarrassing, if you wait long enough, someone will trump it

- At the CDC, Flinch gives us a great breakdown of the real problem with the Canucks

- the Kurtenblog gives us some deep thoughts on the loss to the Kings

- The Professor has an interesting read on the season-to-date with our beloved 'Nucks

- Yankee Canuck points out that maybe a road trip is exactly what the Canucks need right now

- Zanstorm at Waiting For Stanley has a shocking revelation about the Leafs

- Theory Of Ice on Les Canadiens and Chicken Wings...

- Red & Black Hockey shines the spotlight on the Hurricanes' recent injury woes (good to know as we prepare to play them for the 1st time since 1957...)

- Pens Blog breaks down the win over the Caps (and throws in some Recchi-hate for good measure... right now on Mark Recchi Way, a small child is crying

- Do The Thrashers Have Large Talons tries to understand the mess that is going on in Atlanta

- Blueshirt Bulletin on whether it's time to hit the panic button in NYC

-Abel To Yzerman's got a great post about something we can all relate to: a distaste for the Sharks

- Since we gave you the Pittsburgh side of the story, we may as well let you know what On Frozen Blog thought of the game from the Caps perspective

- Hockey Blog In Canada looks back at the first to 500, the legendary Rocket Richard

- Hockey Nation wonders if the next expansion wave will cross the pond (so that's why Balsilie is back in the game...)

- Mike Chen with another one we can all relate to: the asshole that sits behind us

Nucks Talk Radio is on the air at 1pm for pregame, and @ 5 for the post game wrap up, with yours truly, and a co-host to be named later...

Back from up island

Had to work in Parksville the last few days, thus the lack of updates. May not have a pre-game show ready for today (If it's a short work day then yes...), but there will be post game tomorrow as well as myself and Flinch hosting the weekend edition of Nucks Talk Radio. Maybe I will talk about falling down a hole in Parksville...

Sunday Blog Roundup

Travelling across the internets (which as we all know, is a series of tubes) to bring you some blogilicious goodness from the past week:
-Tom Benjamin has a couple interesting articles: one on the once again getting ugly Ted Saskin saga and the other a look at a previous article by James Mirtle on the number of teams that can make the playoffs from one division...

-Alanah at Canucks and Beyond insists she was sober when she made this post. Right.

- Over At The Canucks Genome Project, The Professor explains why the cry for an enforcer may be just a bunch of fooferah (don't ask...)

- Yankee Canuck liveblogged the Friday night Canucks and Oilers game

- Finny over at Girl With a Puck has detailed coverage of the Ducks home opener and banner raising ceremony...

- Caps Nut has a wrap up of last night's game with with Buffalo, included just for the sheer number of times they were referred to as the Buffaslugs

- Eyes On The Prize reminds Habs fans that while they're off to a good start, they shouldn't get ahead of themselves

- A Theory On Ice has an awesome post on watching hockey as it relates to the violent aspect of the game, it's long but a really fascinating read

-The Pensblog game coverage of the 6-4 win over the Leafs has made me a big fan of this blog

- Covered In Oil wants to know What Happened Friday night, apparently it had something to do with some "assclowns" (Great blog, but it's kinda weak to call someone an assclown when they own you like Gretz and the boys once owned us...)

- Jes Golbez is fairly subdued in his view that Nike getting out of the hockey business is a good thing

Canucks 4 Oilers 1

Wow... you know it's a special day when we get the prediction right. And if you don't believe me, here's the link to yesterday's pregame show . Oh yeah and our apologies for not posting it, I forgot to get it on here in the excitement of making my debut on Nucks Talk Radio yesterday. Myself, and co-host Flinch will be handling the Saturday show every week, and I gotta tell ya, it feels pretty good to be back on live. Anyways, enough about me. Another fine team effort last night, this time it was all about the leaders on this team sending a message. This team can play defense, but we can also put the puck in the net (outscoring the Oilers 9-3 this weekend). Top to bottom it was a great game, shame to see Cowan go down with an injury like that, but it does insure Rypien stays up longer. The line of Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison and Ryan Kesler were the real catalyst in this game. They got things rolling, and put pressure on the Oilers from the start, and really looked dangerous the entire game. As far as the Sedins, I am so glad this game was on HNIC, because the entire country got to see what was probably one of the greatest single shifts I have ever witnessed. And thanks to youtube, so can you (hat tip to gt261)


Roberto Luongo was solid, and although it sucked he didn't get the shutout, I don't think anyone can truly be unhappy with the win. Postgame show and Canucks and Sharks pregame show later today, as well as the Sunday Blog Roundup.

Canucks 5 Oilers 2

A much better effort last night as the addition of Rick Rypien to the lineup from the Manitoba Moose spurred the Canucks to a 5-2 victory over the Oilers in Edmonton. Rypien had a goal and assisted on Alex Burrows' game winner, a beautiful shorthanded breakaway goal. They also got goals from Henrik Sedin, Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund. Roberto Luongo was strong, making 28 saves, allowing goals by Sheldon Souray and Raffi Torres. Complete post game wrap up and pregame show will be posted soon, and I make my official debut on Nucks Talk Radio this afternoon with co-host Flinch. More details on that asap.

Boulerice gets 25 games

From tsn.ca

National Hockey League disciplinarian Colin Campbell has handed Flyers forward Jesse Boulerice a 25-game suspension for cross-checking Vancouver Canucks centre Ryan Kesler in the head Wednesday night.

It's the longest suspension handed out in NHL history for an on-ice incident. New York Islanders forward Chris Simon also got 25 games for his two-handed slash to the face of Ryan Hollweg of the New York Rangers last season.

''This was more than a careless and reckless play - it was senseless,'' Campbell said in a release. ''This was a deliberate cross-check to the face where Jesse Boulerice broke the shaft of his stick on Ryan Kesler's jaw. Boulerice went out of his way to deliver the cross-check and we will not tolerate this kind of conduct.''

The punishment comes exactly two weeks after the league handed Flyers forward Steve Downie a 20-game suspension for his hit on Ottawa Senators forward Dean McAmmond in the pre-season.

The incident happened in the third period of Philadelphia's 8-2 win at GM Place.

With the Flyers up 7-2 at the time, Boulerice cross-checked Kesler in the face after the Canuck tried to hit Flyers defenceman Randy Jones behind the net.

Kesler lay on the ice for a few minutes before being helped to the Vancouver bench. He didn't return to the game. Boulerice received a match penalty and game misconduct.

"I reacted in a bad way - the wrong way," Boulerice said following the game. "I wanted to give him a hit back."

Kesler practised Thursday and expects to play tonight when the Canucks face the Oilers.

"We're by no means condoning what happened," Flyers coach John Stevens said after the team announced the suspension. "He's going to have to stand up and pay the price."

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren echoed the same sentiment.

''I think we're in agreement that there's no place in the game for this anymore. I do think it was an isolated incident. Jesse lost his composure, lost his cool. It's something that's not the right thing to do, at any time,'' Holmgren said.

''I expected the worst,'' said Holmgren. ''Is 25 the worst? It's pretty close to what I expected.''

Boulerice, 29, signed with the Flyers after completing a tryout in the exhibition season.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Boulerice will forfeit $63,502.75. He will be eligible to return on December 13 at Montreal.

This is not the first time Boulerice has been suspended for a stick foul. When he played junior hockey, he was suspended for one year by the Ontario Hockey League for hitting Andrew Long in the face with a baseball-style swing of his stick. Boulerice also faced assault charges in that case.

LONGEST NHL SUSPENSIONS FOR ON-ICE VIOLENCE

25 games - Jesse Boulerice, Philadelphia, Oct. 12, 2007, for cross-checking Vancouver centre Ryan Kesler across the face in a game on Oct. 10.

25 games - Chris Simon, New York Islanders, March 11, 2007, for the rest of the regular season (15 games) and playoffs for his two-handed stick attack to the face of New York Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg. Since Islanders played only five playoff games, suspension extended to first five games of 2007-08.

23 games - Marty McSorley, Boston, Feb. 2000, for knocking out Vancouver's Donald Brashear with a stick-swinging hit. On Nov. 7, 2000, the suspension was extended by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to Feb. 20, 2001.

23 games - Gordie Dwyer, Tampa Bay, Sept. 19, 2000, for abusing officials and coming out of the penalty box to fight in an exhibition game against Washington.

21 games - Dale Hunter, Washington, May 1993, for a blindside check of Pierre Turgeon of the N.Y. Islanders after a goal in a playoff game.

20 games - Steve Downie, Philadelphia, Sept. 28, 2007, for leaving his feet to deliver a deliberate hit to the head Ottawa forward Dean McAmmond in a pre-season game Sept. 25.

20 games - Todd Bertuzzi, Vancouver, March 11, 2004, for his sucker-punch of Colorado forward Steve Moore on March 8. Bertuzzi's suspension was for 13 regular season games, plus playoffs. Bertuzzi was reinstated 17 months later, after the year-long lockout.

20 games - Tom Lysiak, Chicago, Oct. 1983, for intentionally tripping a linesman.

20 games - Brad May, Phoenix, Nov. 15, 2000, for hitting Columbus' Steve Heinze on the nose with his stick in a game on Nov. 11.

Files from THE CANADIAN PRESS were used in this report.

Episode 49

Listen to Episode 49 here.

Shannon down, Rypien up

The Canucks sent Ryan Shannon down to the Manitoba Moose yesterday. Shannon had 2 goals in 3 games, but was a team worst -7. Rypien had played well during the pre-season before suffering another injury. It's hoped Rypien's speed and aggressive style will spark the Canucks back to life. Rypien will probably not get a warm reception in Edmonton after the huge hit he laid on Oilers D Matthew Roy. Pregame show will be posted later.

Flyers 8 Canucks 2

I had already been going through what I was going to write about/say in the podcast concerning last night's game when Jesse Boulerice did one of the most rediculous things I've ever seen in a hockey game. WHO THE HELL DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS WITH A 7-2 LEAD????
Not that I would condone it in anyway, but you could sort of understand if a Canucks player had lost their cool, and been the one who did this. But it was vicious, with serious intent to injure and he hunted him down to do it. And I don't want to hear ANYTHING about what a class act Paul Holmgren was for going to the Canucks dressing room afterwards. His team had Ben Eager on the ice in the last minute of the game, and he made no attempt to avoid contact with Curtis Sanford.
The Flyers have always been, and will always be a classless organization. I expect a suspension on par with the one handed down to Chris Simon after his attack on Ryan Hollweg. It was gutless, and guys like this don't belong in the NHL.


I will have more on this later, and Episode 49 will be up either tonight or tomorrow. I made my first appearance on Canucks Talk Radio yesterday and it went pretty good. It's a really cool concept, kind of an expansion on the whole team blogging phenomenon. Will talk a little bit more about that soon.

Episode 48

An OT thriller, concerns about a potential injury to Roberto Luongo and Markus Naslund sending a message... don't you just love it when we play the Flames. Post game wrap up, the pregame show for the Canucks and Flyers , the latest news on Roberto Luongo and other news from around the league on this edition of WAACH

Canucks vs Flyers tonight, New Episode otw

We will be posting Episode 48 of WAACH shortly, gonna be a great game. You'll have to pardon my voice in this one, woke up sick as a dog again, and just got back from the Doc (xrays and such) ... Leafs lost a close one last night, Carolina taking that game 7-1. Are you freaking kidding me? And people have the audacity to call Toskala the next Luongo? He isn't fit to cover Roberto on a bathroom break...

Random stuff

The Oilers appear to have come back down to earth after a loss to the Red Wings last night. Let's face it, if Chris Chelios scores, you really don't deserve 2 points. Ottawa kept rolling meanwhile with a 4-2 win over New Jersey. Alfredsson, Heatley and Spezza are just amazing right now. And how about Martin Gerber? It's early, but this could be one of the best turnarounds of the season. Washington gets outshot 31-12 and still comes out of a sold out Nassau Coliseum with a 2-1 win. 3-0, are they for real? Time will tell, but Kolzig looks good so far, and they are getting balanced scoring.

Jason Blake battling Leukemia

From TSN this morning, some terrible news about newly signed Jason Blake:

"TSN.ca Staff

10/8/2007 12:19:39 PM

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Monday that forward Jason Blake is battling a rare form of leukemia.

"This morning I shared with my teammates news that I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia," Blake said on the team's website.

"It is highly-treatable, and I have begun taking a pill on a daily basis that has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer. The prognosis, and certainly the expectations of my physician, myself and my family, is that I will live a long, full and normal life. This situation will not impact my ability to live my life as I otherwise would, and will not affect my ability to perform at my highest level for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I'm looking forward to my first season with the Leafs and helping our club compete for the Stanley Cup."

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is an uncommon type of cancer of the blood cells.

Related Info

• July 1: Leafs sign Blake to five-year deal

It's considered chronic leukemia because it usually progresses more slowly than acute leukemia, sometimes over the course of years.

CML is not a solid tumor that can be surgically removed, but the prognosis for people with chronic myelogenous leukemia may be improving because of new medications to treat the condition.

Although a bone marrow transplant may still be an option, many people with chronic myelogenous leukemia are able to manage their condition long term with the use of chemotherapy-like pills.

The team added after Monday's practice that they will be mindful of his condition.

"Jason will be able to continue to play fully with the team and will be monitored closely by both the team's physician and his CML specialist," team doctor Noah Forman said.

It's the second time that Blake's family has been affected by cancer.

In March of 2001, Blake's wife, Sara - eight months pregnant with their first child - was told by doctors that she had thyroid cancer. Blake left the team to be with her, and Lauren Blake was born March 20 after Sara underwent an emergency Caesarean section.

Sara had a portion of her thyroid removed without complications shortly afterwards, and the lump that was removed was determined not to be cancerous.

Toronto signed Jason Blake to a $20 million, five-year contract on July 1.

The four-time 20-goal scorer finished with career highs in goals and points (69) while playing all 82 games with the New York Islanders last season."

Terrible news, but hopefully they are correct in the diagnosis that it is treatable and he makes a full recovery. We wish him all the best for a speedy and full recovery. Sure we kid Leafs fans, but at times like this we are hockey fans. Hang in there, guys.

Sunday Worship

hat tip to sspyndel on CDC

Sunday Blog Roundup

A little delay in posting the post-game show, as I deal with this damn cold coming back again... so a new feature here on WAACH, the Sunday Blog Roundup will highlight some great articles that you may have missed during the week...
* Alanah at Kukla's Corner has some Jeremy Roenick love, plus a look at last night's game
* The boys at Orland Kurtenblog have provided a handy Do's and Dont's list for watching Canucks games this season...
* Over at Stick In Rink, Isabella introduces the Canucks Regular Season Fan Care Package
* The Chief Canuck has a breakdown of last night's game
* The Yankee Canuck gets us through the Sharks game, um...well lubricated
* Waiting For Stanley weighs in on the Burke vs. Lowe saga
* James Mirtle highlights some of the rookies to keep an eye on
* In honor of Thanksgiving up here in Canada, we bring you the Battle Of Alberta's Thanksgiving Ditty
* Covered In Oil has some issues with Kevin Lowe's new 4 year contract...

Canucks 4 Flames 3 OT

Couldn't have picked a better time to come in late to a game than this one. We got back from Nanaimo with about 10 minutes remaining, and while I still think it was a pick play on the 3rd Calgary goal, nice to see the boys bounce back and get the winner just before the shootout. Phaneuf looks good in the box for the winner, too. I guess if there's one thing that's disappointing as a Canucks fan, it's that Iron Mike is the guest on After Hours. So that means they will have to put off the profanity-laced tirade until tomorrow morning.

And for those of you interested, since in our rush to head out on the highway this afternoon we forgot to post it here, it's episode 47.

Will have a post-game show tomorrow, but I will need to watch the replay tonight so I can see the first 3/4 of the game...

And oh yeah, it is sooooooooooo not surprising I find I am unable to sign in on CDC right now lol.
Let's hope this doesn't happen every time we beat the Flames, eh?

Second Intermission

A much better effort, with a lot of chances, but it looks like Nabokov is on top of his game tonight. That powerplay looked really good, but it really emphasized how much we need to stay out of the penalty box, as we really haven't had much of a look at the Sedins, Nazzy and co. Ryan Shannon had a great period, and Mitchell made amends for his gaffe in the first with some strong play, especially on the 5 on 3. It's gonna be hard, but they can still do it. An early goal to change the momentum is crucial.

First Intermission

Well gee whiz, what the h-e double hockey sticks was that? Not the start they wanted at all. I want to not blame Luongo, as two of those weren't really his fault, but the Thornton goal... meh. Either way, not the game anyone was expecting from him. As far as positives go, Ryan Kesler looked really good, as did the Sedins, Naslund and Ryan Shannon (though he will probably having nightmares about that open net tonight). As far as defense, Aaron Miller has looked good, as has Bieksa and Krajicek. Lots of hockey to play still, and Roenick isn't going to get any more bounces like those tonight. Watch for a strong comeback in the 2nd.

Episode 46

Pregame for the Canucks and Sharks and our Eastern Conference preview right here .

Why you should never run around high fiving...

until you know for sure... just ask Nathan McIver.
The Canucks have made their cuts... and then a move with another cut. On Monday the Canucks announced their final cuts to get the roster to 24. They released Dan McGillis, and sent the following 7 players to Manitoba:
Luc Bourdon, Mike Brown, Patrick Coulombe, Jannik Hnasen, Micheal Grabner, Jason Jaffray and Rick Rypien. That means that Ryan Shannon, Mason Raymond and Nathan McIver can step forward to the Opening Night lineup. Not so fast Nathan. He was sent to the Moose today as the Canucks claimed D Mike Weaver off waivers from the LA Kings.

Brendan Morrison expects to play Friday night, as does Alexander Edler. Roberto Luongo revealed his new mask today, but when you click the link at canucks.com to see pictures of the new design, you get a message saying "Oops! A system error has occurred.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Please click here to continue.

If problem persists, please try again later." along with the NHL logo. Maybe the Rangers are on to something...

And finally... from TSN's NHL Season Preview, James Duthie interviewing Roberto Luongo (thanks to Dr. Death of CDC for posting it on youtube), and congratulations to Roberto and his wife Gina who are expecting their first child... no word on the rumor the baby will be named Jesus.