It was an improbable notion at best, the thought of the Canucks going undefeated in the pre-season. And yet in the 3rd period of Sunday night's game, there they were, down a goal when Mason Raymond scored his second highlight reel goal from Pavol Demitra, the Canucks' 3rd of the night, and suddenly it was tied. A late penalty from the recently claimed off waivers Nathan McIver seemed to set up the fairytale ending. A 4th powerplay goal and a 7-0 record in pre-season play. That's the funny thing about irony. Sometimes you see it coming and are totally powerless to stop it. As soon as John Shorthouse mentioned McIver was coming out of the box, you know he saw it coming, and my stomach dropped. Come on!?!?!?!?! Nathan F'n McIver???? Roberto Luongo was not at his best, as 3 of the 4 goals he surrendered were stoppable. Still, as so many of you non-belivers have harped "it's only pre-season". I think actually the loss is good. It helps bring them back to reality a bit, and makes them determined to get into the win column right out of the gate. Calgary will be quite prepared to avenge a 6-1 arse-kicking handed to them last week, so definitely helping them realize there are things that need to be worked on is a good thing. It was very odd seeing Brendan Morrison in a Ducks uniform. Good on him (and McIver for that matter) for having decent nights in their return to GM Place. Hopefully their next visit isn't as pleasant. As stereotypical as it is to complain about officiating after a loss, it's my blog, so... Basically, the refs really didn't have a feel for the game, and the 5 minute boarding call on Mattias Ohlund for catching Corey Perry with his head down was a bad call. Factor in Perry and Getzlaf (I believe it was, I may be wrong) hitting Canucks from behind later in the game and not getting called for it merely emphasized how bad the Ohlund call was. The puck was in his skates, Ohlund didn't charge, didn't leave his feet, use his elbow or make contact to the head. Perry was down for a while (maybe he had the wind knocked out of him, maybe it was for show), either way there he was setting up Morrison for the opening goal of the game. We have shown we can hold our own with the Ducks, skillwise and in the toughness department. Burke's band of goons had best take the lesson Perry learned and keep their heads up this season. This is not the old Canucks team that got pushed around.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Worst. Ending. Ever.
It was an improbable notion at best, the thought of the Canucks going undefeated in the pre-season. And yet in the 3rd period of Sunday night's game, there they were, down a goal when Mason Raymond scored his second highlight reel goal from Pavol Demitra, the Canucks' 3rd of the night, and suddenly it was tied. A late penalty from the recently claimed off waivers Nathan McIver seemed to set up the fairytale ending. A 4th powerplay goal and a 7-0 record in pre-season play. That's the funny thing about irony. Sometimes you see it coming and are totally powerless to stop it. As soon as John Shorthouse mentioned McIver was coming out of the box, you know he saw it coming, and my stomach dropped. Come on!?!?!?!?! Nathan F'n McIver???? Roberto Luongo was not at his best, as 3 of the 4 goals he surrendered were stoppable. Still, as so many of you non-belivers have harped "it's only pre-season". I think actually the loss is good. It helps bring them back to reality a bit, and makes them determined to get into the win column right out of the gate. Calgary will be quite prepared to avenge a 6-1 arse-kicking handed to them last week, so definitely helping them realize there are things that need to be worked on is a good thing. It was very odd seeing Brendan Morrison in a Ducks uniform. Good on him (and McIver for that matter) for having decent nights in their return to GM Place. Hopefully their next visit isn't as pleasant. As stereotypical as it is to complain about officiating after a loss, it's my blog, so... Basically, the refs really didn't have a feel for the game, and the 5 minute boarding call on Mattias Ohlund for catching Corey Perry with his head down was a bad call. Factor in Perry and Getzlaf (I believe it was, I may be wrong) hitting Canucks from behind later in the game and not getting called for it merely emphasized how bad the Ohlund call was. The puck was in his skates, Ohlund didn't charge, didn't leave his feet, use his elbow or make contact to the head. Perry was down for a while (maybe he had the wind knocked out of him, maybe it was for show), either way there he was setting up Morrison for the opening goal of the game. We have shown we can hold our own with the Ducks, skillwise and in the toughness department. Burke's band of goons had best take the lesson Perry learned and keep their heads up this season. This is not the old Canucks team that got pushed around.
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