Canucks 5 Flames 4 (OT)

"Typical. Refs help the Canucks, as usual."
Gotta love the trolls on CDC. Forget that the Flames gave up a 3-1 lead, and then a 4-3 lead. Forget that they had Robyn Regehr back in the lineup, after apparently missing him so much Thursday (he was a -2 and coughed up the puck on the game opening goal from Daniel Sedin). It was the refs helping the Canucks. They certainly don't mind being the Rodney Dangerfields of the league. The Canucks moved to 2-0 with a home and home sweep of the Flames in a wild one, that featured some great plays, hits, fights and goals, in a game that was marred by bad calls (and non-calls) on both sides by the refs that really took the flow out of the game at times. A bit of a costly loss as Kevin Bieksa left with a leg injury after he got can-openered by Wayne Primeau. Some interesting notes:
- Rick Rypien equalled his goal total from last season already... and did he ever clean Brandon Prust's clock
- Todd Bertuzzi was a huge factor in the game for the Canucks tonight, oh... right he plays for the Flames. -1 and a goal he totally didn't mean to score, along with cheap shots on Daniel and Ryan Johnson (sure Johnson helped it out, but it was still dirty) proving that no matter how talented he is, he still finds ways to hurt his own team.
- Roberto had a shaky start, not all his fault but battled back and made some good saves. Kiprusoff though, looked shaky again...
- Can't say enough about Willie Mitchell tonight, +3 and a great scrap with Jarome Iginla.
- No matter how many times you see them do it, it still makes your jaw drop when the Sedins score goals like that.
- Cheers to Darcy Hordichuk for a decent game, making the most of very little ice time, he made his presence felt.
- Pavol Demitra picked a great time to show up... and Burrows and Kesler continue to turn heads around the league
- Mason Raymond looks so damn dangerous... now if we can just get Pyatt out of his slumber.
- Overall, a huge character win for the team as they head out east for some big games, starting with Alexander The Great in Washington.

Oh, and did I mention Rypien?

Canucks 6 Flames 0

It was a night the Vancouver Canucks set aside to honor a fallen teammate. They then served notice on the Calgary Flames, the rest of the NHL and pundits across the continent: This Threat Is Real. While some have noted that the Canucks have added toughness and some offensive ability to the lineup this season, no one was willing to give them a chance, and some have the team finishing as low as 14th in the conference. I am not saying that the Canucks are going to unseat the Red Wings at the top, but this Vancouver team is very much alive, thank you. An emotionally charged team shook away the fog after the moving tribute to the late Luc Bourdon and scored a late one in the first, Henrik Sedin from his brother Daniel and Ryan Kesler as the Canucks took advantage of some sloppy defensive play by the Flames. The Flames had a number of power play opportunities in the first, and 8 scoring chances, but Roberto Luongo kept the gates closed to give them a chance. And that was exactly what they needed, as they stormed out in the second, with goals from Steve Bernier (his first as a Canuck) and Alex Burrows in the first 2 minutes. The Flames had absolutely no response for this new version of the Canucks, as they were outhit and outhustled for the entire 20 minutes. Their frustration showed as they found themselves shorthanded 3 times, and their 3 biggest players, Iginla, Phaneuf and Todd Bertuzzi were the culprits, taking undisciplined penalties. The Canucks were right back at it in the third, Burrows netting his second early on from new Canuck Ryan Johnson, who was impressive, blocking shots and working hard on the PK. Mattias Ohlund was a tower of strength on D last night, leading the way with 5 hits and was rewarded with a PP goal into an empty net after a rush from Taylor Pyatt left the big Swede unchallenged in front of the net. The game was chippy at times, even Jannik Hansen dropped the gloves with Damon Langkow after he took a poke at Roberto Luongo. This was probably the biggest message sent of the night: This team is not going to let anyone take liberties any longer. That was evident again as Dion Phaneuf rocked Daniel coming across the blueline (he clearly leaves his feet to make the hit, but hey, there was no injury and we won so I will let it slide), and had to answer to Steve Bernier, who was an assist short of the Gordie Howe hat trick for the night. The PP the Flames recieved didn't help, as the speedy Rick Rypien stole the puck and potted a beautiful shot top corner on Miikka Kiprusoff for the final tally of the night. After the slow start, the Canucks showed what had been developing during that great 6-0-1 preseason run: speed, toughness and tenacity, the likes of which we have rarely seen in this town. Oh, and lost in all this offense was a 25 save shutout by the new captain (sorry Don Cherry, some goalies are not shrinking violets). Another notice served against one of the better goalies in the league for sure. To be fair to Kipper, his D left him hung out to dry a number of times. Kinda sad to see how ready the CBC crew of Mark Le and former Canucks coach Marc Crawford were to remind everyone that Robyn Regehr was back in Calgary with his wife in labour. One player makes not a team, and as good as Regehr is, nothing could have stopped a team as focused as the Canucks were last night. A fitting tribute to Luc (who wore the #6 in Moncton for his Jr. team, as someone on the Canucks board pointed out), and a hell of a way to open the season. The team has a 6 game road swing coming up, starting with a rematch against the Flames Saturday. You know they will come out fighting after being thoroughly embarassed last night, so this will be the first real test. After that its 5 games out east, starting with Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals Monday. We will have the Canucks/Flames pregame podcast for you tomorrow, so check back.
The Canucks announced today that they have signed Alex Edler to a 4 year contract extension. A great move to lock up a kid who is becoming a bright light on our backline, and may be a star in this league if he continues to develop at the pace he has shown.

GAME DAY: Flames @ Canucks

In an era of lopsided divisional play, rivals are many in the NHL, but when it comes to the Vancouver Canucks, is there an opponent that brings out as much passion as the Calgary Flames? And it's fitting then that two of the hottest teams in the preseason clash tonight as the Canucks begin their final 3 pre-season contests, all at GM Place. The Canucks are currently 4-0, while the Flames are coming off a 4th straight win after opening the pre-season with a loss. The lineups haven't been released yet, but one thing is certain, new Canucks captain Roberto Luongo will not be in the lineup, as he suffered a minor groin tweak in a colision with Jannik Hansen in practice yesterday. Expect the Sedin/Sedin/Bernier line tonight, as they were dominant in San Jose, as well as Pavol Demitra, possibly on a line with Mason Raymond and either Taylor Pyatt or Kyle Wellwood. The big buzz on the Flames is some of the new faces in the lineup, and whether they can replace some of the players that departed, most notably Kristian Huselius, Alex Tanguay and Stephan Yelle. It's up to Todd Bertuzzi, Rene Bourque and Mike Cammalleri to step up. The Flames have gotten younger, with the additions to the lineup as well as returning youngsters like Eric Nystrom and Dustin Boyd. If Calgary has a weak link it's on defence. Sure they still have Robyn Regehr and Dion Phaneuf, but Adrian Aucoin is injury-prone and after that it's Mark Giordano, Cory Sarich and Jim Vandermere. Once again the Flames will rely heavily on Miikka Kiprusoff, who was sub-par last year after signing a huge contract extension. This year he is the highest paid goalie in the NHL and if he doesn't play like it the Flames are in serious trouble. Curtis Joseph is gone as back up, meaning Curtis McElhinney will get the support role, but if he fails to impress as he did last season, don't be surprised to see the Flames shopping for a goalie.

The key to tonight's game will be the line matching. Both teams will likely ice lineups close to what they will start the season with, so the pressure will be on players like Jarome Iginla and the Sedins to shine, as well as players on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines to take advantage of their TOI. It should be a typical Canucks/Flames match; spirited, a little nasty and a lot of fun to watch. One of these teams will leave with their 5th win of the preseason tonight, and the beauty is, TSN is carrying it, puck drop is at 7pm.

Sunday Worship

hat tip to sspyndel on CDC