GAME DAY: Canucks vs Bruins

A much more energized Canucks team laid it to the Oilers on Saturday night, as we saw signs of the team that rolled through the preseason in a 6-3 victory over the Oilers. The game was prefaced with something as Canucks fans we have never, ever heard before: "What will the Canucks do about secondary scoring?". As you saw in the game, the secondary scoring is fine. It's our first line that has been awfully quiet as of late. 2 goals from Janick Hansen and Mason Raymond as well as markers from Kyle Wellwood and Jason Krog (which didn't cause a flurry of discussion on CDC at all), and 4 for 6 on the power play led the Canucks to victory.

Another tough test tonight at GM Place as the Boston Bruins roll into town, fresh off a 1-0 ot win over the Oilers last night. Boston is off to a decent start, and have played well on the road so far this season. They haven't been to Vancouver in almost 3 years, and haven't won here since 2002, but you can bet they and former Vancouver Giants star Milan Lucic will be looking to change that. Lucic has been turning heads this season with his 1st career hat trick against Atlanta last week and a devastating hit against the Maple Leafs' Mike Van Ryn. Tim Thomas got the shutout last night, so you can expect to see a familiar foe in net for the Bruins: former Minnesota G Manny Fernandez is expected to get the start. Phil Kessel is also having a great year, with 6 goals so far. The Bruins have a pretty decent mix; size, speed, skill and toughness, and it's helped them keep pace in a very competitive NorthEast Division (hell even the Leafs are still in the hunt). For all the bitching and moaning from some on the CDC board, Mason Raymond has quietly put together a 5 game point streak and will look to keep that going tonight. The Canucks are hoping to have Sami Salo back in the lineup tonight, but recieved more bad news as Rick Rypien suffered a sports hernia tear working out in preparation to return from a viral infection. He will need abdominal surgery and is out indefinitely. A real shame, as Rypien has been a very pleasant surprise this season. Roberto Luongo, who played better in the win over the Oilers gets the start tonight. Ryan Kesler leads the Canucks in scoring, and is also proud owner of a 5 game point streak, and Daniel Sedin broke his 5 game slump with an assist in the last game.

The keys to a Vancouver victory in this game:
1- Train Kept A Rollin'- The PP is back in a big way after going 1 for their last 13. 66% will certainly help you win a game, and was the biggest factor Saturday night. The PK also re-emerged as they held the Oilers to 0-4 on the man advantage. The Canucks are 3-0 when not giving up a short handed goal, so discipline and continued strong work on the PK will be huge.
2- Who doesn't like Swedish twins?- While certain players are taking the brunt of the wrath from fans and press alike, the Sedins have been far too quiet this season. Nothing like a nationally televised game to bring out the best in the Dynamic Duo, so look for them and linemate Steve Bernier to have a strong game.
3- 666- The Canucks 2 home ice wins have seen them score 6 each time, so maybe we can expect another big outburst? Probably not, but after a hard fought game against the Oilers, the Canucks need to use their speed to take advantage of what should be a tired Bruins squad and get an early lead for the 7th man to latch onto and spoil Lucic's homecoming.

Up next for the Canucks is a short jaunt down the California coast to wrap up October with games against the Kings Thursday (PPV) and Friday against the improving Ducks. After that they kick off a tough November with a visit from the defending Stanley Cup Champs from Detroit on Sunday. Our next podcast will be online Thursday with Bruins post game reaction as well as a preview of the Thursday tilt in Los Angeles.

Canucks 4 Red Wings 3 OT

On opening night this year the Red Wings unveiled their Stanley Cup Banner, and then lost to the Leafs. After last night's ceremony honoring longtime Red Wing great Alex Delvecchio with a statue only to see them give up a 3rd period lead and lose in OT, you think maybe they might want to keep the ceremonies to themselves. A great road game for the Canucks last night led by the 3rd line of Kesler, Burrows and Hansen, each one scored along with Mason Raymond as the Canucks rattled off an impressive 4-3 OT win at the Joe Louis Arena last night. The Canucks did a great job of matching the Wings speed wise, and while it wasn't Luongo's best game, he made some key saves, especially in the 3rd period that enabled the team to get back in the game and tie it up. While they got a fairly consistent effort from the entire team, the Kesler line as well as strong play from Willie Mitchell, Sami Salo and Alex Edler showed that this team can compete, and sent a message after the Washington loss Monday night that they are a team that needs to be taken seriously. No rest for the wicked though as the Canucks are right back at it in Buffalo tonight. Curtis Sanford will be getting the start as The Canucks rest Roberto Luongo for Sunday's match against the Blackhawks. It will be a big night for Steve Bernier as he goes up against his former Sabres teammates for the first time. The Sabres are off to a great start, 3-0-0 with just 3 goals against in those games. Thomas Vanek is off to a great start, with 5 goals already in this young season, and G Ryan Miller is 2-0-0 with a 0.96 GAA. Curtis Sanford saw his first action of the season in the 3rd period of the Washington loss and stopped all 10 shots he faced, and was strong in the pre-season. With his 2 point performance last night Alex Burrows took over the team scoring lead with 5 points, as that checking line of the Canucks continues to do more than neutralize the opponent's top lines but score as well. Congrats to Jannik Hansen on his first career goal and to Roberto Luongo for career win #200! Game time is at 4:30 on Rogers Sportsnet and Team 1040, we will have postgame wrap up and the preview of Sunday's match against the Blackhawks on the next episode of WAACH on Saturday.

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.

Canucks 6 Flames 1

Stop me if you've heard this one, but remember, it's still the preseason so try not to read too much into it. That being said, you really have to like the approach the Canucks took to their contest against the Flames last night at GM Place. Pavol Demitra set up Alexander Edler 21 seconds in to really set the pace, and the line of Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen were on a mission, making it 2-0 less than 5 minutes in. Hansen would add a sexond goal, while his linemates finished the night with 3 assists each. Demitra had a goal and 2 helpers, while Lawrence Nicholat and Mason Raymond rounded out the tallies for the home squad, Robyn Regehr scored for the Flames. Roberto Luongo was both stellar and captain-like in goal, leading his team to victory with some amazing stops, giving up just his 2nd goal in the preseason. The line of Raymond, Demitra and Taylor Pyatt were a threat all night, tantalizing the fans with the thought of 3 lines capable of scoring, this team may just be better than a lot of the so-called experts are claiming. The Canucks D was rock solid last night, especially when you consider they played without Ohlund, Salo, Mitchell or Bieksa. Lawrence Nicholat was a +3 with a goal and an assist and almost 20 minutes of ice time, and while he struggled at times, Nolan Baumgartner led the Canucks in ice time at 24:24 and a +1. You have to think that with the way players like Mason Raymond and Jannik Hansen are stepping up, guys like Matt Pettinger, Cody Hodgson and Jeff Cowan may not be around much longer, either going to the Moose or placed on waivers. Calgary didnt dress a number of their opening night roster, but Jarome Iginla was a -2, and dman Adrian Aucoin was a -3. Miikka Kiprusoff certainly didn't look like the highest paid goalie in the NHL last night, as the Canucks had their way with him, and if not for some saves that showed the Kiprusoff of old, this one could have gone to double digits.

Canucks 3 Sharks 2

The Canucks youth movement continues to show promise, as they did something they were unable to do last year, getting a win in San Jose. Goals by Jason Krog, Jannik Hansen and a beauty PP marker from Pavol Demitra, as well as more strong goaltending from Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider helped the Canucks build a 3-0 lead after 2, then hang on for the 3-2 victory. I think the thing I enjoyed the most was a consistent work effort, for the most part for a 3rd consecutive game. There are a number of players challenging for roster spots and they are definitely making their presence felt. Mike Brown and Rick Rypien both did well in fights, Brown in the 1st against Ryan Clowe, and Rypien in the 2nd against a tougher and bigger Brad Staubitz. Despite suffering a bloodied face, Rypien surprised Staubitz more than once with his ability to change hands, and landed a number of blows against the San Jose prospect. Special teams got it done for Vancouver, as they scored two PP goals on the best PK in the NHL so far this pre-season, as well as a shorthanded marker by Krog, who tapped in a rebound after Sharks' goalie Brian Boucher stopped Jannik Hansen on a breakaway. Hansen has to be considered almost a lock to make the team with his strong play, he now has 3 points in 2 games. Kyle Wellwood had a decent game, showing a loss of focus at times, but still turning in a decent performance, picking up an assist on the Hansen goal. Mason Raymond looked very fast last night, and apart from a couple giveaways, Demitra looks like he is going to fit in well in the Canucks' offensive scheme this year. The Sharks made a contest of it halfway through the 3rd as Ryan Clowe broke the shutout on Schneider on the PP, and Patrick Marleau added one with 9 seconds left, but it wasn't enough to stop the Canucks from moving to 3-0. Joe Thornton was remarkably average for the Sharks, including taking a very selfish penalty in the 1st that was rather uncharacteristic for the reigning NHL assist leader.