Canucks 6 Rangers 3

Non-factor. That's what I said about Markus Naslund. The Canucks would focus on winning the game, and Markus Naslund would not make an impact on the game one way or another. And while he did have a strong 3rd period for the Blueshirts, Naslund was indeed a non-factor. To be fair, I don't think you could say any Ranger really played well last night, making you wonder if this team took the Canucks seriously at all. I love it when that happens, because those nights seem to see the Canucks score 6 goals. A strong start was what they needed and they certainly got it from Kyle Wellwood, who was sprung by Mattias Ohlund and made a beautiful deke to put it past Lundqvist. Alex Burrows showed he is a big game player, as he potted 2 in his first appearance at MSG. The star of the game in my eyes though was Mattias Ohlund. 3 assists and a +4, with all the trade winds swirling around him right now he went out and played his best game of the season, a classic Ohlund performance where he was strong defensively, a calming influence who seems to dictate the pace of the game. And he had a couple beautiful setups (especially the Wellwood goal). Roberto Luongo stopped 39 of 42, including 16 in the 3rd period, as the Canucks once again looked great on TSN. We really need to think about making them the official broadcaster, in spite of Pierre McGuire. Nice to see the fans really not given anything to work with last night, as the MSG crowd can be downright intimidating. Kudos to the coaching staff for getting everyone in the right mindset for the game. It's always a big deal when you take down one of the top teams in the league. Better yet, it's always good when you make people realize they were wrong, and YOU'RE one of the top teams in the league (and not just because you have the best goalie). Oh, and for the record, that was a goal. Not sure what is going on with the refs on this road trip, but we are certainly getting the short end of the stick on some calls that replays seem to show as being cut and dry. Finally, congrats to Ryan Johnson on getting his 1st as a Canuck. Now let's get Hordi set up, eh?

Canucks vs. Leafs Post Game

Boy they made it so close. The Canucks are lucky they have Luongo. Wellwood's goal was a fluke, and I think there was interfer... uh, sorry. I seem to have been temporarily possessed by a Leafs fan for a minute there. Fact is, all the score does is flatter the Leafs even more. They had no business winning that game, because they didnt mount any type of sustained pressure. Sure they outshot the Canucks, but they didn't dominate the play. If anything, they should thank their defense for doing such a good job of clogging up the slot so the Canucks couldnt get shots through on the point. Hey at least one of their scouts was paying attention...
Pavol Demitra had an impressive return, setting up 3 of the 4 goals, including the opener from Wellwood, who was in the lineup because of Demitra's rib injury in the first place. As far as the story of the game though it was the 5 on 3 powerplay that the Leafs had in the first. Roberto Luongo, playing without a stick stopped the Leafs 5 times, and not long after Wellwood got the Canucks on the board. The defensive duo of Shane O'Brien and Lawrence Nycholat were solid last night, and Nycholat's set up of Daniel Sedin for the 4th Canucks goal was downright impressive. Who knew he had that kind of set up ability? Favorite moment of that game however, besides the fans chanting "Leafs Suck" after various organ tunes, was the Willie Mitchell goal. Big Willie has been busting his ass this year, and is well on his way to a career high for points, but had been goal-less so far. So it was fitting that his goal was not only a beauty, as he charged up the middle to tap it home, but it was the game winner. Luongo may be the Captain, but as far as the skaters go, Mitchell leads by example with heart and desire every night on the ice. The Taylor Pyatt bashing continues, and Steve Bernier continues to be snakebit. Pyatt didn't play bad IMO, and as far as Bernier, you can feel it building up, and we will probably see a long streak coming from him. So with that Eastern roadtrip out of sight and another one approaching, the Canucks are now 7-2-1 in their last 10, neck and neck with the Wild for 1st in the Division. First up on the trip is the Islanders, followed by a game we've all had circled on the calendar: the Rangers and Markus Naslund. This game is not just huge because it's against our former Captain, but because this will send a message to the league and many of those sports writers who still think it's the Vancouver Luongos: This team is far better than you thought, and while it's not necessary to apologize, should they beat the Rangers, you can at least admit you were wrong. Yeah I get a little worked up about this stuff. I'm a fan, no apologies.
The new jerseys made their debut last night, and I think I speak for most when I say the Johnny Canuck shoulder patch should have been the main logo. I like 'em, but they would have been the best jersey in the league with JC on the front.

There could very well be a podcast for that game Monday, it all depends on how many puppies we still have around the house (the shameless attention hogs that they are, they're always trying to hog the mic).

Canucks 4 Kings 0

After an evening of frustration against Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins, you could almost feel Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks were going to come charging out of the gates Thursday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and that's exactly what happened. Slump busting nights from Daniel, Henrik and Taylor Pyatt and the best game of the year from Roberto Luongo led the Canucks to a 4-0 victory over the Kings, a team they struggled against last season.

The Kings ran into early penalty trouble, with Dustin Brown (who was shockingly given 3rd star honors... not much homerism there, eh?) drew a double-minor for high sticking, on a play that will go down in history as the time an NHL referee actually saw Ryan Kesler get high sticked. Matt Greene then took a hooking penalty during the sustained pressure, and while the Kings were able to kill off Brown's penalty, Daniel from Henrik and Kevin Bieksa opened the scoring. The Canucks made it 2-0 on a beauty from Mason Raymond while the teams were 4 on 4, faking out the defenceman and driving to the net and depositing a wicked wrist shot behind Jason LaBarbera. Another PP goal in the 2nd as Kyle Wellwood continues to put up points, getting his 3rd since being called up from Manitoba on a beautiful setup by the Sedins for an easy tap in. Taylor Pyatt got his 1st of the season, a fine reward for a very strong game as he deflected home a Willie Mitchell point shot to round out the scoring in the 3rd. Roberto Luongo stopped 28 for the shutout including a Dmitri Frolov penalty shot. Luongo is now 2 for 3 on penalty shots this season.

Pretty much a flawlessly executed road game, the Canucks capitalized on chances when they got them, and held the Kings to under 30 shots, 8 of them coming from Dustin Brown. Rookie Oscar Moller had a few good opportunities and was robbed by Luongo more than once. Mason Raymond now has 7 points in his last 7 games, and Willie Mitchell notched his 5th of the season already, on pace to shatter his career best 14 points in a season. The win was Luongo's 40th career shutout, making him the 28th goalie in NHL history to hit that mark. No time to rest though as the Canucks are heading across town to square off against the red hot Ducks tonight at the Honda Center. After a slow start the Ducks have rattled off 5 straight wins, and will be eager to get at the Canucks, who split the preseason series with them and won 3 of 4 last season. The game marks the regular season debut of Brendan Morrison against his old squad, and another ex-Canuck has joined Burke's ranks: Bret Hedican, who signed with Anaheim recently. Roberto Luongo should get the start tonight, while J.S. Giguere will likely get the nod for the Ducks. Gametime is at 7pm and it's on Rogers Sportsnet. Family commitments are keeping the podcasts out of commision for a couple days, but we will likely be back on Tuesday. More blog updates before then though...

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.

GAME DAY: Canucks vs Oilers

We knew this 12 day 6 game road swing at the start of the season was going to be a tough one. Many of us dared not admit the scenarios we saw in the back of our heads: a litany of injuries and less than half the games won. So here we are, sitting in the basement of the NW Division, desparately needing a win to keep pace tonight in the first real crucial game of the season. Despite the injuries, the Canucks find themselves in a pretty decent position tonight. They are back at home and have had 3 days rest, and are facing an Oilers squad that has lost their last 2 contests and have suddenly started looking human after a 4-0 start. The injury bug has hit the Oilers too, as they could be missing Shawn Horcoff, Fernando Pisani, Steve Staios and J.F. Jacques. The Canucks have added Kyle Wellwood and Jason Krog to replace Pavol Demitra and Rick Rypien (rib contusion and viral infection, respectively). Wellwood had a goal and an assist, and Krog will be on a PP unit with the Sedins as Taylor Pyatt has been demoted from the special teams unit. Darcy Hordichuk may be back tonight, and Sami Salo is listed as day to day with a groin injury. The Canucks were 4-1-3 against the Oilers last season, but no doubt the April 3rd win by the Oilers to knock them out of the playoffs is on the minds of a few of the Canucks. A number of things are going to have to happen for the Canucks to snap this 3 game losing streak tonight. Special teams must improve greatly, especially the PK, which has been horrible after a run of 14 straight kills to start the season. The power play must score (anyone remember 'The Shift' from last season? That was against the Oilers...) and score more than once. They must lock things down defensively right from the start, as the first periods have been killing the Canucks this season. Roberto Luongo must be the better goalie tonight. He has been below average on this trip, giving up uncharcteristic goals, and not making the big save when the Canucks really needed it. They also need to avoid the shootout, as we went 0-3 against the Oilers last season. And once again we need a huge game from the Sedins. The Canucks haven't lost when they both get a point, and are 150-49-20 when that happens.

It should be a good game, better than what we have seen over the last week from the team, as they attempt to get back on course early in the season. Oh and did you hear that Mats Sundin is working out in L.A. to prepare for a return to the NHL. Just sayin'.

In other news, the St. Louis Blues decided to one-up the Flyers by asking Sarah Palin to drop the puck at their game, well after her blatant race baiting and lies had been cranked up. So is it any wonder that not only did the Flyers finally win a game last night, and the Blues lost to the Kings, but also Blues G Manny Legace was injured in the pregame ceremony by tripping over the red carpet? Stunning to see that the NHL and some of it's teams are so desparate for fans and publicity that they would attatch the game and its' reputation to a figure so utterly repugnant recent polls show voters find Dan 'Potatoe' Quayle more qualified to be Vice President than Palin. How embarassing for hockey. The NHL seems to be getting their marketing heads out of their collective asses with their Super Saturday promotion. The main issue though, is that there isn't a game on NBC, to provide the maximum exposure. The idea is a good one though, but they could do so much more to push the whole 15 games in one night idea. Maybe there is hope for them after all, but probably not... And before you get on the idea that I think the Flyers Palin curse is over, they lost Danny Briere for up to a month last night. Heh.

Wellwood on Waivers

As one who um, sometimes shows up a little out of playing shape, I was hoping Kyle Wellwood could get it together. Sadly, No (apologies to the fine folks at Sadly, No). Can't say I blame the Canucks on this one, given the way guys like Rick Rypien, Ryan Johnson and even Darcy Hordichuk are playing, there's no room for a guy like Kyle. Maybe he can get his head clear in Manitoba and come back, because the guy does have skills, it just seems like they're more about NHL '09 than playing in the NHL.

Canucks 5 Ducks 4 (SO)

Kyle Wellwood (yes, you heard me correctly) had the shootout winner along with a beauty during regulation, and the Sedin/Bernier/Sedin line had 6 points to lead the Canucks to a 5-4 SO win at the Honda Center in Anaheim last night. Wellwood seems to be responding well to the pressure, as he set up the winner the night before in San Jose. He may not have been the dominant player on the ice for the Canucks, but it was still a night that will help him in his efforts to make this Canucks squad. Teemu Selanne notched 2 for the Ducks (not bad for a guy on a tryout...) and Ryan Getzlaf had 3 assists in a losing cause. The big story once again was special teams, the Canucks making the most of their few powerplay opportunities, going 2-4 with goals by Henrik Sedin and a rocket from Sami Salo, who had a 3 point night and apart from a couple giveaways had a solid game. The PK continued to shine, as the Ducks went 2-10, both from Selanne, though one of them was a 5 on 3. A huge issue was the number of hooking calls against the Canucks, seemingly a holdover from last season, and something that no doubt will need to be addressed. Anyone who believes the referees willingly even up calls should save the scoresheet from this game. A shocker in the final minute of OT saw Henrik Sedin drop the gloves with Corey Perry after Perry delivered a cheap suckerpunch as the 2 met along the boards. Both recieved roughing calls, and you can bet this will be addressed when these teams meet again in the pre-season at GM Place. Overall, another good road game, Curtis Sanford was strong, and I liked the way the team responded after the Ducks took a 3-2 lead in the latter half of the 3rd. 4 games, 4 1 goal victories. The naysayers will criticize the teams inability to blow teams out of the water, but I say they won hard fought victories over 3 of the best in the West. Last time I checked, 1 goal victories still get you two points in the standings, so if we get this kind of effort this season, it's gonna be a fun year. Next up for the Canucks is a match against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday at GM Place and the possibility of Todd Bertuzzi in the lineup, likely on a line with Jarome Iginla. They will host the Sharks in a rematch the following night, and close out the preseason with another tilt against the Ducks Sunday evening.

Canucks 4 Oilers 3 (SO)

There were some who said the signing of unrestricted free agent Jason Krog was a bold move by new Canucks GM Mike Gillis, last night showed it may have been a smart one as well. Krog got the shootout winner in a spirited contest at Rexall Place in Edmonton as the Canucks opened the preseason with a 4-3 win over the Oilers. Edmonton opened the score early with PP goal from Sheldon Souray, set up by the Oilers' big summer aquisition Eric Cole, but the Canucks answered back just over a minute later as the Brabarian Jeff Cowan tapped one home from Labrie and Kesler. Later in the period The Cole, Horcoff, Souray combo struck again, this time it was Cole lighting the lamo, but a Canucks power play say Daniel Sedin and Kyle Wellwood set up a pinching Mattias Ohlund to tie it 2-2. The Oilers' sensational sophmore Sam Gagner made dad Dave proud, despite playing for the opposition as he scored a beautiful SH goal on Cory Schneider, but late in the 3rd Dan Gendur, from Jason Jaffray and Krog tied it at 3. Nothing of note in OT so it went to the shootout, Gagner notching a beauty over the shoulder for Edmonton, while Wellwood and Krog with the winner sealed it for the Canucks. Souray, Krog and Schneider were the 3 stars last night, Schneider was especially impressive, making a number of highlight reel saves for the Canucks.

This year's first bus casualty...

Looks as though all that hard work showing up early by Kyle Wellwood might have been smoke and mirrors...

Coach Alain Vigneault called out the waiver pickup, questioning his desire and commitment level, before a game has even been played. It's always a tricky thing, when a coach publicly calls out a player to try and motivate them. Some respond, others retreat further. Wellwood showed in Junior he can score, but since making the NHL has yet to really bust out the way some feel he could. You have to think for guys like Cody Hodgson and Micheal Grabner, this is a good sign, as that is another spot up for grabs (no pun intended). Wellwood will have to really turn it up, or it's gonna be a long cold winter in Winnipeg.