GAME DAY: Canucks vs Red Wings

As the Vancouver Canucks await word on the severity of Roberto Luongo's injured groin,
they have another pressing concern, that being the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings looked their usual selves in dismantling
the Calgary Flames Saturday night, and no doubt will want to test Curtis Sanford early and often. The Canucks are looking to win
their 4th straight tonight, and are playing a very confident brand of hockey right now despite the injury to their captain. Both teams
are among the hottest in the NHL right now, the Canucks sitting just 3 points behind the Wings for the 2nd seed in the West, and both are 7-1-2
in their last 10 games. The Red Wings have been the best road team in the NHL so far this season with a 10-1-1 mark, but Vancouver's 6-2-1
home record is no small potatoes. This is a short homestand for the Canucks as they play Calgary Thursday in the 1st half of a home and home
that sees the Canucks start a 7 game road trip Saturday in Cowtown. While the Canucks will be playing their backup tonight, the way this team
rallied around him both in Minnesota and Pittsburgh after Luongo went down has been nothing short of inspiring. You will see evidence of that tonight
when they hit the ice, and I bet you actually hear from this fabled 7th man they keep talking about. The games against the Wings are always highly entertaining
no matter how well the Canucks are doing, but you can't help but feel this team is on a mission to prove everyone was wrong about them.

Along with Luongo, the Canucks will be without Sami Salo, Kevin Bieksa and Rick Rypien. The Wings could be without Tomas Holmstrom, who has missed 2 straight with back
spasms, and Dan Cleary has missed 6 with an eye infection (ew!). They are still without Chris Chelios, on the IR with a fractured tibia.

The Canucks have at least a point in their last 9 games, an impressive run after that first disastrous road trip. The team has been getting some outstanding efforts
from a number of players, especially the line of Daniel and Henrik Sedin with Pavol Demitra, who have been on a tear since Demitra's return from a rib injury, and the
league took notice, naming Henrik 2nd star of the week for his 7 assists on that 4 game Eastern road trip. Despite wins against some very good teams, the Canucks will have
their hands full with the Wings, who have lost just twice in regulation. The Red Wings were the last team to beat the Canucks in regulation, a 3-2 win in GM Place that despite
the loss seemed to signal a bit of a turn around for the club. This is the Wings last visit for the season, so it should be a dandy.

Questions about Curtis Sanford's ability to step in and win big games seem to have been answered, as he has allowed just 3 goals on 48 shots in 2 consecutive victories. The Canucks
have Corey Schneider on the bench tonight, and depending on the severity of the injury to Luongo, you have to think he will get some playing time on this call up, especially on the road trip.
Some milestones could be reached tonight, as Daniel and Henrik are both sitting at 399 career points, and Steve Bernier is 1 short of 100.

Keys to the game:
1- Quick start: The fans will be looking for something to calm their fears, especially if the news about Luongo is bad today, so getting a couple behind Chris Osgood, who is a certified Canuck
Killer will be huge. Look for th Wings to concentrate heavily on the PHD line (23 points last week) perhaps freeing up the HBK line to do some damage.
2- Treat it like a road game: This seems to make a lot of sense, actually. The Canucks played some smart, fundamentally sound hockey on the road last week. They were great defensively, did a
decent job of staying out of the box, and towards the end even had a better effort on the PK. You cant give Detroit opportunities with the man advantage, so we need to make sure that the emotions are kept
in check and we stay at 5 on 5, where statistically we are better than them this season. We may not get many chances on the PP, but we need to make the most of them, as the Wings PK is pretty even with ours.
3- Focus: Just like the game against the Rangers, there are subplots that can be distracting. The Canucks did an incredible job of treating it like any other game and keeping focused on the real issue: 2 points
in the standings. They have a chance to move 7 up on the Flames and Wild, best to make the most of it.

Though it will be great when Salo and Bieksa return to the lineup, the Canucks D, led by Willie Mitchell and Mattias Ohlund have been stellar as of late, but it's been the grunts like Shane O'Brien, Alex edler
and Lawrence Nycholat who are getting it done. The shot blocking this team has been throwing up lately is so nice to see, and a sign this team is doing everything they can to help out their goaltender, regardless
of what number is on his jersey. Gametime is at 7pm and you can catch it on Sportsnet pacific and the Team 1040.

A little side note, we have added the Canucks.com news widget to the site, so you can see breaking news when it happens. We will be making one for our site soon too.

Willie Mitchell: Darkhorse for the Norris?

To say that Willie Mitchell has been the leader of the Canucks' defense this year is an understatement. The burly Vancouver Island native has certainly lead by example, and his stats this year put him in some pretty elite company. He is currently 2nd in +/- behind Alexander Semin, his 8 points is 3rd on the team but has him well on his way to a career best season. When you factor in how he stacks up against the other elite defensemen in the West, he certainly stands up well. He plays against the top lines, kills penalties and has done this with a rotating array of partners due to injury and illness. So I am going to put this out there. Not only should Mitchell get your write-in vote for the All Star game, but he needs some serious consideration for the Norris trophy (aka the Niklas Lidstrom award). Not to downplay Lidstrom, but I would match Mitchell against any Dman in the league right now. That includes former Kelowna Rocket Shae Weber of Nashville, any of those guys down in San Jose, even he of the massive sloping forehead; Dion Pahapheaeuneoouufff...

Canucks 3 Wild 2

Are you freakin' kidding me? As I had mentioned in the pre-game post, I didn't think this one would go down as a win, but it would be great to hang on for a point. No one told the Canucks that, as they battled back twice to tie it and then to paraphrase Joey Kenward on the Team 1040 last night "Henrik scores!! Or was that Daniel? I don't care, it was a Sedin and it's 3-2 Vancouver". Classic. Now unlike some who pander to the eternal pessimists out there, (*coughDanRussellcough*) I think it is a very big deal that the Canucks were able to win that game last night. Playing their 3rd game in 4 nights on the road, with a 3 hour flight and a time zone change tacked onto it, the Canucks went into a place where they were 6-1-2 in their last 9 visits with Curtis Sanford and without Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa and won it. They did it with hard work, a great job of line matching by Alain Vigneault (congrats on win #100, Coach!) and great nights from 2 players in particular: Willie Mitchell and Pavol Demitra. Funny that not only did Mitchell not get recognized for his efforts last night in the 3 star selections, but neither did Curtis Sanford. Can't blame them though, as it's hard to look good when you have the league's premier player Cal Clutterbuck on the ice. Seriously. Clutterbuck was an even, with 3 shots and 8 hits. Fine, 8 hits. Good for him. But he had 9:34 TOI. Then we go to Mr. Mitchell: 1 assist, +2, 24:01 TOI, 2 hits and 4 blocked shots. But maybe they just wanted an excuse to get Mr. Clutterbuck on the scoresheet, because you won't find him anywhere else except the program. Is this a big deal? No. But it speaks volumes about the perception of things in the Cult of Lemaire (tm). Can't say enough about Curtis Sanford. he certainly showed how hard he can battle, and it was truly inspiring to see how hard the team was battling for him last night. Sanford is a relentless worker in practice, and it certainly gives the Canucks a boost to have him come in and give them the chance to win such a huge divisional matchup. Good on Steve Bernier to get off the Schneid as well... He has been busting his ass out there, so a goal, especially the timing of it was huge. So that's 5 of a possible 6 points on this road trip, and they head into Pittsburgh with a well-rested Roberto Luongo to take on Crosby, Malkin and the Penguins tomorrow morning at 11 am PST. Yeah, ask me how happy I am about that. The game is on Sportsnet with Shorthouse and Garrett, and Joey and Tommy have the call on the Team 1040.

On a side note, the game took on a bigger meaning as the Flames shutout Colorado 1-0. The win moves the Flames into a tie with the Wild, but they retain 2nd due to games in hand.

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 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 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?

Captain Lou?

While the chances are you won't see him hitting someone over the head with a chair, and sporting rubber bands as facial piercings, the Canucks definitely caused a stir in the hockey world with the announcement yesterday that Roberto Luongo will be the 12th Captain in team history. This year the alternates will be Mattias Ohlund, Willie Mitchell and Ryan Kesler. Thanks to the last goalie to be a team captain Bill "Time to talk to the ref" Durnan of the 47/48 Montreal Canadiens, the NHL has a rule prohibiting goalies from being Captains. Let's face it, it's a stupid rule. Your captain should be the guy who leads, and on this team, is there anyone with more passion and competitive fire than #1? Ohlund will handle ceremonial faceoffs and Mitchell, the shrinking violet that he is will be the one conversing with officials. No word yet on whether Marty Turco plans to file a lawsuit against Luongo and the Canucks.