Canucks vs Flames Tonight...FINALLY

by Sean Zandberg on Oct 16, 2009 9:13 AM PDT in Game Preview Comment 36 comments

Hell_awaits_medium Fun fact: Two of Willie Mitchell's five fights since he's been a Canuck have been against Jarome Iginla.

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As you know Vancouver is changing up their defensive units and, as noted before, the Flames are mixing up their offensive lines. If you're curious why the changes, the Calgary Sun suggests:

Take away the eight goals he scored in his first six games after being traded to the Flames last spring and Jokinen is now on a slide that has seen him score just three goals in his last 26 outings.

Not exactly the $5.5 million worth the Flames were hoping for when they traded for the four-time 30-goal scorer.

In the same stretch, Iginla has scored nine times in 26 outings, putting him at a pace that would see him score 28 in a year. Subpar.

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Flames: 7 GP 4-2-1

Canucks: 5 GP 2-3-0

I don't think there is much more to say about the Canucks after this long layoff except:

-I hope they don't play like slugs after 5 days off. I'd hate to see a them take a step backwards after the 4-3 win over Dallas. They were making positive strides up to that point. Damned schedule...

-All eyes will be on Michael Grabner, as he gets his big chance on line 1. Personally, I have a good feeling about what he's about to do. If I'm wrong... well he's on a short leash.

-Keep that power play going, boys! The Canucks rank 2nd in the NHL with the man advantage behind who? The Flames. Couldn't write that script any better. Unfortunately, the Flames are much better at killing penalties. They rank 14th in the League with an 81.8% efficiency, while the Canucks rank 27th at 66.7%. Yikes. Could be a difference-maker tonight.

So what have the Flames been up to lately? They are returning home after an 0-2 road trip from hell that saw them lose in 2 extremely opposite ways. They blew a 5-0 lead against Chicago a few days ago, allowing the Hawks to re-write their history. The next night they tightened up, got great goaltending from Miikka Kiprusoff but still lost 2-1 to Columbus. The Flames have lost 3 in a row.

Obviously coach Sutter is concerned so he is shuffling his lines for the game against Vancouver. If you have Curtis Glencross in your pool, you'll be glad to know that he has been promoted to the Flames' top line along with Craig Conroy to play with Jarome Iginla. The rest of the lines, according to the Flames' site are Dawes-Langkow-Bourque; Sjostrom-Jokinen-Nystrom; McGrattan-Boyd-Prust. The defensive pairings are Bouwmeester-Sarich; Regehr-Phaneuf; Pardy-Giordano and Kronwall-Johnson.

When will the Flames cease being inconsistent?

"Could take a day. Could take two weeks. Could take two months," said Brent Sutter. "Everyone likes to see goals and that kind of stuff but you look at any teams that have had success and they have buckled down defensively."

Can't argue with him there, but I hope it takes them the rest of the season to figure it out. Damned Flames. I hate them.

Who is leading the Calgary in scoring? Rene Bourque. This guy is a player on the rise. He has a hot hand right now. Meanwhile the Flames nation are waiting for Iginla to break out. He only has 2 goals and 4 points in 7 games. Olli Jokinen has 1 goal and 5 points in 7 games. It's just a matter of time before these 2 start putting up the points. Personally, I think Glencross is the guy to look out for tonight. I've been monitoring him for a couple years now, and he's like Mason Raymond on 'roids. He skates like the wind, plays a much more physical game plus he has a finishing touch. He's averaged about 15.5 minutes per game so far, but should excel in an increased role.

What can we expect tonight? I say this is going to be a tough one to win. I hope Calgary continues to suffer from their identity crisis, but I don't see it happening. This is going to be a tough-as-nails, violent, hard fought, pleasurable game to watch. Get your booze out..

The death metal images are 2-0. Hence the Slayer pic. Go Canucks!

Game Time: 6:00 PST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific, West.

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Coincidence?

Heavy metal pics match the score: Lou gets his first shutout in a low-penalty, heavy-hitting game.

Two fights, and Vancouver wins those, too.

by Thursday on Oct 16, 2009 12:36 AM PDT reply actions

heheh…I like that observation!

Nucks Misconduct

by Sean Zandberg on Oct 16, 2009 9:14 AM PDT up reply actions

Take away the eight goals he scored in his first six games after being traded to the Flames last spring and Jokinen is now on a slide that has seen him score just three goals in his last 26 outings.

Yikes! The Joke lives!

Nucks Misconduct

by Sean Zandberg on Oct 16, 2009 9:14 AM PDT reply actions

Find out what's wrong with the NHL.com preview of tonight's game

From here:

Season Series: It’s the first meeting this season between these two Northwest Division rivals. But much is already on the line. The Canucks trail Calgary by five points in the standings already and, despite having two games in hand, don’t want to see that deficit balloon any further.

Look, Mr. Roarke. I know it’s tough to write for every single team. But the season is barely two weeks old. You could have checked it out very quickly to see this isn’t the first time they’ve met this season. Please. Try harder.

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Oct 16, 2009 11:11 AM PDT reply actions

And on opening night no less!

by Jevant on Oct 16, 2009 12:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh hey, a Canucks game? Wow, I forgot that they even played games anymore.

Okay, I kid. I compulsively follow the Canucks whether in July, October or April. But seriously, I am not a fan of the ridiculous scheduling so far. Considering its supposed to be condensed for the Olympics, it’s been awfully spread out so far. It is great to have them back on the ice finally.

by nucksandpucks on Oct 16, 2009 11:11 AM PDT reply actions

pretty quick here we’ll be talking about them playing SO OFTEN :) A good problem to have…minus the liver part.

Nucks Misconduct

by Sean Zandberg on Oct 16, 2009 11:27 AM PDT up reply actions

This week off thing has go tto stop though. Thank God there is a game tonight. I don’t know how fans of the horrible NFL can stand only playing once a week, and just 16 times a season. If you are a fan of an NFL team it would be 98% talking about your team every year and only 2% watching them actually play. Plus there is a commercial every ten f*ing seconds. Sorry. I hate American Football. And I hate that this week has been like a bye week. Let’s play some hockey already.

by Section 312 on Oct 16, 2009 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions

you may not like the NFL, but it’s a fantastic reason to get together with friends, make senseless bets, eat terrible food and drink way too much for a sunday morning.

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Oct 16, 2009 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions

I truly is drinking and gambling heaven. The only NFL team I have allegiance to is the one I have money riding on at that specific point in time.

by kesrows on Oct 16, 2009 1:08 PM PDT up reply actions

Our usual NFL gambling source during a game is to take 10 playing cards (ace through ten) chuck ‘em in a hat and pay 2 bucks per card drawn. The last number of the scoring player’s uniform is the winning card. Repeat after every score until the end of the game, while adding liberal amounts of booze. Even if you don’t know which teams are playing it keeps it exciting.

by kesrows on Oct 16, 2009 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions

Holy hell, I have to try that

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Oct 16, 2009 1:46 PM PDT up reply actions

Superbowl and Grey up at my house are nuts. Four hats going (different suits), squares, 30-40 people running around. Even the womenfolk can play (from the kitchen). :)

by kesrows on Oct 16, 2009 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions

Well fortunately for me, my friends and I need no reason to get together and drink and gamble. I am not a huge fan of making bets on things that are random. I prefer to gamble my money away on games I think I have figured out and therefore I can make money if only I play the right percentages. Did I just sound like I have a gambling problem?

by Section 312 on Oct 16, 2009 1:48 PM PDT up reply actions

No, it sounds like you play your percentages well and basically have the opposite of a problem.
I do the same to make a buck or two. Its actually quite easy to win regularily.

by Nuckels on Oct 16, 2009 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions

Don’t forget that on top of talking about them 98% of the time and watching them 2% of the time, then when you do watch them, it’s 5 seconds of action for 60 seconds of standing around making plays, getting in position and getting up off the turf. I think that’s why there is so much time for eating terrible food and drinking – you’re really hardly watching anything.

by LawrenceS on Oct 16, 2009 1:17 PM PDT up reply actions

And even when they are actually playing their game 75% of the time it is a hand off to a running back who gets tackled right away. So out of 60 minutes they are actually running around on the field for about 21 minutes by my calculations. Multiply that by 16 and you get 5.6 hours of actual Football playing during the regular season. 2.8 hours on home field. Like if you have a season ticket you are paying about 429 dollars an hour to watch your team. What kind of sport is that?

by Section 312 on Oct 16, 2009 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions

Quite the hate on for the NFL today, I see

We really need a Canucks game, and quick.

by Jevant on Oct 16, 2009 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions

Change of topic, but...

…3rd best goalie in the NW Division, Josh Harding, is starting for the Minnesota Wild tonight.

Should be a good one.

by Jevant on Oct 16, 2009 1:36 PM PDT reply actions

If I remember correctly, weren’t Harding and Backstrom the number 1 and 2 goalies in the NW?

It’s interesting to see how much the Wild’s totals against have skyrocketed since the coaching change, and its less defensively minded, coma inducing approach.

by kesrows on Oct 16, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions

I thought Harding was 3, and Kiprusoff was 2

Backstrom was of course 1. I could be mistaken though.

by Jevant on Oct 16, 2009 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions

This was correct.

The quoting of the article, of course.

There ain't no turning back when our train is off its track, and there's nothing we can do but watch it crash (watch it crash)
And there ain't no right and wrong when we know it won't be long, and there's nothing we can do but watch it crash
-Tomas Kalnoky/Streetlight Manifesto, Watch It Crash

by kentcheesehead on Oct 16, 2009 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions

Good call Jevant.

Thanks Kent. I looked for, but couldn’t find it.

by kesrows on Oct 16, 2009 3:04 PM PDT up reply actions

Hopefully the 4th best goalie in the NW can have a good game. Like "the man " says," he once was good…but …"

(That stupidity will live as long as “Fucking Corsi numbers”…)

And then on sat…do you start Bobby Lou again, or give Razer a start?

vancitydan

by vancitydan on Oct 16, 2009 3:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Well Lou ia already scheduled to start on Saturday, but I’m sure we’ll still have to run through that gauntlet again tomorrow.

by kesrows on Oct 16, 2009 4:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Raycroft likely starts Monday in Edmonton.

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Oct 16, 2009 4:55 PM PDT up reply actions

Raycroft

may be playing tonight if Lu’s typical trend after a layoff continues.

by yoata on Oct 16, 2009 5:38 PM PDT up reply actions

All i’m lookin forward to is Grabner’s hat trick tonight. He’s gonna come into Vancouver with a bang.

I’m not countin on a win tonight, I expect a workhorse game with the Nucks and Flames playin chess out there.
Special teams will decide it, hopefully the Nucks continue to abuse Kipper.

by Nuckels on Oct 16, 2009 2:59 PM PDT reply actions

So what’s the prob with the PK this year? When I watch them, they seem to be sitting back a bit too much and giving the other guys a little too much time to read the ice, make a pass etc … but that’s just me, one man’s impression. What are you guys seeing?

by casual on Oct 16, 2009 3:09 PM PDT reply actions

The thing with the PK is it has to be a bit of a balancing act. You can’t just flat out pressure all the time because the good teams can move the puck quick enough that they would end up with odd man chances down low. And you can’t sit back too much or teams will eventually find a way through. The Canucks need to start doing a better job of attacking the puck when the time is right. I have noticed a couple times this year where the opportunity to over load on the puck, and get control so they could get the puck down the ice, was there and they didn’t take it. They just don’t seem to be reading the play very well and reacting in the right way. I am sure it will get sorted out sooner rather than later though.

by Section 312 on Oct 16, 2009 3:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Well in five games they have given up seven goals in this order: 2, 2, 1, 1 & 1. They shat the bed the first two games and Lui was pulled in the third game. I think most of this is Luongo’s slow start and the defense, like you said, giving the other guys way too much time to read and react. This will get clamped down, hopefully tonight. There’s no reason their PK should be near the bottom.

'Nucks Misconduct - Housing Swedish Millionaires Since 2000.

by Yankee Canuck on Oct 16, 2009 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions

The change to a more aggressive PK seems to have thrown them a bit. I like it, but it seems sometimes guys are trying to do too much and it causes missed assignments.
When they used to play the box exclusively, using sticks effectively to cover the lanes, was when they were at their best.
I also believe that another slow October start from Lou has them trying to do too much. It opens up the opportunity for guys to slip in behind when guys aren’t sticking with the system.

by kesrows on Oct 16, 2009 3:28 PM PDT up reply actions