CBC.ca official game recap at one point refers to kesler as “kessler”. Must have Kessel on the mind. Fucking CBC has such a hardon for that shitshow in Toronto just the same as TSN.

BTW: Rypien came off the bench, that’s why he was so open. Comical though. What a goal!

I like the Linden/Kesler comparison. Guy is %100 heart.

Yeah…love how he responded to getting the extra penalty somehow after getting mugged.

Don’t get mad, get even…he played like a demon all night, but was like fucking Lucifer himself after that stupid penalty.

Best player on the ice.

If ever there was a night where SOB defined “liability” that was it. He was his normal plyon-self during more than one Ranger offensive rush and then the stick poking was bush league. Avery did his agitator act from the bench and couldn’t have found a better guy to goad. Put Rome back in if all SOB can do is be a liability on AND off the ice.

I agree with Yankee about SOB, obviously we have 8 defencemen on the active roster and SOB is definitely playing is way to being the odd man out. It’s not that he’s a bad player, it’s that the Canucks system that’s been working is being defensively sound and being disciplined especially when it comes to taking penalties.

Speaking of being defensively sound and disciplined, what do you guys think of continuing this kind of hockey in front of Luongo? These guys can play this sort of hockey, AV knows this sort of hockey, it makes it so special teams wins games, but Raymond is pretty good at drawing penalties, so there is a discussion to keep this going. However, Gillis has been saying, let’s play more exciting hockey, the bandwagon fans don’t want to be bored to death, and with luongo and a healthy team (Dank, Demitra, and Salo staying so) and everyone playing to their potential/producing (Wellwood, Raymond, Burrows) one could argue they’d excel even more being more run and gun. And, by the way, it’s more exciting.

Furthermore, just to point this out and argue from a Ranger’s point of view, the Canucks were playing a tired team who had played just Sunday afternoon out on the east coast, yet they were never able to really take command of the game until Sammy’s second goal with only just less than 6 minutes left in the third.

So does someone want to dissect this a bit more and make it a fan post? Or maybe I’m asking too many questions and should just enjoy the fact that despite the injuries and despite the Anaheim blowout, the Canucks have still (If you manipulate the stats a little) won six of their last eight games and nine of their last thirteen. So they’re doing pretty well if you ignore those first three losses for whatever arbitrary reason you have… speaking of that, how many games did the Canucks play at the start with their “full line-up” and how many games have they played during the regular season as the “Vancouver Moose”? We are, after all, 1-3 with Daniel Sedin in the line up.

Anyway, those are my random musings. Hopefully it made some sense, I’m a bit drunk.

I’ve never liked Ferraro, and he seemed like a rat yesterday stuck between the teams. As for the run and gun, the Nucks can fill the net when there healthy. Winnin games right now is a bonus. We could easily be 3 games under 500, and it wouldnt be considered strange.
And finally, SOB is playin himself off the team. I can handle the odd penalty from his physical play. But so far this year, he’s taking bad penaltys and not playing physical. I thing he’s scared to compete like he did last year. AV has forced him to change his game, and its not lookin good for him.

With his teammates falling faster than a leaves in the fall, it’s been Ryan Kesler who has swept it all up and kept this Vancouver team together.

He has been more than a leader. He’s been a playmaker, and the difference maker. He’s managed to continue to be a defensive conscience on the team while becoming its offensive soul.

Rarely was that more evident than Tuesday. With a motor that doesn’t know quit, he won battle after battle in his own end and set up three goals in a 4-1 Canucks win.

“Thanks to a great goal scorer, though,” joked Mikael Samuelsson, who scored two of the goals Kesler set up. “It’s not only the points though. He blocks shots. He’s doing a lot of work out there. Thank god he’s on our team.”

Made me laugh.

Canucks don’t need to “run and gun.” What they can do, should do, and (last coupla games) are doing, is to avoid going into a total shell when they have the lead and tilting the ice in their opponent’s favor. With the talent they’ve got, that’s enough to up the goals-for and win more games at the same time.

Not quite there, but getting closer. Last note was overall good, but there were a few stretches in the 3rd leading up to the tying NYR goal where I thought, ’uh oh, are we gonna go through this again?" Still, overall, the trend is now our friend.

It’ll make for good road hockey too, so the timing is right.