Kings Of The West Pay The Canucks A Visit
by Sean Zandberg on Dec 14, 2009 1:20 AM PST
in Game Preview
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KINGS (21-10-3) at CANUCKS (18-14-0)
GAME TIME: 7:00 PST
TV: Sportsnet
THE OPPOSITION: Battle Of California
UPDATE (5:00 PM): Wellwood on being a scratch:
"There are some workhorses in here that somehow are battling every shift, every day, and you notice it in their personalities off the ice, that's for sure," Wellwood said. "That doesn't seem to be my strength.
"That's the challenge for me … I am laid back and when I get frustrated I can pull back instead of, you know, pushing forward.
"Obviously that can get me into trouble sometimes." -The Province.
Ugh. Woody can't compete at a consistent level and needs tough love to force him to do so. Hate to say it, but this will never change, unless, you know, he gets a lobotomy.
UPDATE (1:46 PM): Bieksa on the Kings: "We're looking to keep the score down, we're not looking to run and gun with them and if we key on their top guys we should be successful." - Vancouver Sun
UPDATE (12:47 PM): Tweeted by CTV Sports: Kyle Wellwood says he is playing tonight. Alain Vigneault says Woody is a game-time decision. No love. Nope. No love.
UPDATE (11:02 AM): The Canucks have recalled Aaron Rome today. He finished a 7-games conditioning stint and scored 6 goals and 7 points for the Moose. I like this guy. He should slot in over Mathieu Schneider, IMO.
UPDATE (10:53 AM): Dan's the man! Daniel Sedin has been named the NHL's 2nd star of the week. Kings' Jon Quick was the first star.
Funny piece in the Sun today about how Alain Vigneault can finally tell the Sedin twins apart. When asked how he could he said:
"I wouldn't know." All I know is I can finally tell them apart and I can't figure out how come it took me four years. For me, right now, they don't even look alike."
********************
If somebody would have told me back in late September that the Los Angeles Kings would be perched on top of the Western Conference standings 34 games in I would have asked them what kind of pot they were smoking. But that is what is happening. The Kings are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games played. The last time they lost in regulation was on November 26 against the...Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks also
beat the Kings 2-1 in a shootout on October 29. Roberto Luongo Andrew Raycroft was solid in that game and Mikael Samuelsson scored the tying goal in regulation and the winning goal in the shootout.
Oh, Samuelsson, where have you gone? He had 14 points in his first 16 games as a Canuck, but only 7 points in his last 16 games played.
We were warned that he was inconsistent. Now we are seeing it first-hand.
The Canucks are off to a flying 2-0 start on their long homestand. They stopped the red-hot Wild in their tracks on Saturday, but this will be the first time in 3 games they face a rested team who has not played back-to-back. Jonathan Quick is smokin' right now. As Canucks.com puts it: he is 7-1-1 with a 2.15 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in his last nine starts for the Kings.
The Kings will be without Wayne Simmonds for a while as he suffered a lower body injury against the Stars last game. RudyKelly at Battle of California called Simmonds the Kings best player over the past 2 weeks. This brings joy to my heart. He has 9 goals and 20 points in 33 games this season, nearly matching his total of all last season.
Look down the Kings' scoring leaders though. There are plenty of guys who can put up points.
I wouldn't think that Alain Vigneault would change the lineup, but I, like many of you, am wondering why he is playing Darcy Hordichuk for only 4 or less minutes per game. Why not fill that spot with someone else (and no, not Wellwood)?
COMPARATIVE STATS
GOALS PER GAME AVERAGE: Canucks 4th, Kings 6th
GOALS AGAINST PER GAME : Canucks 9th, Kings 21st
5 ON 5: Canucks 3rd, Kings 16th
POWER PLAY: Canucks 2nd, Kings 11th
PK: Canucks 27th, Kings 28th. WTF??
SHOTS PER GAME: Canucks 12th, Kings 22nd
SHOTS AGAINST PER GAME: Kings 4th, Canucks 10th
FACEOFF WINS %: Canucks 11th, Kings 21st
If you are scoreboard watching tonight: The Red Wings play the Coyotes at home tonight. If the Wings win they bump Dallas out of 8th spot. If they lose in OT and the Canucks win, there will be a 3-way tie for 8th with Dallas having played one less game. I want to see a Wings loss in regulation and a Canucks victory to tie us with Dallas. Piss off Bertuzzi!
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Haha
We are better than the Kings in every statistical category except shots against…and they’re leading the conference and we’re out of the playoffs.
Trust me – assuming we make the playoffs, we will be the proverbial team nobody wants to play in the first round.
Wayne Simmonds has been a beast for them this year so he’s not going to be missed by Canuck fans (he also scored their lone goal in our last meeting).
This is a good game for the Canucks to break this seasons cycle of inconsistency. They need to start putting some wins together and there is no better place to do that then at home.
I will be optimistic and say 2-1 Canucks with a Bernier winner.
Blowout for the Nucks. The wheels are gonna come off eventually for the Kings, and tonight is as good a night as any.
The Kings are a deep young team who will dominate the West for years, but tonight they lose 6-0.
On another note, I think the Sedins have stepped it up again this year, and i’m thinkin that there contracts are gonna prove to be among the league’s best. I’m startin to think that they will end up being the Nucks best players ever.
I may be mistaken, but I think you’re wrong about who was in net during the shootout victory over LA earlier this year. We were playing in LA and Anaheim on consecutive nights and didn’t Razor start both nights (eventually giving way to Schneider in the 3rd period in Anaheim)?
For what’s it’s worth, I think the Canucks win tonight 3-2—Bernie with the GWG.
Looking at the stats above, I think that we’d be in 1st place if our PK was middle-of-the-pack.
I think you’re wrong about who was in net during the shootout victory over LA earlier this year
Right you are, Ken. It was the Rayzor’s Edge! (That’s what I get for having both Canucks-Kings boxscores open at the same time. Thanks for that.
by Sean Zandberg on Dec 14, 2009 11:39 AM PST up reply actions
i sense a long night of frustration ahead
And probably a loss, but what the hell…
6-3 Canucks
Bernier with the GWG, for the lulZ
by Temujin on Dec 14, 2009 12:27 PM PST via mobile reply actions
3-2 Vancouver, Bieksa with the winner. I really want to say O’Brien with the winner for some reason, but I can’t bring myself to put it down in writing.
That’s like Jim Carrey in Liar Liar: “The pen is rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee………”
by Sean Zandberg on Dec 14, 2009 12:43 PM PST up reply actions
Today’s western conference standings without loser points:
1. lak 42
2. chi 40
3. col 38
4. sjs 38
5. cgy 38
6. phx 38
7. van 36
8. nsh 36
-
9. det 32
10. edm 30
11. min 30
12. dal 28
13. col 28
14. stl 26
15. ana 24
The opposite of serious is not funny; the opposite of serious is unserious.
Gary Bettman says he’s just protecting the integrity of the game. What have you got against integrity?
Oh wait, that might have from been the Gary Bettman insincere statement generator. Damn it’s hard to tell them apart.
The opposite of serious is not funny; the opposite of serious is unserious.
I still hate ties. I don’t want those to come back. Like a few of us said weeks ago: 5 minutes of 4 on 4 and 5 minutes of 3 on 3.
by Sean Zandberg on Dec 14, 2009 1:42 PM PST up reply actions
Sure. Shootout if necessary, too. Anything. Just no loser points. You should never be rewarded for losing.
What next, style points?
The opposite of serious is not funny; the opposite of serious is unserious.
Why don’t they go to 3 points for a win like in soccer? If they are awarding a point for an overtime loss then they definitely should be awarding more points for a win.
by British Canuck on Dec 14, 2009 2:44 PM PST up reply actions
Well it is what it is and we can’t change it. Personally I would love to see the Canucks make the playoffs and then go deep without making a single loser point all season. Am I the only one thinking like this?
I agree. But then Betmann would probably just implement loser points for the playoffs.
“Shorty, what do you think of Vancouver losing the series to Chicago after winning 4 out of 7 in OT, but losing the other 3 in regulation?”
The opposite of serious is not funny; the opposite of serious is unserious.
but then the entire playoff scheme would be fucked up, since there weren’t even points in the first place.
"If Chuck Norris was up against 7 Rangers, he'd call Ryan Kesler."
GO CANUCKS GO!
No, not yet there aren’t…..
Seriously, the 4/7 example above is real, unfortunately,at least as far as the regular season goes: Chi gets 10 points and Van gets 8. Maybe Chi gets into the playoffs and Van doesn’t because of that.
If it[‘s such a great system, we should use it for the playoffs, too, right? Or maybe it’s not so great and the example just hilites the fact.
The opposite of serious is not funny; the opposite of serious is unserious.
by casual on Dec 14, 2009 3:38 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I think people are very quick to condemn Bettman for all the woes of the league…I’m not sure that I still agree with that. At the end of the day he does what his board of governors instruct him to do, and still has to keep revenue coming in. I haven’t gone so far over as to say I’m a fan or even agree with him in most cases, but I just don’t think he’s the reason for some of the issues the league has. I actually agree with his decisions regarding phoenix; I think Balsillie would have been a nightmare and I don’t think central Canada could optimally support another team.
Bettman’s biggest problems are that he looks like a weasel, is a lawyer (hence probably has alot of weasel genes) and does what he’s told by the board of governors. He’s made some dubious decisions, but since none of us were in the negotiations I don’t think we can fairly say they weren’t the best (or worst for that matter) long term decisions for the game.
OMG somebody shoot me quick…i’m defending bettman…gaaahhhhhhhhh!!!
with pleasure :P
"If Chuck Norris was up against 7 Rangers, he'd call Ryan Kesler."
GO CANUCKS GO!
by missy on Dec 14, 2009 3:57 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
GAHHH! I agree with most of what your saying. But then, I work in management and am so pro-management that it ain’t funny.
Culls! Get back to work! haha
by Sean Zandberg on Dec 14, 2009 4:06 PM PST up reply actions
I don’t necessarily disagree with you on Bettman although I would still love to see him go. I do disagree on the Ball Silly part though. The guy has nothing but money and wants a team. And I am sure Southern Ontario could support another team. I saw no down side to him trying to get in the league. He would be a Mark Cuban type. And every league needs one of those. Super mega-rich and a fan? I know Cuban is a bit of an ass at times but ask the NBA off the record what they think of him and I am sure they are glad to have him.
by Section 312 on Dec 14, 2009 4:27 PM PST up reply actions
Also, how many chances to ruin the NHL does the American Southwest get to have.
by Bobby Canuck on Dec 14, 2009 10:46 PM PST up reply actions
Cuban
Also creates headlines (although not a lot recently), which could only be good for the NHL. They need all the publicity they can get…if it involves a crazy owner (but a committed owner who desperately wants an NHL team, so much the better.
Agree 100%
The NBA gets to take the high ground while Cuban gets them on the news and then they fine him and all the money goes to charity. It is very much a win win for the NBA. A similar owner in the NHL would actually help the league. But there is no way Bettman and his buddies would be able to figure that out.
by Section 312 on Dec 15, 2009 9:35 AM PST up reply actions
3-2 canucks, burrows with the winner.
this will be a close game. my algorithm outputted 2.9-2.9.
unfortunately, i won’t get to watch. i have to write my final exam for multi-variable calculus tonight :( i’m missing wednesday night’s game too for a statistics final :(
"If Chuck Norris was up against 7 Rangers, he'd call Ryan Kesler."
GO CANUCKS GO!
Ouch. Tough week! Good luck. Hope you studied!
by Sean Zandberg on Dec 14, 2009 1:43 PM PST up reply actions
i’m studying right now.
even worse, i have astronomy thursday morning and linear algebra saturday morning.
"If Chuck Norris was up against 7 Rangers, he'd call Ryan Kesler."
GO CANUCKS GO!
Linear algebra was the most interesting math course I ever took. It was also the last one. I wonder what that means.
by Beantown Canuck on Dec 14, 2009 4:12 PM PST up reply actions
I loved my last two math courses after despising all of the previous ones. Go figure.
by Bobby Canuck on Dec 14, 2009 10:49 PM PST up reply actions
Hey the Kings have called up a guy named Corey Elkins to replace Simmonds. This is Elkins’ first NHL game. You know what that means right?
The question of the night is how many assists will Henrik get. He busted his streak of 5 games in a row with 2 assists by getting all cocky and scoring 3 assists last game. How about 4 tonight?
by Beantown Canuck on Dec 14, 2009 4:13 PM PST reply actions
Nucks vs Flames '94 game 7
Is on ESPN classic right now. Chanel 153 with Shaw.
Get to see that McLean save and Bure goal all over again! Woo!
by Sean Zandberg on Dec 14, 2009 4:55 PM PST up reply actions
Hey all, don't have as much hockey on the brain tonight...
see lookout landing.
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
The final score will be 3-2, with….Hansen getting the GWG!
The earliest use of the word with the spelling we recognize today is found in "L'Acadie: or Seven Years' Exploration in British America" by James Edward Alexander, published in 1849:
We also met a lusty fellow in a forest road with a keg of whisky slung round him who called to us 'Come boys and have some grog, I'm what you call a canuck"
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