Just like the other night against the St. Louis Blues, this one may not have been pretty, but they got the two points.  Sure they blew a lot of chances and looked downright sluggish at times, but how many times have we seen this team serve up a Boxing Day turd?  Y'all can sit there and wax poetic about how "they should have pounded the Oilers into the dirt" 'til you're blue in the face.  I will smile politely and point to their 5 point lead over 2nd place Colorado and serve you a nice steaming cup of shut the fuck up...

11 wins in 14 games, as they are beginning to look as though they could make a serious run at their first 50 win season in franchise history.  And how about Cory Schneider, who stepped in for his first back to back games this season and bolted the door shut after Edmonton jumped out to a 2-0 lead.  And isn't it nice to have a backup goalie that as we head into January hasn't lost in regulation?  Looks as though the extra year in Manitoba was the right thing to do with the one we affectionately call 'Ginger Jesus'.   The goal from Jeff Tambellini shortly after Ryan Whitney put the Oilers up 2-0 was huge, and they carried that momentum into the 3rd, leading to the Mikael Samuelsson goal in the third on a great setup from Raffi Torres. 

The goal from Bieksa to win it in the last minute was a nice reward for a guy who struggled as the season started but especially this month has really settled down into a groove, and is playing some damn fine defense right now.  He and Hamhuis are pretty solid together, and while there's still questions down the road about what to do when Sami Salo returns, right now the Canucks' D is as good as any in the NHL.

Tomorrow begins a string of 4 huge games for the Canucks starting with the perpetually scummy Philadelphia Flyers.  Though head douchebag Chris Pronger won't be here to try and stomp on Ryan Kesler's ankle this time around, there's still plenty of reasons to keep your head up with this crew.  That's not to say the Flyers aren't good, the two teams sport nearly identical records, so it should be a fairly even match.  The Canucks have had their share of problems with the Flyers in the past, so expect them to come out and play a focused game against last year's Stanley Cup runners-up.

A little turkey in your oatmeal?

Sure Sidney Crosby continues his great run, extending his point streak to 24 games, but I can't get too excited about it as long as he continues to sport that creepy 'stache.  It just screams 'SEX OFFENDER', doesn't it?  While the NFL postponed a game for public safety fears with the horrendous weather on the East Coast, the NHL saw nothing wrong with having two teams play in front of less than 6,000 people in New Jersey and Long Island.  To be fair, who in their right mind would pay to see the Leafs take on the Devils?  Oh and a pat on the head to our favorite neanderthal Dion Pffffbbbbtttttnooooffff, who did an admirable job taking on world class pugilist Ilya Kovalchuk yesterday.  Nice elbow you threw during the fight, knuckle-dragger... That loss by the Devils leaves them 0-2 since reinstalling Jacques Lemaire as dictator head coach after firing John Maclean just before Christmas... It was a little scary, but Team Canada turned it up in the third to dispatch a game Russian squad in their opening match at the World Jr's in Buffalo.  I though Canadian goalie Olivier Roy looked a little shaky in net, though he did settle down in the third.  Canada's next game is another tough one as they meet the Czech Republic on Tuesday.  The heabvily favored US squad needed overtime to take care of Finland, and they may have lost Jeremy Morin to a shoulder injury in that game, which could be a costly loss for the Americans...

WAACH 'Cast's Band Of The Day

Sticking close to home for this one, Unleash The Archers are a Victoria-based band that mix death, thrash and more melodic styles of metal, highlighted by the soaring vocals of Brittney Hayes.  The band has moved to Vancouver just recently, and have been touring across Canada extensively, opening for acts like Dismember, Toxic Holocaust, 3 Inches of Blood, Augury and Stratovarius.  This track is off their 2009 debut 'Behold the Devastation':