Morning Buzz: Canucks ride the Lightning, plus the mystery of the drunken All-Star goalie

It wasn't a Picasso, it wasn't even your 4-year-old niece's pre-school drawing, but the Canucks managed to get it done. You really get the sense this team is running on fumes right now. They need home for a rest. David Booth, Aaron Rome, and Sami Salo would be nice too.

Before we get to the links, I have something to present to you entitled "The Case of The Drunken All-Star Goalie Who Was Left in to Get Shelled". Intrigued?

Let's face it, booze and hockey have a long and storied history together. Whether you've just won the ultimate prize, or you're lacing them up to go for a midnight skate with your buddies, a game of puck is often followed by a pint or eight. This took a bit of detective work (also known as "frantic Googling"), but it was worth it.

I'm a regular listener of the Marek vs. Wyshynski podcast, and yesterday Jeff Marek told the story of a goalie who played in an NHL All-Star Game while still completely wasted from the night before. It became pretty obvious to everyone involved, and the coach decided to leave him in and watch him get lit up. You can listen to the clip here, it starts around 5:28. Marek wouldn't give away any details, not even the year that it happened. But at the very end of the podcast, Greg Wyshynski let slip that someone on Twitter may have guessed who the goalie was. Take a look.

Poor Mike Vernon, indeed. Now, what year would this have been? Vernon played in the ASG in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1993, and would have been representing the Campbell Conference. Looking at past ASG results, the Wales Conference won handily in 1990 and 1993, with scores of 12-7 and 16-6 respectively. Vernon wasn't a starter in 1993, but he was in 1990, and the head coach for the Campbell Conference that year was Terry Crisp of the Calgary Flames. So if I was a betting man, my money would be on Mike Vernon being totally shitfaced at the 1990 NHL All-Star Game. But that's just an educated guess.

via flamesnation.ca

Anyway, let's get to the links!

Vancouver Canucks news & notes:

• Looks like a Cory Schneider has an irresistible ass. Just ask this Tampa lady.
• The Sedins last night, for the third straight game, were not very good. But worrying about whether or not they'll come around is akin to worrying if it will ever rain in Vancouver again. Amazing stat: Daniel Sedin is pointless in consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 26. [Vancouver Sun]
• Is it time to give the Sedins another go in the shootout? How long has it been since either one has been used, a couple seasons? After two straight scoring titles, maybe it's about time we gave them another shot and put the game in the hands of our best.
• While the top players haven't been there the past couple games, how good has Manny Malhotra been? On a makeshift 4th line with Mike Duco and Dale Weise, he's set up and scored a nice goal. Hopefully this is a sign of a turnaround for Manny.
• Some esteemed members of the Boston media stumbled across PITB's recap of the Canucks/Bruins game, and let's just say they took it the wrong way. Harrison Mooney strikes back! [Pass it to Bulis]
• Speaking of Boston media, they – along with Shawn Thornton – feed it to Tony Gallagher in this clip.
• I know we're all sick of the Bruins and Marchand, so why don't we let Thomas Drance have the last word. Nicely done. [Canucks Army]

Today in Canucks history: Absolutely nothing happened, according to the internet.

NHL news & notes:

• Halak shutout his former team last night in the Bell Centre. Oof. [NHL.com]
• Weird stat for everyone, great stat if you gamble on sports: the New York Islanders are 5-0-1 against the Detroit Red Wings since the lockout. They beat them handily 5-1 last night.
• Earlier this week the entire city of Pittsburgh let out a collective "are you shitting me?!" when it was announced Jordan Staal and James Neal would be out long-term with injuries. Well, James Neal played last night against Ottawa. His original diagnosis was for a fractured foot, but it turned out it was only a bone bruise. Good news for Pens fans, though Neal's presence couldn't prevent them from losing a 5th straight game last night. [Puck Daddy]
• On the topic of injury-riddles teams, there's the Edmonton Oilers. Jordan Eberle is the latest casualty, who will be out 2-3 weeks with a sprained knee. He joins Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan Whitney and Tom Gilbert on the injured list for the Oil. [Kukla's Korner]
• The Phoenix Coyotes claimed Gilbert Brule off re-entry waivers from the Oilers, who were trying to call him up to fill in some of the holes in their lineup. [Vancouver Sun]
• Down Goes Brown presents the winners and losers at the halfway point of the NHL season. "Winner: Phoenix Coyotes - Shane Doan recorded the first hat trick of his 17-year career on Saturday, which was a nice moment because it gave the fans in Phoenix a five-month head start on throwing away Coyotes merchandise." [Down Goes Brown]
• Here are a few "let's hand out the awards at the halfway point" posts, from CBC, TSN, and Puck Daddy.
• Last night Mike Smith made one of the saves of the year, and if circumstance counts for anything, it's the best hands down. This was on Marian Gaborik, on a penalty shot, in overtime:

Today in NHL history: [Jan 11, 1995] NHL owners and players ended a 103 day lockout. It was announced that the regular season would be reduced to 48 games and would start January 20.