I'm not sure what the deal was, but I will be damned if that wasn't our Kyle Wellwood out there, with the through the legs passes and timely goals.The Sedins still seemed to be in a bit of a funk, but the Canucks got some inspired efforts from some other players, Olympians and non-Olympians alike. With the NHL trade deadline hours away and Detroit waiting for them later tonight, the Canucks pick up a crucial 2 points.
An overtime goal from Christian Ehrhoff, another marker from Alex Burrows and a beauty from Pavol Demitra, and some inspired goaltending after giving up a couple tough ones early from Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft was solid after the shaky start, making some key saves to give the Canucks a chance. I like his compete level this season, he's really bought into his role here in Vancouver. A few things jumped out at me last night, though. It was never more obvious that this team misses Willie Mitchell and even Kevin Bieksa last night, as the bottom 3 D looked horrendous.
It's kind of hard to focus on last night's game, as well as a huge contest in Detroit tonight as we sit on the edge of our seats to see if the Canucks and GM Mike Gillis are going to make some changes to the team as they head towards the playoffs. The needs are the same as they were when I sat down with some of my fellow Canucks bloggers over at The Internet Trashcan to discuss the Canucks' most pressing needs.
A decent third line center, and a skilled, puck moving defenseman that isn't a defensive liability. That's what we need, and we've never been in a better position. We have assets on the farm, and we have some roster players heading into free agency that, while it might upset the fan base to see them go, if it makes this team better and enables them to get deep into the playoffs will be well worth it.
Roberto Luongo will be in goal for the Canucks tonight as they take to the ice at the Joe, battling against a Detroit Red Wings team that is getting healthy and apparently realizing they should do something or they'll miss the playoffs. The Wings are 4-3-3 in their last 10, but a very good team at home, so the Canucks will be in tough.
The keys to this game are fairly obvious: Roberto Luongo needs to have a big game, the Canucks need to step up defensively and above all, they need to score first. You can comeback against the Columbus Blue Jackets after spotting them a couple, but even in 8th place the Detroit Red Wings are not a team you want to give a head start to.
Coffee in hand, deadline show of choice on my monitor, I am like you, scouring Twitter and awaiting the excitement of deadline day. If our Prime Minister was the hockey fan he purports to be, he would make this day a national holiday, as there isn't much work getting done across Canada, and in a lot of places in the US, too. And I managed to get through the entire article without making a joke about Grant Clitsome. Hasn't the poor boy suffered enough?