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Canucks win! Canucks win! I wish I was saying this after game 7! But alas I am not. Still, it is nice to see the Canucks get their first win out of the way early on in the season. Even though they looked god awful for most of the game. Still, no matter how bad it gets, I always remind myself, "At least there is no Rome."
That being said, here are a collection of random thoughts I had about this game:
-Marco Sturm does not please me. He skates slower than Owen Nolan after his groin gives out, after being stabbed by an antler. He does not shoot the puck. He does not appear to want to pass the puck, though to be fair, this assumes he knows how to pass the puck. He also loses every single puck battle he gets involved in. When Cody Hodgson looks like a pillar of strength compared to you, you might have some issues. That being said, Sturm is still protected under the "I have to wait a month before I freak out over him" clause in his contract, so I will simply write this game off as yet another game in which Sturm is struggling to find his legs.
- Samuelsson. God knows I love him. But there are two Samuelsson's. There is the "Well you know, hockey is just a game, you know, so, you know, calm down, you know" Sammy, and then there is the "Sweden can go **** themselves" Sammy. They turn on and off at random times. Right now Sammy is firmly in the "Hockey is just a game, you know" mode. While it is fun to see Cody Hodgson look like an unstoppable machine out on the ice when skating with Sturm and Samuelsson, I hope we don't see bad Samuelsson for much longer. Hey Mikael, remember when Sweden asked Modin to be on the team over you??
- Nobody on the Canucks defence had a perfect game last night, so no one gets my high five of awesomeness. I will give Ballard a high five for being a swash buckling daredevil though. I look forward to him making a random rush out of nowhere all season long.
-Schneider battled back from a weak goal behind the net to keep the Canucks in this game all night long. I know conventional wisdom says goalies have no trade value, but if Schneids has another strong year like last year, I don't see how a team doesn't pay a high price to attain his services.
- Methot hit Henrik in a vulnerable position last night. I honestly don't think Henrik saw it coming, and although Methot didn't go all out on the hit, he knew Henrik was in a bad spot and he still threw the hit. I wouldn't be shocked to see a Shanaban come his way.
- Once Methot threw that hit I started laughing and said "Don't you worry baby, Raffi has your name...." then an awkward silence fell in the room. I haz a sad.
- Higgins keeps reminding me what a solid signing he is. As does Lapierre. With their powers combined, they are Captain Planet! Sorry, that was the turkey talking. It's late. I was confused. Please don't judge me.
- Weise has shown me NOTHING through two games. Volpatti has shown me a modicum of something. So far the only reason that 4th line isn't a big bag of human trash like it was last year is because MAXIMus is keeping that line decent. Bitz, Pinizzotto, Oreskovich....once the one month clause of safety is off of Weise and Volpatti, I will be screaming your names often. If the playoffs started today I would be scared out of mind to have our 4th line on the ice at any point. They have Ryan Johnson type levels of being useless with the puck.
- I like Tanev. The kid has a bright future. But if you're going to grab the puck in the crease, at least pick the puck up and punt it into the crowd instead of lifting your hand off of it in fear as you realize what you've just done, allowing the other team to poke it into the net. No goal was called, but if the ref missed the initial puck grab, that's a goal. Better yet, scream in pain and fall to the ground like Steve Mason so a penalty is called.
- Hansen looks like he's enjoying the security of a three year deal...
Again, hard to read a team two games into a season, but it looks like the Canucks are comfortably back into their style of using 20 minute efforts and missing empty nets as if Al Iafrate was screaming at them. Either way, 2 points is 2 points. The long road back continues.
Vancouver Canuck News:
- Iain Macintyre looks at Cory Schneiders potential role on the Canucks this year, and the possibility of getting more starts. He also weighs in with Malholtra's thoughts on his visor, and finishes with RJ Umberger talking about a nude Ryan Kesler, proving once again, the a nude Ryan Kesler can solve any feud. [Vancouver Sun]
- In case you missed it, I did an article covering the upcoming patch for NHL 12 that will allow you to unlock the "nude" skin type made famous by our very own Ryan Kesler. No word yet on if the semi-nude Ron MacLean air guitar mode will be included in the patch. [Off the Stanchion]
- Dan Murphy oddly enough weighs in on a current even subject, this being the hit on Methot. I assumed Murphy would just be getting to that great pickup the Canucks got at the deadline in Keith Carney, but no, he shocked me by putting out an article in defense of the team for not jumping Methot. Apparently Volpatti wanted at Methot, but due to Volpatti getting limited minutes, he didn't have a chance. Also, Bieksa asked Methot to dance, but since Methot enjoys walking, he politely declined. [Sportsnet]
- Gone but not forgotten, Rick Rypien's impact on the hockey world and its fans will be felt for a long while. One such fan weighs in on discovering being a fan of Rypien despite initially ignoring him due to his rough and tumble style. Give it a read at [Every May]
- My friend in real life Patrick Johnston wrote an article in response to Don Cherry's latest rants about figthing/violence/hitting in hockey. While I disagree with half of what Pat says, the half I do agree with is bloody brilliant. The other half, well, I assume he was drinking when he wrote that part. Give it a read at [Canucks Army]
- While you're at Canucks Army, you might as well poke your head in and say hi to....ok he's still going by tinfoil toque right now, so let's go with that. Go say hi to TT and read his amusing article on things he hates. Does he hate XFL legend "He Hate Me"? We might never know...well maybe next week, maybe he'll tell us then. But go read his latest hate propaganda now! [Canucks Army]
- Ryan Smyth awaits word on whether or not the Shanaban is coming his way for his hit on Chris Kunitz. Shanny is making a list and checking it twice, so it's only a matter of time before Smyth gets his very own ban. [Edmonton Journal]
- Some GM's supposedly whined and moaned about Shanahan being too much man for them. Apparently ACTUALLY suspending players wasn't part of the plan for them when they saw Shanny sign up as the new Sheriff. "We assumed he'd give them a light tap on the rear and tickets to a Nickelback concert, which is the usual punishment for head shots" complained one anonymous GM. Lets call him Boo Bamorello. [LA Times]
- I tried reading Kerry Fraser's book, and I just couldn't finish it. It felt like a hammer was beating me in the head repeatedly, except instead of hitting me, it was talking about how it felt about it hitting me, then it told me about how it bought a house from Mike Keenan. Just terrible. So I feel I must share more of Fraser's writing with you so I am not the only one who suffers. Come read his take on Shanahan's reign so far. Shockingly it's not controversial, just extremely boring. [TSN.CA]
- And so it begins....as Shanaban's get handed out like candy at Halloween, the whining and moaning will begin to come in from all directions. Case in point, PM Bouchard's agent is complaining about a high sticking call that ended up with PM getting a 2 game ban. Is PM's agent being a whiny *****? Of course he is. I just can't stand it when agents think they're bigger than the game like this. You think Shanny would get this wrong?? Do I care that Bouchard is a perennial Lady Byng nominee? Come on man, use your head, how would Shanny get this wrong??
Pierre-Marc Bouchard high stick on Matt Calvert - PUCK DADDY (via GoingFiveHole)
- Bruce Arthur weighs in on the worst loss in new Jets history, the 5-1 beating they took at the hands of the Canadiens. Which means we can expect a standing ovation for the Jets the first time they face the Canucks in Vancouver, as we love teams that lose to us 5-1 as well. Go Jets Go! [The Province]
- Everyone else hates Gary Bettman, why not the tax man as well? A tax watchdog group is pissed off with Gary for flying here and there without a single thought being given to the wasted tax dollar. Gary, Gary, Gary.....you need to learn from Stephen Harper. Wear a sweater vest. That way the wasted tax dollars get muted in your blatant fashion mediocrity. [Edmonton Sun]