Morning Buzz: Canucks chasing Wings; John Garrett as a burger; Avs inching closer to playoffs

After weeks of watching some pretty bland hockey against boring teams, as fans we've been waiting for a game to get our blood pumping again. Toronto was close, but more because of the national coverage than the level of competitiveness between the teams on the ice.

Well, throw on a Neil Young record because Tonight's the Night.

Statistically, it's the two best teams in the league, arguably the two most entertaining to watch, and of course the Red Wings have their remarkable 23-game home win streak on the line. Here are the links to get you set, plus the rest of the day's news.

Vancouver Canucks News & Notes

The Canucks have the chance to end Detroit's 23-game home win streak tonight, and they're relishing the opportunity. [The Province]

For Detroit native David Booth, it will be his first time playing in Joe Louis Arena as a pro. [Vancouver Sun]

Botch with a good piece on Mason Raymond, who's been catching a lot of flack from fans and media recently. [The White Towel]

The mystery of what John Garrett is (a burger) and isn't (a fair, balanced analyst) has been solved! [Canucks Army]

Harrison Mooney is Spitballin', including a hilarious dancing Garret-burger! [PITB]

PITB's latest "Pass it to Comics". Awesome.

The Canucks week in tweets for Feb 22nd. [Canucks Army]

Here's an interesting trip down memory lane, looking at Vancouver's history on trade deadline day dating back to 2003. Oh 2006, you so crazy! [Canucks Army]

Cam Charron touches on the effectiveness of Chris Tanev in his short stint with the team so far this season. [Legion of Blog]

Derek Jory is blogging very regularly for the Canucks these days, which is good to see. Here's his post after arriving in Detroit. [Fort Nucks]

Laurence Gilman talks about the anatomy of a trade in the Canucks organization. Some interesting bits in here about getting a guy they know is going to fit into the chemistry of the room, and doing their best to make deals "under the radar". So I guess the club won't be making a deal with the Maple Leafs anytime soon?

Today in Canucks History

[Feb 23, 2001] The Canucks travel to Belleville, Ontario from Toronto by train and participate in an outdoor game of shinny. The game was versus the Belleville Bobcats, a minor hockey team that Marc Crawford played for growing up.

[2003] Markus Naslund scores his 40th goal of the season, becoming the first player in Canucks history with 40 or more goals in three straight seasons. Also, in the same game Dan Cloutier wins his 30th game of the season, becoming the first goaltender in Canucks history to post back to back 30 (plus) win seasons.

NHL News & Notes

Last night's match between the Avalanche and Kings was going to be a big determining factor in whether Colorado would be buying or selling at the deadline. Joe Sacco challenged his players before the game, they passed with flying carpets, and the Avs are just 2 points back of the final playoff spot in the West. [CBC]

Goal of the night probably goes to Milan Michalek on an incredible play with Erik Karlsson. Michalek's celebration after the goal was a little different. [Puck Daddy]

After another listless loss from the Capitals, some critics in Washington are calling for drastic changes. [PHT]

Tuomo Ruutu will not be one of the players on the move before next Tuesday, as he just signed a 4-year extension worth $19M with the Hurricanes. [NHL]

It's expected that the Detroit Red Wings will soon announce a 2-year extension for Todd Bertuzzi worth around $2.2M per. [Detroit Free Press]

Steve Lepore breaks down the different in trade deadline coverage between TSN and Sportsnet. This is very well done. [Puck the Media]

There have been a few injuries of late in the NHL, and Dr. Recchi is not impressed. [Legion of Blog]

Graham James issued an apology during his sentencing hearing yesterday. Much too little, much too late. [TSN]

Today in NHL History

[Feb 23, 1971] The Boston Bruins begin a 13-game win streak.