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Of all the stories that have filtered out about the dysfunction that is the Vancouver Canucks this season, the one that emerged yesterday probably hits hardest. In Ben Kuzma's story about Nikolay Goldobin's return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the last game (against his former team and tonight's opponent, the San Jose Sharks) there was this little nugget:
At the end of a short practice, Ryan Miller and Nikolay Goldobin took a knee at centre ice Monday and had a long discussion. Some sage advice for the impressionable kid from the wily veteran?
"I just thought he looked good today and he looked like he needed somebody to tell him he was good," said the Vancouver Canucks goalie. "He’s got a lot of good things going. Like a lot of guys, he’s young. He’ll get it figured out."
The fact that this kind of leadership and well... coaching, is coming from one of the players and not, you know, anyone on the coaching staff speaks volumes for the mess that the Canucks find themselves in. While I still think it's in the Canucks best interest to not bring Miller back because of his age and declining game that will accompany it, you cannot say enough about what he's done for this team, and how bad it could have been without him.
THE OPPOSITION
The Sharks should announce the seriousness of Joe Thornton's lower body injury today, which essentially will be the Sharks letting everyone know whether or not they're serious contenders for the Cup. If Joe's gone for any length of time leading into the post season, you may as well take this team off your list. Yes, they are a good team, but Thornton is a massive loss, and given the way this team has stumbled down the stretch, it's hard to imagine them progressing without them.
THE CANUCKS
Some serious scoreboard watching happening tonight, as the Arizona Coyotes take on the Dallas Stars. A Coyotes win combined with a Canucks loss will see Arizona pull into a tie with the Canucks, though Vancouver does have the tiebreaker, making Thursday's showdown in Glendale the most important game between these two teams, well... ever.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
Wanted to share this track from Obituary with you. It comes off their 'Ten Thousand Ways To Die' single (which comes with 12 live classics from the band). I won this, along with a bunch of other stuff as part of a giveaway from The Metalhead Box. The Metalhead Box is a Loot Crate for 'bangers, and this month's box was all about the Decibel Magazine tour (which was in Vancouver last week) featuring Kreator, Obituary, Midnight and Horrendous. If you love metal, you really need to check it out. Go to http://www.themetalheadbox.com and take a look.