Wanted: New alarm clock

Someone should tell the Canucks that the game starts before the third period. Someone should also remind Roberto Luongo that the season starts in October.

After being bounced by Steve Mason and the Columbus Blue Jackets last night, the Canucks are 0-3 and a regulation loss to the Habs away from setting a franchise low.

Needless to say, I’m not happy with the way the season has started. That said, I’m not ready to jump off the bandwagon just yet.

There were plenty of things to like about the Canucks’ performance last night. For starters, the game was exciting despite the loss. The Canucks threw 43 shots at Steve Mason – plus another 41 where they missed the net or the shot was blocked – and often had sustained offensive pressure on the Blue Jackets. Once again, the defense was active on offense and scored 2 of the Canucks’ 3 goals. (Incidentally, the defense has now scored exactly half of the Canucks’ goals this season.) Simply, fans that love firewagon hockey would have loved last night’s game.

The flip side of this is that fast, exciting hockey seems to have come at the expense of the defensive responsibility. At least in the first 3 games of the regular season, firewagon hockey has equalled Chinese fire drill on defense. Surely, this is one area the Canucks need to work on if they hope to break into the win column eventually.