In this last TGATT of the season, we recap the Canucks’ final game of the season – a 4-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
Are you disappointed? Mad? Sad? Glad?
I’m so upset that I’m eating a salad #TGATT
— Elmee Baterina (@elmeebaterina) May 8, 2013
Some people drink to drown their sorrows, some eat salad. D’fferent strokes, I suppose.
Cory Schneider played great. So did Alex Burrows, who kept the Wings on their heels all night, and Max Lapierre, who chanelled his inner Patrick Kane in the shootout, and scored the shootout winner. With their 2-1 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings last night, the Canucks clinched their spot in the 2013 NHL playoffs.
But who cares about all that? DJ Tanner and Aunt Becky were at the game.
Most exciting part of this game was seeing DJ Tanner on the jumbotron. #Canucks #TGATT
— Caylie King (@CayKing) April 21, 2013
Have mercy!
After rolling through some of the weaker teams in the West, the Canucks begin a stretch of games against potential playoff dance partners.
They started with a game against the St. Louis Blues last night, a chippy affair that featured a lot of rough stuff and name calling, and resulted in a 2-1 Canucks loss in the shootout.
So, of course, we find a way to work an O.C. reference in TGATT.
Tomorrow’s #TGATT features Wolverine and Ryan Atwood. So ya, it’s gonna be a good morning.
— Lizz Moffat (@lizzmoffat) April 17, 2013
Here’s the game recap in your tweets.
If the playoffs started today, guess who the Canucks will play in the first round. That’s right. None other than the defending champions, the Los Angeles Kings.
(*shudder* I still can’t get used to saying that.)
Who knows how the standings will unfold in the next 18 games, but given the recent history between the two teams, which includes some cheap shots by the Kings’ organization over social media, and that both will play in the same division after realignment next season, perhaps we’re seeing the start of a brand new rivalry.
Like the Canucks, the Kings have been dealing with their share of injuries. Especially on the blueline, where they’ve missed Willie Mitchell all season and Matt Greene for pretty much all season, they’ve shown some depth. In particular, two young defensemen, Slava Voynov and Jake Muzzin, have stepped up and become big parts of the Kings’ success this season.
Voynov, who is only playing in his second NHL season, leads all Kings’ defensemen in scoring with 19 points (4G-15A). His 19 points also places him among the top-10 scoring defensemen in the entire league.
Muzzin is a good story. Drafted late – and then left unsigned – by the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Kings took a chance on him and he has responded with 13 points (6G-7A) in 27 games, 1 more point than Drew Doughty, and a team-best plus-13 rating. His 6 goals rank 3rd among all NHL defensemen; only Brian Campbell and PK Subban have more.
On top of their injury woes, the Canucks will now be dealing with losing Alex Edler for this weekend’s games. Edler, who leads all Canucks skaters in ice-ime (24:01 minutes per game) and all Canucks defensemen in points (5G-12A-17P), has been suspended for 2 games after his, ummm, run-in with Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith on Thursday night. If there was ever a time for guys like Kevin Bieksa and Jason Garrison to really earn their new contracts, this would be it. Both Bieksa and Garrison have just 7 points each this season.
Canucks Record
15-9-6, 36 points (2nd in the Northwest Division, 5th in the Western Conference)
Who’s Hot
Anze Kopitar has points in 5 of his last 6 games (1G-5A) and currently leads the Kings in assists (19) and points (28).
It’s safe to say that Cory Schneider is playing one of his better stretches of hockey of the season. He has won his last 2 starts and has been the deciding factor in each game. In both starts combined, he’s allowed just 3 goals on 68 shots (.956 save %) – a welcome sight for the Canucks, who have struggled to find consistency between the pipes in the last few weeks.
Who’s Not
Back in June, after the Kings won the Stanley Cup, they also signed goaltener Jonathan Quick to a 10-year contract extension and sent out this tweet: “To clarify, that’s 10 years after next year — so 11 years in total of our goaltender being better than yours.”
Fast-forward to today, and Quick is a so-so 10-9-2 on the season with a 0.897 save percentage – 40th among all NHL goaltenders – and a 2.54 GAA – 22nd among all NHL goaltenders.
Just sayin’.
By now, you’ve seen this clip. In last night’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes, Alex Edler chased the puck behind the net and hits Mike Smith, who came out of his crease to play the puck.
As a result of the hit, Edler received a five-minute major penalty, allowing the Coyotes to tie the game during the ensuing powerplay. But also, Edler apparently now has a phone hearing with the NHL later this afternoon, which means he could be facing supplemental discipline.
I suppose Edler could have done more to avoid contact with Smith. (Smith sure looked like he sold that call, but whatever.) Or maybe, Edler was looking for some payback given Smith punched Daniel Sedin and gave him a bloody nose – unpenalized – earlier in the game.
While I’m usually of the mindset that goalies who wander out of their crease should be fair game, I also understand the league has called these penalties on a fairly consistent basis. In that sense, there’s no doubt Edler deserved a penalty on the play. But IMHO, a phone hearing and a possible suspension seems excessive.
Courtesy of AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
Update: March 22, 2013, 6:30 PM
The NHL has suspended Alex Edler for two games for this hit.
The Canucks are battered and bruised, but made it to Phoenix. Well most of them did. Steve Pinizzotto and Zack Kassian did not. Chris Higgins did, but tweaked his back in the morning and couldn’t play. At this point they really just need to hold on and bubble wrap everyone. At all times.
The Canucks are only a few injuries away from running a fan contest to play on their fourth line.
— Brigitte Lynne(@OneGirlOnePuck) March 22, 2013
Now, on to the game.
When the Minnesota Wild signed BFFs Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to similar 13-year, $98 million contracts this off-season, some wondered whether or not owner Craig Leopold had finally lost his mind. Don’t get me wrong. Not that these outrageously big contracts weren’t deserved – Parise is a consistent 30-goal scorer and recorded a career-high 94 points in 2008-2009, and Ryan Suter is one of the top defensemen in the league with an average of over 30 points a season over the last 5 seasons – but Minnesota is still a relatively-small market team and Leopold cried poor not long after the deals. Committing $196 million to 2 players is no small thing.
Courtesy of Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Parise has found some good chemistry with captain Mikko Koivu and both have 22 points each (Parise has 11 goals). After a bit of a slow start, Suter has hit his stride and leads the team with 23 points (2G-21A).
Tonight’s game, the final meeting for the Canucks and the Wild this season, will be another battle for first place in the Northwest Division. The Canucks do lead the season series 2-1, but were trumped in Minnesota just over a week ago.
Canucks Record
13-8-6, 32 points (2nd in Northwest Division, 7th in Western Conference)
Who’s Hot
Suter has 14 points in his last 10 games and hasn’t gone more than 1 game without a point since February 7, 2013. He is also averaging a league-high 27:16 minutes of ice-time per game.
Alex Edler has 4 points (1G-3A) and is a plus-3 in his last 2 games. Though while his offensive contributions are welcomed by the currently offensively-challenged Canucks, his defensive breakdowns also seem to be more commonplace.
Who’s Not
Dany Heatley is tied for the team’s worst plus/minus with a minus-11 and has only managed 2 assists in his last 5 games and 6 points in his last 12 games.
Quickies
The Canucks were back home against the Nashville Predators, having stumbled to and from Ohio, and were looking to set the tone for their second half journey in the shortened NHL season.
So what kind of game did we see?
If Andrew Alberts scores, I will go streaking #tgatt @lyteforce
— Justine Galo (@Aviewfromabroad) March 15, 2013
Alberts almost scoring and people going streaking. Who knew Chris could be a trendsetter?
I look at the good, the bad, and the interesting from the Canucks’ 2-1 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets from Thursday, March 7 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
The Canucks tied the game in the early stages of the third period, only to have Matt Calvert channel his inner Sidney Crosby in overtime – going around both Henrik Sedin and Alex Edler on the winning goal.
In the video, I touch on Cory Schneider, the defensive pairing of Jason Garrison and Dan Hamhuis, our lack of scoring, the poor effort on the game-winning goal, and the Canucks’ less-than-stellar record through 23 games.
The Canucks are back home against the San Jose Sharks, looking to bounce back after a loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
There’s lots of baby talk prior to this game – baby honey badgers, baby Hansens, and now, baby Burrows.
Burrows welcomed a baby girl a day after Hansen had twin boys. Seems like the #Canucks had some time on their hands last June. #TGATT
— Clay Imoo (@CanuckClay) March 6, 2013
I suppose we can thank the Kings for that circumstance, but for now, let’s go to the game.
