Canucks vs. Avalanche Game Day Preview: Cory Takes Control

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Mar 282013
 

Vancouver Canucks celebrate a goal against the Colorado Avalanche

Photo credit: Vancouver Sun

A few weeks ago, the very thought that Roberto Luongo could be traded by next week’s trade deadline scared many fans. The Canucks were in a slump, having won just 3 of their 11 games, and in part because their $9.3 million goaltending duo of Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo were battling inconsistency between the pipes. At that time, neither Schneider or Luongo had taken the reigns of the team’s no. 1 goaltending spot. Regardless of their play, on some level, having both in the lineup perhaps provided a sense of safety in numbers.

Before the Canucks’ current 5-game win streak, Schneider, specifically, was struggling. His timing was off and he seemed out of position at times. For a one-month stretch between February 15 and March 19, he was a rather pedestrian 2-3-3 with a 2.82 GAA and a 0.902 save percentage. And let’s not even get into his puckhandling adventures. Obviously, the Canucks’ struggles weren’t all his fault – he wasn’t getting much support from his defense and the team continues to struggle to score – but for that stretch, it seemed like he couldn’t make the big save when the Canucks needed him to, and that had Canucks fans a bit spooked.

Now, that sense of fear appears to have dissipated.

Going into tonight’s game against the last place Colorado Avalanche, Schneider, who will make his 6th consecutive start, is playing his best hockey of the season. He’s won his last 5 starts, which coincides with the Canucks’ 5-game win steak, and has a 0.98 GAA, a 0.962 save percentage and 2 shutouts in those games. Quickly, he’s worked his way back to more expected numbers, and for the season, he now has an 11-5-3 record with a 2.19 GAA (9th in the NHL), a 0.923 save percentage (3rd in the NHL), and 3 shutouts (4th in the NHL).

There will be very little room for error for Schneider if the much-anticipate Luongo trade occurs before the trade deadline. But it’s a great sign to finally see him settle in his role, and certainly, his play is helping alleviate fans’ fears of moving forward with him as the Canucks’ starting goaltender.

Canucks Record

18-9-6, 42 points (2nd in the Northwest Division, 4th in the Western Conference)

Season Series

The Canucks won the most recent meeting last Sunday. The Avs have actually had a dreadful month of March with only 3 wins in 12 games (3-8-1). They’re winless in their last 10 road games (0-7-3) and are dead last in the Western Conference. With 16 games to go, they’re still 10 points out of a playoff spot.

Who’s Hot

PA Parenteau is on a 3-game point streak (2G-3A-5P). He leads the Avs in goals (14) and points (33).

Who’s Not

Milan Hejduk has just 2 points in his last 8 games. Usually a big part of the Avs offense – he’s averaged 25 goals in his past 6 seasons – he’s had trouble finding the net and has just 4 goals and 7 assists in 25 games.

Quickies

  • Keith Ballard has a minor fracture in his foot and won’t play tonight. (Vancouver Province)
  • Roberto Luongo patiently waiting. Sitting and waiting. (Vancouver Sun)

The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 1 vs. Blue Jackets 0 (SO)

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Mar 272013
 

It wasn’t exactly a masterpiece, but the Canucks won their 5th consecutive game last night, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 in the shootout.

If you were looking for chills, spills and thrills, well, you went to the wrong place.

But hey, 2 points is 2 points, and with the win, the Canucks regained top spot in the Northwest Division, although the idle Minnesota Wild has 2 games in hand.

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

Canucks vs. Blue Jackets Game Day Preview: Not Your Older Brother’s Blue Jackets

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Mar 262013
 

Mason Raymond of the Vancouver Canucks scores a spinorama goal in the shootout to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Photo credit: Globe and Mail

Rick Nash was the face of the Columbus Blue Jackets for nine seasons.

So it was a bittersweet moment when the only true superstar the franchise had ever had agreed to waive his no-trade clause to go to the New York Rangers.

The Blue Jackets had only made the playoffs once in its not-so-storied history. The Rangers boasted some big names in their lineup and had just made the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2007. It was obvious that Nash wanted to go to a team that had a legitimate chance of, not only making the playoffs, but also making a run for the Stanley Cup, and that team wasn’t Columbus.

If you thought Columbus would have seller’s remorse, think again. An informal Twitter poll done by Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch asked whether or not Columbus fans would do the Rick Nash trade again – the Blue Jackets received Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a first round draft pick in return – and the answer was overwhelming on the “Yes” side.

And who would blame them?

Perhaps it’s a by-product of a shortened season, but with only one-third of the season left to play, there’s not much difference between the two teams. The Rangers, who many thought would be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, especially with Nash in the lineup, are barely clinging on to the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets, who many thought would occupy their usual spot in the bottom of the Western Conference, are only 2 points out of a playoff spot.

Starting at the top, where GM John Davidson has started to mold the Blue Jackets into a young, hard-working team, and through the lineup where guys like Dubinsky, Anisimov, Nick Foligno, Mark Letestu, Jack Johnson and Sergei Bobrovsky are leading the team on a nightly basis, there is, for the first time in a long time, a feeling among the faithful that their team can beat any team on any given night.

And it took the trading of their superstar in the summer to pave the way for their success so far this season.

Canucks Record

17-9-6, 40 points (2nd in the Northwest Division, 4th in the Western Conference)

Season Series

This is the third and final meeting between the Canucks and the Blue Jackets this season. Neither of the first two meetings were decided in regulation time. In their first meeting on March 7, Matt Calvert scored the OT winner for the Blue Jackets. Five days later, Mason Raymond scored the shootout winner to win the game for the Canucks and kickstart their current 6-2-0 run.

Who’s Hot

Sergei Bobrovsky has been the Blue Jacket’s best player this season. Playing in the final year of his contract, Bobrovsky is 8-1-2 in his last 11 starts. He is 3rd in the NHL in save % (0.927) and is 6th in both GAA (2.17) and shutouts (2).

Cory Schneider, who is getting his fifth consecutive start, has won 4 straight games and has allowed only 5 goals in that span.

Quickies

  • Keith Ballard will once again suit up on the third line with Andrew Ebbett and Alex Burrows. #kb4ward (Vancouver Province)
  • Jussi Jokinen and Kaspar Daugavins are on waivers, and the Canucks should make a claim for both of them. (Pass It To Bulis)

Canucks at Avalanche Game Day Preview: Mile High Meltdown

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Mar 242013
 

Canucks vs Avalanche

Photo credit: canada.com

After the Colorado Avalanche dropped a 5-2 decision to the Dallas Stars yesterday, Avs goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere didn’t mince any words:

“We had a big meeting two or three days ago, a players-only meeting. We talked about some stuff and I thought we had a good response against Dallas at home (Wednesday). Then we have a day off, then come back and practice, and I thought our practice was just awful,” Giguere said. “The effort wasn’t there. We practiced defensive zone coverage, and guys weren’t taking the body and swirling and stuff like that. This is the stuff we have to work on every day. I told a couple of the guys that ‘I don’t think we’ll have a good game today.’ It’s unacceptable. It’s an everyday job. You’ve got to work hard every day. You’ve got to be a lot more desperate than that.”

I suppose Giguere’s outburst is a bit understandable. After all, the Avs have lost 5 of their last 6 games and now occupy last place in the Western Conference. Especially after a 20-point improvement between the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons – they went from 68 to 88 points in 82 games – there was some hope that the Avs could maybe make a push for a playoff spot this season. Now 7 points back of 8th place in the Western Conference and with only 18 games left to play, that hope is slowly fading.

Canucks Record

16-9-6, 38 points (2nd in Northwest Division, 4th in Western Conference)

Who’s Hot

Cory Schneider has started the last 3 Canucks games – all wins – and stopped 85 of the 88 shots he faced (0.966 save percentage). In an afternoon matinee against the defending Stanley Cup champions Los Angeles Kings, who had won 12 of their 17 games before facing the Canucks, Schneider stopped all 20 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season.

Who’s Not

After finally breaking an 0-for-35 slump against the Minnesota Wild last week, the Canucks’ powerplay is mired in another lengthy slump. They haven’t scored in their last 11 man-advantages, including 3 PP opportunities against the Kings yesterday. Perhaps Dimitri Filipovic from Canucks Army described it best:

I don’t want to harp on how dreadful the power play looks, because I realize that it’s missing 2 of its most important pieces. I’ll just mention that the team had 3 opportunities, which only generated 2 scoring chances. Both were for the Kings.

Quickies

  • A personal fave column: Canucks Brunch. (Nucks Misconduct)
  • Still trying to figure out if Tony G. is giving AV a hard time for his lineup decisions or giving him a pass because of all his missing players. (Vancouver Province)
  • For those hoping the Canucks’ offense gets a trade deadline boost, who knows if it they’ll come. (Vancouver Province)

Canucks at Kings Game Day Preview: Royal Pains

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Mar 232013
 

Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks in the middle of a scrum with Colin Fraser of the Los Angeles Kings.

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’.

The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 2 at Coyotes 1

 Blog, TGATT  No Responses »
Mar 222013
 

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.

Now, on to the game.

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 3 vs Blues 2

 Blog, TGATT  2 Responses »
Mar 202013
 

Still trying to get last night’s game out of our minds, we’re provided the best tonic – a game the following night against St. Louis rolling in hot.

SOCIABLE!!

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 7 vs Predators 4

 Blog, TGATT  No Responses »
Mar 152013
 

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?

Alberts almost scoring and people going streaking. Who knew Chris could be a trendsetter?

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

Clay’s Canucks Commentary: Exacting Revenge on the Blue Jackets and Cam Barker’s Offensive Prowess

 CHB TV, Clay's Canucks Commentary  No Responses »
Mar 132013
 

With a 2-1 shootout victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus, the Canucks were able to avenge last week’s 2-1 overtime defeat to the same team in the same arena.

This time, highlights included the strong goaltending of Roberto Luongo and Mason Raymond’s spin-o-rama goal in the shootout.

In this video, I touch on Roberto Luongo’s strong game, David Booth’s aggressive play, Alex Burrows sliding into Luongo, boarding penalties, the goaltending situation, Cam Barker’s offensive prowess, and Tom Sestito’s decreasing playing time.

 

The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 2 at Wild 4

 Blog, TGATT  7 Responses »
Mar 112013
 

Mired in a 3-game losing slump, the Canucks called a team meeting prior to facing the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night. Did it work?

Ummm…

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

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