The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 4 vs. Oilers 0

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Apr 052013
 

The Canucks really couldn’t start a game than they did against the Edmonton Oilers last Saturday. I mean, they gave up 3 goals on 3 shots in the first 3 minutes. Would love for that not to happen again.

It really was an entertaining game. A 4-0 win against a streaking divisional rival, some big plays, big goals… and a return visit by the most exciting player to ever put on a Canucks jersey, Pavel Bure.

Here’s the game in your tweets.

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 2 at Sharks 3

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Apr 022013
 

Another game, another 3-goal deficit.

Still ravaged by injuries, the Canucks couldn’t muster enough emotion to keep up with the San Jose Sharks until it was too, too late.

The Canucks eventually lost 3-2; here, in your tweets, is how you saw the game.

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 4 vs. Avalanche 1

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Mar 292013
 

Talk about two teams headed in opposite directions.

After their 4-1 win last night over the Colorado Avalanche, the Canucks have now won 6 games in a row. The loss was the Avs’ 4th in a row and 8th in their last 9 games.

Also, with Alex Burrows reunited with the Sedins, the first line once again looks rejuvenated and accounted for 3 of the team’s 4 goals.

That’s good news for Canucks fans.

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

Canucks at Coyotes Game Day Preview: Power Shortage

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Mar 212013
 

After Ray Whitney decided to take his talents to Dallas this past off-season, the Coyotes were left with a big hole in their offense. Whitney had a team high 77 points (24G-53A) last season, so without his production players like Radim Vrbata and Shane Doan were expected to carry the offensive load.

Shane Doan

Courtesy of Christian Petersen


To say that the Coyotes have struggled to score as of late is an understatement. They have not won in their last 4 games (0-3-1) while being shut out in 3 of those 4 games and outscored 11-2 altogether. In fact, the Coyotes went a franchise record 245:30 minutes of scoreless hockey before Shane Doan scored in the 3rd period in their last game against the Los Angeles Kings.

The notion of peppering shots on goal but not getting results is all too familiar for Canucks fans. And although the Canucks’ scoring troubles aren’t quite as bad as the Coyotes’ at the moment, there is still cause for concern – the Canucks have scored 2 or less goals in 9 of their last 12 games.

This is the second meeting between the two teams. By current standards, their last meeting in February was a “high-scoring” match-up when the Coyotes beat the Canucks 4-2. Kyle Chipchura led Phoenix with 2 goals that night.

Canucks Record

14-9-6, 34 points (2nd in Northwest Division, 6th in Western Conference)

Who’s Hot

Hard to say any of the Coyotes are “hot” right now, but Shane Doan has been the only ‘Yote to score more than once in their last 4 games. (He has 2 goals.) Doan is 1 point behind the team lead with 18 points (11G-7A) on the season.

Daniel Sedin is currently riding a 3-game point streak. He has 4 points (1G-3A) in that span.

Who’s Not

Radim Vrbata has been sidelined with injuries this season and has missed 16 games so far. In his 14 games played he has just 4 goals – a far cry from his 35-goal season last season.

Chris Higgins has gone pointless in his last 5 games and is a dreadful minus-7 in that span.

Quickies

  • With Chris Higgins, Steve Pinizzotto, Zack Kassian, Ryan Kesler and David Booth all injured, the Canucks have summonned Andrew Gordon from the Wolves and will likely play a defenseman as their 12th forward. In the over/under, pick the under. (Vancouver Sun)

Game Day Preview: Canucks at Blue Jackets

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Mar 122013
 

Matt Calvert, Columbus Blue Jackets vs Cory Schneider, Vancouver Canucks

Photo credit: Lancaster Eagle Gazette

The Vancouver Canucks have easily dominated the Northwest Division in recent years. Heck, they’ve dominated it early this season, going 6-2-1 in their first 9 games against NW foes to-date (versus a 4-5-6 record against the rest of the Western Conference). But after a lackluster effort in Minnesota a couple of days ago, the Canucks have allowed the Wild to pass them in the standings.

In fact, at the halfway point of this shortened season, the Canucks have just 28 points in 24 games – good for a 6th place with 3 other teams in the Western Conference – and only 4 points up from tonight’s opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets. They’ve been wildly inconsistent, especially in the last couple of weeks, and the frustration is clearly mounting among the team’s faithful.

In the meantime, the Blue Jackets are in the midst of one of their more successful stretches in their franchise’s history. Fresh off sweeping the Detroit Red Wings in a home-and-home series this past weekend, and unbeaten in their last 7 games (5-0-2), they are currently the NHL’s hottest team.

Add to that, they have the NHL’s hottest goalie. On Monday, Sergei Bobrovsky was named the NHL’s first star of the week after going 4-0-0 with a 0.77 GAA and 0.972 save percentage.

Think the Philadelphia Flyers are having a bit of seller’s remorse right now?

And as for the Canucks’ own goalies, well, right now, they’re struggling to make the critical saves at critical points in the game. Like, in the game’s first minute or so.

Canucks Record

24 GP, 11-7-6, 28 points (2nd in Northwest Division, 6th in Western Conference

Who’s Hot

After going goalless in the first 13 games of the season, Henrik Sedin has a 3-game goal scoring streak and a 7-game point streak (4G-5A-9P). Chris Higgins has 4 goals in his last 7 games.

For the Blue Jackets, Nick Foligno has 7 points (1G-6A) in his last 7 games. RJ Umberger has a 3-game point streak (2G-1A-3P).

Quickies

  • Roberto Luongo gets the start. (Vancouver Province)
  • Jordan Schroeder has been sent back down to the Chicago Wolves. It’ll be up to Andrew Ebbett now to get Dale Weise and Tom Sestito going. (TSN)
  • Manny Malhotra is also heading to Chicago to help the Canucks prospects with faceoffs. (Vancouver Sun)

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.

Clay’s Canucks Commentary: Under the Minneso… Again

 CHB TV, Clay's Canucks Commentary  No Responses »
Mar 112013
 

The Vancouver Canucks dropped their 4th straight loss – this one a 4-2 decision to the Minnesota Wild in Minnesota.

I didn’t get a chance to watch this game so instead I relied on some insight from one of my colleagues here at CHB:  Caylie King (@cayking).  Through the magic of WhatsApp, Caylie provided me insight on scoring, fighting, and injuries.

With the Minnesota win, they overtook the Canucks for first place in the Northwest Division for the first time since December 2011.  At that time, I wrote a song called “Under the Minneso” – a spoof of Justin Bieber’s “Under the Mistletoe”.   I’ve included it at the end of this CCC.

 

Canucks Review and Preview: March 4 to 10, 2013

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Mar 052013
 

Cory Schneider of the Vancouver Canucks vs Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks

Photo credit: Sports Network

Last week, the Canucks posted 1 win, sandwiched between 2 losses. They fell short to the Phoenix Coyotes, won a statement game against the Los Angeles Kings, and then travelled to Calgary 2 hours before puck drop and dropped what should have been a sure win against the Flames.

You can say the Canucks had a week that has been typical of their NHL season so far – if there’s one thing this team has shown through their first 21 games, it’s that they’ve been consistent in their inconsistency.

However, there are signs that the team may be awakening from a mid-season slumber. For one thing, Daniel Sedin has slowly moved up the NHL’s scoring ranks; with 15 points in his last 13 games, Danny now sits 21st in league scoring, just 7 points back of 3rd place, Chris Kunitz. (Hands up if you picked Chris Kunitz this high in your hockey pools. Didn’t think so.) Likewise, Henrik Sedin has 15 points in his last 11 games – including 6 multi-point games in his last 10 games – and now has 21 points for the season as well. The twins also did well to push back – physically (!) – against Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and the Kings. Chris Higgins, with 3 goals in his last 4 games, is showing signs of life, and as well, 6’5″, 228 lb. Tom Sestito, with 2 fights in 2 games since being plucked from waivers, has given the Canucks some nastiness in the lineup.

Canucks Record

21 GP, 11-6-4, 26 points (1st in Northwest Division, 3rd in Western Conference)

Who’s Next

Tuesday, March 5, 2013 vs. San Jose Sharks (7:00 PM start)

After starting the season with a 7-0-1 record, the Sharks have cooled off considerably, going 3-6-3 in their last 12 games. Currently, they’re tied for 4th place in the Western Conference, but as we all know, the standings change pretty much on a nightly basis in the wild, wild, West.

In their first meeting of the season back in January, the Sharks beat the Canucks 4-1. Joe Pavelski led the Sharks with 2 goals in that game, while Alex Burrows had the Canucks’ lone goal.

Jumbo Joe Thornton leads the Sharks in assists (18), points (22) and is a team-best plus-5. Patrick Marleau has a team-high 12 goals, including 3 game-winning goals.

Thursday, March 7, 2013 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (4:00 PM)

For the Columbus Blue Jackets, it may be a new year, and they may have some new faces, but unfortunately, they seem to be getting the same results as they always have. With only 6 wins in their first 22 games this season, the Blue Jackets sit at the bottom of the Western Conference.

The Canucks went 3-0-1 against the Blue Jackets last season with Cory Schneider in net for all 3 wins. Something tells me AV’s coin flip will be calling out Schneids name on Thursday. Daniel Sedin had 5 points (3G-2A) in the 4 series games last season. Right now, he’s leading the Canucks with 21 points (8G-13A) in 21 games.

Vinny Prospal, Fedor Tyutin and Mark Letestu all have 12 points to lead the Blue Jackets.

Sunday, March 10, 2013 vs. Minnesota Wild (5:00 PM)

After 3 straight wins last week, a 2.00 GAA and 0.914 save percentage, Niklas Backstrom was named the NHL’s 3rd star of the week. As such, the Wild are breathing down the Canucks’ neck in the Northwest Division – they trail the Canucks by just 2 points now.

In their last game against each other in February, the Canucks won decisively by a score of 4-1. Cory Schneider was in net for that win..

Zach Parise and Dany Heatley lead the team with 8 goals each, while captain Mikko Koivu leads the team with 17 points.

The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 2 at Flames 4

 Blog, TGATT  2 Responses »
Mar 042013
 

After dominating the Kings last night, the Canucks play the second of their weekend back-to-back against the Calgary Flames. That is if they ever make it to the arena.

In goal, it’s the Battle of the Backups: Roberto Luongo for the Canucks and Danny Taylor with his first ever home start for the Flames.

As it turns out, it was more fair than we anticipated.

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

The Game According to Twitter: Canucks 5 vs Kings 2

 Blog, TGATT  No Responses »
Mar 032013
 

In a grudge match of sorts, the Canucks host the Los Angeles Kings for the first time since the Kings eliminated them in the first round of last year’s playoffs.

Hockey, check. Beer, check. Here we go.

Read more #TGATT goodness past the jump.

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