Jan 252012
Jan 242012
[Every week, Caylie King reviews the Canucks week that was and previews the Canucks week ahead. You can follow Caylie on Twitter (@cayking).]
Last week, the Canucks split its two games. On Tuesday, the Canucks lost to the Kings in a shootout. Luongo had a huge game stopping 39 of 41 shots and was the huge factor in stealing the team one point. On the other hand, Saturday’s early matinee game, against the Sharks, was the best performance from the Canucks since beating the Boston Bruins two weeks ago in another early Saturday game. The team put together a solid 60-minute effort to win the two points.
With the All-Star break coming up, this week brings with it good and bad news. Good news: the Sedins, Hodgson and Edler will represent the Canucks in Ottawa. The bad news: Canucks Nation will have one Canucks game to watch in seven days. Before you go into withdrawal mode, look at the bright side, a week-long break will be give the boys a chance to recharge their batteries and get ready for the home stretch.
Canucks Record
48 GP, 29-15-4, 62 points (1st in Northwest Division, 2nd in Western Conference)
Who’s Hot
Welcome back, David Booth. After missing 18 games due to a knee-sprain, Booth has come back into the lineup and picked up where he left off. He has 3 points (2G-1A) in his last 3 games.
The American Express line has finally been reunited and seem to have found their chemistry again. The line, with Booth, Ryan Kesler and Chris Higgins, was great, especially in the 1st period of the Sharks game.
Who’s Hotter
Alex Edler is off to the All-Star game, and while some were surprised by this selection, he has actually, quietly been putting up a strong campaign. Edler has recorded at least one point in 5 of his last 7 games; he has 1 goal and 5 assists in that span. His 34 points (7G-27A) is 3rd in overall scoring on the Canucks, behind just Daniel and Henrik, and ties him for 2nd in points amongst all NHL defensemen.
Who’s Next
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 vs. Edmonton oilers (7:00 PM start, home)
It’s a Northwest Division battle as the Canucks go against the struggling Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers sit in 14th place and have been hit hard by the injury bug. The absence of rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been greatly noticed as the Oilers have gone 2-7-1 without him in the lineup.
The Canucks have won 2 of the 3 games so far against Edmonton this season. Roberto Luongo backstopped the Canucks in both victories and will start again tonight.
It was just announced that Jordan Eberle will replace the injured Mikko Koivu at the All-Star Game, a deserved honor. In just his second season in the NHL, Eberle leads the Oilers in goals (18), assists (27) and points (45). He is currently riding a 2-game point streak and will look to extend it against the Canucks.
Jan 222012
Jan 172012
[Every week, Caylie King looks at the Canucks week that was and the Canucks week ahead. You can follow Caylie on Twitter (@CayKing).]
Since the epic win against the Bruins, the Canucks are 2-2-0 and haven’t looked like the team that rolled through much of November and December. You can even say they were lucky to win against the Lightning and Blues. In their most recent loss, against the 14th place Anaheim Ducks, the Canucks looked out of synch and were outshot and outhustled most of the night. That said, the great thing about an 82-game season is that the Canucks have every opportunity to right their wrongs and move on from these recent lackluster performances.
Canucks Record
46 GP, 28-15-3, 59 points (1st in Northwest Division, 2nd in Western Conference)
Who’s Hot
Cody Hodgson has made quite the impression by being one of the better and more consistent Canucks on the ice. Since December 11, CoHo has not gone more than 1 game without recording a point. Despite logging an average of 12:44 minutes of ice-time per game, he has 11 points (5G-6A) in his last 14 games (0.79 points/game).
Hodgson is currently tied for 4th in rookie scoring with 26 points (11G-15A) and has a plus-10 rating. Last week, he was selected to participate in the rookie All-Star weekend festivities.
Who’s Not
Chris Higgins has been plagued with a mysterious infection twice already this season. In late December, he missed a few games due to a swollen hand, but ever since his return at the beginning of January, Higgins has struggled to find the scoresheet. In his last 7 games, Higgy has just 1 assist; prior to that, he had 6 points (2G-4A) in his previous 7 games.
Despite this setback, Higgins has recorded 10 goals and 14 assists already this season, and is on pace to exceed the 28 points he recorded all of last season. With David Booth also back in the lineup, the American Express line is back together, and hopefully, they can find the same chemistry they had before Higgy’s and Booth’s injuries, and start producing more consistently again.
Who’s Next
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 vs. Los Angles Kings (7:00 PM start, home)
Only 6 points separate the Canucks and the Kings as they meet for the third time this season. So far, both teams have won one game each in this series. In their last meeting, on New Year’s Eve, the Canucks lost 4-1 to the Kings at Staples Center.
The Kings are 3-4-2 against Northwest opponents so far this season. Both teams have a good penalty-kill; the Kings’ PK is ranked 3rd in the NHL (87.6%) and the Canucks’ PK is ranked 4th in the NHL (86.7%).
Anze Kopitar leads the Kings in goals (14), points (42) and has been their best player against the Canucks. He has 3 points (1G-2A) and a plus-2 rating in their first two meetings. He is currently on a 4-game point streak (3G-3A-6P).
Saturday January 21, 2012 vs. San Jose Sharks (1:00 PM start, home)
With another early afternoon game this Saturday, it’s the perfect time to head down to the Hog Shack for the Canucks Hockey Blog tweetup as the boys take on the dangerous San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks have had a great start to the month of January going 6-1-1 in their first 8 games. They currently lead the Pacific Division; they also sit in 3rd place in the Western Conference, just 4 points back of the Canucks, with 4 games in hand.
The Sharks have played great against the Northwest Division this season. They’ve taken points in 8 of 10 games – a 5-2-3 record – against Northwest Division opponents. This will be the last regular season meeting between the two teams this season.
In three games against the Canucks this season, Patrick Marleau leads the Sharks with 3 points (2G-1A) and about 23 minutes of ice time.
He is also tied with Joe Thornton for the team lead in scoring with 36 points (17G-19A), and is tied for the team lead with 4 powerplay goals with 3 other Sharks (Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Ryan Clowe).
Dec 072011
Dec 062011
In this episode of the CHB TV video podcast, Matt Lee, Clay Imoo and J.J. Guerrero talk about the improved production from the Canucks’ second line and back end. Also, more on the team’s goalie tandem.
Dec 052011
Nov 302011
Nov 262011
Nov 072011
After a shaky start to their current six-game road trip, I thought I would bring in a ringer to help me with latest CCC in an attempt to encourage, inspire and affirm the Canucks. Thus, I’m blessed welcome my good friend and anthem singer for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC: the beautiful and talented Marie Hui (http://www.mariehui.com).
We put together three songs that touch on the three positional facets of the game: our defencemen, our forwards, and our goaltenders.
For the D, we change up the words to Michael Jackson’s hit “Man in the Mirror” and wind up with “Men at the Rear.”
For the forwards, we concentrate on one in particular in David Booth as he asks for some more “Fireworks” (Katy Perry). (Please note that we recorded this a few hours prior to his big game against the Blackhawks.)
Lastly, we do our rendition of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” with “Goalies in the Crease.”
And if you make it to the end…there’s a small blooper reel for your enjoyment!