Canucks lose in two cities on the same night.

Man, it was fun to watch hockey again! It was some split squad action getting us started on the NHL preseason for my Vancouver Canucks, and I'm here to explain why an 0-2 start after day one isn't as bad as it seems. The 'Nucks got matched up at Calgary and at home against Calgary yesterday. I DVR'd the game, only to find out that NHL Network only carried the Alberta clash (boo). In that game, I watched a nearly opening day roster for the Flamers (at least on the top line) go up against my Baby 'Nuck wanabes. We'll start with that game, since it's the one I watched.

Here were the Orca lines from the game in Calgary:

Tambellini-Perrault-Hansen
Glass-Bolduc-Schroeder
Volpatti-Bliznak-Morin
Hordichuk-Rosa-Anthony

And the defensive pairings:

Ballard-Baumgartner
O'Brien-Ramsay
Zimmerman-Alberts

And the keepers:

Lack and Weiman

Just a handfull of dudes from our 2010/2011 opening day roster (Hansen, Glass, Hodichuk, Ballard, SOB, maybe Baumer and maybe Alberts) were out on the sheet of ice in Alberta against the likes of Tanguay, Jokinen, Iginla, and Kiprusoff. Seems like a fair fight. If I'm being honest with you, though, the Canucks really held their own in this game. Despite falling 2-3, there were some serious positives to take away (and during the NHL preseason, it's more important to look at positives and things to work on, rather than results).

Positives from the 2-3 loss in Calgary:

+Eddie Lack was on point. He was so solid during the first period, especially on the power play. He turned away an Iginla one timer, and barely gave up any rebounds. I was impressed.

+Jannik Hansen's game opening goal was so rad. The Canucks were peppering Kipper with shots like mad, and Tambellini went behind the net to gather the puck. The Flamer goalie turned completely around to keep his eyes on Tambs, but Jeff flipped a pretty backhand pass to a waiting Hansen, and the Great Dane buried it in the net as Kipper was still slowly turning around. Big goal for Jannik, who really needs to have a breakout year.

+Marco Rosa also scored, briefly tying the game in the second period. That was fun for him.

+We stayed out of the box when it mattered. Calgary outpenalized us 5-2 in the final frame. And while it may not have transferred to the score sheet, it is the kind of cautious/fundamentally sound play that helps a team win.

Things to work on:

-Going for the throat. When Vancouver tied the game early in the third, that needs to be the time when we push the pedal down and finish the deal. Waiting around for the Flamers to take the lead isn't fun.

-Don't take stupid penalties. This was something the Canucks did last season A LOT (too many men on the ice, over and over...), and last night we saw Hordie get the goalie interference call and Lack get called for delay of game. Clean it up before October, boys.

Before we jump to the game in Vancouver, I'd just say to say screw you, ESPN. The "recap" of the game in Alberta had only one sentence that mentioned the Canucks, while the rest was a Tanguay ball washing. I hate you guys.

The Rogers Centre (formerly GM Place to all of you way behind of the news) featured a 1-3 Vancouver loss that also had lots of positives, believe it or not.

Positives from the 1-3 loss in V-Town:

+Cory Schneider stopped 17 of 18 shots he faced in his two periods of play, and the Flames two goals that ended up being the difference came against David Shantz (a Woop Deee Whoop reference?) early in the third.

+Raffi Torres scored! This guy is going to have to have this kind of start if he wants to endear himself to 7th Canucks around Orca Nation. Last night was a good start, as he pounded home our only goal from Shirokov (I told you so!) and Rome. It was a power play goal, so I guess Calgary's Cunning should also get an assist for his elbowing penalty.

+Oreskovich fought Jackman after our goal, which will definitely make him a hero among Moose fans.

+Outside of the "5 For Fighting" (90's rock reference!), we kept the penalty differential well under control. We got sent to the sin bin 5 times to the Flames' 8.

Things to work on:

-Bieksa got called twice for interference within about a 6 minute timeframe in the second. Come on, man. Now that you're staying with the team, the least you could do is skate!

-No quick goals. There is nothing worse than allowing goals right at the start of a period or right at the end of it. Down just 0-1 entering the final 20, the Vannies allowed Calgary goals 28 seconds and 92 seconds into the third period. Now, I know we had Shantz out there between the pipes, but the masked man doesn't get all the blame when a biscuit finds it's way into the back of the net.

Now, fellow Canucks fans, I know how insane we are about this team. Let's not let this 0-2 start to the PRESEASON lead to gripes about how we need to change this and that. Remember that this preseason is ONLY about who will fill in the final roster spots, and nothing else (well, maybe conditioning and getting game ready, but that's a given). Follow the positive takeaways from the games, as well as the things we need to work on, but don't dwell too hard on the results. Or, if you have to, at least wait until tonight's home match against the Oilers (when we finally have a full squad in one place) to start complaining. 

Man, I love hockey.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē