It was a way down and way up weekend for our beloved Canucks. It really hurt having to lose to the Kings...again, but bashing the 'Canes sure did help me feel better last night. I'm just wondering if all the 7th Canucks up in B.C. are going to start calling on Schneider to start over Luongo after last night. Yes, we are that crazy.
Canucks 1 - 4 Kings
God, please let me forget how miserable this game was. This was the main game over the weekend that I wanted to win. Actually, I didn't just want the Canucks to win this game, I wanted the Canucks to crush the Kings in this game. Thanks to lucky bounces that went the way of the bad guys, my desires just wouldn't come to fruition.
The Kings first goal came on a puck that deflected of Jack Johnson's skate and stick, and into the net. The Kings second goal came on a puck that deflected off of Bieksa's skate and through the 5 hole of Luongo. Lu slowly fell back onto his back in disgust after that one. We would go into the third period down those 2 goals to none, despite outshooting the Queens 18-10. Finally, Daniel Sedin scored a goal that gave us hope, just 6:53 into the final frame. H-Bomb streaked down the ice and fed a perfect pass to Daniel, who banged it home past Quick. I burst into excitement, throwing my pillow into the air. Sadly, my excitement quickly died inside of me, as Dustin Brown scored two goals to finish it off (one minute after Daniel's and five minutes after that). Really, really tough.
The 'Nucks outshot the Kings 26-19, but again couldn't finish it off. We also won the faceoff battle, as well as the giveaway/takeaway battle, and broke away fairly even in the penalty box (although, Kes' big misconduct call at the end doesn't make it look that way), but it still wasn't meant to be. I hate to bring it up, but newbie Raffi Torres was a hugely disappointing -3 in the match, and a lineup shuffle would clearly ensue after that mark. Bobby Lu made just 15 stops on 19 shots, despite two of the Kings goals being total luck.
I understand that it's still REALLY early, and we need to stay way clear of that panic button, but the 'Nucks' play to start things off is a little worrying (or, at least, maddening). To cheer me up, I'll present my "Top Star Who Didn't Score A Point." Rightfully so, the Canucks didn't have a single player rank up in the "real" three stars, so we'll take things into our own hands. Christian Ehrhoff earns the nod after this game. Not only was he the only player to actually be a +anything in the +/- category, but he was also the lone blueliner to have a solid game, in my opinion.
Should I be that guy, and say to Kings fans, "At least we won when it mattered?"
Canucks 5 - 1 Hurricanes
Talk about winning when it mattered! Cory Schneider got the call in between the pipes, although the Vancouver broadcasters want to make sure that everyone knows that Roberto Luongo is still THE goalie around here (um, thanks for the breaking news). Schneider was awesome, though, stopping 31/32 Carolina attempts, and it sure helped that the offense decided to explode (in a good way). Alain Vigneault did what he does best, shuffling the lines like crazy. Mason was moved up with the Twins, Samuelsson was moved down to line three, and it all worked to perfection. Finally, something to be nerded up for!
Despite all the loving love for our lovely forwards, it was the A-Bomb (Andrew Alberts) starting the goal scoring feast. He came way up into the slot to bash home a puck after a huge rebound on his very own backhand effort. The Canucks second goal, a power play netter about four minutes later, was fun. Samuelsson skated around the zone with the puck before coming out high to take a wrist shot. The rebound came to Tambellini, who kind of pulled a blind backhand pass through the slot. The puck missed it's target, but came right to an unmarked Raymond, who bashed it home for his first of the year. The second period started off with another Vannie goal, and it all worked out thanks to a turnover. Mason Raymond, everywhere he needed to be, stole a puck in the offensive zone, fed Tanner Glass, and Glass sent a perfect cross crease pass to Samuelsson (who was fresh out of the sin bin), who buried it past Cam Ward for the 3-0 lead. The 'Canes finally broke up the Schneider shutout bid in the closing moments of the second, as a long pass to an open O'Sullivan turned into a slap shot goal that cut the 'Nucks lead. In the third, though, we'd seal the deal. Down low behind the net, just 6:25 in, Daniel Sedin expertly controlled a puck and sent it to the waiting stick of Ma$e, who scored his second of the night. Then, with 6 minutes left, Kesler put the icing on the cake with a power play goal that made him look like a blue liner. Christian Ehrhoff passed it to Kes, and the Livonia native sent a straight slapper into the back of the net to make it 5-1. Yeah, we big timed 'em.
Completely the oppossite of the Kings game, as ALL three stars were Vannies (MayRay, Sammy, and Schneider), and it was a fun game to watch. By the way, has anyone else notice that this Center Ice Free Preview is the longest in memory. Over 2 weeks! So stoked. It may sound hard to pick the "Top Star Who Didn't Score A Point" after a game where it seems like everyone scored a point, but I'm going to go with Kevin Bieksa. For all the crap he gets from Orca Nation, he was the reason that Canucks were able to create that goal for Samuelsson by getting involed in the play up front (and he was a team high +2), and we need all the defensive help we can get with Ballard gone to that concussion from the LA loss (busting a 250 consecutive game streak by the way, showing that even the healthiest go down in BC). Huge props to Schneider as well.
So, with 6% of the season in the books, the Canucks are an even 2-2-1 to start the year. Our 5 points are good enough for second in the division, -1 on Colorado, +1 on Edmonton/Calgary, and +2 on Minnie. Overall, we're sitting in the 8 spot in the West, although points-wise we're tied with #7 St. Louis and #9 Ana-Slime. I thought it'd be fun to do a little LSF standings, and unless you've been paying attention, you may be a little surprised.
1. Andrew's Leafs: 4-0-0 (8)
2. Jon's Hawks: 3-2-1 (7)
3. Tommy's 'Nucks: 2-2-1 (5)
4. Brandon's Sabres: 1-4-1 (3)
It's a tight race, with tons of time to go, but how about those Maple Leafs?
The Canucks have crept ahead of the average NHL team in terms of the Simple Rating System and their Strength of Schedule according to Hockey-Reference.com. They currently have a SRS and a SOS of 0.36 (with 0 being average), and that's probably helped out by the Kings recent success. Our SOS is ranked 9th in the league, while we're 13th in SRS. As far as goal differential, we're 14th out of the 30 teams in both goals scored (12) and goals against (12). On special teams, we're just under +10% on the power play above average, and just under +5% on the penalty kill above average.
While he just kind of came to join the party with his two goals and one assist last night, would you believe that Mason Raymond has arguably been our best overall player this year? In fact, you may be surprised that we only have 3 players this year who are a +, and you may be equally surprised to hear that those three are Ma$e (+2), Aaron Rome (+1), and Kevin Bieksa (+1). Yeah, that's no joke. Would you have picked those three? Me neither! Ma$e, the Cochrane, Alberta native, is now sitting on 2 goals and an assist to add to his +2, with 18 shots thrown at the net in his 84 minutes of ice time. His GC/G (goals created per game) so far this season is 0.25 (tied for his career high from last year), and his adjusted stats show that he's looking at a chance to pull down 59 points this year (based on hockey-reference.com's prognosticative stats that try to average out all seasons over the history of hockey to provide cross-era comparisons), which would be +3 points on his career year from last season. Keep an eye on #21, he's having an underrated start.
The Center Ice Free Preview continues tomorrow, as the Orca look to snag their first road win of the year in Minnesota. Will the power of the offensive line shuffling continue to push us forward? Maybe just facing the struggling Wild will be enough to help. Despite taking 4 of 6 from the Wild last year, the Canucks lost both of the games in Minnie, and we'll need to really take this road game seriously. Luongo has lost HIS last two outings in Minnesota as well, giving up a huge 5 goals in each start. A winning streak sure would be nice. And we all know how nice another win would be, especially heading into Wednesday's HUGE LSF battle against the most hated Chicago Blackhawks. Man, I can't wait for that.
Alright, let's domesticate the Wild.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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