Each and every LSF match is a fun one. This is especially true when it comes to our NHL teams. Tomorrow night, the NHL Network will be televising Hockey Night In Canada, as they show the battle between Andrew's Toronto Maple Leafs and my Vancouver Canucks. Despite the fact that Andrew has already gone on the record predicting a 5-1 Vannie victory, I will still bring you my 5 reasons the Canucks will win.
1. Momentum: In the month of December, the Canucks are 5-1-1, and have won their last two contests. Meanwhile, the Leafs are 4-4-0 in the month of December. But, two of their wins came on the shootout, and to start the month, they got blanked 5-0 by lowly Edmonton. The Canucks started slow, and are now challenging for the Conference lead. The Leafs started amazingly hot, but are now 3 games under .500.
2. The goalie: One of the reasons we've been so great lately is the surge by Roberto "Pink Floyd's The Wall" Luongo. 14 wins, a .912 SV%, and a 2.52 GAA are all indicators of El Roberto piloting this team through their hot streak. He's won his last 3 starts, and has a GAA of just 2.00 over the month. JS Giguere, meanwhile, has just 8 wins, an .894 SV%, and a 2.80 GAA. During this month, the former Duck keeper has posted an impressive 2.50 GAA (including 1 goal efforts against Montreal and Edmonton), but he was also pulled after giving up 3 to the Oilers on 13 shots in just 33 minutes back on December second. What was Brian Burke thinking when he went out and got this joker?
3. Firepower: Clarke MacArthur leads the Maple Leafs this season with 24 points. Phil Kessel leads the team with 12 goals. The Vannies have 3 players with 24 points or more (Daniel's 37, Hank's 36, and Kes' 24), and have two players (Daniel at 16 and Kes at 15) who have more goals than the Leafs top scorer. The Canucks just have way too much fire power out there.
4. Christian Ehrhoff: Ehrhoff is said to be ready to return to the starting lineup after his injury. With how good the Canucks blue line has been without him, it's hard to remember that he's our very best defender. Adding him back into the mix, while Hamhuis and Ballard are finally doing what we pay them for, spells doom for the Leafs. Might I forsee a shutout on a pitifully low shooting night for our Eastern Canadian brothers?
5. Been there, don't that: It was back on November 13, 2010 when we last played and, thus, last beat Toronto. It was a 5-3 affair, with Mason Raymond netting the game winner on that lucky/weird faceoff goal. How Giguere let the puck in I'll never know (along with how Ma$e even shot it in). In that game, we saw goals from Hamhuis, the aforementioned Raymond, Daniel Sedin, and two from Ryan Kesler, while Roberto Luongo shut the door in the third period on 16 shots to secure victory. The Leafs played a pretty darn good game that night, and still lost. I think it's doubtful that they'll be able to play that good of a game again, and even if they did, we know we'd still win anyway. I like those odds.
So, tune your DirecTV boxes to 215 on Saturday afternoon. Put on your Cory Schneider jersey, grab a Moosehead, and enjoy the Canucks thrashing of the Maple Leafs.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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