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Canucks Season Post-Mortem: Everybody Relax

Now that the taste of bitterness of the Canucks first round exit has diminished, and the second round is now underway, it’s a good time to look back on the Canucks season.

The Canucks earned their 2nd President’s Trophy in a row this season, earning the most points in the league again. Say what you will about a weak Northwest Division, I maintain that it’s still a great accomplishment. Look around the NHL – the only truly competitive divisions in terms of playoff calibre teams are the Atlantic, and the Central. If you’re the class of the Pacific, Northeast, Southeast or Northwest, you should have a shot at the President’s Trophy. So where are those teams in the race?

With respect to the playoffs, every year there are teams that win and lose unexpectedly. The playoffs aren’t played on paper, they’re played on the ice. Teams rise and fall in cycles – players get hot and cold, teams look good and bad. If you’ve ever played any competitive sports, you know this. Sometimes you’re in the zone, and feel unbeatable. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do, you can’t get it together. If you’ve watched the Canucks for a long time, this isn’t the first time you’ve suffered, and you know it won’t be the last. If you’re new to being a Canucks fan, welcome aboard, and hang on tight. There will be ups and downs, but it’ll be fun.

Coaching controversy

Alain Vigneault is still the coach of the Vancouver Canucks, and I feel he will be for next season. There is no shortage of opinion on the matter on Twitter, and @korvan made an excellent point just after the Canucks lost their series to the Kings:

If you let go of Vigneault, who’s out there that’s better?

Vigneault won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year in the 2006-07 season. All he’s done since then is gone on to coach the team to two President’s Trophies and to the Stanley Cup Finals. That’s not too shabby. Who is available that can be better than that? Ron Wilson? Marc Crawford? Mike Keenan? Come on now.

Goaltending controversy

We will look back on this time as a golden age of goaltending in this glorious city. For a city with fans that love the backup more than they love the starter (Attaboy Troy!), we may all rue the day that we had to trade Number 1 away. A lot has to happen for Roberto Luongo to be traded away from the Canucks, but this seems to be a foregone conclusion. He has said he will lift his no movement clause if that is what’s best for the team, and speculation about where he will go to has run rampant since then. Toronto, Tampa Bay and Florida seem to be the most popular destinations. Other cities in the conversation include Edmonton and Chicago, among others. Personally, I can’t see Mike Gillis trading Luongo to a team that could come back to haunt us early in the playoffs, unless the deal is something he can’t resist.

Make no mistake: Roberto Luongo is the greatest starting goaltender ever to put on the Canucks uniform. The statistics below don’t lie. It’s also no coincidence that teams and cities that loved to cut Luongo down are falling all over themselves, in search of a starting goaltender who can take them deep into the playoffs. Yes Vancouver, it’s true. Many teams in the NHL believe Luongo can take them deep into the playoffs, even as some of us have doubts.

Goaltender	Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GAA	SV%
Roberto Luongo	2010-11	60	38	15	–	7	2.11	.928
Kirk McLean	1991-92	65	38	17	9	–	2.74	.901
Richard Brodeur	1981-82	52	20	18	12	–	3.35	.891
Dan Cloutier	2003-04	60	33	21	6	–	2.27	.914
Arturs Irbe	1997-98	41	14	11	6	–	2.73	.907
Corey Hirsch	1995-96	41	17	14	6	–	2.93	.903
Cesare Maniago	1976-77	47	17	21	9	–	3.36	–
Félix Potvin	1999-00	34	12	13	7	–	2.59	.906
Cory Schneider	2011-12	33	20	8	–	1	1.96	.937

I believe Cory Schneider looked good this year. I believe he will be a great goaltender for this team. However, what I believe, and what is factual are different things. Here are the facts:

• Schneider is a Restricted Free Agent still in search of a long term deal. If a long term deal can’t be made, the Canucks can always make a qualifying offer for him, but risk losing him as an Unrestricted Free Agent next summer if they do so.
• Schneider didn’t play a starting goaltender’s minutes in Vancouver this year.
• The glare of the spotlight is much brighter – and much hotter – on the starting goaltender in this city.
• Schneider has 1 playoff win to his credit, and 38 career regular season wins.

Hopefully Mike Gillis can get a long term deal done with Schneider, and trade Luongo to a team that won’t break our hearts in the playoffs next year.

Playoff Injury Report

It is always interesting to see which players had which injuries once they are out of the playoffs and the Cone of Silence is finally lifted. As it turns out:

• Ryan Kesler has problems with a shoulder, as well as nagging post-surgical hip issues. He is looking at a long period of physical rehab and strengthening this summer. Only his abs remain uninjured.
• Chris Higgins was suffering from an abdominal strain as he took the sit-up contest with Ryan Kesler a little too far.
• Kevin Bieksa has finally admitted his “Maintenance Week” was just a little more serious than “Maintenance Days”.
• Alexander Edler indeed played with one eye, and only one half of his brain in the first round.
• Sami Salo is remarkably uninjured.
• Alex Burrows and Max Lapierre were drinking Faderade instead of Gatorade.
• Mason Raymond as suspected, has a serious leg length discrepancy, which explains all of the falling.
• Roberto Luongo played despite a broken heart.

Nothing wrong with the Sedins – they were pretty good.

Thoughts regarding the early demise of the Canucks

The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true.

Galadriel – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

There is no question that the Stanley Cup is the most difficult championship to win in pro sports.

There are 8 great teams in the Western Conference that made the playoffs this year. No easy matchups – just ask the Red Wings, Sharks, Blackhawks and Canucks – all out in the first round, joined by the Bruins and Penguins in the east. I have long stated that to go deep in the playoffs, it sure helps to have a hot goaltender. I have to amend that this year – it sure helps to have two hot goaltenders.

Still doesn’t work?

To go deep in the playoffs, it sure helps if you have two hot goaltenders, and play a goaltender that isn’t hotter, and you can score a few goals.

When the playoffs begin, it is a new season. A chance to clear away the disappointments of the regular season. As the Canucks learned, if you have a slow start in the playoffs, you might as well pack your bags. There’s no room for error. If you’re lucky enough to make it through one round, you get to do it all over again. And again. And again.

The Canucks have a great team. Two President’s Trophies do count for something. Not as much as a Stanley Cup, but .. there’s always next year.

Canucks Need to Stop Drinking Faderade

 

Gatorade. It’s the classic sports drink for rehydrating athletes.

Haterade. It’s what everyone outside of BC drinks when the Vancouver Canucks come up in conversation. The sports beverage of choice for chirping and trolling in Calgary, Toronto, Boston and Chicago, among others.

Faderade. It’s what the Canucks are drinking this post season.

There’s no other explanation for their performance in the playoffs this year. All the way up and down the roster, with perhaps the exception of the goaltending, the Canucks have been underachieving. The Canucks were picked by many to have a good chance to go deep in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. Many had picked the Canucks to meet the Penguins in the final, and now both teams are facing a 3-game deficit.

Defensive coverage has been indefensible. #PunIntended

Alex Edler, who led the Canucks in points from the defense, has been nothing short of abysmal. In fact the entire Canucks defense corps in Games 1 and 2 of this series was suspect. Shot blocking techniques aside, if you play defense in the NHL and you find yourself diving to reach for pucks, there is a good chance you are out of position. If you are trying to play goaltender as a defenseman, even though you have one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL, chances are you are out of position.

If the Canucks are going to win, they will need the type of coverage we saw in Game 3.

Offensive production has been offensive. #PunIntended

The basic objective of the game of hockey is to score more goals than your opponent. The team that scores the most goals wins the game. As such you need to score in order to win.

Yes, having Daniel Sedin on the sidelines has not made it easier for the Canucks. He was the Canucks leading scorer during the regular season. However, the Canucks are built for depth. When one player is out, others have always stepped up in the past. Henrik, Kesler, Higgins, Booth, Raymond, Burrows – these guys are all capable of putting the puck in the net. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick has been very good, but he hasn’t been required to be spectacular yet.

Inspiration

The Canucks have all the tools they need to win. They’ve beaten the Kings before, without Daniel Sedin. They have usually adjusted well after losses, and come back with good effort. This year’s playoffs seem to be different. You could see it in the player’s post game interviews – frustration, with a touch of disappointment.

If the Canucks and their fans need inspiration to stay positive, confident and motivated, they need to look no further than their captain, Henrik Sedin.

Henrik was rocked by a hit from the Kings captain Dustin Brown, right in front of the Canucks bench. Brown had a line on him from well below the blue line; not at full speed, but from a long distance. The hit wasn’t dirty per se, but Henrik had a hard time getting onto the bench. After gathering himself, Henrik left for the dressing room.

Minutes later, Henrik was taking his regular shift. Later in the game, he had an amazing shift on a Canucks power play that lasted for well over 3 minutes, and did everything except put the puck in the net.

That is the type of effort that will lead the Canucks to a win in Game 4.

That is the Heart of a Canuck.

Do the Canucks need some magic?

Look to the Canucks coming at first light on the fifth day of the playoffs. At dusk, look to the Staples Center.

After the first two games of the playoffs, it’s clear that the Canucks could use a lot of things in their game. Some finish, some momentum, some luck, some special teams work, and yes, maybe a little magic in the form of Wizardous Sedinery.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Although Henrik has been alright at holding onto the puck in the first couple games of this series, it’s seems he’s keeping the puck on his stick because there aren’t very many passing options available. The Kings defensive coverage in the series so far has been excellent – strong forecheck, suffocating backcheck in their own zone, nice gap, and #ThatsWhatSheSaid. It seems the Canucks have very little time and space to do anything with the puck, and when they try to move it, the passes have been in the skates and not very sharp at all.

#Beastmode Edler, where are you?!

With apologies to fans of the Lord of the Rings:

Where is the horse known as Edler…
Where is the goal horn that was blowing…
They have passed like rain on the North Shore mountains…
Like wind in the Fraser Valley…
Game days have come down in the West…
Behind the hills into shadow…
How did it come to this? 

Edler has not been himself. He has given up more turnovers than a bakery, and has fewer hits than the Thompson Twins. Playoffs are about getting your game to a higher plane, raising your compete level. Edler has looked downright timid out there. In Game 2, he overskated a puck that wasn’t even moving at the corner boards of the defensive zone. I’m not sure if he is nursing an injury, but he does not look comfortable at all out there. Hitting (and being hit) is a big part of his game that has been absent in this series.

Superstition

I don’t know about the rest of you, but when the team isn’t playing well, I try to change it up at home. Finish the dishes. Fold some laundry. Wash my face. Bake some cookies. Mow the lawn. #NotAEuphemism

After the first two games, the chores are all done, we have more cookies than Mr. Christie, and my face is drying out from having been washed 50 times. I think I do these things just for a distraction from the TV. Am I the only one?

 

Canucks Wagonwatch: Game 76 vs Kings

Throughout the season, the Canucks Wagonwatch series will track how much room is on the team’s bandwagon. In addition, it will also track the completely separate Luongo wagon.

Canucks Bandwagon: 70% full

The Canucks scored 3 minutes into this game on a great rush from – wait for it – no, not Henrik to Raymond, not Kesler to himself. No, it was Lapierre to Malhotra. Great hesitation before the pass to create a little more room for Malhotra, who ripped it far side, off the post and in. That was the scoring summary. The Canucks stuck to their Mystique-like tendencies, and mimicked the level of their competition. Thankfully, the Kings have an excellent defensive game, so the Canucks did well in their own end tonight. The Canucks seem to have bumped their slump by tightening up defensively in the last few games, and now ride a 3 game winning streak since their loss to Chicago. The goal scoring is lacking, but the defensive effort recently has more than made up for it.

Luongo Bandwagon: 80% full

Luongo did not allow a goal. The haters don’t have much to say after this one, as Luongo didn’t exactly have an easy night, making 36 saves for the shutout victory. There was one memorable glove stop in the 3rd period as the Kings began their push, and stood his ground in the final 30 seconds when the Kings swarmed with the goalie pulled on the power play. Luongo has regained his mid season form since playing in Chicago. In his last 3 games, Luongo has posted a .963 save percentage, allowing only 4 goals on 109 shots. #Larcenous

Yes, it’s true.
How I see the wagon capacity, Luongo is at 80%, while the Canucks are at 70%. The Canucks have found their defensive game recently. They haven’t allowed too many odd man rushes, and their overall coverage has been far better. However, their offensive game is still struggling for consistency. It doesn’t help that the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner is on the shelf with a concussion, but the Canucks should have enough weapons to score more than 1 or 2 goals.

Once Luongo lets in a goal, the haters will jump right off again. The way Luongo played tonight, that might be awhile though.

Coho returns home from the Pacific Ocean

And I’m not talking about the spawning habits of BC salmon.

Although that does make a great metaphor – Coho heads off to the Pacific Ocean, then has to struggle, swimming upstream to return to the place of his birth… Ontario?

Buffalo is close enough to Toronto, right?

Mike Gillis traded his first draft pick as the General Manager of the Canucks, sending Cody Hodgson to their expansion cousins, the Buffalo Sabres. In return, the Canucks receive Zack Kassian – a former first round pick himself.

It is no secret that this writer loves him some Coho, and I was saddened to hear the news of Hodgson being traded at the deadline today. I’m certain that I will write a future post praising Zack Kassian for his play in the future, but in the meantime, I’d like to take a little time to remember Coho as a Canuck.

Alright, he got off to a rocky start with a misdiagnosed back problem. But once the back problems were behind him (pun intended), he started showing us flashes of his skill last season. And throughout this season, more of the same flashes of skill. I wrote earlier this season:

#Coho4Calder – You heard it here first

It’s clear that Cody Hodgson is feeling better after misdiagnosed back problems, and he seems to be going at full speed. He was the First Star at Rogers Arena last night, and was excellent in all phases of the game for a center. I was lucky enough to meet Cody with my kids at Rogers Arena earlier this season, and he seems like a great guy. It’s nice to see him take advantage of some real ice time this season, and even nicer to see him enjoying himself out there. Sure, he might not be as sexy of a Calder vote as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but the kid has skills. Hodgson happens to play on the Canucks, who are loaded with top end depth, and he wasn’t drafted first overall, so he doesn’t see as much of the rookie hype as The Nuge. There is no denying that Cody has great hands, and excellent hockey sense. To be continued!

In terms of scoring touch, it seemed that Hodgson was not only blessed with good hands, but with ample amounts of clutch. I’m still working on the scientific formula for clutch, but it seemed to me that Hodgson scored in some big games this season. How about this beauty, in possibly the most anticipated game this season? This goal turned out to be the eventual game winner.

Zack Kassian has some scoring ability, and actually won a Memorial Cup with the Windsor Spitfires in 2010. What Canucks fans will take issue with is his spotty behaviour in the past. In 2010, he was suspended for 20 games for a hit to the head of another junior level player. And after the Memorial Cup win, in June of 2010, Kassian was arrested and charged after being in a bar fight.

Maybe I’ve lived a bit of a sheltered life, but who in this day and age gets into a bar fight? Is Zack Kassian the next Patrick Kane cabbie joke waiting to happen? Or will he leave it all in the past and live up to his first round pedigree?

I will tell you this much:
Cody Hodgson got 12 minutes of ice time each game, relegated to 3rd and 4th line duty, with 2nd unit power play time. Zack Kassian will probably get 10 minutes of ice each game. Even if he does have some talent left in those heavy hands, I don’t think we’ll see much of those skills with the ice time that Coach Vigneault gives to rookies.

One more thing.
It is no secret that the Canucks got beat up in the Stanley Cup Finals last season. What was lost in that series with all of the Seidenberg crosschecks to the back, and the Marchand sucker punches (I still don’t know how he is able to reach other player’s faces), was that the Canucks couldn’t score. The vaunted Canucks offence scored 8 times in 7 games. With that type of offensive output, it is surprising that the Canucks made it to Game 7, where they were shut out. In the 3 games that they did win, Luongo pitched 2 shutouts to secure those victories. The Canucks are a bigger team this year than last year. So if the Canucks need to be able to score and weather some physical play, was trading secondary scoring skill for raw toughness a good idea?

Time will tell.

Just Another Regular Game Or Not: Canucks vs Red…

Just Another Regular Game .. Or Not (JARGON) is a new feature to this blog. These posts will feature the best (and worst) of the regular season performances by the Canucks, in anticipation of the playoffs.

Luongo defeats Red Wings in shootout – Canucks snap Red Wings record home win streak.

It’s not often there is a highly anticipated match in the NHL regular season. You can probably count these games on one or two hands for Canucks fans – any meeting versus the Bruins, Hawks, Sharks and Red Wings. This was Game 61 for the Canucks. They appeared to have snapped out of their “slump” a few games ago versus the Maple Leafs, and looked to be skating well since then.

This game featured the Canucks as the best road team in the league, versus the best home team in the league. There has been a lot of talk of the Red Wings home record this season, as they now hold the NHL record for consecutive wins at home – Detroit had won 23 straight games at Joe Louis Arena. The last time the Red Wings lost at home was on November 3, 2011, when they were defeated by the Calgary Flames.

#Coho4Calder! No wait, nevermind!

Cody Hodgson scored his 16th game of the game, tying the game 2-2. His shot deflected off of Niklas Kronwall’s skate to beat Jimmy Howard. On the very next shift, the Red Wings crashed the net on Luongo with Hodgson’s line out there, and regained the lead. It looked like the Red Wings streak would live on.

#Windaturd! Alright just #TieDaTurd

Just when you thought the Red Wings would win the rest of the games in the regular season, and the Canucks would head back into a regular season slumber, not so fast Sherwood breath! #DonTaylorTweet

The Sedins always seem to amp up their game for the Red Wings, and Thursday was no exception. Henrik to Daniel in the high slot, with Burrows doing the dirty work screening Jimmy Howard in front, with Luongo pulled and just 16 seconds left on the clock. That tied the game 3-3 to send the game into overtime.

Luongo you suck! Long live Luongo!

This would have been a good game for a Wagonwatch post, as Luongo looked somewhat shaky getting beaten on a floater in the first by Darren Helm. However, Luongo played well enough to get the Canucks into overtime. The Canucks looked to dominate in stretches of the 1st and 3rd periods, but Jimmy Howard was very good and held his team in the game. Luongo was excellent in the shootout, stopping Jiri Hudler and Todd Bertuzzi.

Burrows-backhand-top-shelf

This is a phrase my kids recite when we’re playing NHL shootout ball hockey in our basement. Don’t even think about telling me how to raise my kids! With all the money being spent on the more useless scientific research out there, will there be a scientific study to prove exactly how “clutch” Alex Burrows is? All the goalies know the move. Burrows opted to flash the forehand fake this time before moving to the backhand top shelf, and saved the leg kick move for the next goalie.

It was one heck of a game. This writer pulled a hamstring jumping up from the couch, but even though I’m labelled day-to-day with a lower body injury, it won’t stop me from writing blog posts 24 hours late!