Canucks Advent Calendar: It Starts Tomorrow!

This is it fans! The Vancouver Canucks begin their 41st season tomorrow October 6 when the Pittsburgh Penguins come to Rogers Arena.

Over the last month this series of posts has looked at a handful of the moments that made last season so awesome, and some of the players that made it happen.

Today’s blog post focuses on #1 in your program, Roberto Luongo – the best goaltender the Canucks have ever had.

You may have some doubts about this statement, people either love Luongo or want to trade him. There really isn’t much grey area on the topic. Every goal scored against him, you can guarantee that someone on Twitter will tell you he should have had that one.

Don’t think he has been the Canucks best goaltender in history? Here’s a chart of some of the most relevant Canucks starting goaltenders and their statistics in their best seasons:

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

You can argue that the Canucks have had the best defence they’ve ever had, which explains the wins that Luongo has been able to post, and maybe the Goals Against Average (GAA). But Luongo has posted numbers like these in every single season he has played in Vancouver. The goaltenders listed above had far worse averages over the course of their Canucks tenure.

Luongo started off last season slowly, but by late-November he was back to sparkling form. Around the All-Star break, Hockey Night in Canada, CBCSports.ca and the NHLPA ran a poll among players. Luongo was voted by NHL players as the Goalie Most Difficult to Score On.

The Luongo-Haters out there will say he’s not a big game stopper. He chokes. He cries. Then he chokes on his tears. I am going to present you with some evidence to the contrary.

Remember when Team Canada won the Gold Medal in the 2010 Olympics? Canada would not have been in the Gold Medal final without Luongo shutting the door on his old Canucks teammate Pavol Demitra (R.I.P. Pavol).

Then there was the stop against Patrick Sharp in overtime, in Round 1 Game 7, prior to Alexandre Burrows scoring the game winner.

Still don’t believe Luongo can make a big save? Here are some more that you have to see to believe.

I will admit Luongo showed a touch of inconsistency in last year’s Stanley Cup Final (just a touch) – but I would also say to you that the Canucks would not have made it to Game 7 without Luongo. For those with a short memory, he shut out the Bruins twice in that series. As if you’ve never had a bad day at work. Show him some love, people!

Thanks for following this series of posts – I hope that all the Canucks fans are excited for this season. Here’s to looking back on the best Canucks season ever, and even better times this year!

Canucks Advent Calendar: 3 days to the Season Opener

This series of blog posts will look back on the highest highs of last season, and looks to get the Canucks faithful amped for the season to come!

3 days to get back to playing Canucks hockey. 3 days to get back to winning games.

Just a few short days to the season opener, and excitement is building in Vancouver. A lot of Canucks fans are still upset about the Stanley Cup Final loss; I hope that this series of posts has helped to rekindle some positive feeling – there is a lot to look forward to as Canucks fans this season.

Today’s focus is on Kevin Bieksa’s crazy season. Bieksa started the season most definitely in the doghouse, but finished as a huge fan favourite.

Early in the 2010-2011 season, many Canucks fans were on the Bieksa hater-wagon. The idea was that the Canucks were “too deep” on defence (is that an oxymoron?), needed cap room, and that one of the defencemen had to go. Bieksa hadn’t had a good season in awhile as he had been hampered by a bizarre Achilles’ tendon injuries. However, with Salo on the shelf, and Ballard falling out of favour with head coach Alain Vigneault, Bieksa stayed.

Throughout the course of the season, Bieksa played his way back into the hearts of Canucks fans. He was a natural partner for Dan Hamhuis, whose stay-at-home style allowed Bieksa to roam more freely through the neutral zone.

Then there was this interview with Scott Oake in the playoffs. Bieksa is explaining the Canucks simple plan for the 3rd period against the Nashville Predators.

Soon after that, the tribute videos poured in.

The last great Bieksa moment of the Canucks 2010-2011 moment was probably the series winning goal against the San Jose Sharks, to send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final.

It’s these moments that get me excited for this season. Crazy moments when no one sees the puck, and all of a sudden it’s in the back of the net. When the Canucks swarm the opposition zone for 2 or 3 minutes at a time applying pressure so intense that the puck has no choice but to get in the goal.

I can’t wait to see what new memories this season will bring!

Canucks Advent Calendar: 5 days to the Season Opener

This series of blog posts will look back on the highest highs of last season, and looks to get the Canucks faithful amped for the season to come!

5 days to get back to playing Canucks hockey. 5 days to get back to winning games.

Many Canucks fans are still stinging from the Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Final, but along the way to the final, there were a number of memorable moments and games. Ask fans what their favourite moment was, and chances are they will tell you about Alexandre Burrows OT winner in Game 7 against the Blackhawks, or maybe Ryan Kesler splitting the Nashville defence to score.

Today’s memory isn’t a series winner, or a first ever goal, and it didn’t happen in OT – but it was still very important. On May 22, 2011, Sami Salo had a clutch game to give his team a 3-1 series lead.

Sami Salo’s 2010-2011 season didn’t start off very well. As usual, Salo’s latest injury was bizarre, and kept him from joining the Canucks at the start of the season. He suffered an Achilles’ injury playing floorball in Finland and would be out indefinitely.

Here’s an image to indicate exactly how crazy Salo’s time on the injured reserve has been (image courtesy of @NucksMisconduct):

Salo did not start playing until half-way through February, and he had a slow start. The playoffs came, and he played 6 games against the Blackhawks, and only 3 against the Predators.

Then came Game 4 against the Sharks. The Canucks had a 2-1 series lead heading into the game. Lose and they would be tied heading back to Vancouver. Win and they would hold a 3-1 stranglehold on the series.

Salo can play in any situation. He’s a dependable defender that can kill penalties, but he also has a heavy slapshot that can blow by goaltenders on the power play.

In a 2-minute span in the middle of the 2nd period, the Sharks ran into penalty trouble. The Canucks opened the scoring when Salo passes quickly around to the left boards for Ryan Kesler, who beat Antti Niemi with a hard slapshot.

Shortly after that, on another 2-man advantage, Salo hammers one by Niemi from the point.

And just 16 seconds after that goal, again on a 2-man advantage, Salo shows a slightly different look skating in from the point to fire a slapshot from high on the left face-off circle.

As if the first two goals weren’t shot hard enough, Salo really stepped into that one. The Canucks won that game 4-2, and went back to Vancouver with momentum back in their favour.

Sure the Canucks were on 5-on-3 powerplays for all of those goals, but it was nice to see the Canucks finally take advantage of those chances and score.

Hockey fans all around the NHL make fun of Salo’s injuries, but most fans wouldn’t mind having that heavy of a shot on their own team’s power play.

Canucks Advent Calendar: 10 days to the Season Opener

This series of blog posts will look back on the highest highs of last season, and looks to get the Canucks faithful amped for the season to come!

10 days to get back to playing Canucks hockey. 10 days to get back to winning games.

With just 10 days to the start of the season, today’s memory is the horrific injury, and inspirational comeback, of the Canucks 3rd line centre, Manny Malhotra.

Although a high draft pick (7th overall by the Rangers), Malhotra was never a big time scorer, and Rangers head coach John Muckler declared that Malhotra would never be any more than a career third-liner.

After some up and down years with the Rangers, he spent time in Dallas, Columbus, and San Jose prior to coming to Vancouver, where he was gladly welcomed as a 3rd-line centre. Until that time, Ryan Kesler was the Canucks shut-down centre. Malhotra’s arrival really offered the Canucks a lot of options and versatility down the middle.

Malhotra lived up to the billing as a great defensive centre – he killed penalties, was the top face-off player in the NHL, and chipped in with a few goals as well. In addition, Kesler was having a breakout offensive season, due in part to the fact that he had fewer top defensive assignments.

Then on March 16, 2011, everything changed. Malhotra was struck under the eye by a deflected puck off of a Christian Ehrhoff clearing attempt.

He had surgery to repair the eye the next day. Who says surgery waits are too long in BC? Just be a hockey player with the Canucks. Instead of depth and all the pieces of the puzzle, the Canucks were left with a large gap at centre, and far fewer options heading into the playoffs.

Very little was said over the next few days and weeks about Malhotra’s eye, other than “we’ll see” – terrible pun intended.

The next glimpse most Canucks fans had of Malhotra was when the President’s Trophy was presented to himself and Henrik Sedin on April 7, 2011. The crowd was supercharged and emotional to see Malhotra back and smiling, even if only for a few moments. The Canucks may have been motivated by seeing Malhotra, as they beat the Minnesota Wild 5-0. Roberto Luongo posted a shutout, Ryan Kesler posted his third hat trick of the season, and Mason Raymond also scored twice.

The next several weeks very little was said about Malhotra at all. In the playoffs, Malhotra was still useful – acting as an assistant coach, and running face-off workshops with the Canucks centres. Malhotra was skating, but no gear on, no contact and with a full face shield. No timetable for a return.

But the longer and deeper the Canucks went into the playoffs (and that’s what she said), the louder the whispers of Malhotra’s possible return became.

In Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, Malhotra made his return to the Canucks lineup. He started the game at centre, and of course won the opening face-off.

His presence was a boost to the Canucks who won Game 2 that night. I always thought it was clever how Malhotra had been running drills with the other centres – maybe he always thought it was possible to come back, and was actually keeping himself sharp.

Malhotra will be just as important this season to the Canucks: defensively, on face-offs and killing penalties. I can’t wait to see who his new linemates will be, and how his season develops after further recovering in the summer.

Canucks Advent Calendar: 14 days to the Season Opener

This series of blog posts will look back on the highest highs of last season, and hopefully get the Canucks faithful amped for the season to come!

14 days to get back to playing Canucks hockey. 14 days to get back to winning games.

With just 14 days to the start of the season, today’s memory is dedicated to Twitter’s @BurrowsGirl – and the focus is on the versatility of the often overlooked and under-rated 3rd member of the Sedin line, Alexandre Burrows.

Burrows started the 2010-2011 season on the injured reserve, but when he returned it didn’t take long for him to take his familiar spot lining up next to the Sedins. He has occasionally been accused of biting off more than he can chew, especially with referees (Stephane Auger controversy anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?), but Vancouver Canucks fans can’t get enough of Burr – it’s his heart, and his love for the game.

Haters around the league say that anyone could play with the Sedins and put up the kinds of numbers Burrows does. What most haters don’t realize is that the audition for the Sedin’s linemate was about 6 years long before Burrows. The closest thing to chemistry the twins had was with Anson Carter on the Triplets line. The resemblance is obvious.

Burrows is a reliable guy who can finish what Henrik or Daniel start. This setup by Henrik Sedin is nothing short of amazing – he passes between Antti Niemi’s  pads to find Burrows on the other side. Although you might think that’s an easy goal, Burrows doesn’t have much time to spot the puck and move his stick to shoot. A great example of why soft hands are important for a goal scorer.

It was this next goal that sent Canucks fans into a high Cup Fever last season. Burrows showed quickness gloving the puck to the ice, speed to skate to the slot, and a decent slapshot on a tough rolling puck. I will never tire of watching this, and to this day it is saved on my PVR.

Despite the finger biting controversy, Burrows elevated his game again in the Stanley Cup Final, scoring this beauty in Game 2. The more clutch the situation, the greater the chance that it’ll be Burrows that scores the Canucks next goal.

Should the Canucks ever find themselves trailing the opposition going into the 3rd period, the #Canucks hashtag inevitably turns to tweeting #Windaturd and #PeanutButterBurrowsTime. Did I forget to mention Burrows excellent interview skills, and his sense of humour?

Haters around the league consider Burrows to be a finger-biting, diving whiner. He is the type of agitator that teams love to hate, but with surprisingly soft hands and a nose for the net. He is an excellent penalty killer with great wheels. The Canucks have played him in every situation in the past few seasons, and this year looks to be no different.

Thanks to Trevor Presiloski (Follow on twitter: @nettrashcan) for the great Sedin’s linemate post.

Canucks Advent Calendar: 23 days to the Season Opener

This series of blog posts will look back on the highest highs of last season, and hopefully get the Canucks faithful amped for the season to come!

23 days to get back to playing Canucks hockey. 23 days to get back to winning games.

Today’s memory: The Keslerbomb.

It started with Ryan Kesler in the Canucks locker room. It spilled out onto twitter timelines everywhere.

Also known as the Kesler Interview Bomb, Kes-lurking, and Kesler Cameos, the Keslerbomb even has an entry in Urban Dictionary:

Kesler-bomb (24 thumbs up)
Sweeping in behind a teammate, friend or family member to intentionally – and unintentionally – appear in video footage or photographs.

Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler has become good at this as of late, magically appearing in post-game interviews behind teammates.

Mark is about to Kesler-bomb Joe and Tina in their wedding portrait. This will not end well.

This clip shows lots of the popular, earlier Kesler bombs. This is by no means exhaustive:

That is all that #Canucks fans on Twitter needed. Favourite local puppet and sports columnist for 24Hours Vancouver – Guts McTavish – began the movement by Keslerbombing his own Twitter avatar, and offering to provide services to anyone that wanted their own avatar Keslerbombed. Pretty soon, nearly every Canucks fan on Twitter had their very own Keslerbombed profile photo. Anyone that had reasonable Photoshop skills (myself included!) pitched in for the insane demand for Keslerbombs.

It was a more than a fad – it was a movement, a rallying cry, and yet another awesome way for Canucks fans to become even closer as a community.

Canucks Advent Calendar: 26 days to the Season Opener

This series of blog posts will look back on the highest highs of last season, and hopefully get the Canucks faithful amped for the season to come!

26 days to get back to playing Canucks hockey. 26 days to get back to winning games.

Today’s memory: Canucks Round 1, Game 7 win over the Chicago Blackhawks to advance to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

You remember how it goes: Canucks jump out to a 3-0 series lead. Canucks lose Game 4 in Chicago, and Game 5 in Vancouver. Coach Vigneault starts Cory Schneider for Game 6 in Chicago, who looks great, but is pulled after going down awkwardly late in the game (and that’s what she said).  In comes Roberto Luongo, who was shelled in Games 4 and 5. The Canucks ultimately lose Game 6, setting the table for a Game 7.

All-star goalie, shelled in 2 games in the series, passed over in Game 6, gets the Game 7 start. Hawks have eliminated the Canucks for the last 2 seasons in a row.

The hashtags on twitter went from a confident #Canucks #3venge to #3demption to #Hawks #3peat in less than a week.

In Game 7, the Canucks jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal from Alex Burrows – a beauty from Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond. This really shows how fast the Canucks skaters can be, and how quickly they can strike for a goal.

Jonathan Toews ties the game with less than 2 minutes late in the 3rd period, on a shorthanded goal. Although this goal gutted me as a Canucks fan, as a hockey fan, the skill and desire that Toews showed late in the game was amazing to watch.

Is there anything better than overtime in a Game 7? You can’t make this stuff up. The kind of storyline that is played out on driveways, streets and backyard rinks all across the country.

Next goal wins! The highest high, or the lowest low.

The Canucks take a penalty early in OT, giving the Hawks a chance to make their own history. Toews from behind the net finds Patrick Sharp alone at the bottom of the faceoff circle. Luongo shows why he is arguably the toughest goalie to score on in the world.

Then, with just over 5:00 gone in 1OT, Burrows picks off a clearing attempt from Chris Campoli, skates to the slot and buries a rolling puck over the shoulder of Corey Crawford.

After this goal, I think I pulled a hammy jumping up from the ground, celebrating with my wife in front of our TV. Such a great memory for Canucks fans!

Canucks Advent Calendar: 30 days to the Season Opener

This series of blog posts will look back on the highest highs of last season, and hopefully get the Canucks faithful amped for the season to come!

The Vancouver Canucks are only days away from their 41st season. It’s like Christmas up in here (up in here, up in here), so why not an advent calendar to build the antici … ! Partly because of the high expectations after the greatest season in Canucks history, and maybe partly to help to dull the pain of the Stanley Cup Final. And to apply a new Band-Aid to the festering wound known as the riots. #LoveVancouver

30 days to get back to playing Canucks hockey. 30 days to get back to winning games.

Today’s memory: Last season on March 31, 2011, the Canucks won the President’s Trophy with a 3-1 win over the L.A. Kings.

It was a memorable night! I was actually at this game with my wife, rocking a Canucks team-signed jersey courtesy of @canuckscorner and @nicolevanzanten.

With half the fans already running for their next beer, the Canucks took a 2-1 lead late in the 2nd period with this beauty on the rush by Christian Ehrhoff. Jannik Hansen drove end to end, and fed Ehrhoff a great pass into the high slot. Thankfully I make a point of not paying $10 for beer in a plastic cup, even if it does have a super-sippy lid.

 

Ryan Kesler added the insurance goal on a 2-man advantage, from Daniel Sedin and Sami Salo. Surprisingly, this was the Canucks first goal in the entire season on a 2-man advantage.

Anyone else out there have any memories of this game?