Just Another Regular Game Or Not: Canucks vs Bruins

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.

Canucks Defeat Bruins 4-3 in Boston; Millions of Canucks Fans Lose their Minds.

If only Canucks fans saw this headline in June. Instead, we have to settle for this in January. This game began at 1PM Eastern, which meant a 10AM start for Canucks fans on the west coast; but for those that got up for this early match, they were in for a treat.

Before the game started, I bought into all of the “this is just another regular season game” talk that the Canucks themselves were saying. I also felt that I was over the Stanley Cup Final – I told myself I had made peace with it, and that the Bruins were the better team that day in June. Not 4 minutes after the start of the 1st period, all of that was out the window. The scrum at 3:54 was ridiculous. Burrows may have tapped Thornton on the skate heading to the bench, to which Thornton may have slashed Burrows. Which was followed by a Burrows spear to Thornton’s midsection. Which was followed by Thornton lunging at Burrows right in front of the Canucks bench. Which resulted in a good old fashioned melee, in the middle of a yard sale.

At that moment in time, all the pre-game talk of “Just Another Regular Game” was right out the window. It was obvious for the rest of the game that this was far more than just another 2 points for these teams.

How the Canucks won, and How the Bruins lost

After that 1st period scrum, the Canucks were somehow rewarded with a 2 man-advantage for a whole 2 minutes, and Milan Lucic was given a game misconduct for leaving the player’s bench. Lucic still had one foot on the ice, so it is doubtful that he will be suspended. Ryan Kesler opened the scoring at the end of this power play, Canucks Nation breathed a huge sigh of relief.

The game was won by the Canucks and lost by the Bruins on the strength of special teams. Before the game, there was a lot of talk on @Team1040 and the #Canucks hashtag about the concept of team toughness, and the Canucks formula for success – using their skill level, and making teams pay by scoring on the power play. This is the same formula that failed last year in the Stanley Cup Final against the Bruins as the Canucks absorbed a lot of punishment, but failed to score.

At the end of the game, there were 107 minutes in penalties. The Canucks were 4-for-11 on their power-play opportunities, and the Bruins were 0-for-7. The Canucks power-play was finally able to connect, and their penalty killing was top notch as well, even when Kesler, Burrows and Hamhuis took turns in the box. #NotAsDirtyAsItSounds

#Coho4Calder is in full effect

Remember you heard it here first. Cody Hodgson was named the first star of the game according to NHL.com, and for good reason. Hodgson had the first assist on Burrows 2-2 goal, taking a Bieksa pass on the left boards, walking in from the circle and snapping a shot. I didn’t see the Burrows deflection, but Hodgson showed his hands from that spot.

There was no doubt about the 4-2 goal (and eventual game winner) from Hodgson. A perfect slap shot on the run from the top of the right circle, top shelf right below the bar. Again, no secret that me (and my kids) love Coho, and this beauty only makes our love stronger. Again, #NotAsDirtyAsItSounds

I thought I was over it, but …

I found myself yelling a little more often at the TV for the game, and was definitely feeling the emotion of this one. It is obvious that the players for both teams felt the same way. Both sides were right into it, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the Canucks fight back a bit, and answer the bell when they had to.

It was tough to watch Brad Marchand’s low bridge hit on Sami Salo. It will likely be a suspendable hit, my guess is 4 games for that. It was dirty. Maybe it was a hip check attempt from a shorter player, but it was far too low. It was a rare 5 minute major for clipping, and a game misconduct for Marchand, which is the correct call. Salo lay motionless on the ice, while most of Vancouver was screaming at their TV sets.

Certainly Canucks Nation had to wonder what could have been – if Raymond, Hamhuis and Kesler were healthy, or if Weise was on the team, or if there were a few more penalties called in the final. You know .. if Marchand was called for roughing for punching Daniel in the face, or if Seidenberg was called for cross-checking Henrik in the back 5 or 6 times in a row.

These are (arguably) the two best teams in their respective conferences. If they should meet again in the final, it would be another amazing series.

Alright, so I’m not over it. You’re not either.

Canucks Wagonwatch: Game 40 vs Sharks

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.

The Sharks were well rested, as the last time they played was December 28 in a 3-2 OT loss to Vancouver. Meanwhile, the Canucks have played twice since then, winning in Anaheim, and losing in Los Angeles. After the playoff-like atmosphere that last time these clubs met a few days ago, tonight’s game was a little disappointing in that regard.

Canucks Bandwagon: 80% full

After the last game versus the Sharks in San Jose, I expected a similar energy level from both clubs, but there were very few stretches of good play from either team. Even though the shot totals were good, it felt like there weren’t that many solid scoring chances for the Canucks. The had good secondary scoring from Hansen and Hodgson, but the top 2 lines couldn’t beat Niemi tonight.

Luongo Bandwagon: 70% full

Sometimes I am guilty of listening to the Team 1040 post game, which brings all kinds of crazy callers. The first caller after the Kings game immediately called out Luongo, calling him a flopper and a incapable of standing up to make a save. Haters gonna hate, but for better or worse, Luongo is held to a higher standard than the rest of the team. He was pretty good tonight against the Sharks, and made some nice saves – including one lunging from right to left to stop Joe Thornton from 6 feet. He even made two saves in the dreaded shootout, but couldn’t stop Handzus with the game on the line. Canucks shooters were 0-for-3 in the shootout tonight, but in Vancouver, people don’t blame the shooters for a shootout loss.

#Coho4Calder is Back, and The Honey Badger Keeps Eating

Jannik Hansen maybe shouldn’t have scored on that mad scramble, but he was rewarded for his hard work tonight. The first assist on Hansen’s goal was from Cody Hodgson. It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for Coho, so it was extra sweet to see Hodgson get rewarded tonight with 1G 1A, and even played out the final seconds in OT. We’re not so deluded to think that Hodgson has a shot at the Nuge Trophy .. er .. Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year, because he’s not that kind of a flashy player, and the Canucks are loaded at Center with Henrik and Kesler eating up the top minutes. If you consider that – then 12-13 minutes isn’t bad for a 3rd line center on this team, which could roll all 4 lines successfully on most nights.

I honestly believe that Hodgson will be one of the key pieces of this hockey club in the future – he’s lucky to be an understudy to two of the great centers in the game today – Captain Henrik is the soft spoken pure passer, and Kesler is the shutdown guy who wears his heart on his sleeve.  Just because we are massive Cody Hodgson fans, this video should give you something to drool over.

 

“Meet Me” – The Life Behind The Blogger

As I was thinking of a way to connect on a more personal level with my readers, I thought it might be an interesting idea to start a new blog trend.  The trend I’m hoping for should help to open up the communication and connect with the bloggers whose sites I enjoy reading.  The “About me” section is alright, but what better way to get an idea of who I really am (other then bat-shit crazy), then to go through the pictures from my cell phone.

– Candice from Baked In Vancouver (Twitter: @loveyourcake)

I have been poked and prodded forced inspired to write this blog post by Candice. I’ve never had the opportunity to meet Candice (in fact, it’s rare for me to meet people from Twitter), but always enjoy the opportunity to creep find out more about my awesome Twitter friends.

As with Candice’s Meet Me post, I will post a number of x-rated PG-13 regular old photos from my phone, along with the play-by-play via captions.

Well, that’s that! I have no friends skipped over the millions and millions of photos of all my friends really focus on my family. and hockey. and food. Chances are if you have kids, or like hockey, or if you eat, we can be friends!

Canucks Advent Calendar: 17 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!

17 days to get back to playing Canucks hockey. 17 days to get back to winning games.

Today’s memory is dedicated to Twitter’s @KeslerGirl – and with just 17 days left before the season begins, the focus is on #PassItToKesler and a number of Ryan Kesler’s amazing performances last season.

Ryan Kesler had a slow start to his season – only 4 points in October – but he started to heat up in November with 11 points, and a supa-hot 19 points in December. Twice in November, Kesler scored 2 goals in a game, and Twitter #Canucks fans turned their hashtags to #PassItToKesler.

The hashtag again surfaced in December versus Anaheim when Kesler scored twice, but was unable to get his hat trick.

Finally on December 15, 2010, Kesler accounted for all of the Canucks scoring. Make the final Kesler 3 – Columbus 2. Watch for the patience and quickness of Kesler’s wrist shot on the first two goals, and speed and timing on the OT winner.

After Kesler had yet another 2 goal game late in December, he again struck for a hat trick on January 7, 2011, this time against the Edmonton Oilers, in an overall team whupping. Although I’m sure Nikolai Khabibulin would want that first goal back, there’s no denying Kesler’s speed. On his 2nd and 3rd goals, he shows off his hands with a couple beautiful deflections.

Late in the season in what was sure to be the most boring game of the season, Kesler posted his 3rd hat trick of the season, this time against the Minnesota Wild – a team that normally gives the Canucks fits with their defensive style of play. Kesler showed his nose for the net on the first goal, and his excellent wrist shot on the other two tallies.

As if this regular season wasn’t enough, Kesler continued his stellar work in the playoffs. The first series versus the Blackhawks, he managed to hold Jonathan Toews to very little scoring.

In Round 2 against the Nashville Predators, Kesler played Superman, and put the Canucks on his back. Kesler actually turns on BEAST MODE and splits the defense before firing a wrist shot by Pekka Rinne. Not just any defensemen though, we’re talking about Shea Weber and Ryan Suter.

When I say he played Superman, I’m not joking around. Don’t believe the hype? This line explains it:

Games	G	A	Pts	+/-	PPP	GWG	BkS	Hits	SOG
6	5	6	11	+2	4	2	6	16	24

 

Against San Jose, Kesler pulled up lame chasing a puck deep in the offensive zone, and as we all know he was not the same for the rest of the way in the playoffs. As it turns out, he needed surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, and will not begin the season with the Canucks. No doubt that he will come back and help the Canucks push towards the playoffs again this season though!

Thanks for a great year Kes!

Do you have other memorable Kesler moments from last season?

Canucks Advent Calendar: 28 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!

28 days to get back to playing Canucks hockey. 28 days to get back to winning games.

Today’s memory: Last season on February 2, 2011, Cody Hodgson scored his first career NHL goal. Judging from the skill he showed on this goal, it will be the first of many goals to come.

Hodgson showed some dangle, and some nice stick-handling through the slot before shooting the wrister. And #ThatsWhatSheSaid.

With Ryan Kesler likely out of the Canucks line up to start the season, it seems like Hodgson should get a good look at more quality minutes (okay .. just more minutes) to begin the season. Hodgson didn’t get many minutes in the playoffs, but he didn’t embarrass himself with the minutes he had.

He has the skills to move right up to the 2nd line center spot, leaving Manny Malhotra centering the 3rd line, and Maxim Lapierre leading the 4th line center committee.

Agree? Disagree?

Hello, my name is …

Hi Everybody! #DoctorNickTweet

Here it is, my first blog post.  I have been meaning to start this blog for awhile. It is not a coincidence that the things in life that keep me busy (and kept me from starting this blog!) are the same things that I want to write about here:

• Hockey in general, and the #Canucks specifically
• Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Social Media
• Website development and design
• Family

Recently on Twitter, every Thursday I have been tweeting exclusively in the third person. This is called Third Person Thursday, #TPT hashtag. General hilarity ensues, and as ludicrous as it seems, more people have been doing it with me.

I am not the original #TPT creator – the true originals (#TPT OG) are: @WhatsForLunchBC @girlygirlpotter @dylan_redekop @Micro_Mama @JohnLimHing @gigageek0 @hestonk

I was introduced to #TPT by Jaxon (@NinjaOnTheGrind), and of course I took it too far. #TPT isn’t dominating timelines all over Twitter yet, but you never know. In the famous words of Colonel Angus:

#TPT doesn’t always smell like a bag of roses,
but deep down, #TPT is very sweet