Powerplays bail out Canucks

First Canuck home game since the Canadian junior squad celebrated a gold medal victory at GM Place and I'll admit it was somewhat hard to get excited for this game. For whatever reason, the Canucks seemed to have the same problem as well coming out of the gate. Following a lackluster opening period where the Canucks spotted Calgary a 1-0 lead, the Canucks jumped out with a strong effort in the second nodding the game up 1-1 with a powerplay goal.

For whatever reason however, the Canucks failed to utilize that momentum and allowed Calgary to take a 3-1 lead. The down point of the period came with Markus Naslund and Mattias Ohlund getting crossed up with one another allowing Jarome Iginla to pounce on a loose puck and skate in uncontested and beat Auld blocker side. Game, set, match...no.

Thanks to the powerplays, the Canucks got right back in it beginning with an Anson Carter goal that got the Canucks within 1 before Salo's marker on a 6-on-3 man advantage (with the goalie pulled) tied things up sending the crowd at GM Place into euphoria and silencing those loudmouthed Flames fans for the first time in the night. Brendan Morrison, with family in attendance, capped off the comeback with (you guessed it) another powerplay goal after Todd Bertuzzi had drawn a tripping call in the extra frame (Vancouver's second powerplay of overtime...the first one was a result of a hold over from the third period).

While the Canucks should be happy they took the 2 points from this win, this team still needs to realize they're not out of the woods yet. They continue to sit behind the aforementioned Flames in the NW Division and, had it not been for the powerplay, Canuck fans would still be talking about how this team was winless against Alberta teams. 5-on-5, the Canucks were simply overmatched. Kind of reminds you of the 03-04 quarterfinals series doesn't it? New NHL or not, this team simply cannot rely on the powerplay each and every time. They tried that in the last playoffs and they got burned. Saturday night was a step in the right direction, but this team still has a long ways to go.

And while Calgary fans and players will no doubt complain about how they late powerplays, including two late in the third which left only 3 Calgary players on the ice when Salo scored the tying marker, let's not forget earlier this season when the Canucks had battled back against the Flames to tie it in the 3rd period only to watch a late 5-on-3 advantage for the Flames give Calgary the victory. Turnabout is fair play.

In response to Eklund's blog: "Canadian Kids Awesome-Fans: Not So Much"

First off, having attended 19 of the 21 games that were played in Vancouver, I'd like to extend my appreciation to everyone single person involved with the WJHC tournament. From the volunteers, to all the players from each of the 10 teams involved, and of course, the fans.

What has me upset however, has to do with the last aspect, which is of course some of the fan bashing that has taken place recently over the booing in particular of the U.S. team. Not to sound inconsiderate or anything, knowing the fact these are teenagers who are representing their country, but what did you expect?

All pre-tournament, all Canadian hockey fans were hearing was how the U.S. team were a favourite to win the tournament, and on Canadian soil no less. Now, I believe Canadian sports fans aren't idiots who can't do simple problem solving. Team Canada belonged in the same pool as the heavily favoured Americans. Knowing the top team in each pool gets a bye to the semis which would undoubtedly have a big impact on who gets to the Gold Medal Game, anyone could tell you that in order for Canada to have a chance to win that pool, they would definitely need some help from the other pool teams against the U.S. (as it turns out, that was the case as if not for their tie against Switzerland, there's a good chance we could be talking about an American gold medal right now). Now I'm not naive enough to suggest this is the sole reason that fans began cheering against the Americans, but as a sports fan who is also a Canadian fan, this was my sole motivation.

Now..."cheering against" and "booing" are two completely different matters. Prior to the U.S./Canada game, I don't recall Canadian fans booing the Americans at all. Sure the crowd predominately cheered the other team, but they didn't "boo" the Americans (I'm not talking about that after goal booing either, that's to be expected in any sport). For the most part, I thought the fans had what I would consider a quiet respect for the Americans. Sure they didn't openly cheer them (why would they? their team was Canada's biggest rival), but they didn't go out of their way to boo them. The booing began in the heavily hyped Canada-U.S. game, but even then it was still limited to the after-goal variety. Where it really took off was the Johnson elbow to Steve Downie. Now, remember at the time Canada scored a goal on the play and that was definitely what most fans eyes had been glued on. It wasn't until after things settled down after the celebration that they saw a Canadian player laying motionless on the ice. That's when hostilities boiled over and you had chants of "U.S. Sucks" and the first actual booing of the Americans. For those at the game, this was very much in the heat of the moment.

Now...fast forward to the quarterfinal game between the Czechs and the Americans. Again, there was the typical after-goal booing but this time, there was an added dimension as fans had (expectedly) began to boo Jack Johnson for his cheap shot to Downie. Where I feel people really got the wrong idea was when one fan held up a "U Suck America" sign which was met by laughter and applause. Now, anyone who has ever attended a sporting event knows you get caught up in the moment. Your first reaction isn't "how can I make a political statement?", it's "I see something funny, I'm going to cheer." It would be the same if one encountered a "Flames Suck" sign or "Oilers Suck" sign at a Canucks game. I somehow doubt the fans who cheered that would be considered anti-Canadian, but yet, perhaps because this was an international hockey game, some people took that to heart. Now, Shane Foxman, who was actually the reason that sign got on the jumbotron in the first place as there was an in-house segment featuring him and a fan had that sign draped behind him and it took him a few seconds to realize why the fans were cheering, began to laugh and jokingly made a statement that went along the lines of "hey let's show some respect to our guests" as he moved away from the sign so the camera would follow him. The crowd response was a mock boo, but once again, this got taken to heart by some Americans.

Rightly or wrongly to boo, for Eklund to suggest that we should be embracing the Americans in hockey simply because they are our neighbours is ridiculous. This is sports. It would be suggested Canuck fans should embrace the Flames or Avalanche just because we're all in the Northwest Division. He continually refers to the Americans as "U.S. kids", and that's supposed to make us feel bad we booed them? And he isn't the first one to take issue with the booing of "kids." A certain CKNW talkshow host and hockeybuzz blogger, who shall remain nameless, also took issue with this on his show. But hold on, this isn't like the crowd booing bantam or peewee hockey players and to compare the these U20 juniors to "real kids" is ridiculous. Are sports fans not entitled to boo simply because these players are teenagers? Have they never watched a CHL game or American college hockey game? Please. It's not as if Canadian fans threatened any American players or challenged them to a parking lot brawl.

Where I take most issue is these two paragraphs by Eklund:

To me, an American Hockey fan, who loves and does all he can for a Canadian sport, it is very upsetting...I think America deserves better than this....I am not going to go political, don`t worry.

I am simply going to say that the Canadian sport of hockey and the NHL is highly dependant on fans like me in the US. US money helps make the NHL the NHL. If we had two leagues like we do in football, the NFL and CFL, things would be very different. The best players still largely come from Canada.

Exactly how high and mighty does Eklund sound here? Does he honestly think, if the situation were reversed, the opposite wouldn't happen? (Assuming Canadians don't invade the arena as they did at the Salt Lake City Olympics or last year at the WJHC in North Dakota?) This isn't politics. It's sports. And while I have the utmost respect for all the players who played their hearts out at this tournament, I'm sick to death of all this fan bashing. This is sports...and sometimes feelings get hurt.

However, to boo our kids and rout for Finland and Russia over us is just wrong. Very arrogant...We are neighbors and we should act like them.

What about those "kids" who played for Finland and Russia. Now suddenly they're the bad guys. Please. Get off your high horse.

Just another day at the office...

About a crowd of just under two dozen gathered outside section 308 at General Motors Place starring at the television monitors stationed just outside the entrance to the Rickard's Brewhouse. The crowd, comprised mainly of GM Place staff and security guards, as well as hockey fans on their intermission break from the WJC game that had the Swedes and Finns deadlocked at 0-0 in the first intermission, were watching the Canucks take on bottom feeder St. Louis. 1-1 read the score in St. Louis as the crowd small crowd oohed and aahed watching Vancouver on the powerplay. Moments later, Blues forward Scott Young took a pretty pass and snapped a shot past Alex Auld. The crowd groaned. Shortly thereafter, former Canuck Mike Sillinger finished off a three-way passing play that simply made the Canuck defenders look foolish.

A passerby looked up at the scoreboard and let out a sly "hah!" Slowly, the fans began to disperse, most of them heading back to their seats in time for the second period to begin. There was not so much a sense of shock, but rather a sense of disappointed acceptance. Nothing out of the ordinary...

LUUUUUUUC

Tis the season to give...

...but maybe the Canucks are taking that a little too far.

The first three of the five Calgary goals tonight were a direct result of a Canuck neatly gift-wrapping the puck and handing it to their Flames' counterpart who proceeded to put it into the net.

On a night when the Canucks manage to get 5 pucks past Miikka Kiprusoff, they allow the Flames, who haven't exactly been the exemplar of an offensive juggernaut so far this season, to put five past Alex Auld and then two more in the shootout. If not for the Grinch-like effort from the likes of Bertuzzi and Naslund, the Canucks would have left this game with just a lump of coal rather than a single point.

One has to wonder whether the Canucks' Christmas party will turn out to be a farewell party for some players as you have to believe Dave Nonis is just be waiting for the Christmas roster freeze to lift before he shakes up the team.

There certainly is very little Christmas cheer in Canuckland right now. Perhaps the New Year will bring in better luck. As one panhandler outside GM Place was heard saying, "they're ruining my Christmas."

On a more positive note, congrats to Markus Naslund, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Mattias Ohlund. Jarkko Ruutu, and Sami Salo for being named to their respective countries' Olympic Team.

Also on a personal note, after painfully sitting through the last 4 Canuck games, I'm looking forward to taking a 2-week break away from the Nucks and switching my focus towards the Canadian junior boys as they attempt the repeat at this year's WJHC. Hopefully the Canucks tune up their game over the next two weeks while I tune out.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

TEAM CANADA ANNOUNCED!

Congratulations to Todd Bertuzzi, Ed Jovanovski, and the 24 other players selected to the Team Canada Olympic Roster/Taxi Squad.

Thoughts with an International Flavour

On Ed Jovanovski:

A recent analyst on Sportsnet (I believe?) had suggested that perhaps the reason for Roberto Luongo's struggles this season was due in large part to the fact he had been nervous about being named to the Olympic team. I wonder if this has been the same reason for Ed's struggles this season as well. Obviously some people handle the pressure better than others (Turco, Heatley etc.). Regardless, Ed should be a lock for Team Canada when it's named today at 2:00pm PST (TSN, Sportsnet) and I'd like to think that would kick start Jovocop back to form starting with tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.

On Todd Bertuzzi:

If Team Canada is about putting together the best team possible, there's no question Todd's name will be called this afternoon. If it was about putting together only those who were hot at the moment or the 'flavours of the month', then Todd's chances of making the team decreases. With all due respect to the likes of Eric Staal and Jason Spezza, one good half year does not necessarily warrant a selection to this camp. And while I'm all for giving young players a chance to shine in the international spotlight, this selection process has to be about building the best team possible, not about the hottest players at the time. There's no telling what shape any of these players will be in anyways by the time February rolls around anyways. If the likes of Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla are considered locks, and the likes of Lemieux and Yzerman having guaranteed spots (before they both respectively declined the offer), there's no reason Bertuzzi shouldn't be there as well.

On WJHC Fan Fest:

The fun never stops. Hockey fans will be doing themselves a great displeasure if they don't at least check out the RBC Fan Fest that will run from Boxing Day until the 4th of January. Fan Fest will also feature a large jumbo screen showing all of Team Canada's games so if you can't get a ticket in, this might be the next best thing. Full details here: http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/17621/la_id/1.htm

On the Czech Republic Junior Team:

First the good: Nice to see the Canadian boys squeak out a victory over the Czechs in last night's exhibition game. Now the ugly: The news gets worst for the Czech team however. According to MOJO 730AM in Vancouver, the Czech team, who are currently staying in Chilliwack, had their hotel rooms robbed from over the weekend. These players, who are only teenagers mind you, had stolen from them their money, clothes and souvenirs. Again I have not heard any other source on this matter in the time being so I'll take it with a grain of salt. But if this report is true, this is absolutely disgraceful and those responsible should be ashamed as it not only looks bad on the Chilliwack community but puts a damper on this tournament before it kicks off. Absolutely disgraceful. I have not heard whether efforts have been taken to help these kids replace what they have lost but I would think that to be a no-brainer at this point. Let's not forget that hockey issues aside, this Czech team is a guest not only in our city but our country and they, like all the other participants in this tournament, have given up their Christmas holidays to play the game they love. They don't deserve this.

My apologies for ending on a sour note. If any players on the Czech team happens to stumble onto this blog or anyone from the Chilliwack community that may have more information on this situation, I'd love to hear from you.

canucksrant@gmail.com

Must be a slow news day

It seems there's a new golden rule of hockey journalism: When news in the hockey world is slow, write something about Bertuzzi...then watch it blow way out of proportion.

Example 1: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/connected.jsp

• December 20th; 9:38am entry - It's the latest fad! The Bertuzzi trade rumour without naming sources. Wow indeedy! The Montreal Canadiens are interested in acquiring Todd Bertuzzi!! Surprise, surprise. Call your friends. Call your neighbours. Call Dan Russell. But most importantly, call on your senses...and call the bluff. I'd be surprised if Montreal wasn't interested in Bertuzzi. Heck, if the 29 other GM's in this league weren't interested in Todd Bertuzzi, they wouldn't be doing their jobs. Means nothing...let's move on.

Example 2: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=147690&hubname=

• Todd Bertuzzi on the bubble to make Team Canada? Well duh. So's the other 23 guys. So what's the big deal? This CP article makes it sounds like Team Canada brass has suddenly had a change of thought regarding whether to take Todd Bertuzzi. Funny enough, this article has no quotes or information from Wayne Gretzky or any other members of Team Canada's management. So what's changed? Just the average reader's perception. Has Bertuzzi ever been a lock for the team? No. Is Bertuzzi on the bubble? Yes. Has his situation changed between the opening of Team Canada's camp and now? No.

Slow news day indeed.

Thoughts from Canucks vs. Kings 12/19

On those dreaded 2 goal leads:

In a reversal of the Canucks' problems from earlier in the season, the Canucks seem to have no problem getting out to good starts lately but seem to have a problem keeping the foot on the pedal. As they did on Saturday night, the Canucks jumped out to an early 2-goal lead only to see it evaporate. For the second game in a row, the Canucks are outshot and outchanced in the 3rd period and have not scored a goal in the final frame.

On the new video montage:

Monday night featured new highlights with the intro video. Most noticeable subtraction from the highlight package was Dan Cloutier who was not seen in the video at all. Additions included much more clips of Alex Auld as well as the use of play-by-play voiceovers from Shorty and Tom on the goals shown in the highlight package (nice touch!).

On Todd Bertuzzi:

Yet another solid game for big #44. Held off the scoresheet but was into the action all night long and played a big part in the opening goal.

On the Three Brothers Line:

Biggest difference between the Sedins today, and the Sedins of the past three or so seasons? They're still cycling the puck, but now they're doing it with a purpose. A big reason for this has been the addition of Anson Carter. A lot of people questioned the addition of Carter in the off-season, even if it was only for $1 million, calling him a floater who had lost his touch. Well so far Anson Carter has silenced his critics. Carter added another 2 assists to his point totals against his former team, the LA Kings, and has especially in recent games, shown he's got finish, something many former linemates of the Sedins (be it Brookbank, King, Klatt etc.) had trouble with.

---Other Thoughts---

On Racial Slurs:

Very, very disappointed to hear about what transpired in the Chicoutimi/Moncton game in the QMJHL where racial taunts were hurled at the direction of coach Ted Nolan. This is certainly one of the worst incidents involving racial taunts from fans that I have witnessed in recent history. Definitely there were the stories of the incidents during the NHL All-Stars overseas tour during the lockout where fans had taunted and apparently threw debris (bananas?) at Anson Carter. But in North America, and particularly Canada, it's difficult to fathom this type of behavior. Yes, we've had fans boo the American National anthem but I think even that was on a totally different level than this incident. Shame on those fans, but kudos to the Saguenees organization for publicly apologizing to Ted.

On Phyllis Gretzky:

Our condolences go out to the entire Gretzky family during this sad time. Phyllis, 64, passed away on Monday at around the same time the Canucks hit the ice against the LA Kings. Phyllis is survived by her husband, Walter, 5 children, and 12 grandchildren.