a little behind on my bloggin

Canucks 4
LA Kings 2

With the win, the Canucks are 3 points up on Minnesota with a game in hand. Go Canucks

Bring on the Flames!

I hope they win on saturday !

It's official

Canucks 3
Avalanche 0

With the win, the canucks are one point up on minnesota for first in the division ( thank you calgary, but i wish you could have got the job done in regulation) and have now officially clinched a playoff spot. Way to go guys !

Sami Salo's goal on the powerplay was the winning goal, with two empty net goals, one by cooke, and the other by Daniel Sedin

way to go team :D

A shootout loss

Canucks 5
Avalanche 4
shootout loss

I do not even want to comment on this game. I'm very disappointed in the loss. They did not play vintage Canucks hockey. Vintage from maybe last year, or two years ago, but definitely not vintage from this year.

on a brighter note - they got a point and are back into first in the division. Tied for first, with a game in hand on Minnesota. They need to win on tuesday when they play Colorado again.

BRAVO, ROBERTO

Canucks 2
Predators 0

this will be a short summation, I didn't see the game, I didn't listen to much of the game - I was at work. :( I'm thrilled we won, and for Roberto Luongo to shut out the best team in the NHL. WOW double bonus.

What a game *

* Roberto Luongo awarded the Mark Messier award for excellence and Leadership
* Roberto Luongo now leads the NHL in wins
* goals from unlikely sources tonight, Jan Bulis opened the scoring and Tommi Santala scored the insurance goal
* a very complete game - the only thing lacking was the powerplay, but when you're winning little things like that don't really matter to me.
* First Detroit, now Nashville. This team never ceases to amaze me. I must admit I had steeled myself for a loss. So them winning exceeded my expectations, and has made me a happy Canucks fan.

three up on Minnesota and four points within first in the conference. This team has me in shock. Is it for real? or am I destined for a crushing disappointment.

Nucks drill Oil ( sorta )

Canucks 2
Oilers 1

The Canucks add to the oilers woes - What can i say ? Except ROBERTO LUONGO !!! He stopped 36 or 37 shots in the game tonight. Lots of shots in the game tonight. The Canucks ended up outshooting the oilers 38-37. They Pocket the two points, increase their lead on Minnesota to three, and head home to face the Predators on Wednesday night.

Edmonton opened the scoring on a goal by Raffi Torres, I didn't completely give up hope but my faith in them took a few beatings. TREVOR LINDEN ( Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin) restored my belief and faith in my team when he scored on the power play to tie the game. Yes, indeed, a powerplay goal for the Canucks. They ended up going 1- for - 4 on the Power play, and 5 -for - 5 on the penalty kill. DANIEL SEDIN ( Henrik Sedin, Mattias Ohlund ) scored the game winner about 5 minutes later. With Henrik's assists tonight he is 3 assists away from tying Andre Boudrias franchise record.



The Canucks were missing both SAMI SALO, and WILLIE MITCHELL. Both out with groin injuries. Hopefully they will both be back against Nashville.

Canucks win the season series 6-2 against the Oilers.

HNIC - Canucks vs Wings

Canucks 4
Redwings 1

* 163rd consecutive sellout at GM Place

What a great game, playing against the 'best' team in the NHL up to this point, the Canucks came to play and play they did. This was a very well played game. Aside from the number of penalities that were called. Night and day comparing this game and the St. Louis game. A grand total of 2 penalities called in that game, and 17 penalities called in this game. Go figure, it was the same ref too. The Canucks improve their record to 26-5-5, collecting points in 31 of their last 36 games, since Christmas. This team could be for real - for all you who still have doubts.

Once again, the goal scoring was spread out. Pavel Datsyuk for Detroit opened the scoring in the first period, but Bryan Smolinski with an assist by Daniel Sedin, replied for the Canucks, 1 second after a powerplay expired. The Canucks didn't look back. Weathering the Detroit storm of powerplays throughout the game. Lukas Krajicek scored to make it 2-1, with assists by Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. The next point by Daniel Sedin will give him a career best in points. Brendan Morrison scored shorthanded, with assists by Matt Cooke, and Rory Fitzpatrick, to make it 3-1 going into the third.

Going into the third i was slightly worried, being that the last few games the Canucks have let up and allowed their opponents back in the game. Not so tonight. This was a full 60 minute affair. Even losing Sami Salo to a "lower body Injury" in the third wasn't enough to deter the Canucks. Trevor Linden with assists by Matt Cooke, and Lukas Krajicek, put the icing on the cake tonite, with an empty netter, to make the score 4-1.

Canucks went 0 for 9 on the powerplay, and Detroit went 1 for 8. The Canucks are still leading the NHL in penalty killing, which is kinda hard to believe since our penalty killing hasn't been as good lately.

Roberto Luongo was good, he made the saves when he had to, and got lucky a few times with a post, and Ohlund's skate.

The Canucks win the season series against Detroit 3 - 1.
* on a side note the Canucks pepper Detroit with the most shots this season. Detroit is widely known for keeping the shots down, but tonight the Canucks managed to get 39 shots on Hasek, and thats not counting blocked shots, or missed shots.

* Canucks record improves to 43-23-6 - 92 points

*Minnesota beats Calgary in regulation, and for a few brief moments sat in first in the division, until this game was over, anyway. So the Canucks hang on to first with a one point lead on Minnesota with a game in hand, and an 8 point lead on Calgary.

Team 1040's hard hat defender of the game : Lukas Krajicek

Three Stars
*1 Roberto Luongo
*2 Lukas Krajicek
*3 Pavel Datsyuk

Next Up : Edmonton Oilers.

Twin Power Activates

Canucks 3
Blues 2
Overtime win

A nice two points, gained tonite, but they just can't do it the easy way can they? I was lucky enuf to be at the game tonite, and thoroughly enjoyed myself up until the 13th minute of the third period. I dont know what happened, but for some reason, the Canucks fell apart briefly. But long enough for the Blues to tie the game and send it to Overtime. I guess in the end it didn't really matter, we won, but seriously !!! a two goal lead in the third?? Does this seem concerning at all?

* Jeff Cowan showed lots of hustle tonight. Although held off the scoresheet, he was definitely one of the more noticeable Canucks. After a particularly great shift, in which he had a great chance to open the scoring, the crowd started chanting COW-AN COW - AN it was pretty impressive
* The first game I was wearing my vintage canucks jersey. My signed Trevor Linden vintage canucks jersey, And Trevor Linden scores a 'NICE' goal. It was so funny, my friend had just finished say, "they're tired, get off the ice" then boom there's good ole reliable Trevor putting the puck in the back of the net. I LOVE IT!! yes indeed my vintage canucks jersey is good luck now !

* The Sedins were at their best tonight. Playing with Cowan of all people, but it seemed to work. Both Henrik and Daniel scored tonite. ALthough Cowan didn't get a point on any of the goals, he played a huge part in finding open ice, and making room for the Sedins to work their magic.
* Jan Bulis - need I say more. We were sitting in the I hate jan bulis section of the game tonite. It was interesting to hear the little side remarks throughout our immediate area. He made some stupid decisions with the puck tonight. Will we have to wait for 8 more games before he has another good one?
* Roberto Luongo - made the saves when he had too, I wouldn't say he was spectacular tonite, after facing only about 8-12 shots in the first two periods, he allowed two goals in the last 7 minutes of regulation. But he made enough saves to eventually allow the Canucks to win it in Overtime

* JUST WHAT THE HECK IS A PENALTY FOR A FACEOFF VIOLATION??? I have never heard of that in my life
* i think we got a little lucky with the four minute power play in the last minute of the game that went into Overtime, allowing for Daniel Sedin's heroics on the powerplay. but hey i'll go with it. The Canucks were very disciplined taking only one penalty, and that was one penalty that I had no clue why it was called.

* Roberto Luongo reached a milestones tonight. becoming only the 20th goaltender in NHL History to win 40 games in a season. He's not concerned about it however. Keep up the great work Luongo !!!!

* A calgary loss, combined with a Minnesota win, the canucks retain first place in the division with a one point lead on the Wild




Overall, I had a great time at the game, it was nice to see a win, although a win in regulation would have been preferred. But lets not squabble over details, It didn't hurt us to give St. Louis a point. We won, it was entertaining and we won. :)

Next up : Detroit Redwings

not again !

Canucks 2
Wild 3
overtime loss

* Jan Bulis opened the scoring, and Matt Cooke followed soon thereafter. The first period was great. The Canucks were up 2-0.
* I suppose after the first the Canucks thought they could coast to an easy victory against the Wild. Why they thought that I have no idea !! But the second and third period, they basically sat on their lead, and watched it diminish, until Brian Rolston scored with less than 5 minutes left in the game to tie it up.
* Minnesota gets the two points and gains some ground on us - we take home the point and maintain an one point lead on the Wild for first in the division.
* I was 'angry' at the end of this game, but since I have calmed down a bit. Them losing was just the last straw of my very boring night at work working with incompentent people. I needed them to win. I think I invest too many of my emotions into this team!!!
* one of my employees called me a "bandwagonner" at the end of this game - I don't agree. I love this team, and I want them to do well, how does calling them losers after they lose an important divisional game make me a bandwagonnner :)

* a few issues

* Where have the power play goals gone?
* Where has Naslund and Morrison gone?
* Where has Daniel Sedin gone? He hasn't scored in a bout a week now I think
* Why did the Canucks not play a full 60 minutes in an important divisional game?

I suppose the end result isn't that disheartening, we got a point anyway. I'm hoping that them losing tonite leads them to play an incredible game on thursday against the Blues, when I'm at the game. Someday I hope they learn their lesson - PLAY A FULL 60 MINUTES PLEASE? or at least play long enough so that you win the game !!

Go Canucks Go !

High Flyin

Canucks 2
Ducks 4

Ducks too much for Canucks

I must admit I did not see any of this game, and only listened to about 1/2 of it,( i was at work) so I have no idea if they played well or not. Judging from the RECAP it was a so so game. Questionable reffing at times. It appeared to be somewhat of a physical game. So maybe the smaller Canucks just couldn't elevate their game to meet the physicality of Anaheim?

Having Kevin Bieksa assesed 27 minutes in penalities probably didn't help either.

It was nice to see Alexandre Burrows, finally score another goal. Remember what he was like last season? down the stretch he was constantly scoring. Where are all those goals this season? And Brent Sopel got the other Vancouver goal. Their penalty killing wasn't stellar tonight, and their powerplay did nothing. I'm not sure whether it was just cuz Anaheim shut it down, or they just weren't trying. Or maybe a little bit of both. Both Markus Naslund, and Brendan Morrison didn't have a shot on goal in the game tonight. All in all, i wouldn't say it was a poor performance, but it certainly didn't get the job done
Either way, its a loss and the teams behind us who are chasing us all won. Not good news.

The Canucks have a chance to redeem themselves Tuesday night. a 4 point game, as Minnesota is in town. The Wild are only 2 points behind us, but we do have a game in hand.

Go Canucks Go

H.Sedin = overtime hero !

Canucks 2
Sharks 1

overtime

* Whats with Jeff Cowan? He didn't score !!!!!
* Taylor Pyatt opened the scoring, and Henrik Sedin won it in overtime on a breakaway, in which he slammed home his own rebound, (which is good since it was his penalty that the Sharks scored on to send the game into overtime. A soft call to be sure, but it was a penalty never the less)

* Markus Naslund has been playing great lately. Its nice to see him return to form.

* an entertaining game to be sure - another two points in the standings
* 87 points in the standings and the Canucks maintain their 4 point lead on the Wild, increase their lead to 6 points on the Flames, who have a game in hand

My Three Stars

1. Henrik Sedin
2. Roberto Luongo
3. Evegni Nabokov

but what do I know :) we'll see how my three stars compare with the team 1040 three stars.

* The Canucks improve to 11-1 -1 in their last 13.
* Roberto Luongo (39)breaks Kirk McLean's record of most wins in a season by a Canucks goaltender. (38) Historic win for Luongo and the Canucks
* Great to see the Canucks play another good game. I know they've been doing this since Christmas but I still am not used to it.
* The game was scoreless till the opening minutes of the third period, it was a well played game, and the Canucks emerge Triumphant. A great team effort, a playoff like atmostphere, and a playoff like game.
* Is this ever gonna end? as a die hard Canucks fan, I certainly hope not !!!!

Get this three stars on TV

1.Nabokov
2.Luongo
3.Thornton

* I beg to differ. HA HA

GO CANUCKS GO !

Canucks beat the dogs !

Canucks 4
Coyotes 2

A win combined with a Calgary loss tonite, leaves the Canucks 4 points up on both the Flames and Minnesota. The game started out great, it was 3-0 by the end of the first. The team kinda sorta let up near the end of the game, but i'll excuse them, they play tommorrow night in San Jose. 10-1-1 in their last 12, this team is on a roll. This team is unbelievable. When was the last time a Canucks team was 18 games over .500?

Period 1

7:50 - Jeff Cowan - Brendan Morrison, Kevin Bieksa
9:26 - Brendan Morrison - Brent Sopel, Mattias Ohlund
12:33 - Markus Naslund - Bryan Smolinski, Jan Bulis

Period 2

8:55 - Sami Salo - Tommi Santala, Trevor Linden
11:38 - Shane Doan - D. Morris, Reinprecht

Period 3

4:52 - J. Taffe - Michalek, Doan

The Canucks even had a penalty shot awarded them in the first period. Joseph made the save on Daniel Sedin. By far the best period of hockey was the first, but that was all the Canucks needed to get the two points, and take a four point lead in their division.

Jeff Cowan, finds the back of the net, AGAIN! Like Tommy Larscheid says " perhaps we should be looking for an enforcer to protect our scorer Jeff Cowan" Unbelievable !!! The Canucks win with Dany Sabourin in net, his second NHL win.

Go Canucks Go !

Steve Moore vs Todd Bertuzzi

3 years ago today - a black cloud descended on the Canucks and hockey in general. I'm sure you all remember. Canucks vs Avalanche, a day we all wish we could erase from NHL history.

I must admit when it first happened, I'm ashamed to admit i sided with Bertuzzi. Not that I thought that "Steve Moore had it coming," No one deserves that. For a while, I thought he was just hyping the injury to make Bertuzzi pay. But as the years pass, and it appears that Moore is as far as ever from returning to the NHL, I take a step back, and I look at what happened.

I'm a huge Bertuzzi fan, but he did a stupid stupid thing. He knows that, and surely any person in their right mind knows he did a stupid thing. Unfortunately, his actions led to some very serious consequences for Moore. Sure, Bertuzzi had the backlash of the media and people's reactions all across the hockey world, and Whenever he is mentioned in articles this incident will always be brought up. Steve Moore has had greater consequences to deal with. He had a fractured neck - concussion, and to this day still does not know if or when he will be able to return to the NHL. steve moore still hasn't give up hope

three years down the road, and after listening to Moore's comments on 1040 this afternoon. You gotta feel for the guy. He's still not playing hockey, still hasn't been cleared to play, but there's Todd Bertuzzi signing with The Redwings, playing the game he loves. All's Steve Moore wants to do is play the game he loves, the "incident" has denied him of that.

I'm not placing all the blame on Todd Bertuzzi either. I think everyone involved should take some of the blame. What it comes down to though is, it was Todd Bertuzzi who punched Steve Moore from behind. It all could have been avoided if only - so many if onlys and they just serve to make me sound like I'm trying to deflect the blame from Bertuzzi on to the NHL. Which isn't the case at all.

Its not something I will ever forget hearing on the radio, or seeing played over and over again. I still remember where I was and what I was doing when this all transpired. My thoughts and prayers go out to Steve Moore for a full recovery, and My thoughts and prayers go out to Todd Bertuzzi, thats got to be hard to get over something like that.

I wish it had never happened !!!!

Larscheid to retire?

Larscheid mulls retirement - Vancouver Province

Tom Larscheid color commentator for the Vancouver Canucks for the past 30 years is thinking of retiring.

while there is a concerted effort by the Canucks and his current employers to persuade him otherwise, Larscheid estimates he's 98 per cent certain he'll retire at the end of this season.

It's not a decision he's reached lightly and he's certainly left himself room to wiggle out of it. But after all these years, he just feels it's time to kick back with his wife Lesley, listen to some Sinatra, sip on a Sapphire martini and watch the sun set into the Pacific.

And he's earned that right. In his 30 years on the job, Larscheid has come to be associated with the Canucks as much as any of the team's stars."

Wow, I didn't see this coming at all. I guess maybe I should have. I didn't realize he was as old as he was. Not that 67 is old ! He's just a part of the team for me. He's been color commentator for the Canucks since I became a canucks fan in the 93/94 season. He's provided many a laugh, a few rolls of the eyes. Could anyone ever really take his place? I'm sure many will try.

Tom, a great color commentator, a staunch Canucks fan, his Larscheidisms will be greatly missed

* Coast to Coast like buttered toast
* Get on the phone, Chuby has found his scoring touch
* If you can't play with the big dogs, you better stay on the porch
* Biekscellent
*Captain, my Captian
* Bingo, Bango, Bongo, His name is Roberto Luongo
*Some one call the coppers there's been a robbery

so many more to list. I so enjoyed listening to Larscheid over the years. You could tell he loved his job. Or if he didn't, he was really good at faking it. Tom Larscheid will be greatly missed ! From now on, till the end of the season, i will be tuning in to the radio just to enjoy Tom, for these last few months. Who knows, we may still be playing in June. Have Larscheid call his last game with the Canucks be the stanley cup final, in which the Canucks win the cup !!

Mr. Tom Larscheid, Thanks for all the memories !

Cowan Cowan Cowan

Canucks 5
Lightning 1

* Cowan, Cowan, Cowan - yes indeed, the crowd was chanting his name tonight. I Love it !
* Jeff Cowan once again, part of the story !! two goals again tonight. What's got into this guy? We could bottle it and sell it for sure.
* Jan Bulis - Was that not a sweet back pass on Jeff Cowan's second goal?
* The other goal scorers, Daniel Sedin, Kevin Bieksa, Bryan Smolinski
* Bryan Smolinski - another short - handed goal. Where was this guy earlier on in the season?? Oh right, with Chicago. So glad he's here now, he's fit in nicely so far.
* Finally a full 60 minute effort. That was nice to see !!
* Canucks kept the Tampa Bay shots to a minimum - i think the final total was 17, while they themselves managed 28
* Jan Bulis, and Brendan Morrison gave Tampa Bay the oppurtunity to try and get back in it, both taking penalities around the same time in the 3rd, but the team bailed them out.

Three Stars :
1. Daniel Sedin
2. Bryan Smolinski
3. Jeff Cowan

* Roberto Luongo ties Kirk McLean's record for most wins in a season by a Canucks goaltender.
* With a Minnesota loss tonight - Canucks now have a three point cushion and a game in hand on the Wild.

All in all, a very well paid game by the Canucks, and well deserving of the win, and the 2 points.
Next game, Thursday night against Phoenix. Will Dany Sabourin get the start?

Lightning in a bottle

Canucks / Wild post game comments

Canucks 4
Wild 3

Shootout Win

* Wow, what can i say beyond that. As much as I wanted a Canucks win tonight, I wasn't letting myself count on it too much. I love it when they win, when i dont expect them too.

* Minnesota scored first, Sami Salo evened the score. Minnesota took the lead again. Jeff Cowan scored to tie it up, and scored again to take the lead. Late in the 3rd, Bieksa took a penalty, and the Wild scored to tie it up and get at least a point out of this one. Overtime came and went, and then the SHOOTOUT - which went something like this :

Smolinski - SCORES Demitra - SCORES

Morrison - misses Nummellin - SAVE *

Naslund - misses Koivu - SAVE

Linden - SCORES Rolston - SCORES

Pyatt - misses Gaborik - misses

D. Sedin - SCORES Bouchard - SAVE

* Luongo 1st ever goaltender to stop Nummellin in the shootout

* Canucks win shootout 3-2 in 6 rounds, and win the game 4-3

* I can't make up my mind about the shootout. Do I like them, do I hate them? I know i hate losing in a shootout !!!! it leaves you with such an empty feeling. Much more of an empty feeling than just an out right loss. Winning in a shootout - well thats awesome !!!!

* Jan Bulis had a good game !

* Once again Jeff Cowan had a noteworthy game? Who is this guy and where did he come from? Is he just a fly by nighter, or is he the real thing?? Thats two games in a row that he made an impact !!!

*Roberto Luongo apparently suffering from the flu, or flu like systems but still manages to win the shootout and the game. Although he did have a few issues with controlling his rebounds. A couple of the Wild goals were direct results of mishandled rebounds. From what Team 1040 said anyway.

* Canucks remain 1st in the division, and 3rd in the conference. 2 points clear of Calgary and Minnesota, with a game in hand on the Wild.

* Will the Canucks ever play a full 60 minutes? or do they just like to keep it interesting for us?

* Once again, another powerplay goal is allowed? should we be worried about their penalty
killing? I think thats 7 games in a row the Canucks have allowed at least one powerplay goal.

* An important divisional game, bottom line Canucks win. Next up - Tampa Bay.

WHY?

After spending an hour or so wasting time on my computer perusing other Canuck fans blogs, I've come to a conclusion. Rating my blogging about the Canucks, on a scale of 1-10, I'd give myself about a 2. haha so why do I continue to blog about the Canucks, well to put it simply - "Because I can".

Maybe my problem is I rush to finish the blog, and don't take the necessary time to say all i want to say. Or my brain is thinking faster than my fingers can type. Who knows.

I will admit however, I love it. I love the Blogging, I love the Canucks. so I will continue to torture those few faithful readers that i do have. All one or two of you.

I suppose its just my way of saying

Go Canucks Go.

Sidney Crosby

Fastest to 200

Sidney Crosby becomes the fastest player to reach 200 career points.5 months before he turns 20. Wayne Gretzky is the only other player to reach 200 career points as a teenager, he achieved that feat shortly before his 20th birthday. All's i can say is WOW ! I haven't seen much of Crosby being as he does play in the East, but what I have seen i've been impressed.

He already has 98 points this season, and seems to be well on his way to another over a 100 point season.

Its always nice to see a Canadian kid do well!

Keep up the good work Crosby !!!

Post Game Ramblings !

Canucks 4

Coyotes 3

- Who the heck is Jeff Cowan? who knows, but I'm loving him after tonight.
- Thank you Markus Naslund for scoring the winning goal
- Bryan Smolinski's faceoff percentage WOW
- Luongo wasn't 'great' tonight, but he didn't hurt them either
- Josh Green gone 4-6 weeks with a knee sprain :(
- Jan Bulis - why does everyone have such a hate on for this guy? Reading the Canucks message board through out the game i almost felt sorry for the guy. He isn't my most favourite player by any stretch of the imagination - but seriously - LIGHTEN UP PEOPLE - ITS JUST A GAME !! ( its kinda hard to remind myself of that fact sometimes though)
- Trevor Linden - where was he in the 3rd?
- Did Lukas Krycheck ( i know I spelled that wrong) play at all tonight? I heard his name once during the whole course of the game.
- Congratulations to Henrik Sedin on the birth of his son.
- Brent Sopel made a huge play in the 3rd, probably saved a Coyote goal - THANK YOU
- Whats with their top notch penalty killing? It hasn't been so top notch lately?

Overall, the Canucks win the game, they get the two points and climb back into 1st in the division, and 3rd in the conference.

Todd Bertuzzi back by end of month?

Well, it appears that Todd Bertuzzi could very well be back on ice, and playing hockey by the end of the month. While I'm happy that Bertuzzi is back and all that, i'm not too enthralled with the fact that he'll be on the opposing team from now on. If he reverts back to the Todd Bertuzzi we knew and loved, we may have our hands full with Detroit.

Apparently he showed up for practice today, and skated a little, did a few drills and stayed around to answer questions from the media. Of course he had to face a few questions about the "MOORE" incident :

"The only people who talk about and discuss it is usually media and all that," Bertuzzi said Thursday. "You know, I gotta respect that you guys have a job to do and I understand it. ... I'm the same as everyone else. I just got issues that will take care of themselves. Like I said, it's not for Detroit to deal with. It's for me to deal with. It has no bearing on anything right now with me playing here."

Well, I must say I wish him all the best and hope he can return to top BERTUZZI form.

Bertuzzi impresses in Wings debut