I Watched This Game: Canucks vs Oilers, April 2, 2011

Canucks 1 - 4 Oilers

Last night was a bewildering stinker, the likes of which we haven't seen in months, and it makes sense. While the Canucks didn't throw in the towel, there was literally no motivation for them to play hard last night, apart from the fact that it was the right thing to do. The game meant nothing to them. Meanwhile, the Oilers were motivated. For them, a Hockey Night in Canada tilt against the best team in hockey (and a team they thoroughly despise), is reason enough to go all out. They did, too: the Oilers played a fabulous game, and unfortunately for Vancouver, this admirable effort coincided with the Canucks laying down a complete turd. I watched this turd game:

• How can you tell the Canucks were woefully out of sync tonight? The Sedins went offside once. Think about the last time you saw that happen. It's nigh impossible for the twins to go offside. Watch their Superskills puck relay. They're the same person.

• It's probably safe to say that Yann Sauve won't see any playoff games. He was bad last night. Two of the Oilers' four goals were directly the fault of his poor positioning. On the Omark goal, Sauve (#47) drifts into no-man's land, turned completely the wrong way. When the puck is centered, he's so far out of position that he trips over Cory Schneider, taking them both out of the play. On the Paajarvi goal, that's Sauve in the corner, losing his religion.

• I wish I could counsel you to take this loss lightly, but I'm afraid I have some bad news: if you lose to the worst team in hockey, you become the worst team in hockey. It's like a zombie bite.

• Tanner Glass took a few hard punches for his efforts, but give him credit for trying--in his first game back from injury--to kickstart the team by dropping the gloves with JF Jacques. Considering he missed a handful of games with a rib problem that made it painful to shoot or pass the puck, I suspect that he also felt some pain trying to throw a fist with full force. No surprise, then, that he did not win this fight, and he probably lost another one when he went home and his fiancé Emily reminded him he promised he wouldn't fight tonight.

• With Andrew Alberts nearing full health, Aaron Rome is one Canuck who still has something to play for. He's played in 53 games this season, averaging 17:27, and you've got to imagine it would be hell to be scratched through the playoffs after getting used to that kind of playing time. Rome showcased his Alberts-like hittiness all night, throwing some big hits, including this hipcheck on JF Jacques, and this glorious hipcheck on Ladislav Smid at the end the first period. My favourite part of the latter clip is when he's skating to the bench, and he says something to an Edmonton player. I can't tell what it is; I've never been much for lipreading. My best guess is something about fondue.

• Jeff Tambellini had a team-low 11:20, which is mighty impressive, considering he started the game on the second line. Tambellini was not good. He had three shots, all right into the logo, and the play died on his stick more than a few times. I remember one particular instance where Kesler got him the puck behind the net, and he weakly centered it to nobody. It may as well have been an Edmonton outlet pass. Think his dad was impressed? If Tambellini signs with the Oilers next season as a defensemen, we'll know why.

• What's your take on Cory Schneider tonight? I thought he wasn't at his best. He made a bunch of really incredible saves, but a few of the goals seemed to be easier stops, and he let them by. Jordan Eberle's goal, for instance, was a classic case of losing the post, and on the Magnus Paajarvi goal, he wasn't square to the shooter. I know what's going on here, though: Schneider's pissed that he won't get enough games to have a share in the Jennings trophy, so he's trying to throw the trophy altogether. Cory Schneider is the mother in 1 Kings Chapter 3 who would rather cut the child in half.

• Nobody played particularly well last night, but I thought Jannik Hansen played particularly poorly. The third line lost possession a handful of times because Hansen was getting muscled off the puck and he wasn't winning puck battles. He finished with under twelve minutes of icetime, second lowest to Jeff Tambellini. Here's a helpful maxim: when Jannik Hansen is being punished for a poor effort, the team is probably having a bad night. Here it is in rhyme form: Bad game for Jannik? Good time to panic.

• I don't mind Mason Raymond at center. Raymond seems to be relishing the extra space, and the line is generating scoring chances. Most importantly, I haven't seen a MayRay-Go-Round since he was taken off the wing. It's hard to go around the net when you come through the middle. Raymond also won 4 of 7 faceoffs, including 3 of 4 in the offensive zone. This is especially noteworthy because CBC showed footage of Raymond and Glass working on their faceoff technique, and Raymond was getting absolutely smoked. At the time, I thought, if you can't beat Tanner Glass even once, you probably shouldn't be taking faceoffs at all.

• Henrik Sedin was actually the best faceoff man on the night, winning 11 of 16 draws.

• Speaking of Henrik, I couldn't help but chuckle on Alex Burrows' goal. After Henrik and Burrows break out 2-on-1, three Oilers scramble to catch up to the play. Two of them make it and, joining the last man back, all three simply surround Henrik Sedin. Burrows really has no choice but to shoot. If he had tried to pass it, Henrik would have been dogpiled. He probably would have disappeared into a cartoonish fight cloud.

• Christian Ehrhoff played over twenty-five minutes last night. Is that necessary? Granted, he's the Canucks best offensive defenseman and having him on the ice is the best way to mount a comeback, but Ehrhoff's logged a lot of time this season. In a mean-nothing game, three games before the playoffs, I'd rather his minutes are limited than see him play 10:03 of the third period trying to get Vancouver back into it. Ehrhoff needs rest, or he'll never beat JFK in a drag race.

• The Oilers played exceptionally physical last night, especially on the Sedins. Each time Daniel or Henrik had the puck behind the net, the Oiler defenders began a rigorous cross-checking regimen designed to turn their spines to pudding.

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Predators, February 18, 2011

Canucks 1 - 3 Predators

Yesterday, someone told me that, considering Vancouver's injury troubles, the Canucks had to try for a 6-5 or 8-7 victory, but that was never realistic. The Canucks' defencemen aren't just counted on for defense; they also facilitate breakout passes and jump into rushes. They're also the linchpin of the Canucks' offense, sending the team through the neutral zone with speed, then trailing the play and jumping into the rush. It's more than just defense Vancouver's lacking right now--it's guys that can play their system. Unfortunately, the Nashville Predators have a full lineup of guys that play their system, and that system involves clogging up the neutral zone. Effectively, The Nashville Predators are the Shawshank State Penitentiary of the NHL: the only way to beat them is to make a perfect breakout. I watched this game:

• When Mike Gillis acquired Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard, it was to provide Alain Vigneault with a full stable of horses for Vigneault's defense-powered system, effectively guaranteeing that all three pairings could play it. It's an obvious statement, but you don't want guys on your team that can't play your system, because you don't want opponents getting a break from it (ask the Chicago Blackhawks' coaching staff about the downgrade to their bottom-six forwards). Unfortunately, icing a full lineup, especially in the face of injuries, often necessitates dressing less-skilled guys. Vigneault typically alternates between two pairings, guaranteeing that one puck-mover is on the ice at all times, but he didn't have that luxury last night. Sami Salo's not quite ready to hit the ice every second shift, and Christian Ehrhoff can't be on the ice all night. That means the other four guys are getting more icetime than they should, and the effect is plenty of vacation time for Nashville.

• Speaking of Christian Ehrhoff, he's neither a number one defenceman nor a generator, and tasked with powering the Canucks for the entire evening, he showed he didn't quite have the juice (and speaking of not having the Juice, the team missed Kevin Bieksa something fierce). Ehrhoff's an interesting guy. He's a D-man, yes, but he's much more concerned with making breakout passes than winning defensive puck battles. He's not interested in being the man back. Often, if hemmed in the defensive zone, he'll get impatient and take a sloppy penalty or make a sloppy play, especially when he knows he's the only guy who can facilitate a breakout rush. We saw this yesterday, as Ehrhoff was on the ice for two of Nashville's three goals, and made a sloppy ring around the boards that led to the third. He also took the only two Canuck penalties on the night. Poor guy's spread a little thin.
  

• The Sedins struggled as well. Granted, they scored a powerplay goal (above), but they had a tough time getting into the offensive zone and setting up. This isn't surprising. The Sedins don't much care for the neutral zone, which is why they have so many plays to bypass it, such as sending the puck the length of the ice for someone to skate onto, or flipping the puck way up in the air, over everyone. Typically, Vigneault plays Ehrhoff and Edler with the Sedins to ensure they have someone who can send them into the offensive zone with speed. They're having a hard time playing their game when they have to go back to the defensive zone to get the puck.

• Loved Garrett's misspeak on the Daniel Sedin goal: "Did that sh*t hit O'Brien's stick?" Garrett's so street. I wanted Shorty to answer, naw. That's Daniel Sedin's 30th goal of the season, by the way. He appears to have quite a knack for that sort of thing.
  

• Mason Raymond continues to frustrate. He had 5 shots, which is something, but most were from the outside. Furthermore, he wasn't utilizing his speed through the neutral zone. In a game where the defenders aren't capable of making the expected passes, your speedy wingers have to help cut through some of that neutral zone pressure. Instead, Raymond disappeared, like a midget into a cabinet.

• Chris Tanev and Yann Sauve both had nice, quiet games. Sauve, especially, was doing a great job of putting forwards into the boards when they tried to step around him and gain the zone. He had a game-high 4 hits. Tanev continues to be calm under pressure. These two guys look like future NHL regulars. Evan Oberg, on the other hand, was the first defender the Canucks have utilized this season that didn't look like he belonged in the NHL. For a guy whose nickname is Obi, he didn't look much like a Jedi to me. Not once did he turn a forechecker away with a mind trick, for instance. This isn't the zone you're looking for. Oberg looked small and jittery. Pucks jumped off his stick, and he was caught out of position a few times. He steadily lost his coach's trust as the game went on, dipping to a team-low 4 shifts in the third period, when Tanev and Sauve had twice that number.
  

• The Aaron Rome trip n' fall that led to Nashville's second goal (seven seconds after the Canucks tied the game) was unfortunate, but I can't decide if it was more or less fortunate than Chris Tanev's face deflecting the puck to Mike Fisher on the same one. After Rome Tanev played the surprise 2-on-1 so nicely, and took away the pass expertly. Unfortunately, his face had other plans. Suffice it to say, if the Canucks thought the hockey gods might give them a little bit of good luck back, they were sorely mistaken. Like Ryan Kesler said after the game, that goal was a back-breaker.

• For the third straight game, the Canucks' third line had the most jump. But they still had nowhere near as much jump as Kris Kross.

• I liked Tanner Glass and Victor Oreskovich's shift after Nashville took a two-goal lead. As we've observed in the past, it really isn't smart to fight when you're up by two, but it's a desirable time to fight if down by two. Glass and Oreskovich made some massive hits in an attempt to goad a Nashville player into a scrap, but unfortunately, the Predators were wise not be swayed. Another thing that's wise not to be swayed: summer footwear. Wait, my mistake, that's suede.
  

• And finally: give the Canucks a ton of credit for generating the amount of shots that they did. They put 36 on Pekka Rinne, and attempted another 28. Mikael Samuelsson and Ryan Kesler had 9 shots blocked between them. Unfortunately, Rinne was able to see the shots that got through, so he stopped them. I hate when goalies do that.

• I was impressed with the boisterousness of the Nashville crowd. They had an announced attendance of 15,337, just under 2000 below capacity, but it felt like a sellout. They were loud and they were proud. It's too bad they weren't also black, because that's a James Brown hat trick.

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Wild, February 15, 2010

Canucks 4 - 1 Wild

With tonight's victory over the Minnesota Wild, the Canucks successfully staved off their first

two-game regulation losing streak since November, when they went three straight games without collecting a point against Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Phoenix, in that order. Again: that was in November. This stat, incredible as it is, never seemed more in jeopardy than heading into tonight's game. And, unlike Watson the computer, it had every right to be in jeopardy: the six-man defensive unit iced by the Canucks tonight was about as green as a Lamborghini Murcielago; the team was playing in a very unfriendly building; the Canucks were on the second night of a back-to-back. Yet, somehow, they won. Breaking news: this team is resilient. Also breaking: I watched this game:

• Outshot, outhit, and outplayed for the second night in a row, the Canucks submitted a pretty paltry effort, even going so far as to play the entire third period without putting a shot on Nicklas Backstrom. They had 14 shots total. Like the movie Crash, they didn't deserve to win anything, but somehow, they did. Unlike the movie Crash, however, the Canucks did it with a pretty thin cast.

• If you're wondering how, exactly, the Canucks eked this one out, look no further than Cory Schneider, the Canucks' backup netminder, who stopped 28 of 29 shots on the night to keep the Canucks in it. Having watched Schneider for awhile now, I feel fairly confident in saying that he's going to be a very good goaltender for a long time. He does two things incredibly well: the first is getting in position to make the save. The Wild tried all night to get him moving side to side, but Schneider always seemed to be in the right position to take the puck squarely on the chest. The second thing he does well is sweep the puck away with his goal stick. I don't remember the last time a Canuck goaltender was as active clearing pucks out of his crease. Schneider is turning himself into a very hot commodity. I should say that it seems a downright shame to be salivating simply at Schneider's trade value (the NHL equivalent of Grampa Simpson's classic "I can't wait to eat that monkey" quote), but that's where this is headed.

• The only downside to any Canuck victory against Minnesota is the inevitable "Canucks Tame Wild" headline. We get it. It's been done. You can do better, everyone. May I recommend: "Canucks Poach Wild", "Canucks Stuff and Skin Wild", "Canucks Put Wild in Small Cage and Allow Flash Photography" or, if the Canucks are at home, "Canucks Abuse Wild Domestically."

• Any hope of easing Sami Salo back into the lineup went out the window when the rest of his defensive cohorts fell down that mine shaft, but he's proved capable of the big minutes almost right away, and begun producing immediately. Salo played over twenty minutes tonight, picking up an assist for the second straight game when his powerplay point blast was tipped by Manny Malhotra. I like that the Canucks are playing Salo on the second unit of the powerplay, and resisting the urge to float him to the top spot in Alex Edler's absence. Salo has immediately improved the B unit with his threatening shot, the unit scoring in two of the three games since he's been back. Interestingly, both times, the goal was the first of the game and the Canucks went on the win.

• Do people in Minnesota wear anything other than flannel and fleece? HD TV indicates that they do not.

• Ryan Kesler's empty-net goal was the Canucks' only shot of the period, and a source of a triple upstaging. 1) The Canucks upstaged the Wild by scoring the empty-netter. 2) Alex Burrows missed the open net for a goal that would have extended his league-leading point streak, then Kesler upstaged him from further away. 3) John "King Homer" Garrett made a passionate case for Burrows receiving a point, claiming he may have touched the puck when it came off the boards. It was not to be. However, Christian Ehrhoff then upstaged John Garrett by making a passionate case for himself: This, from a Michael Russo tweet: "Hilarious, but Christian Ehrhoff is begging for assist on empty-netter. Hit his shin pad. The off-ice officials having passionate debate." Ehrhoff got that assist. Everyone was upstaged tonight.

• The reunited third line of Manny Malhotra, Raffi Torres, and Jannik Hansen combined for the Canucks' second goal, and it was great to see that line create offense for the second night in a row. This has been our most successful third line trio, and I'm of the mind that you keep it together now, no matter what. Let them work through their problems as a unit, like Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz in What Happens in Vegas. It will be a lot easier when Malhotra has games like tonight. Manny finished the night with a goal, an assist, and a +50% faceoff percentage.

• Say you're Alain Vigneault: what do you do when your team is exhausted and your defense corps is decimated? You hand the keys to your two Selke-calibre centers and you instruct them to trap the Hell out of the mother. Manny Malhotra and Ryan Kesler both took 28 shifts, game-high among forwards, as well as taking twenty faceoffs apiece. For contrast, Henrik Sedin took only eleven. In fact, Vigneault played the Sedins sparingly, only skating Daniel Sedin for 15:55. Kesler and Malhotra did what Selke-calibre centers do, winning faceoffs, making the smart, defensive play (which, in this case, was chipping the puck out of the zone), and pitching in a goal and an assist each. Suffice it to say, Vigneault's decision to ride these guys worked. I tell you all of this so that, if anybody tells you the Wild play a boring system, you can point out that it was the Canucks, in fact, who turned this one into a snoozefest. The Wild play a fairly uptempo system these days.

• Apart from one ugly giveaway, I hardly noticed Yann Sauve at all. Good.

• Martin Havlat somehow managed to finish the game minus-3. This is especially cathartic when you recall the defensive acumen he appeared to have in the Canucks last visit to Minnesota. Q: Martin Havlat is defensively sound. A: False.

• When did Cal Clutterbuck become amazing? The NHL's next great agitator did it all for the Wild tonight, scoring their only goal and narrowly missing on a number of other great chances, and getting away with a couple cheapies by high-sticking Christian Ehrhoff and butt-ending Henrik Sedin. Guy's a total jerk, but wow, is he good. And what a name. If I didn't so wish a pox on him, I'd think he was pretty fantastic.

• Christian Ehrhoff had four blocked shots tonight. It's gone completely unnoticed, but Ehrhoff has become a major shot-blocker in a very short time. Last year, in 80 games played, Ehrhoff had 82 blocked shots. This year, he's tied with Kevin Bieksa for the team lead at 81. He's done this in only 55 games played. Yes sir, Ehrhoff is singlehandedly taking this team to Blockoland.

• And finally: Mikael Samuelsson has improved on a lot of things since the All-Star break, but if I can highlight one, it's been his ability to find space to get his shot off. Watch him drift into the open area on the Canucks' third goal. Not since Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift have I seen drifting of this magnitude.

I Find This Quote Odd: Yann Sauve Edition

Yann Sauve calls his parents in the middle of the night to alarm them for his own amusement.

Here's Yann Sauve, discussing the circumstances surrounding his callup with Jim Jamieson over at the White Towel:

“My mom didn't believe it,” said Sauve. “She thought I was kidding because I always do this, but they were really happy even though they were half asleep.”

Wait, what? He says, "I always do this," he says. Now, it's possible that "this" is kidding around, but I think maybe "this" is calling his parents in the middle of the night to tell them elaborate and shocking lies. Does Yann Sauve wake and terrify them for his own amusement? Yes, I believe he does. It's his favourite prank. Here are a few of Sauve classics:

• Mom, Dad, wake up, I'm on fire!
  
• Mom, Dad, wake up, I'm trapped on a speeding bus that can't go below 55 miles per hour!
  
• Mom, Dad, wake up, I'm being held hostage by Kubrickian dogs!
  
• Mom, Dad, wake up, I've been elected premier!
• Mom, Dad, wake up, I've declared martial law!
• Mom, Dad, wake up! I've been hit by a car!
  

Anyway, he clearly sucks at pranking, so he should help fill the void left by Keith Ballard.

Yann Sauve Evolves From Fish to Mammal

The news broke late yesterday that Canucks prospect Yann Sauve has been re-assigned from the Victoria Salmon-Kings of the ECHL to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The young defenceman, seen to the left psychotically attacking an innocent cameraman like a young Jack Torrance, played 8 games with the Seafood Royalty and recorded 2 assists, a -2 rating, and 4 penalty minutes.

Sauve joins the Eurasian Elks just 3 months after a car accident (where he was not in a car) knocked him out of Canucks training camp. He was the Canucks' 2nd round pick in 2008 after two solid seasons in the QMJHL, but his development has stalled since then. While initially projected as a two-way defenceman, he's being considered mainly as a shutdown guy. This is not a bad thing by any means, as the Canucks' defense prospects are heavily weighted towards offensive types, with Kevin Connauton, Chris Tanev, Evan Oberg, and Lee Sweatt all playing in Manitoba currently.

Sauve is still a couple seasons away from making the big club, but his status as the lone shutdown defenceman with potential amongst Canucks prospects gives him a good shot. Even if he does not develop as hoped, he could still be a reasonably-priced sixth or seventh defenceman down the road. I am sincerely hoping that he responds well to this call-up to the Moose, unlike another 2nd round Canucks draft pick projected to be a shutdown defenceman.

Canucks Training Camp Roster VI

In this visual metaphor, Ryan Hollweg is Darcy Hordichuk, and Darcy Hordichuk is the harsh reality of the new NHL.

We're a little late on the draw here but I just found out that, before the Anaheim game, the Canucks sent two more players down to Manitoba: Sergei Shirokov and Yann Sauve. As well, since our last roster update, Shane O'Brien and Darcy Hordichuk were put on waivers in what might have been the most shocking moves of the preseason, for some. Skeeter and I kinda figured. I don't think the Canucks were ever happy with Shane O'Brien's play here, and his ticket out of town was punched when Andrew Alberts proved he could provide what the Canucks acquired him for. Hordichuk lost his job two years ago when the NHL changed and he didn't, but, like Office Space's Milton Waddams, he somehow stuck around doing nothing. We wish he and his red Swingline stapler all the best in Manitoba. Skeeter has more on these two big-time demotions.

Shirokov and Sauve's causes for demotion are completely opposite. Sauve never even got a chance: he was in a car accident that left him unable to play for the time being. It sucks for him as he never got a chance to show the Canucks what he could do or how he'd improved. On the bright side, it was the sort of car accident one can walk away from and, as car accidents go, that's all you can really hope for.

Shirokov, on the other hand, was given every opportunity. It seems to me the Canucks figured he'd make the opening night roster, much like he did last year. The hope was that a year in the AHL had given him a new defensive awareness and ability to play North American-style hockey. The Canucks gave him a training regimen to follow over the summer, optimistic he'd follow it. Unfortunately, Shirokov didn't, instead becoming the fourth player in the Gillis era to have his conditioning publicly decried. Like Cody Hodgson (who spent the summer rehabbing his back rather than eating Arby's on it), he'll have to get himself back to NHL shape before he can challenge for the right to live in a hotel in Vancouver.

This leaves the Canucks with 32 guys on the training camp roster, below, and now the real questions begin. You'll notice that Alex Burrows and Sami Salo are still on these lists. That's by design, as they have to be put on the original 23-man roster before they can be put on Long-term injury and gives the Canucks the cap relief. You have to believe that's the plan.

On defense, that means that the opening night seven are basically set. Lee Sweatt will be sent down to Manitoba, and Aaron Rome will occupy the pressbox. The other six are the six you'll see. We can only hope that, among those six, Juice and Hips find different partners than one another.

At forward, questions continue to linger. Alex Burrows aside, the Canucks can keep twelve forwards with the club. The rest have to be sent down or waived before one of them can be brought back up. We know that Kesler, Malhotra, Raymond, Samuelsson, the Sedins and Raffi Torres are safe. The other five spots are a toss-up. I'm sure there will be at least one decision in the next week that will stir a hearty debate between Skeeter and I. For example: it could be argued that one of Peter Schaefer and Brendan Morrison could be offered a contract. Who and why?

Here are the remaining 32 guys:

Forwards (20)
Alex Bolduc, Alex Burrows, Guillaume Desbiens, Tanner Glass, Jannik Hansen, Cody Hodgson, Ryan Kesler, Manny Malhotra, Brendan Morrison, Victor Oreskovich, Joel Perrault, Mason Raymond, Rick Rypien, Mikael Samuelsson, Peter Schaefer, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Bill Sweatt, Jeff Tambellini, Raffi Torres.

Defensemen (9)
Andrew Alberts, Keith Ballard, Kevin Bieksa, Alex Edler, Christian Ehrhoff, Dan Hamhuis, Aaron Rome, Sami Salo, Lee Sweatt.

Goalies (3)
Eddie Lack, Roberto Luongo, Cory Schneider.