The Vancouver Canucks

I can’t think of anything that would have been better than to be following a live blog of the Leafs – Canucks game last night.  From the Leafs perspective.  It would have almost been insufferable, listening to people going on about how the Leafs scored in the first minute of the game, and chased Roberto Luongo after the first period, to be replaced by Leafs cast-off Andrew Raycroft.  And it was kind of funny to listen to Craig Simpson trying to figure out just what the big deal was about the Sedins and Alex Burrows.  Jim Hughson was rather quiet on that subject.  Did a good job of letting Simpson paint himself into a corner.

By the end of the game, Simpson was trying to figure out what the hell happened.  The Sedin-Burrows line took the Leafs apart, scoring all five goals in what was one of the most satisfying victories in a long time.  Simpson had no idea why the Leafs didn’t just “contain the Sedins” and then Burrows would be neutralized.  Hughie flat out asked him, “Don’t you think other teams would have thought of that?  It doesn’t work.”

It was great to see Andrew Raycroft enjoying himself out on the ice towards the end, celebrating with those wearing Canucks jerseys, and giving it to the Leafs fans.  I didn’t realize that the Leafs were still paying his salary, too.  Cool to think that they were paying the goalie that came back into town and beat them on Hockey Day in Canada.

Turns out after the game that Brian Burke pulled off a seven player deal with the Calgary Flames, that included Dion Phaneuff leaving a team that might still make the playoffs for a team that definitely won’t.  I’m sure he’s thrilled.

There couldn’t have been a much better start for the road-trip from hell.  After all, the only thing more satisfying than beating the Oilers, is beating the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Next up, Montreal.

Other Thoughts:

• It’s Just Not Being Good Enough – Pension Plan Puppets
• Hockey Day In Canada Was Not Fun in Toronto – Frozen Leafs
• Canucks Erase 3-0 Leafs Lead and Embarrass Them 5-3 – Nucks Misconduct
• Sunday Morning Coffee: The Comeback – Nucks Misconduct

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If you haven’t been to a Canucks Fan Zone Tweetup this year you have another chance to check one out this Wednesday at the Lamplighter Pub in Gastown. The fun gets started at 6:30 and you can watch the Canucks and Blues with a bunch of other Canucks fans who frequent Twitter. There will be prizes, trivia and just an all around good time for everyone that comes.

You can RSVP at http://vancouvertweetup.com/events/event/show?id=3664485%3AEvent%3A4391

You don’t have to use Twitter to attend, and you’ll meet some great Canucks fans. I’ll see you there! Make sure you follw Canucks Corner on Twitter as well @CanucksCorner.

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My friend Richard Loat over at Canucks Hockey Blog tweeted about a blog written by Dan Tencer, an apparently bitter member of the Edmonton media (630 CHED) who I guess is sick of covering the sad sack Oilers. Tencer felt he needed to rip the Canucks and their fans after the Canucks defeated the Oilers 3-2 in overtime the other night.

Maybe it was the fact that when the Canucks scored it was as loud as an Oiler goal. Maybe it was the fact that this “young” media member is just to inexperienced to realize his team just plain sucks.

Here’s a gem from Tencer:

“So, if you want to ignore the Glory Years of the Oilers, Habs and Leafs, OK. If you want to ignore the Flames’ success in the 80’s, OK. The Canucks have just NEVER…NEVER…had anything that should lead to a franchise and fan base that has become as seemingly self-entitled as Vancouver.”

“After last night’s game, in which the Canucks were the benefactors of some calls that were at best marginal and at worst brutal, my frustration took over. Frustration that for the week leading up to the game, the Canucks and their fans were up in arms over a so-called screw job in a game against Nashville. Apparently the whining and complaining worked, as the 2 young officials gave them back the points they felt were robbed from them last week.”

This “journalist”, judging by his baby face, is far to young to remember the glory years of the Leafs whose drought is longer than the Canucks have been in the league. And if not for a once in a lifetime glutton of talent the Oilers were blessed with during their runs and a guy named Gretzky, Edmonton fans would be in the same boat as Canucks fans.

There’s nothing I love more as a Canucks fan, than debating these fans of the Oilers, Flames or Leafs when they intelligently ask you “How many cups do you have?” As if that means we shouldn’t cheer or support our teams because they haven’t won a Stanley Cup. News flash Mr. Tencer, it’s 2010 not the 80’s…and today your team sucks. Don’t get upset when Canucks fans are excited about their team. Don’t blame us your team hasn’t won a game in 16. Don’t blame us your building was full of Canucks fans. Suck it up and deal with it.

Tencer contends that the Canucks were the beneficiaries of whining that they did after the Nashville/Burrows fisaco. I guess he agrees with the phantom interference penalty that was assessed to Burrow in that game. But of course he doesn’t mention the tirade that Pat Quinn went on after the Canucks win, or the tirades that are becoming standard fare after each Oiler loss. That’s not whining at all! Too bad those nasty officials didn’t make it up to them in their next game, like they did for us. Please…

Tencer breaks two cardinal rules in being a sports fand/media member. He takes his dislike for an organization and paints them and their fans with one brush. He also allows his emotions as a member of the media to get the better of him. I wonder if he knows of any cocky or arrogant Oiler fans that were around in the 80’s? Of course he doesn’t, he was probably in a diaper.

I’m not sure if it’s his age, or his inexperience, but read his blog for yourself, you be the judge of who’s doing the whining here. It’s too bad this “media” member can’t stop himself from reacting like a whining fan. I’m sure he’ll have a long career in Edmonton.

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My friend Richard Loat over at Canucks Hockey Blog tweeted about a blog written by Dan Tencer, an apparently bitter member of the Edmonton media (630 CHED) who I guess is sick of covering the sad sack Oilers. Tencer felt he needed to rip the Canucks and their fans after the Canucks defeated the Oilers 3-2 in overtime the other night.

Maybe it was the fact that when the Canucks scored it was as loud as an Oiler goal. Maybe it was the fact that this “young” media member is just to inexperienced to realize his team just plain sucks.

Here’s a gem from Tencer:

“So, if you want to ignore the Glory Years of the Oilers, Habs and Leafs, OK. If you want to ignore the Flames’ success in the 80’s, OK. The Canucks have just NEVER…NEVER…had anything that should lead to a franchise and fan base that has become as seemingly self-entitled as Vancouver.”

“After last night’s game, in which the Canucks were the benefactors of some calls that were at best marginal and at worst brutal, my frustration took over. Frustration that for the week leading up to the game, the Canucks and their fans were up in arms over a so-called screw job in a game against Nashville. Apparently the whining and complaining worked, as the 2 young officials gave them back the points they felt were robbed from them last week.”

This “journalist”, judging by his baby face, is far to young to remember the glory years of the Leafs whose drought is longer than the Canucks have been in the league. And if not for a once in a lifetime glutton of talent the Oilers were blessed with during their runs and a guy named Gretzky, Edmonton fans would be in the same boat as Canucks fans.

There’s nothing I love more as a Canucks fan, than debating these fans of the Oilers, Flames or Leafs when they intelligently ask you “How many cups do you have?” As if that means we shouldn’t cheer or support our teams because they haven’t won a Stanley Cup. News flash Mr. Tencer, it’s 2010 not the 80’s…and today your team sucks. Don’t get upset when Canucks fans are excited about their team. Don’t blame us your team hasn’t won a game in 16. Don’t blame us your building was full of Canucks fans. Suck it up and deal with it.

Tencer contends that the Canucks were the beneficiaries of whining that they did after the Nashville/Burrows fisaco. I guess he agrees with the phantom interference penalty that was assessed to Burrow in that game. But of course he doesn’t mention the tirade that Pat Quinn went on after the Canucks win, or the tirades that are becoming standard fare after each Oiler loss. That’s not whining at all! Too bad those nasty officials didn’t make it up to them in their next game, like they did for us. Please…

Tencer breaks two cardinal rules in being a sports fand/media member. He takes his dislike for an organization and paints them and their fans with one brush. He also allows his emotions as a member of the media to get the better of him. I wonder if he knows of any cocky or arrogant Oiler fans that were around in the 80’s? Of course he doesn’t, he was probably in a diaper.

I’m not sure if it’s his age, or his inexperience, but read his blog for yourself, you be the judge of who’s doing the whining here. It’s too bad this “media” member can’t stop himself from reacting like a whining fan. I’m sure he’ll have a long career in Edmonton.

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Henrik Sedin congratulates Alex Burrows. Photo: Canucks.com

More often than not, playing for a Western Conference team, in particular, the Vancouver Canucks means you’re usually overlooked by the eastern based media in the hockey world.  Case in point: Henrik Sedin. How often around the league through various media outlets do you hear Henrik Sedin as a ‘star’ in the world of the NHL? Pretty close to never. 

His name is not brought up as much as the ever so colourful Alexander Ovechkin, or the tenacious competitiveness of Sidney Crosby. If he garners any sort of attention, it has to do with the fact he is one half of the Swedish Wonder Twins, with his brother Daniel. So I decided to take it upon myself as a member of the Canucks social media, as my personal responsibility to make sure that Hank gets his “props”. 

This week, Henrik Sedin is atop the NHL points race, just in front of Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks. Thing is, who would have thought that? Henrik Sedin, a man once dubbed one half of “The Sisters Sedin” would be leading all NHL players in this category.  You expect the Gaboriks, the Thorntons, the Iginlas, the Ovechkins, etc., etc, to be in that hunt, but Sedin? For some reason it just doesn’t seem ‘real’. If we were to choose one of the two, it would probably be Daniel to be leading in scoring, but Hank? Unthinkable? Maybe, but it doesn’t mean it’s not true.

For many years, many fans in the NHL, deemed the Sedins as “overrated” or even “flash in the pans”, but it’s been almost 11 years since they were drafted and they are not only doing well in the league, they have been “money in the bank” for the Vancouver Canucks. In fact, I dare ask fans and media alike, who was in their draft class that has been better?

Henrik has shown he has the ability to not only put points on the scoreboard but to lead his team by example. When the Canucks 1^st line sniper, Daniel Sedin, went down, Henrik stepped it up and started scoring goals.  He also was more incline to stand-up for himself, and in all honesty, probably learned to read the plays better in his brother’s absence.

Despite what has lit a fire in Henrik’s belly, it’s nice to see an evolution in his game.  When team Sweden talks about a ruling monarch on their hockey team named Henrik, don’t be too sure they are talking about Lundqvist. Number 33 of the Vancouver Canucks and his league leading 61pts might have something to say about that.

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How long has it been since I last posted here?  Let’s see…the Canucks’ record before I updated the sidebar widget, was 19-15-0 for 38 points, 3rd in the Northwest, and 10th in the Western Conference.  Since then, they’ve gone 7-1-1, and are STILL 3rd in the division, but have moved up to 6th in the conference.  Well, at least they’d be in the playoffs if they started today.  Unlike the Detroit Red Wings, who wouldn’t.

The difference is, though, that they’re only two points out of a tie for first in the division.  Makes that game coming up against Calgary seem even better, doesn’t it?

Back in November I wrote a post on Canucks.com saying that if the Canucks were to go 10-5 in December, that they’d probably be all right for the balance of the season.  What was their record?  10-5 (yeah, yeah, there was an overtime loss, I know.  But it’s still 10 wins and 5 losses, okay?)

So far they’re 2-0 this year, and they completely dominated the Blue Jackets last night, after they recovered from spotting them a 2 goal lead early in the first period.  Roberto Luongo didn’t have to stand on his head, or save the game for them, as scoring wasn’t an issue.  And whenever someone like Rick Rypien chips in with a goal, you know that the secondary scoring is contributing the way that it should be.  A hat-trick from Alex Burrows doesn’t hurt either.

I have to admit that Mikael Samuelsson’s goal was one of the weirdest I’ve seen in a long time.  Sure looked like the guy was offside, but it appears that the officials indicated that the Blue Jackets put the puck back over the blue line, which made Samuelsson on-side.  But shouldn’t that have made it an unassisted goal, rather than giving two assists?  No matter.

Two more games coming up this week, and with the Phoenix Coyotes not playing the way they did last year, maybe the Canucks will play a little better, too.  Not play down to the level of their opponents.  And the Calgary game on Saturday night is just going to be nothing but fun.  Especially if the Canucks knock them off 5-1 like they did in their last meeting.  Time will tell.

I’d like to announce right now that while the league might be shutting down for the Olympics, CanuckNation.ca will be posting on all of Canada’s games during the tournament.  Or games that involve Canucks players, anyway.

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How long has it been since I last posted here?  Let’s see…the Canucks’ record before I updated the sidebar widget, was 19-15-0 for 38 points, 3rd in the Northwest, and 10th in the Western Conference.  Since then, they’ve gone 7-1-1, and are STILL 3rd in the division, but have moved up to 6th in the conference.  Well, at least they’d be in the playoffs if they started today.  Unlike the Detroit Red Wings, who wouldn’t.

The difference is, though, that they’re only two points out of a tie for first in the division.  Makes that game coming up against Calgary seem even better, doesn’t it?

Back in November I wrote a post on Canucks.com saying that if the Canucks were to go 10-5 in December, that they’d probably be all right for the balance of the season.  What was their record?  10-5 (yeah, yeah, there was an overtime loss, I know.  But it’s still 10 wins and 5 losses, okay?)

So far they’re 2-0 this year, and they completely dominated the Blue Jackets last night, after they recovered from spotting them a 2 goal lead early in the first period.  Roberto Luongo didn’t have to stand on his head, or save the game for them, as scoring wasn’t an issue.  And whenever someone like Rick Rypien chips in with a goal, you know that the secondary scoring is contributing the way that it should be.  A hat-trick from Alex Burrows doesn’t hurt either.

I have to admit that Mikael Samuelsson’s goal was one of the weirdest I’ve seen in a long time.  Sure looked like the guy was offside, but it appears that the officials indicated that the Blue Jackets put the puck back over the blue line, which made Samuelsson on-side.  But shouldn’t that have made it an unassisted goal, rather than giving two assists?  No matter.

Two more games coming up this week, and with the Phoenix Coyotes not playing the way they did last year, maybe the Canucks will play a little better, too.  Not play down to the level of their opponents.  And the Calgary game on Saturday night is just going to be nothing but fun.  Especially if the Canucks knock them off 5-1 like they did in their last meeting.  Time will tell.

I’d like to announce right now that while the league might be shutting down for the Olympics, CanuckNation.ca will be posting on all of Canada’s games during the tournament.  Or games that involve Canucks players, anyway.

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