Thursday 20 October 2011

Canucks vs Nashville

The Canucks take on the Nashville Predators tonight, in Rogers Arena at 7pm. I have heard rumors that Luongo will start in net.. let's hope the fans have the decency tonight to not boo our #1 goaler :P
Any predictions ? FInal score... first goal, game winning goal ?
I don't like to predict the final score but I will call Kesler for a goal tonight. :D

Anyone lucky enough to go to the game tonight, please cheer loud and proud for the whole team . Let the guys know that not all fans are boo-ers .


I will post the line ups as I get them.. so stay tuned :)

Wednesday 19 October 2011

There’s Something About November

After a disappointing loss to the Rangers (Lundqvist stood on his head), the Canucks I’ve cheered for so long are on their usual journey through the regular season.

The slow starts in October, where rebound control is suspect, defensive zone coverage is sloppy, special teams are bad and passes are errant, are the norm.

Even last year’s President Trophy team was not that good in the first 6 weeks of the season.  Let’s not forget that embarrassing 7 -1 loss to the Blackhawks on November 20, 2010 at Rogers’ Arena.

For every bad start, the Canucks always manage a better November/December.  Just like the Pineapple Expresses that arrives in Vancouver in November (or early December – I blame el Nino), the Canucks transform themselves from mediocre to superb.  The special teams are clicking, the passes are crisp, the defensive is solid and the goalies look like walls.

So what happens in November that creates such an annual transition for the Canucks? I’d thought I share some theories.

·    Maybe the depressing, soul-sucking endless grey Vancouver days, place some of the Canuck players in a contemplative state where they realize that if life won’t provide the happiness, they will have to make their own happiness.  Further contemplation creates the realization that playing great hockey makes them happy. I see Alex Edler as a contemplative individual.

·    Possibly the Movember Moustache creates the urge for some Canucks to transform themselves into villains, a la Snidely Whiplash (Dudley Do Right’s nemesis).  Why? Well we need more fodder for those outside of Vancouver to get their hate on.  Nothing creates more hate from Toronto than a winning team in Canada not in Toronto.  Max Lapierre or Alex Burrows would look great with a Snidely Whiplash ‘stache.

·    Perhaps the sight of an annoying wriggling plush Christmas tree that sings 15 holiday songs in off putting high pitch tone, among other Christmas decorations in stores, before Remembrance day, causes some Canucks players to take their pent up frustration on over the top holiday marketing and consumerism to the ice.  I see Kevin Bieska in this camp.

·    Or the sight of the Remembrance Day poppies stirs memories of their past lives as soldiers for some Canucks (with 5000 years of world history, don’t be surprised if some of your Canucks were warriors in their past lives).  The memories of camaraderie, sacrifice and courage inspire them to play for the boys on the team.  I think Roberto Luongo was a Spartan in his past life.

·    Or more shockingly Coach AV just screams into the locker room holding a puppy in early November and threatens, “I WILL KILL THIS PUPPY IF YOU DON’T START WINNING!  DON’T MAKE ME KILL THIS PUPPY. YOU DON’T WANT THE PUPPY’S BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS!”  Coach AV then storms out.  Not knowing whether Coach AV was serious, I can imagine Ryan Kesler imploring his team mates to play better ‘cause RK17 is a dog lover & owner.


Whatever the reason, take heart Canuck fans, there’s something to look forward to in November.

written by : Christina aka NOTS

The Blame Game

Last night the Canucks hosted the New York Rangers, a team who had not won a game yet this season. The Canucks came up short.. way short, and the social media went crazy ! The boos and jeers that Luongo received last night were a shame to the fan base in Vancouver, and many took it personal it seems. The arguing, defending and debating was in full force, and seems to be still.

When Luo plays, it's all about laying the blame .. on him. From the start of the game, people expect him to mess up.. and it's almost like they are pleased when he does let a goal in because hey, at least now we have someone to blame right.  It's like the old saying " expect the worse and that is what you shall receive".  Personally, I get butterflies when I know Luongo is starting, because I know, if he doesnt stop every single puck shot at him, I will have to listen to the Luo Blame for days to come. That sucks !
I can understand people being frustrated when we lose, I can understand being upset that the other goalie saved 40freakin shots while our goalie didn't.. but I do not get the mind set " Boo him, hate him, blame him & maybe he will play better next time". Seriously ? You think it is going to help Luo or the Canucks ? Do you think his teammates & coaches will hear you whine & bitch and chase him out of Vancouver for you ? I wonder if some people have heard the saying " If you have nothing nice to say, shut the heck up!".
How about the 40 shots on the opposing teams net that our guys couldn't put in ? Or maybe the breakdown on the d-line which allows the opposing team to skate in and get a perfect shot off on Luo... none of that matters ? It's all about Luongo..  even when Cory is in net it's all about Luo ;)

While I do not expect every Canucks fan to like every player on the team, I do think every Canucks fan should respect the TEAM.. and by booing Luo, by blaming Luo, people are disrespecting the whole team. If they cannot see that fact, they need to take life lessons. It plays on every single players mind when one of their own is being trashed. They are a family.. and I'm sure if any fans family member was being trashed, that fan would feel it, somehow.  So while a person may not like Luo, if they are a fan and like the Canucks, they need to step back and grab a clue.  I am pretty sure it is safe to say that every fan of the Canucks is dying for that Cup... well then, maybe we should band together & support the whole team ! Maybe we should stop and think about how the negativity  will effect every single player on the team.. not just Luo.  If they really care, they would stop.
#Luollove #canuckslove


( rough draft but i need to get it out there :P.. woke up with a burning desire to get this out there... )

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Rypien It Up

Tonight the Canucks take on the Rangers in Rogers Arena. It's not just any regular game night tho. Tonight the machine...Ryan Kesler is back ! Tonight, Rick Rypien will be remembered before the game begins.

So I have been pondering.. who gets the most focus tonight ? With Kes back in the lineup, Coho will be shoved over to the wing.. will this work ? Will Coho shine beside Super Kes ? And is Kes ready to come back ? So many questions, which we will know the answers to by the nights end.

The other story to focus on...the one that is on my mind the most ... Rick Rypien and Kevin Bieksa. Kevin was best friends with Rick, and it is no secret how much Kevin & His family did for Rick.. so how will the tribute effect Kev ? Will Kev be able to shake it off and play hard , will he use Ricks memory to Ryp it up on the ice tonight ? Even tho Kevin and the rest of the team have been shown the tribute video so they are more prepared for it, I can only imagine it will tear them up inside no matter how many times they see it.

I will be paying much attention to Kevin tonight and he will be in my thoughts every second of the game. The boys now have Luc & Ryp watching over them while they play, because we know damn well that Luc and Rick wouldn't dare let heaven allow them to miss a game.. they will be there.. on the shoulders of our Canucks.
We will all be hoping, praying an wishing the Canucks can win this game.. for themselves, for us and most of all, for Rick. Ryp it up out there boys !

RIP #37 - Forever A Canuck <3

Thursday 13 October 2011

Ballard Needs Yellow

According to @HeyFoxman if Keith Ballard had a yellow visor, he would become a beast ! Ballard has some new wheels, so why not a new visor ? !
I think Foxman is on to something here so I am writing this to support his campaign.



 Taken from the Province Chatroom -

     - Foxmans entrance into the conversation - "ballard on the point with the yellow visor = the best damn powerplay ever in existance"
     - Foxman to Jonathan McDonald  " JMAC start the yellow visor revolution" 
     - "not if ballard get the yellow visor it wont even be close Ballard will be in beast mode and mutilate the compitition....Letang will **** his pants at the sight of Ballard and his yellow visor, shea Weber would weep like a 16 year old girl at the sheer thought of it "


Foxman to me on Twitter - 

 

@ YELLOW VISOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  

did you tell Ballard he needs to sport the Yellow visor like Eric Weinrich then he is a 60 pt d-man hands down...
 and in an email -
- "the yellow visor is awesome its quite clear. Look at old eric weinrich pictures dude is a beast with it on ballard would be in beast mode once he has that" - @HeyFoxman 
- "it'll be awesome because it'll be like  he is trying to impress vigneualt or something to stand out I dunno im weird i miss the yellow visor we need one so the rest of the league hates us even more" - @HeyFoxman


So I guess it is safe to say that @TheFoxman is now leading the "Ballard Needs Yellow' campaign. He makes some very valid points so hey, let's support him in the Ballard Needs Yellow campaign .. if you see Keith, tell him  He Needs Yellow !

Getting to Know You - Chris Higgins

Our Flavour of the Week - #20 Chris Higgins aka Higgs or Higgy. Chris came to the Canucks late in the 2010/11 season in a trade which also brought us Lapierre. He is 6'0 , 205 lbs and plays left wing. Chris is 28 years old and hails from Smithtown NY. His NHL career started with the Canadiens but he went through a few teams before landing , feet first, in Vancouver.

Higgy Stats - in the 2010/11 season he played 14 regular season games, scooping up 5 points. In the playoffs, Chris played 25 games with 8 points. The stat that most stands out is the Broken Foot stat ;) .... Higgs played through most of the playoffs with a broken foot and it never slowed him down. This alone gained the respect and adoration of many Canucks fans.

Gettin Higgy with It Vids -
After Hours - a vid from shortly after Chris came to us.. P.S Thank You MG for Chris !!
Higgs Scores ! - playoff goal vs Sharks.. why'd i choose this one ? Look who's in the box during this goal ;) That made me smile :D 
Higgs History Will Be Made - i have one word for this .. Goosebumples !
Chris from Burrs - vs Flyers - Beautiful Goal !


Higgy Tid Bits - I love this guy ! He may not be a stand out super star , but in my eyes, he is up there with the brightest stars on our team. The fact he couldn't walk on his foot, yet once he hit the ice you couldn't tell he was in agony, amazes me. I saw Chris at a practice shortly after he shattered his foot and he could barely walk, he came out limping, using his stick to hold his weight, but once he hit that ice it was smooth skating. That day, my respect for Higgy hit high levels. Chris plays hard and it shows every time he is on the ice... this is the kind of guy I want on our team :) I won't mention his sexy lips, gorgeous eyes & how good his butt looks in spandex.. oh yes I will ! How could I not ? *sigh*


Gettin Higgy With It

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Canucks in Columbus & Sedin Security

The Canucks are on a road trip which started with them in Columbus taking on the Blue Jackets. Our Canucks came out on top with a final score of 3-2. Cory Schneider got the start between the pipes & stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced as well as a penalty shot to help swing the momentum our way.
Higgins opened up scoring with a tip off a Manny shot, Coho sank the 2nd goal for us and Burrows popped his own rebound in to get the game winner. It wasn't the best start we have seen but it was a great finish :)



One thing I'd like to touch base on is the fact that our super stars get zero respect in this league. Henrik and Daniel Sedin, two of the best players in the NHL and two of the nicest more respectful players, seem to get beat on quite a bit. We saw it in the cup finals , and have already seen it just two games into the season. Opposing team players seem to think it is open season on the twins, possibly because in the cup finals when it happened, the league took no steps to stop it, and the refs turned a blind eye. This may have given other teams a sense of security when laying cheap shots on the twins. If others got away with it, why won't they . It needs to stop. Our guys can beat up every guy who hurts a Sedin, but then our guys take the risk of sitting in the sinbin and giving the other team the PP and the chance to score. Not a very fair trade off I'd say, especially when we have refs who are supposed to stop and punish that type of behavior.
Last night Henrik was hit from behind by Blue Jacket Marc Methot, a very dangerous hit which resulted in a 2 minute penalty for Methot. When Bieksa and Volps called Methot out, he refused to drop the gloves. If Bieksa or Volps would have dropped them first, we would have been given an instigator penalty .. so they let it go. Understandable in a close game where we are after the win.. but this hit better be reviewed by Shanahan , and a message should be sent out that other teams cannot bully the twins and get away with it. The twins have earned the respect they deserve, and the league needs to keep that in check... or we need to pick a goon up and call him ' The Sedin Security'. Bottom line, it needs to be dealt with.. our Sedins are worth it and much more.

Friday 7 October 2011

The Canucks The Bright Side & The Choice

Canucks played their opening game of the regular season last night in Rogers Arena and came up short in a shootout, losing a point & the game. Final score was 4-3 Penguins. Max Lapierre#40, Keith Ballard#4 and Daniel Sedin#22 scored our three goals. Roberto Luongo#1 made 28 saves and ended with a .893 save %. We scored zero goals in the shootout giving the Pengs the extra point when they scored twice.

 Maybe I should warn you before you proceed.. I am not one to sit and complain about all the things Canucks did wrong, for more than one reason, so if that is what you enjoy, stop reading right about now :) Not everyone in life finds the need to focus only on the negative.. some of us prefer to seek out the positive ... I am one of those types. I form my own opinion, I make my own choice on which team I am a fan of and I don't always agree with the main stream.. so shoot me .. or read me, the choice is yours ! ;)
I can agree, Luo allowed 2 not so great goals & his tummy flop thing on the last shootout goal was Luo-ish,  the team came out way sluggish, Coho was caught in slow motion a few times, Bieksa became a screen at one point, Samuelsson on the shootout?, Coach AV didn't play the vets enough in pre season waa waa etc... but I also saw a Higgs who was playing very well, I saw many great saves made by Luo, I saw the twins dominate many times, I saw a few nice hits , some good passes and 3 great goals ! I mean heck even Ballard scored a goal... that in itself is one huge bright side for Ballard fans.
I'm horrible at remembering specifics and I am not the biggest stats person, stats do not always tell the story & it's too easy to copy & paste a stat, so I write from my recollections for the most part and to my recollection, I got the chance to say LUUUOOO many times during the game, which means he made good saves because I only LUUUOOO when he makes a save . I also recall cheering on Higgins an awful lot, saying " Damn this guy is on a mission", I remember Lapierre playing killer .. and I recall thinking how good Ballards goal looked ( can't believe I have to admit that ;) ) so yes, there were good aspects of the game. The fact that we came back from 2 goals down, twice, is something to be optimistic about as well.. much better than not coming back at all right ;)
I could complain about all the hate from Canucks fans that gets spewed so often, but what's the point ? I'm sure those fans also have some good aspects about them... I am also sure that those fans can make the choice to stop following a team which makes them so unhappy, just like I can make the choice on what I focus on.. The Bright Side !

We lost to the Penguins in a shootout.. imagine if we lost to the Leafs by a shutout ? ;) Yes, there is always a bright side :)
If fans are condemning the Canucks to a horrible season because of one game, those same fans must be thinking the Leafs will win the cup and that Boston sucks !
Suck it up or hop off the wagon.. it's your choice . :)

Wednesday 5 October 2011

One More Sleep ...

It's the day before our Canucks play their first game of the regular season.. are you ready ??  I Know I am ! Jerseys are ready, cheering voice is rested and ghosts of 2011 game 7 are a thing of the past.
It's time to move onward and upwards !

Will Ryan Kesler be ready to come back before November ? Having undergone surgery not too long ago, word was he would not be back in game form before November, but we got news today that he is cleared for contact .. good news in my books :)

Oreskovich was sent down to the Wolves ( cleared waivers )  while new guy Dale Weise ( pronounced Weese) will take his place. My opinion on Oreo was that he was not physical enough and didn't protect our players enough, so I am not devastated he is gone and I am looking forward to seeing how Weise fits with the guys. He will play on 4th line with Max Lapierre and Aaron Volpatti.

Will the Canucks get off to their usual slow start ? I think not ! Cup run hangover ? Nah.. leave that hangover for the fans;).. The boys tasted that cup .. I think that will give them extra motivation. Even with new faces on the team, I think the boys will do okay to start.

Which Canuck will be the next to pose naked for us ? Can anyone top Kesler ? Luongo was asked but turned down the offer and Bieksa is finding the whole naked Ryan thing pretty funny. I would pay to be a fly on the locker room wall on any given day but today especially !
Cut or what ! Wowsers !

 Buckle up folks, I think we are in for another amazing ride. Go Canucks Go !

Sunday 2 October 2011

NHL and the Head Hits

Even before the season has begun, there have been many suspensions handed out due to head hits. The NHL is trying to crunch down on these type of hits as it is causing much damage to many players.
While I do agree, something needs to be done, I have to wonder if all aspects are being looked at .
Players today may be bigger and faster, has anyone gone back and averaged out the size and speed of players from 10, 15 and even 20 years ago compared to now ?
Has anyone even considered it may have something to do with the new equipment the players wear today ?
For example, take an elbow pad, and a hammer.. see how many hits it takes you to crack the pad. Then take that pad, and have your buddy smack you over the head with it. Let's see if it causes damage ;)
Before the padding became so damn hard, a player would hurt his elbow if he laid a head hit, probably more hurt than the head being hit.  The less padding on the elbows and shoulders , means that player may think twice before hitting a solid helmet/head with a shoulder or elbow hit .
I realize, all the new padding and equipment is to keep a player safe, but it also means more damage to the guy being hit with said equipment.
Before we start making so many new rules, before we start changing the game of hockey.. shouldn't we look into every aspect possible ? One of those aspects being the new equipment the guys wear .

The game of hockey has been around for so many years, and as times change, so do rules.. but stop for a second and think of the game without hits, without fights... it will no longer be the hockey game we have grown up watching and loving.
I am all for keeping players safe, I feel visors should be a must, and I feel many head shots should be suspendable, but I also feel the equipment needs to be taken into account and possibly altered to save many players from being injured.

I am putting this out there because I have yet to see this aspect of head hits being addressed. I am not an expert , just a fan, so I can not offer a solution, just a suggestion :)


EDIT - There is a video HERE of Shanahan talking about the equipment issue.. but why does he not address it in his 'hit' video explanations ? When going over a hit and suspension, why is the equipment not being taken into account ? Why is it not being discussed and looked into NOW ?  Why are commentators, media and fans not bringing up this subject with every hit ?