Canuckelled!

T’was a great ride while it lasted. Can’t believe it ended in such a manner. The Canucks just could not hold a lead.  Not Luongo’s fault on most of the 7 goals last night. The D lapses were too numerous to list here.  Where was the timeout AV?  We could vent more but we’ll drop it and let it be. We lived and died with every shift last night and its gonna take some time to heal.

We’ll be back to our regular blog frequency now that our team is out. Chicago played a great game and one their fans won’t soon forget.  We know we won’t.

That’s Right Shaggy!

Bobby Doooby LOUUUUU!!!!

Canucks are into the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup playoffs!

The 2nd, 3rd and OT periods of last night’s game 4 were some of the most exciting hockey we’ve seen this team play in ages.

• Alex Burrows continues to impress!
• As does the fact that we won 2 games against the Blues without Sundin.
• Luongo standing on his head was unbelievable.  He’s surely taken his game to the next level.
• Bernier, Raymond and even Shane O’Brien had fantastic moments during this first round.

Now we wait.  This is the part of the Stanley Cup playoffs we’ve never understood.  Why they don’t play on back2back nights when at the same venue is beyond us.  There is no sense to a long, drawn out playoffs.  It negates any advantage a team that sweeps gets.  The Playoffs should never run past May Long.  No scoobie snacks for you NHL sked makers!

What Will Happen on a Hawt Dallas Night?

Bobby Luo smashed his stick during the 2nd period of last nights comeback win over Phoenix.  Turning point for his season???  At least it was for that game & from there on, he shut the door on the Coyotes & the Canucks overcame the deficit in the 3rd with some clutch goals. What a character win.

Tonight in Dallas, its different.  The Dallas Stars are as hot as they come.  Winners of 7 of their last ten & scoring heaps of goals.  The Stars got shutout their last game so look to see them come out flying hard & fast against the Canucks 2nite. Bobby Luo can prove that he’s back tonight in a big way against a team like this.  The Canucks will be needing his A Game as they are sure to tire on back2back nights.  Anything less than getting a point tonight will be a massive disappointment. The teams are separated by only a point in the standings & its still wicked tight in the NHL’s Western Conference as 5th place & last place 15th have only 10 points between them. Crucial matchup if there ever was one & we won’t be missing a puck drop.

PS: Eastbound and Down looks like a hoot!

PPS: Also speaking of TV, caught up on Jockeys last night.  Very well done quasi-reality show.  Great horses and great insight into the world of horse racing.  We won’t be missing a hoofbeat!

3 Games in 4 nights = No Playtime 4 Canucks

… and beyond is a 4 game week long West-East Canada Roadtrip!  Its clutch time for the Canucks! The standings are super tight and we need the wins!

Watch tonight for Alex Burrows to be on the top line with the Sedins vs the Coyotes.  Hopefully that will spark them into some offense.  Did the twins even play against the Blues the other night?  Really though, if the trade off is a pointless night from the twins and a lot of secondary scoring that equals a win, we’ll take the win in a heartbeat!  Keep the other team’s shutdown line busy out there and good things will happen for the team. Don`t worry twins, the points will come.

Though we like the move, generally speaking AV’s constant line juggling is getting annoying.  But in this case its actually needed. We predict a 4-3 Canucks victory in OT.  The Coyotes are coming off an impressive 1-0 win over the Red Hot Dallas Stars.  We doubt that they’ve got that type of game 2 nights in a row. Ilya Bryzgalov can’t stop ‘em all. We’d like to see Roberto Luongo have a stellar game at the other end.  Its been awhile and we need the reassurance all is well in net!

And lastly, Mats Sundin.  What can we say about a 3 point effort vs. the Blackhawks and a followup 2 goal game!  He’s come into form and hopefully that continues and the opposition keeps getting confused about what really is the top line on the Canucks.  Now off to watch, drink and be merry!

PS: did you know the Canucks have a prospect page that they update… we didn`t either!

PPS: on a completely different note… the EPL flexes its muscle and gets this top-notch soccer site to rid itself of its logos.  all in the name of dollars and non-$en$e! and again its the fans that suffer!  BOO!

Bobby Lou! How Do U Do?

Well not only do we feel better that we ranted yesterday about scrums and got that monkey off our backs, the  Vancouver Canucks also won a feel-good victory last night over the Carolina Hurricanes.  Yep, the once Mighty Canes got whipped by the capable Nucks!  (ok we kid about the Canes being mighty which means no1 should be getting stupid excited about 1win.)  Mats Sundin had his first multi-point nite of the year & other than stumblin’ once over his own skates & a blown pass back to his D Men, actually had his first decent game.  The determined look on his face after his wrap-around goal spoke volumes that the passion is returning in step with the rust falling off. Woodpeck fave, Alex Burrows scored the dramatic short-handed winner & in his post game comments totally gave all the credit to his teammates.  Nice on ya Alx! 

Of concern was Bobby Lou’s shaky netminding.  He looked horrid on Pitkanen’s goal thru the 5 hole and from then on it seemed like he was playing on marbles.  BL’s hasn’t impressed much since his return from injury and Woodpeck is wondering what the issue might be.  Is the injury still not 100%?  Is it too much for him to be the captain & deal with those responsibilities while trying to prepare for a game?  Does he not have confidence in himself and/or his defence?  Is his head not quite in the game?  Is he wondering that he could be injured again at any moment?  Something is amiss with him.  The sooner the issue comes to light, the sooner we can sleep easier at night.  Admiting there’s a problem is the first step to a solution & resolution BL!

Time for a doughnut breakie! The shoppe is finally open & we need the energy to devise a way to get AV away from the bench…

A Sunday Thought

Just a quick Canucks post. The team has not been lights out since the arrival of Mats Sundin and now with the return of Roberto Luongo this week, the team had its worst game of the season. Not the kind of response you want to see from your club!  This has got to be the low point of the year for the Canucks and the turnaround has to come tonight vs. the Jackets or VERY quickly after the all star break or this season is lost. Woodpeck is officially concerned. Check out our recent posts at NOW PUBLIC!

Here’s what been we’ve been keen on lately around the ol’ laptop:

• NFLD soccer pitch gets hit hard.
• “The hills are alive” with the sound of Muesli in BC!
• The third annual Hockey Day in Minnesota ends with questions about officials!
• Who is Tim Leiweke?  Why is he trying to get the Islanders to move to KC?
• Money problems dogging Coyotes
• NHL teams up the Champions Hockey League?
• Family is all on the agenda in San Jose.  And also here at this tourney!  Good on ‘em!