Sunday December 8: Vancouver Canucks 3 Colorado Avalanche 1
For the first time this season, it was the Vancouver Canucks who scored on their first shot of the game, not their opponent. An early goal led to a good result. Here are your highlights:
As a whole, it wasn't a great game. The Canucks started slow and were lucky to have a lead after 20 minutes after Mike Santorelli scored a beauty off a Chris Higgins dish from behind the net. The Avs outshot Vancouver 12-6 in the first frame but Max Talbot, of all people, led the Colorado offense with five shots on goal through the game. The young guns were largely ineffective—Vancouver's defense deserves credit for shutting them down.
Maybe the Avs also deserve credit for shutting down the Sedins—or maybe the twins need a winger they can play with. Jannik Hansen started the game on the top line and David Booth got some time up there as well, but neither player clicks on that right side. Daniel was the only one of that lot who even managed a shot on net on Sunday—he had two.
Zack Kassian finished with 10 minutes of ice time, including a few shifts on the third line. He was noticeable at times, but still didn't record a shot on goal. Torts didn't exactly praise him after the game, so I'd be surprised if he drew onto the first line tonight—even though we're running out of options.
Chris Higgins didn't get a shot on Sunday either, but finished the night with two assists and a plus-3. His linemates Kesler and Santorelli had six shots each—more than half of Vancouver's 21-shot total—and scored all three Vancouver goals.
The win was a big one for the Canucks. They finally led from wire-to-wire, creating a positive vibe at Rogers Arena for the first time since the Toronto game a month ago. They beat a conference rival that's ahead of them in the standings. The two points move them into sole possession of eighth place, with a chance to climb even higher against Carolina tonight. And, the four-game win streak currently makes them the hottest team in the Western Conference—the gunners all struggled last week in one form or another.
After the game, Torts was in a chatty mood and gave a long, candid presser to the media. I listened to it on the radio but unusually, the video's not on canucks.com today. Maybe it's because he said the S-word?
Iain MacIntyre of the
Vancouver Sun has most of the good quotes, including that one, in his game story.
Click here to read.
We do have a pretty good segment where Kevin Bieksa spars with the media, talking about losing the shutout, the winning streak, Santorelli's emergence and Manny Malhotra's return to Vancouver tonight.
If one bounce had gone a different way, the outcome could have been very different on Sunday. Near the end of the second period, with the Canucks leading just 1-0, rookie defenseman Nick Holden fired a shot that went off the crossbar, then the left post, before bouncing back into play. The red light went on for a couple of seconds, and play continued for a couple of minutes before it was decisively confirmed that it was no goal.
Good on Colorado coach Patrick Roy for pulling his goalie with five minutes left in the game, with his team down 3-0. Unorthodox, sure, but I think it's a great lesson to his team not to quit. And given Vancouver's recent penchant for surrendering leads, why not take a shot? You know you're losing if you don't try it. I think the move lit a fire under the Avs players that will likely carry over to their next game. The Canucks did a fantastic job of defending for an extended period, and the move definitely added some excitement in the game's final minutes.
Monday December 9: Carolina Hurricanes at Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks 17-10-5 fourth in Pacific Division
Carolina Hurricanes 13-12-5 third in Atlantic Division
Two of the hottest teams in the NHL meet at Rogers Arena on Monday night. The Vancouver Canucks are looking to stretch their winning streak to five games for the first time this season, while the Carolina Hurricanes have won three in a row, including a 5-3 defeat of the San Jose Sharks on Friday. Their last loss came eight days ago—to Vancouver.
Young sniper Jeff Skinner outscored all NHL players last week with five goals, including a hat trick against Nashville last Thursday, and was named the NHL's first star of the week.
There should be more emotion in the rink tonight. Last week's game in Carolina was a feisty affair, and the memory should still be fresh for both teams. Monday night also marks Manny Malhotra's first time back at Rogers Arena since he was shut down by Mike Gillis last season. Malhotra has four points in 18 games with the 'Canes and continues to play about 12 minutes a game in a defensive role. His faceoff numbers are still great—except against Vancouver. His old teammates must know some of his tricks.
The Canucks and the Ducks are the only Western Conference teams in action on Monday night. A win for Vancouver would move the team up another notch to seventh place in the standings, ahead of Colorado. With 41 points, they'd be tied with St. Louis and Minnesota. Those two teams still have games in hand, but this win streak is getting Vancouver back into the heart of the action.
I'll have a game review for you tomorrow. After that, the Canucks don't play again till Friday so I'll spend some time this week looking at lineup issues and other storylines, including why I don't think the Canucks can move Alex Edler, no matter how tempting it seems.
Quick Hits:
- Despite losing his shutout with eight seconds remaining on Sunday, Roberto Luongo has been named the NHL's third star of the week. The starter went 3-0-0 this week, with a 1.30 goals-against and .960 save percentage. Eddie Lack should get the start against Carolina.
- The New York Islanders put center Pierre-Marc Bouchard on waivers today. The center has nine points in 28 games with the Isles after signing a one-year, $2 million free agent contract this summer. He used to be one of Minnesota's more dynamic offensive players but even though he's only 29, his production has really dropped off in recent years.
Could he be a top-six forward for the Canucks? He'd cost nothing and his cap hit is reasonable. Capgeek.com says that Vancouver has $1.7 million in cap space available today. Since we're already one-third of the way through the season, Bouchard would be owed about another $1.4 million—it seems like it could work.
Worth a try? Or is it folly to even consider trying to pick up a castoff from one of the worst teams in the league?
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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