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Vancouver Canucks: Introducing CapGeek Successor, Draft Prospects to Avoid?

May 6, 2015, 2:28 PM ET [173 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The big buzz from last night's Flames/Ducks game was Calgary's controversial no-goal call on Sam Bennett's shot with 6:22 left in the third period and the Flames down by a goal.

I agree with Jason Kay's assessment here on The Hockey News website. Without a conclusive overhead angle and without a goal call on the ice, the war room—which initiated the video review in the first place, in this case—couldn't conclusively call it a goal.

That dialogue will continue, I'm sure. For me, the story of the game was watching cagey Bob Hartley once again outcoach his opponent in the game's late stages, just like he did against the Canucks.

After being denied on the video review, I think Hartley knew it was extremely unlikely that his team would end up shorthanded in the dying minutes. "Game management" dictates that the Flames "deserved" an opportunity to tie the game.

So when Matt Stajan—of all people—ran over Frederik Andersen with 2:14 remaining, it wasn't hard for the officials to send off Simon Despres as well, for going after Stajan.

Now four-on-four with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, the Flames were able to pressure Sami Vatanen into shooting the puck over the glass. Then, Calgary got the Ducks running around on a lengthy 5-on-3 before Gaudreau eventually scored with 20 seconds remaining to tie the game.

Hartley also used his time out judiciously during that stretch. He kept the same five players on the ice from the moment the offsetting penalties were called until the tying goal was scored—Gaudreau, Hudler, Monahan, Wideman and Russell.

The goal was Calgary's first in the series with the man advantage—and the winning goal came on a lengthy delayed-penalty call in overtime. Despite all the talk of being outmuscled, Hartley's group was able to take advantage of the Ducks' lack of discipline in the high-pressure late stages of Game 3.

The Ducks are a great third-period team, but Calgary is too. With his overtime goal, Mikael Backlund delivered on the sentiment he expressed against Vancouver, that there's "no way" they'll lose in their building. The Flames are now 4-0 in the playoffs at the Saddledome and have climbed back into their series with another home game coming up on Friday.

My point? Willie Desjardins is a first-year NHL coach who hopefully learned a thing or two about tactics when he went up against Hartley in the playoffs. Boudreau's an eight-year veteran who got schooled on Tuesday night.

I'm starting to understand why John Tortorella carried so much animosity and frustration towards Hartley after going up against him for the better part of two decades, dating back to their AHL days. Hartley definitely has a few tricks up his sleeve, and isn't afraid to use them.

Introducing General Fanager:

Here's a long-awaited bit of news. At last, a new site steps in where CapGeek left off, offering contract and salary cap information in an easy-to-use interface.

Introducing: General Fanager. Even the name is pretty terrific.

In my first spin around the site, I was particularly tickled by their use of an anchor icon to symbolize no-movement clauses. Nice symbolism!

I'm also happy to see that they've indicated the sources for their information—much of which has been pulled over from CapGeek.

No details on, say, Radim Vrbata's modified no-trade clause and the free-agent finder's not sortable at this point, but it's a start. Their "About" page indicates there will be plenty of additional features being added as the site goes forward.

Red-Flag Draft Prospects:

Interesting piece over at Canucks Army today, looking ahead at the draft:




We'll have more time to look at the Canucks' potentials as the draft draws nearer. Do you think these players warrant red flags?

The Dickson Liong Story

I'll wrap up today with this video feature on Dickson Liong, a young hockey writer with cerebral palsy who has been covering the Canucks this season.

I've seen him around the press box, and heard some of his no-nonsense questions in the coach's postgame interviews over the course of the season. It's great to see passionate hard workers like Dickson getting opportunities to pursue their dream.

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