There's something on the ice at Rogers Arena today that we haven't seen for a couple of years:
#Canucks ice lookin' fine this morning. #TowelPower pic.twitter.com/kS9PRHjg5L
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) April 13, 2015It sure feels good to be preparing for more hockey while other teams around the league are firing their coaches and announcing their plans for offseason player personnel changes.
Though the early word was that everything was copacetic with the Los Angeles Kings, word emerged yesterday about an incident from earlier in the season when the Kings players literally barricaded the door to their locker room so that coach Darryl Sutter couldn't get in.
General manager Dean Lombardi tried to downplay the incident in this interview with Lisa Dillman from the Los Angeles Times, but he acknowledged that it did happen.
It'll be interesting to see how the Kings handle a little adversity after three pretty idyllic seasons.
As for the Canucks, they're hosting an open practice today at Rogers Arena, starting at 11 a.m. Head down to Gate 10 if you'd like to see the team preparing for Game 1 against Calgary on Wednesday.
It's not too long to wait, but I was already a bit restless last night with no games on TV. Two more days of anticipation, then the Canucks will get the opportunity to win their first playoff game on home ice since June 10, 2011.
The work begins today with an extra session for the defensemen with skills coach Glenn Carnegie:
large chunk of #Canucks D group out before practice working with skills coach. 2, 3, 6, 18 & 23 on ice
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) April 13, 2015We might be able to learn a bit more about the status of injured forwards Zack Kassian and Brad Richardson today. Here's the early news:
Brad Richardson is on the ice ahead of the start of #Canucks practice. Fingers crossed he joins the group.
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) April 13, 2015I wonder if Willie Desjardins will make an announcement about his intentions in net.
Over in Detroit, arguably the best coach in hockey is turning to his young upstart to open the Red Wings' series against Tampa Bay.
Mrazek gets nod over Howard for Red Wings' Game 1. From @tkulfan --
http://t.co/TyXuqm9vpd pic.twitter.com/jk0ibbrW6d
— Jim Russ (@JimRuss1) April 13, 2015It can be done...
Before we move completely into playoff mode, let's take another moment to celebrate some of the Canuck players' individual accomplishments this season.
Eddie Lack's a good place to begin. In his second NHL season, he appeared once again in 41 games—exactly the same as in his rookie year. He played five more minutes this season than he did last year, and gave up two more goals in total.
Here's how the rest of his numbers compare:
2013-14: 16-17-5, .912 save percentage, 2.41 goals-against average, 4 shutouts 2014-15: 18-13-4, .921 save percentage, 2.45 goals-against average, 2 shutouts
Though his final numbers ended up very similar, he got there on two very different paths. It was a strong first half last year that led to Lack getting the start at the Heritage Classic, then he struggled down the stretch. This season, he started off rough then rounded into form after Ryan Miller's injury.
Lack's .921 save percentage puts him in a three-way tie for 11th place among all NHL netminders—with Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche and, get this, Roberto Luongo!
Other individual stats worth noting:
Radim Vrbata's 63 points are a new career high for him. It's pretty rare to see a 33-year-old show that kind of improvement. Last season, he had 20 goals and 51 points for the Phoenix Coyotes.
At the other end of the spectrum, Nick Bonino's year did fall a little bit flat. He scored 22 goals and posted 49 points with Anaheim last season, but managed just 15 goals and 39 points in his first year as a Canuck.
He did chirp Kevin Bieksa pretty good on Twitter this morning, though:
Really enjoyed my first regular season in Van, except for @kbieksa3. That being said, can not wait for playoffs! Stay loud Canucks Nation!
— Nick Bonino (@NickBonino) April 12, 2015Bonino did finish pretty strong, after being paired up with Radim Vrbata. He had 13 of his 39 points—one-third—during the last quarter of the season, since March 1.
Other high-water marks include Jannik Hansen matching his career high with 16 goals, Shawn Matthias hitting a new career high with 18 goals and 27 points, and Derek Dorsett's career-high 25 points.
The crowd at practice today looks about the same as what we saw in the stands for the first few games of the regular season.
Doors are open at Rogers Arena. #Canucks open practice about to begin pic.twitter.com/kp9aoE6Zk4
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) April 13, 2015It's A New Game, indeed...