This will be a quick post today. I'm joining Michael Augello and Matt Henderson for the Pacific Buzz Podcast this morning ahead of our game in Carolina. So, right to business:
Saturday November 30: New York Rangers 5 Vancouver Canucks 2
Such as they are, here are your highlights from the Canucks' game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday:
It's hard not to feel bad for Torts, especially when his old whipping boy Chris Kreider twists the knife with his first career hat trick.
The Canucks didn't play terribly to start out. Rookie goalie Cam Talbot made some big saves early on and the team was undone by small mistakes. Alex Edler got the Jannik Hansen treatment on the bench after his lackadaisical play led to the first goal, then Zack Kassian's puck-over-the-glass penalty caused the second—on a day when the Canucks were an unusual 1-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Can you tell what Edler says back to Torts in this GIF?
Roberto Luongo was pulled early in the second period after allowing three goals on 10 shots, but the loss couldn't be pinned on him.
All things considered, Torts was remarkably composed after the game and probably very grateful to have a good reason to get out of Dodge as quickly as possible.
Looking for positives from the game—Vancouver didn't get shut out, which looked for awhile like it could happen. David Booth scored in his second straight game and is looking much more confident. The power play tallied late, giving Vancouver goals with the man advantage in four straight games. And Kevin Bieksa showed some emotion that he can hopefully carry over to today's game when he chased down gigantic Brian Boyle to fight him at the end of the game. I'm not sure why he was compelled to wrestle Boyle's helmet off his head and drop-kick it down the ice, but I hope it made him feel better.
Perhaps the Canucks' doghouse-gang can take inspiration from Kreider's great game as a sign that things really can get better?
Vancouver Canucks at Carolina Hurricanes – Sunday December 1 - 10:00 am - Sportsnet Pacific, Fox Sports Carolina
Vancouver Canucks 13-10-5 fifth in Pacific Division Carolina Hurricanes 10-11-5 sixth in Metropolitan Division
With not much time to turn things around, the Canucks are now preparing to face a Hurricanes' team whose fortunes are similar to their own.
Carolina is six points behind Vancouver in the overall standings, but also sits just three points out of a playoff spot. Like the Canucks—who couldn't win back-to-back games in November—their play has been inconsistent.
It's a homecoming for two of Vancouvers' recent acquisitions, and one of the Carolina boys draws in. Zack Kassian sits—probably no surprise there—though I expected Jeremy Welsh would play as well.
This just in: @eddielack gets the start in Carolina and @ZacDalpe22 will face his former team, dressing in place of @zkassian9. #Canucks
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) December 1, 2013After all the drama surrounding the Rangers game, a quick turnaround to get back to business in a low-pressure environment in Raleigh should give the Canucks a chance to get their confidence back and put some more points on the board. Despite the loss on Saturday, Vancouver is still sitting just three points out of eighth place in the Western Conference.
I'll leave it there for now and get this posted as our podcast recording is in progress.
Thanks for reading; here's hoping for a better result today.
I'll have a more complete look at the weekend's action for you on Monday morning.
Follow me on Twitter @pool88.