I Watched This Game: Canucks vs Ducks, February 09, 2011

Canucks 3 - 4 Ducks

It feels like it's been forever since we've watched the Canucks suffer a home regulation loss, and I'm a little uncertain of how to feel about it. At this point in the season, it's not unlike like being gored by a unicorn: sure, it's undesired, but it's so rare that you're kind of impressed. Only the fourth time this season the Canucks have skated away from a home game without a point, it's pretty hard to muster up the usual fan despair. Heck, the Red Wings lost too, so the only thing on which the Canucks missed out was stretching their nine-point Western Conference lead into an eleven-point lead. They were going to lose eventually, and despite the brush with inevitability, they remain in pretty good standing. I watched this game:

• Of course, for reasonable, like-minded people that are finding it difficult to freak out at this loss, we have the terrifying problem of Dan Hamhuis's addition to the list of broken Canucks. Hamhuis is the backbone of the Canucks' defense corps; without him, the Canucks defense is an invertebrate. Hit from behind by Ryan Getzlaf, Hamhuis briefly went unconscious, which is not ideal, because he wasn't getting his wisdom teeth removed. Of course, while he was in the dreamworld, because he's such a community-oriented guy, he helped a young girl rescue her brother from Jareth, King of the Goblins, but that's another story for another time.

• The hit wasn't dirty. For people looking to cast blame: there is none. In a high-speed sport, accidents happen. Ryan Getzlaf was finishing a check, a move for which all coaches would applaud him. Yes, he was briefly off his feet, but it looks to me like it was the contact with Hamhuis--not his innate wickedness--that caused him to catch air. Some say Hamhuis shouldn't have turned away, but let's get serious. Do these same people curse out their kneecap when it jumps at the tap of a doctor's tendon hammer? Bracing oneself for impact is a natural reflex of the body. I'm sure Dan Hamhuis, a professional hockey player, would be the first one to tell you not to turn like that, but in a split second, the body doesn't always cooperate with the mind. Let's just hope he's okay and move on. Getzlaf isn't a dirty player.

• What he is, however, is a remarkable player. His pass on the Ducks' third goal was dangerously close to Wizardous Sedinerie, as he cribbed a page from Henrik's book of spells (otherwise known as the Nyturan Demonta), perfectly executing a swiveling backpass to Bobby Ryan. Ryan impressed also, receiving and burying that pass entirely on the backhand. I've heard rumblings that the Canucks can't handle the Perry-Getzlaf-Ryan line and that this is some sort of fatal flaw, but who can? They're one of the best lines in hockey, and there's no shame when they burn you. Let's try to give credit when due. Getzlaf is a superstar, and in his first game back from injury, he made sure we knew it. That said, when you steal Henrik's book of spells, you free some pretty malevolent spirits, so Getzlaf should expect some Evil Dead-style demonic high jinks.

• Speaking of malevolent spirits, a theory about these sudden injury troubles: for years, Sami Salo has been possessed by an injury demon. It's decades-old; it once lived in Bobby Orr's knees. Anyway, while rehabbing the Achilles injury, Salo finally rid it from his body, but the demon remains in the bowels of Rogers Arena, jumping from defenceman to defenceman, looking for a suitable host. Someone call Max Von Sydow.

• Christian Ehrhoff had an ugly game, on the ice for three of Anaheim's four goals on the evening and, in each case, the guy caught behind the play. He wasn't always the one to blame, but not once was he the last man back, and that's concerning. His rush-jumpy tendencies may fly when burgeoning superstar Alex Edler is the watchman, but when it's Chris Tanev or Aaron Rome, you might want to stay a little closer to home. With the blueline decimated by injuries, now is not the time for Ehrhoffian defensive offensivity. It's the time for sound defensive play.

• Speaking of Chris Tanev, he continues to look wise beyond his years. Is he in sync with the Sedins already? In this game, he pulled off Kevin Bieksa's jump through the middle and a slap-pass from the point to Daniel. Neither resulted in a goal, but still, these are specialized set plays. Not since Neo learned kung-fu have I seen someone learn something so complicated so quickly. I think Tanev might be The One. He doesn't even see the game; he's sees phosphorescent lines of code.

• Alarming thought which is no longer as alarming as it once was: Kevin Bieksa is now the rock of our defense corps. #JuiceWillSaveUs

• Jannik Hansen's high-pitched monotone gets me every time. During an intermission interview with Kristin Reid, he coughed, and his pitch didn't change a bit. That is commitment.
  

• Lost in the loss was the fact that last night was a three-point night for Daniel Sedin. He had a goal and two assists, and his line looked great all night. He narrowly missed tying the game in the final seconds, too, if not for the puck making a Barry Sanders-level juke. Yes, Sedin was excellent. For folks complaining that the Ducks' top line was too much for the Canucks, need I remind you that this street goes both ways? The Sedins were on for exactly as many goals as Getzlaf's line. By the by, on Daniels's power play goal, Henrik might not have gotten an assist, but did you notice his sneaky trip on Todd Marchant? It wasn't a slewfoot; Henrik simply shades in behind him and plants his skate, and Marchant, skating backwards, trips over it. As a result, Daniel has a buttload (a Byfuglienian buttload, at that) of room.

• Alex Burrows now has 6 goals in his last 7 games, and I loved the way he scored this one. Henrik and Burr do this all the time, and it works surprisingly often. Henrik gets set up behind the net and he just waits there for something to open up. Eventually, one of the checkers gets impatient and lunges at Henrik, and Alex Burrows cuts to the crease, and Henrik gets him the puck. The way Corey Perry played is is the wrong way to play it. The correct defensive play is to wait for Henrik to fall asleep.
  

• Did you know the Canucks had 38 shots and attempted 73? It felt like they had about 20. I don't recall McElhinney making many incredible saves, either.

• Mason Raymond's act is wearing thin. I know he's been picking up points lately, but that seems more a result of his linemates than his individual play. Somebody remind him that skating quickly around the outside is for Clara Hughes. Is he aware that a team's defensive strategy against any offensive threat is to keep him doing exactly what he does willingly?

• Ryan Kesler had a good game, scoring a crucial goal late in the game, and winning 15-of-21 draws, but he had too many rushes end for him when he gave the puck to Raymond and wound up not getting it back. Kesler and Raymond had chemistry last season, but this year, they've gone in completely different directions. Often, Kesler's best stuff comes when he doesn't pass to Raymond, or when he's on with the Sedins. This doesn't bode well for Raymond. It makes him an expendable, tradeable asset. If he doesn't prove himself untouchable in a hurry, he's in danger of being sent to a worse team. He'd better pick it up in a hurry, or he'll find himself playing for a seller.

• Speaking of acts wearing thin, nobody breaks up a promising rush faster than Raffi Torres. Far too often, he's a baffling, downright bungling presence. Watching him skate on a line with Jannik Hansen is like watching inspectors Holmes and Clouseau try to solve a mystery together. One does all the right things, the other breaks vases and falls down staircases.

• And finally, I have never, ever in my life, seen two men chew gum with more ferocity than Mike Gillis and Alain Vigneault as they waited for Dan Hamhuis to get up.
  

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Capitals, January 14, 2011

Canucks 4 - 2 Capitals

Just like their previous two games against the Rangers and Islanders, the Canucks outshot their opponents in the first period. Unlike the last two games, the Canucks continued the trend in the second, and it made all the difference. They came out of the first two periods with a two-goal lead, the worst lead in hockey, but I wasn't scared for a minute. The Canucks were playing too well to let that lead slip away. Thankfully, I was right. Unlike Patrick Stewart, I haven't seen everything, but I did see this game. Mainly because I watched this game.

• Jannik Hansen is amazing.

• Hrm, I should probably say more than that. Hansen had a fantastic game, earning first star honors (without the "u" because they were in the US) by notching two assists and being a general pain in the posterior to play against. He's not a flashy player: there's nothing big and exciting to his game, no one big moment to point to. He just does so many little things well. He constantly plays the right way and today was rewarded. Even his assist on Daniel's game-winning goal (seen above) was just another little thing that he does so well - just a pokecheck in the neutral zone to cause a turnover - but it was the difference in the game.

• Speaking of that goal, the shift leading up to it was the only time the fourth line got stuck in the defensive zone the entire game. And the only reason they got stuck there was a terrible pass to the point from Raffi Torres that sent the puck all the way down the ice and allowed Washington a chance to hem the Canucks in. I was incredibly frustrated with Torres in that moment because I was suddenly certain that the Capitals would score and that the fourth line, who played incredibly well, would shoulder the blame. Instead, Daniel scores the game-winner on another Norris-caliber play from Mike Green who, with great anticipation of the flow of play, steps up to make a big hit on Hansen instead of turning to try to catch Daniel on the breakaway. Lovely.

• Daniel Sedin must be thrilled right now, as he managed to score two goals without a single assist from Henrik. His second goal into the empty net gave him 27 on the season, good for third in the league, but more importantly gave him 57 points, two more than Henrik. Henrik's brazen insult to Daniel at the end of his Hart Trophy acceptance speech is coming back to haunt him.

• Speaking of things Henrik might regret, how about his terrible attempt at being a defenceman on the first goal of the game? Ehrhoff ended up in front of the Capitals goal and Henrik covered for him and by covered for him I mean he completely lost track of his check and drifted into the middle of the ice allowing Hendricks to go in completely alone and score. John Garrett had a helpful comment: He can't skate as fast backwards as he can going forwards. Thanks Garrett. Most people can't.

• In the absence of Aaron Rome, who left the game halfway through the first period with an MCL sprain, all the Canucks defense picked up some extra minutes, except Keith Ballard. Ballard's extra minutes apparently went to Kevin Bieksa, who played a season-high 28:35 to lead the Canucks in ice-time. The player who led the Capitals in ice-time was, unsurprisingly, Alex Ovechkin. This is not a coincidence. Bieksa clearly had the assignment of shutting down Ovechkin and did an admirable job. Ovechkin had only one decent goal-scoring chance and it came on the powerplay while Bieksa was not on the ice. This is because Ovechkin played for literally the entire powerplay (shift 18) and it would have been incredibly stupid for Bieksa to do the same.

• The rest of the defense also played well, with two goals coming from the blueline, both on fantastic slapshots. Jannik Hansen sent a perfect pass to the point for Edler's one-time bomb that tied up the game. Seriously, that pass was as flat as Saskatchewan and twice as pretty. Christian Ehrhoff's goal was similarly hard and low, like a pitch from Chad Bradford. The book on Semyon Varlamov is apparently to go for the bottom half of the net. It's not as interesting a book as "How To Fight Bears."

• Luongo was solid as Iraq as he turned aside 22 of 24 shots. His best save was his first save, stoning Nicklas Backstrom on the breakaway. He didn't need to be spectacular, but he earned the win.

• Despite each player finishing -1, the Jessie Spano line played pretty well, creating a lot of scoring chances and looked as dangerous as Croctopus (in 3D!) all game. For some odd reason, however, Raymond and Tambellini just haven't been able to finish their chances, which is a shame because Kesler has been setting them up so well recently. Favorite Kesler moment of the game, however, had to be when he pushed Ovechkin down to the ice by the back of his pants. The back of OV's jersey was tucked in, exposing the back of his pants, allowing Kesler to lodge his stick in and just push straight down. It was a cheap and hilarious play. Let's face it: Kesler is a bit of a [Washington Monument], but he's our [Hounen Matsuri sculpture].

• The third line, however, struggled once again. Raffi Torres and Mikael Samuelsson didn't get on the ice in the final 7 minutes of the game, as Alain Vigneault preferred to send out Manny Malhotra with Tanner Glass and Jannik Hansen instead (Bolduc left the game with a shoulder injury). Torres hasn't scored a goal in 8 games, Malhotra hasn't in 9 games and Samuelsson, 10 games. The Canucks will need tertiary scoring from these guys at some point.

• The Canucks were worse in the circle tonight than this poor kid. Bolduc was the best centre on the night, managing to win 2 of 4 draws for 50%. Malhotra, Sedin, and Kesler were 17%, 25% and 43% respectively. Disconcertingly, the Canucks were 4-for-21 in the defensive zone, which is normally a strength. Yikes.

• One of my favorite moments in the game came at the very end, after Daniel's empty-net goal. Tanner Glass is such a consummate team player, that even with 8 seconds left in the game and leading by two goals, Glass insists on going to the bench for a line change. See the game highlights video at the 4:00 mark for the magical moment. Classy guy.

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Rangers, January 13, 2011

Canucks 0 - 1 Rangers

It is the worst letdown in the world when the Canucks suffer a shutout loss. It's a worse letdown than Urkel O's (the cereal that showed so much promise). Not only am I forced to watch the Canucks lose, but I'm forced to watch as they're held off the scoresheet. Truth is, it's boring. Plus it means the highlight package will also be boring: Don Taylor: in the second, Mikael Samuelsson streaks into the zone and shoots--it is blocked. It means the post-game breakdown will be boring. Blake Price: Henrik Lundqvist is a good goalie. It means fan conversation will be boring. Fan: I thought the Sedins weren't that good tonight. Like the pace of the game, everything slows to a crawl until the next one. It's a torture.

That's right. Watching bad hockey is literally torture. I, like any good Canadian, would sooner give away national secrets than watch a shutout loss. This is why Canada should never go to war with the United States: we're too easy to torture (and boy, do they torture). Sigh. I watched this game:

• Well everyone, the Canucks lost in regulation. Don't panic, but this can only mean one thing: it's the end of days. How will it happen? I theorize the following: the human race is about to be overthrown by a coalition of marmots and marmosets. Their combined brainpower will allow them to crack the evolutionary code and evolve at alarming rates. Their combined military power will create an unstoppable marmy. People: it's marmageddon.

• I'm exaggerating slightly. Nothing can evolve that quickly, save Canuck fans' opinions on their team. This loss isn't the end of the world. It sucks that the Canucks' point streak and Cory Schneider's point streak both had to end, but it was going to happen eventually. Hopefully, this loss is just a loss, and not the beginning of a streak going the other way. It's going to take much more winning to remain atop the NHL, where the Canucks maintain a three-point lead on Detroit and Philadelphia.

• Let's get right out in front of any potential navel-gazing and establish that the Rangers played one Hell of a defensive game. The Associated Press called it an all-heart performance, and while it may not have been the hockey equivalent of trying to liberate Scotland, it was certainly commendable. The Rangers swarmed the puck, had 13 different guys combine to block 24 shots (including 5 from Dan Girardi), and forced the Canucks to shoot from the outside all night. Against a team like Vancouver that scores the majority of their goals a foot from the crease, that's a solid recipe for success.
  

• The Canucks lost this game along the boards. Sadly, there's no statistic to back this up, but when the Canucks are playing well, they win their offensive zone puck battles and sustain offensive pressure. Led by pinching expert Kevin Bieksa (the grandma of the NHL), they keep pucks inside the blue line and break down defensive structures by throwing it around the zone willy-nilly. Last night, the Rangers prevented them from doing this.

• Also, Henrik Lundqvist stopped all the shots. That helped too.

• While New York's 24 blocks came from thirteen guys, Vancouver's 12 blocks came from only four defensemen, including four apiece from Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis, who quietly played a stellar game. It's always a bummer when a team loses 1-0 because the strong defensive effort of the losers goes relatively unnoticed. The Ham n' Juice pairing looks as defensively sound as any Canuck tandem this town's seen in years, Bryant Reeves and Stromile Swift notwithstanding.

• Ryan Kesler continued his shootiness, throwing five on net, and attempting another five. However, the shot king last night was Mikael "Shooty McShooterson" Samuelsson. He had five shots as well, with two blocked and four more missing the goal. He's a funny player. He shoots when he should pass; he holds the puck when he should move it, such as when he dragged the puck back in the neutral zone when any other player would have dumped it in. Sammy's not unlike Daniel and Henrik in that he plays the game at his own, mechanical pace, and can frustrate by appearing take it easy or playing without urgency. He's just a measured, intelligent player. Last night he was our best forward. Let's keep him.

• Let's not keep him on the first unit power play. Why, I ask, did the Canucks put him on the point instead of Ehrhoff for the five-on-three? Why did they take Kesler out from the front of the net and put him at the point? If you're wondering why they did not score, tackle these first two whys and you'll probably have your answer.

• Mason Raymond had some jump as well, but he seems to have forgotten how to capitalize on a chance. Even in Monopoly, all he gets are parking fines and poor taxes.

• Cory Schneider had a fine game, but there's definitely something to Richard Loat's observation that the team plays better defensively in front of him. I agree that they tighten up a bit. Combine that with the run support he's been getting in his starts (and his own strong play) and you have a recipe for a going this many games without a regulation loss. Last night, however, the run support dried up and Schneider saw the goose egg in his middle column disappear.

• Speaking of middle columns: perhaps realizing that his team wasn't about to sneak one past Henrik Lundqvist, Alex Burrows went five-hole on Marc Staal instead. Thanks a lot, Burr. Not only do I have to defend your hair-pulling when I tell people you're my favourite player, but now I have to defend your groin-spearing? It's embarrassing loving a man who pulls hair and stabs groins. And yet my love persists. Burrows will probably get a phone call from the league, as nether attacks are never cool--unless you're making a short film. Here's hoping he sees some discipline, as it's fairly warranted, especially after the refs decided instead to instead punish Marc Staal for failing to protect his testicles.
  

• Such are the foibles of a young goalie, but this is the third or fourth game in a row where Cory Schneider's made a pretty egregious error. Last game, it was the slapstick fall that gave Jamal Mayers a freebie. He nearly handed the Rangers another when he coughed the puck up behind the net. The look on Roberto Luongo's face afterward was priceless.

• According to the stat sheet, the Rangers had 38 hits to the Canucks 31. No they didn't. Madison Square Garden employs one of the most liberal stat guys in the country. Note that the Rangers have 573 hits on the road and a league-leading 731 at home. Who is this guy, thinking everything's a hit? He's probably the guy that greenlit Kesha. This is a surefire hit. Also, I bet the police answer domestic abuse calls at his house all the time. She hit you again, sir?

• Daniel and Henrik did have a quiet game, though it probably helped that the Rangers were allowed to latch onto them like brain slugs. I've heard some criticism of the Sedins for disappearing, and I think it speaks to their expectations as the offensive leaders of this team. All this talk of Ryan Kesler as a dark horse for the Hart is silly if he's not even the one held accountable when the Canucks get shut out. That said, when your scoring leaders don't score, that's a problem. Score more, Daniel and Henrik.

• And finally, I realize that playing Aaron Rome semi-regularly is a good way to prevent him from playing like he hasn't played in months, but when he plays that way in spite of this approach, you have a problem. This is the catch-22: Aaron Rome plays like he shouldn't be playing, but he'll only play worse if you don't play him. Unless you never play him again. Get well soon, Salo.
  

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Flames, January 5, 2011

Canucks 3 - 1 Flames

The Canucks showed why they're first in the NHL with a calm, easy-going win against the regrettably terrible Flames. As I've mentioned before, I miss the days when these games were bitter battles against a legitimate rival. Instead, the Flames are a sad-sack team that bears no threat. The Canucks were content to allow the Flames to set the pace and control the puck, confident that Luongo and the defense could contend with the Flames' efforts and confident that the forwards could capitalize on their opportunities.

They were absolutely right. The Flames outshot the Canucks 44-21 but never once threatened to win the game as the Canucks took the lead early and calmly repelled the Flames offense time and time again. Unlike Team Canada, the Canucks made their 3-0 lead going into the third period last, coming just 11 seconds short of giving Luongo the shutout. The game featured two milestones: Raffi Torres notched his 200th point and Daniel Sedin scored the 10,000th goal in franchise history. That, my friends, is over 9000. I watched this game.

• Luongo made 43 saves for his 3rd win in a row. He's 12-1-1 in his last 14 starts. After a rough start statistically, he's 11th in the league in GAA and save percentage. Don't listen to anyone who suggests that there's a goaltending controversy. Unless they're telling you to call 911 because there's a fire in the house. Then you should listen.

• The Canucks' first goal came just 1:10 into the first period (above). Mason Raymond makes Olli Jokinen look dumber than normal before feeding Kesler in front. Neither Tanguay nor Bouwmeester show much interest in taking Kesler, who now has 20 goals, putting him on pace for 42. Clearly, Kesler is a Douglas Adams fan. It's marvelous to see Raymond and Kesler together again, like when Andy Richter came back to join Conan O'Brien when he took over The Tonight Show.

• Kevin Bieksa had a stellar game tonight, with a goal and an assist in his near 22 minutes of time-on-ice. Juice has 7 points in his last 6 games and looks like he might actually manage 30+ points this season. There are many things to like about his goal: the patience he shows to allow traffic to pile up between him and the net, his ability to get the shot through said traffic, and the delightful grin on his face as Torres comes up to congratulate him. But the best part comes after the goal, as the camera finds an excited fan in a classic yellow V jersey holding a sign saying "WE ARE ALL BIEKSA" on it. And with that a ridiculous Twitter hashtag began and the Bieksa bandwagon filled up immediately.

• The Sedins and Burrows were the best forwards on the ice tonight. Burrows ended up with 2 assists (but only finished +1 because he was off the ice before Kesler could score), Daniel had a goal on 4 shots, and Henrik constantly made beautiful passes, the best of which had Shorty quit doing the play-by-play for a moment just to say "Oh my goodness." It was that good. Astonishingly, like "Dude, Where's My Car?" Henrik ended without a point.

• Daniel Sedin's 22nd goal of the year featured some great work by Burrows to gain the zone, a purposeful shot wide by Bieksa, and a perfect tip by Daniel to beat Kiprusoff. John Garrett instead insinuated that the puck only went in because Kiprusoff didn't have his stick and without it was like Linus without his security blanket. I am instead going to blame Jokinen for standing three feet in front of Daniel, carefully defending the completely empty slot.

• Dan Hamhuis did his best Olli Jokinen impression on the goal that broke Luongo's shutout, as he too decided to defend the empty slot instead of picking up Tim Jackman in front of the net. Hamhuis had a bit of a rough game, as this giveaway earlier in the third led to a flurry of chances for the Flames. The fourth line had the misfortune of being on the ice for his mental error, dropping each of their plus/minus columns by one.

• That said, Bolduc is the one who lost the faceoff: he actually lost all 8 of his faceoff attempts, dropping his faceoff percentage for the season below 50% for the first time. Kesler and Malhotra were both solid at 67% and 79%, including going a combined 15-for-17 in the defensive zone. Unfortunately, Henrik was not as good at 38%, with Olli Jokinen being his main antagonist. It was the only good thing Jokinen did all night and the only flaw in Henrik's game.

• Christian Ehrhoff was stellar defensively, once again using his stick effectively in the defensive zone to take away passing lanes and sweep pucks off sticks. I suspect that Ehrhoff has heard all the rumblings that he's more likely to be traded now than Bieksa as he seems intent on proving that he's not one-dimensional. In case anyone's forgotten, Ehrhoff is good at hockey.

• Jeff Tambellini throws his tiny body around as if he was a borderline NHLer on what might potentially be his last chance to prove he belongs in the big leagues. Which makes sense. He had 4 hits tonight. He now has 34 hits on the season, putting him third amongst Canuck forwards despite playing 13 fewer games. Also very hitty, Andrew Alberts and Jannik Hansen, who both had 5 hits tonight and lead all Canucks players with 83 and 82 respectively. Not very hitty: Harvey Danger. Despite three fantastic albums, they only had one hit, "Flagpole Sitta." Now that, Evander Kane, is a national travesty.

• And finally, my wife would like to let everyone know that Alain Vigneault's tie was very nice. Good work, AV.

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Oilers, December 26, 2010

Canucks 3 - 2 Oilers

A couple days ago on Puck Daddy, Justine Bourne wrote about the dreaded post-Christmas game, and suggested that hockey fans "be sure to set [the] DVR for 'anything but NHL hockey' on Dec. 26 and 27" as players work off their Christmas hams and turkeys with lethargic play. Instead, both the Canucks and Oilers came out flying in a fairly wide-open hockey game. The Canucks carried the bulk of the play, out-shooting the Oilers 33-21, but Khabibulin put up a wall, the Oilers were opportunistic with their chances, and the Canucks had to come from behind to win this one.

I wasn't worried for an instant: as everyone knows, the two-goal lead is the worst lead in hockey. As soon as the Oilers went up 2-0, I knew the Canucks had this game in the bag. Despite such foreknowledge, I watched this entire game:

• Last Boxing Day, Jeff Tambellini sat in the press box at Madison Square Garden, a healthy scratch while his New York Islanders eked out an overtime victory against the Rangers. Three nights later, he would get 12:27 of icetime in his first game in three weeks before heading right back in the press box for the next game. In the new year, he would play one game in January, two more in February, and finish the season in and out of the press box, without a goal since November 23rd in Toronto. That offseason, the worst team in the NHL let him walk without much consideration, and they're probably the only ones who are even remotely sore about it. Tamby got picked up by his hometown team, and his luck changed dramatically. Tonight, he scored a vital goal on his patented high wrister, had another waved off, and buzzed around the offensive and defensive zones making big plays (including a huge backcheck on a 2-on-1). Give the kid credit for an incredible turnaround.

• The Biggest Idiot Ever award goes to the two fans sitting behind the Oilers' net in the 1st and 3rd period who couldn't seem to refrain from banging their hands on the glass ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Pro Tip: when you do that, your team does not get a brief turbo boost.

• The First Law of Sedinery: if a game is tied late in the third period, and the Sedins have not yet factored into a goal, they'll soon factor into the game-winner. Both Sedins had strong games, creating multiple scoring chances, including a perfect setup for Andrew Alberts in the slot. Unfortunately, it was a perfect setup for Andrew Alberts in the slot.

• The fourth line had only one shift after the complete collapse that led to the Oilers' first goal, leaving both Aaron Volpatti and Alexandre Bolduc with under 5 minutes in total time-on-ice. The only reason Tanner Glass had more is because he was used once in a penalty killing role in the third period. Most, if not all, of the blame has to be given to Volpatti, who completely mishandled a pass from Glass, giving it away to O'Marra at the blueline, then failing to follow O'Marra to the net to prevent him from putting the puck in the open net. We're only a few games removed from Volpatti scoring his first NHL goal and the fourth line being praised for finally existing, but that is the kind of play that could see Volpatti on a plane to Manitoba.

• Cory Schneider only made 19 saves tonight, but made several tough stops off of odd-man rushes. It's dangerous to give a young, hungry team like the Oilers so many odd-man rushes. It's also dangerous to give slightly older, well-fed players like Ryan Whitney an odd-man rush: Schneider had less of a chance on his goal than Brian Herzlinger with Drew Barrymore.

• Manny Malhotra had his usual strong defensive game, going an astonishing 83% in the faceoff circle and logging almost 2 minutes of time on the penalty kill, but he also showed some offensive flourish, with 3 shots and an assist. His most impressive moment came towards the end of the second period, just before Tambellini scored, as he split the defense and forced Khabibulin to make a solid save. He just needs a browncoat, pistol, and a more accurate shot to upgrade from Alternate Captain Mal to Captain Mal.

• With an assist on Tambellini's goal, Kesler extended his point streak to 7 games. He has 11 points in that span. Only 17 more games and 35 more points to catch Crosby!

• That said, did Kesler forget how to turn right on the Tambellini goal? After cutting across the blue line to drop the puck, he does a full spin to get back into position for a return feed. A simple right turn would have sufficed. Does he think he's Derek Zoolander? Perhaps.

• Speaking of Kesler, both he and Henrik were terrible on faceoffs tonight at 33% and 32% respectively. Against a better team, that could have been disastrous. Meanwhile, Alexandre Bolduc was 100% on draws; too bad he only took 3 of them. Still, Ducer (pronounced "dük-er" and yes, that's apparently what his teammates call him) is a solid 55.9% for the season.

• Remember when it was safe to go to the outside on a Canucks defenseman? Remember that? It's no longer the case. I am happy about that.

• I'm often hard on Raffi Torres for his poor puck decisions and bizarre pass attempts, but his assist on Samuelsson's goal was pretty fantastic. Also pretty fantastic? Dr. Doom riding a unicorn. Missing from that replay is Keith Ballard's excellent work at gaining the blue line and going hard to the net. After getting the puck to the corner, he rotates back to the point, where Mikael Samuelsson was covering him. Samuelsson stealthily glides into the slot and no one thinks to pick him up because of the rotation between he and Ballard. Shorty even yells "There's Samuelsson!" as if he had no idea where he was either. He was probably hiding under an invisibility cloak.

• Speaking of Ballard, it's tempting to yet again question AV's decisions with time-on-ice as Ballard yet again played under 14 minutes. But when Edler, Ehrhoff, Hamhuis, and Bieksa are playing so well ahead of him and eating up big minutes...well, there's only so much time to go around. Bieksa-haters may want to argue that Ballard should get his minutes; this wasn't the game to make that argument.

• Bieksa's game-winning goal, seen above, comes unsurprisingly off some fantastic work below the goal-line by Henrik Sedin. Despite being "hauled down" by Taylor Hall, he manages to hook the puck behind the net to Alex Burrows from his back. Burrows smartly waits for Daniel to crash the net before feeding the puck to Bieksa at the point. Bieksa does not have the heavy shot of Edler or Ehrhoff, but he consistently gets his shots on net and manages to thread the needle through the haystack of bodies in front of Khabibulin. It's a perfect shot: about a foot and a half above the ice, just off the inside post.

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Ducks, December 08, 2010

Canucks 5 - 4 - Ducks (Shootout)

My favourite thing about come-from-behind victories is the following day's media coverage. Despite a Canucks' victory, articles are still overwhelmingly negative, because the journalists have pre-written pieces about a Canucks loss. When it becomes a win, they hold their tone. They'll claim it's because the Canucks shouldn't be in a position to need a desperate comeback, but I suspect it's because their workload just doubled with all the late revisions, and they're pissed. Late comebacks of this sort force them into a corner where they have to majorly overhaul their story and still meet their deadlines. As Iain MacIntyre tweeted, last night's outcome forced him to hammer out 800 words in about 35 minutes. Good thing he's a pro.

I'd like to take this moment to welcome our new readers from Canucks Hockey Blog, where PITB's popular I Watched This Game is now being cross-posted. Here's how we do it:

• Putting aside my massive Canuck bias, I do think the universe screwed Curtis McElhinney out of what would have been only his 11th career win in 5 NHL seasons. He played well enough to get it, and I'm pretty sure the rule in the NHL is that the play is blown dead when a goaltender gets hit in the mask, especially when he's bleeding all over the place. I felt like Daniel Sedin's goal, which came after Christian Ehrhoff's high slapshot broke the McElhinney's face, shouldn't have counted. That said, and this is in poor taste, it can now be safely said that Daniel Sedin is literally out for blood.

• Ryan Kesler was the night's first star, and for the second game in a row, he was clearly the best Canuck forward. His powerplay goal supports my controversial theory that he's the engine of the Canucks' top unit. His game-tying goal (above) was ugly, but it exhibited the high level of effort Kesler puts out every night. No wonder he made a baby.

• Let's talk about Jeff Tambellini, the plucky, manic, little Port Moody forward. Tamby scored his 5th goal of the season last night, along with the shootout winner on a beautiful, sudden snapshot. It goes without saying that Tamby is a goal-scorer; his goals per game average is .42, which puts him third on the Canucks behind Ryan Kesler and Daniel Sedin. Tambellini contributes defensively, too. He had five hits to lead all Canucks forwards, the fourth game in a row that he's done that. One of those hits was a brilliant backcheck, an Anaheim rush where Tambellini came all the way from behind the goal line to knock the Duck forward off the puck before he even reached the Canucks' blue line. I'm with Iain MacIntyre; Tamby's an NHLer.

• The Ducks had about six or seven just crazy, blatant offsides, most courtesy of an overeager Bobby Ryan. Seriously, it was like he built a crappy time machine, and was living about three seconds in the future. Not since Bob Saget's NSFW rendition of the Aristocrats has a man been so consistently offside.

• The penalties in this game wreaked brief havoc on Canucks units and my fragile psyche in the third, as Tanner Glass took shifts on both the first and second lines. I broke a lamp. I nearly called 911. But, thankfully, he never got on the third line, so it all worked out.

• I think the Canucks really miss Andrew Alberts. He averages 15:30 of physical, hitty hockey, and without him, the Canucks just aren't as big. Consider that, after he missed the game against the Blues--the first game he'd missed all year--we suddenly started hearing about the Canucks lack of grit. It might have been an issue last night as well, but thankfully, Anaheim/Vancouver games are always bloodthirsty, physical affairs. These teams hate each other like cats hate dogs. Or other cats. Or humans. You know what? Cats are jerks.

• Daniel and I often argue about Kevin Bieksa, but there's no dispute over Bieksa's fighting ability. He can chuck 'em. He is the last Canuck I would ever fight. I suspect Aaron Voros now feels similarly.

• The best Shorty & Garrett banter moment follows. Garrett, dubious of a Christian Ehrhoff penalty call: "Ehrhoff's saying, 'who's holding whom?'" Shorty: "You really think Ehrhoff is saying that?" That'll teach you to put words in Ehrhoff's mouth. Whom? English is his second language!
  

• Keith Ballard's minutes finally went up, as he played 17:19, including a tasty 1:45 of powerplay time. Let us congratulate Alain Vigneault for having both Kevin Bieksa and Aaron Rome in the lineup and resisting the temptation to give them a single second of powerplay time. You've turned a corner, AV.

• Correction: Aaron Rome got 15 seconds. I trusted you, AV.

• Anyway, I thought Keith Ballard had a great game. I especially liked the way he was skating the puck out of his own end. Remembering how sluggish his legs were in the preseason, it was great to see him beating forecheckers with his speed.

• This one should have been a laugher (the Canucks outshot the Ducks by 40 to 20), but there were two factors that kept this close. First, Anaheim blocking shots (they blocked 21), and second, Luongo not blocking shots. Both trends were unfortunate. But after you rag on Luongo for a few softies, remember to give him credit for his shootout performance. Before last night, he hadn't stopped a shootout attempt all season, leading to two skills competition losses. Last night, he stopped them all, and we won. Coincidence? No. It's a causal element.

• Ryan Getzlaf played just under thirty minutes last night. That's a ton of ice time, considering he's a forward. I'll tell you why Ducks coach Randy Carlyle has to do this: his defense-corps are not very good at starting the rush, and only the Ducks' star forwards can create offense from their pitiful zone starts. The Canucks did a good job of exploiting this, too. They were turning the puck up ice faster than I've ever seen them, even gleefully dumping it in because the Anaheim d-corps was just going to turn the puck over anyway.

• How do I know the puck spent an inordinate amount of time in Anaheim's zone? Offensive zone starts. The Canucks took 21 offensive zone faceoffs, and only 13 in the defensive zone. Kesler and Malhotra won 8 of 11 in their own zone, but Henrik Sedin won the night, breaking his brief faceoff funk with a 15-for-24 showing.

• And finally, a word about Henrik Sedin. His inclination towards passing the puck in traffic has made him fairly predictable, don't you think? He needs to be a little more surprising. Here's what you do, Henrik. Next time you're in a fight along the end boards, lick the defender's cheek. No one will expect that.

More Canuck Poetry

I don't really have much in the way of excuses for these. I wrote some limericks and haiku for the Canucks. I was sort of inspired by the recent Luongo-Duthie collaboration, but really, some of these have been in the works for a while. The Canucks are a team that inspires poetry. Here's some for everyone.




Of NHL goalies you meet
Tommy says Bobby Lu's most complete.
It's because Luongo
Rhymes with Bingo-Bongo
It's a name that Brodeur just can't beat.

When Canucks get hit,
Recite haiku and drop gloves.
Poetic justice.

My dogs, though it may seem absurd
Are like the Canucks, I have heard.
Like my dogs in the yard
The Canucks battle hard
In their long struggle to #WinDaTurd

Just for Tanner Glass
I wrote this heartfelt haiku.


A much-maligned D-man of late
Plays top minutes and still performs great.
Still, few will defend
This beast of the back end
To trade him, Canucks fans can't wait.

If Gillis is God
How can Luongo be God?
This does not compute.

They left the team against their will
The new players are better, but still
We loved Kyle and Jan
And now that they're gone
There's a hole only Torres can fill.

We're winning a lot.
Too much, in fact... I've got it:
Let's trade Bieksa

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Flames, December 1, 2010

Canucks 7 - 2 Flames

Two days ago, I called out Mason Raymond. I wondered if he was still playing hurt, or if his diminished numbers were closer to what we should expect from him going forward. To close the article, I wrote the following:

The third option is that Raymond is just a streaky player, and he's poised for another strong December. Last season, he scored 8 times in the month, including a hat trick in Calgary. If Raymond closes out the calendar year with a handful of tallies, then this whole post is a waste of time. I wouldn't mind. Is MayRay on the verge of a criticism-silencing hot streak?

It would appear that he is. Raymond was tonight's first star, netting his 2nd annual December hat-trick against Calgary, and generally making me look like an idiot. That's fine. I know I am personally responsible for this, and there will be my solace. Raymond showcased his speed and his ability to break away from defenders, and he also got that little bit of puck luck that can really help to get a guy going. He'd better stay going, too, or I'll have plenty more to say. I can be very cruel. Just ask my self-esteem, which I have been systematically tearing down for years. Anyway, I watched this game:

• I am a fan of Jeff Tambellini. He's got 4 points in the 3 games since his call-up, 7 points in 9 games this season, and the Canucks are 8-0-1 with him in the lineup. His speed and ability to get to loose pucks and get into scoring areas is an excellent complement to Kesler and Raymond's similar abilities, but he adds a different dimension in that he can also get a shot off in limited space. Earlier in the season, I made a case for Samuelsson as the best fit for this line, but I might have to eat that now. Last season, Ray and Kes played with Samuelsson and Grabner, and both players had their strengths. Samuelsson had the quick trigger, Grabner had the raw speed, but Tambellini has both of these elements. Can we keep him?

• Yes, Vancouver's second line was consistently dangerous tonight. The three forwards combined for 4 goals and 8 points tonight. I move that we call them the Jessie Spano line, because they're addicted to speed.

• The Canucks were all freshly-shaven tonight, and it was strange. I'm not used to seeing Ryan Kesler without his trademark stubble. He looked naked. That seems to be a theme with Kes these days. He's worse than Malin Akerman.

• The Canucks went 3-for-8 on the powerplay, and killed all three penalties they faced, scoring a shorthanded goal during one of them. They also scored 3 even-strength goals. 12 skaters got points. Not a lot to complain about tonight . Although Tanner Glass was a minus-1. Don't make us criticize you, Tanner. We've got your family and friends breathing down our neck, watching our every move... it's very nerve-wracking.

• On the plus side, let's give Glass some credit for his scrap with Tim Jackman. Rick Rypien is the one who always gets noticed for fighting outside his weight class, but Jackman has a good four inches on Glass. The fight was a draw, but I'll give the decision to Glass, because I really want him to play Scrabble with me. Glass's fighting has definitely improved, by the way. He showcased some excellent jukes and parries.

• I normally like Curtis Glencross, but what was he thinking? He seemed hellbent on destroying Keith Ballard, as though perhaps Ballard had stolen the crown jewel from Glencross's mythical sarcophagus, thereby resurrecting his evil spirit and incurring his otherworldy wrath. First, he hooks him, then he boards him, then he cross-checks him in the face. More than likely, Glencross is looking at a suspension, and perhaps a vanquishing at the hands of a mummy hunter.

• Speaking of Ballard, he played a decent game tonight. He had just under 15 minutes, but in that time, he had four blocked shots, a team-high. The defenseman with the most minutes, if you're wondering, was Christian Ehrhoff, who played 24:07.

• To the folks claiming the blowout against San Jose was directly caused by the absence of Kevin Bieksa, you must be right, because he didn't play in this game, either. Oh no wait, yes he did.

• I always find those "keys to the game" things a little obvious, but Ferraro and the rest of the crew knocked it out tonight. They claimed Calgary plays a decent game but is prone to devastating five or six-minute lulls. Calgary vehemently supported this claim. Every good stretch was followed by a stretch where their play was so poor Dan Ellis mistook it for Mike Smith.

• Poor Miikka Kiprusoff. Not only does Raymond deke him out of his shorts, but Kipper takes Alex Tanguay's knee to the back of his head once he's beaten. Perhaps Tanguay was trying to send a Ballard-like message? Next time I won't be so gentle.

• Speaking of messages, I recognize that Brent Sutter was trying to send one to his forwards, for played a lackadaisical game, but putting four defenseman out on the power play is a little like giving up, no? It seemed like a conflicting message to punish forwards for not going full-tilt while personally throwing in the towel. That's like telling your kids to eat their vegetables while you feed yourself cake frosting.

• And why is Sutter being so hard on his team anyway? The Canucks sleep doctor predicted this, so it was written. That sleep doctor is the greatest predictor of sporting outcomes since Paul the Prognoctopus.

• I really do hate the second-unit powerplay, but did you know that the first-unit only got one of the three powerplay goals? Granted, the last two goals came after Calgary had quit playing, but the second unit still produced. They'll have to, because Kesler's not coming back; he's too excellent an addition to that first-unit (his pass on this goal is evidence).

• Did everyone see Double Moustache Man? He is legend.

• And finally, a word about Alex Burrows. His goal tonight was a fabulous bit of patience and intelligence. Burrows outwaits the defender, then looks for the pass to Daniel. But, in a split-second, he recognizes that Kiprusoff's cheating across and snaps the puck past him. Burrows has a goal in three straight games and points in four straight. He could be on the verge of a very good stretch, like the one a cat does right after it wakes up.

I Watched This Game: Canucks vs. Sharks, November 27, 2010

Canucks 6 - 1 Sharks

Often times, we react to a Canucks game as though Vancouver was the only team on the ice. By this, I mean that, for Canucks fans, the final score of the game only reflects how the Canucks played. If they win, it's because they played well. If they lose, it's because they played poorly. We tend to ignore factors like, for instance, the play of the other team. I bring this up because while the Canucks played well enough to win last night, it was the piss-poor effort of the San Jose Sharks that turned this one into an exercise in heinousness.

Yes, last night's game was heinous, but since the Canucks won it, I can't complain. It was a beautiful atrocity, like when you hit the seagull that stole your sandwich with a rock, mid-flight, and you see both plummet into the ocean. The part of me that appreciates fine things (hockey, sandwiches) groans a little, but the part of me that enjoys seeing the enemy drown in a sea of fail cackles with glee. Oh my, yes, I watched this beautiful atrocity:

• Let's talk about good coaching. In the third period, Alain Vigneault switched up his lines. He wasn't line-juggling for fun, or just to get something started; he was shrewdly reacting to the desperation of the opposing coach. When Todd McLellan starting whole-hogging it and put Thornton, Marleau, and Heatley together, Vigneault reacted by creating a checking line of Samuelsson, Malhotra, and Glass. It was a smart move. The Canucks' new trio scored the next two goals and negated any offensive pushback from the Sharks. The insurance goal (above) came after a blocked shot by Tanner Glass and some brilliant individual work by Mikael Samuelsson.
  
  
• That said, how many times do I have to say Tanner Glass should not be on the frakkin' third line? Seriously, do I have to write a song about it? Do I have to write a sonnet in perfect iambic pentameter (apart from occasional "feminine endings") with an ABBA structure right up to the concluding couplet? Because that's what I'll do.
  
  

Tanner Glass should not be on the third line,
For his offensive skills, at best, do want,
And thus, it leaves Vancouver's forwards gaunt
Of scoring punch among their topmost nine.
That Tanner Glass has value, yes, is true,
At checking, and supplying grittiness.
The fourth line profits from his hittiness,
But third-line shifts are shifty through and through.
Defensively, he's sound, and that's a plus,
But both teams will find scoring threats abated.
His fourth-lineness is greatly underrated,
So why, Vigneault, wouldst thou promote him thus?
A third-line shift doth crown a list of wrongs.
Let's keep him on the fourth, where he belongs.

• Here's hoping that was Samuelsson's breakout game. Two goals, and both of them a candidate for what we like to call Sam's Surprises. It's incredible what a multi-goal game can do for a guy, especially just in terms of projected stats. Samuelsson is now on pace for 22 goals. It's less goals than last year, but he's also on pace for 59 points, which would be a new career-high. Bet you didn't know that. Samuelsson's first goal was absolutely brilliant, as he totally bamboozled Niclas Wallin with the shot fake, and timed it perfectly so that Wallin stepped aside right when Niemi was being screened. That was a highly intelligent play from a highly intelligent player.
  
  
• And before we move on, poor Dan Boyle. I'm not sure what happened there, but here's my theory: Seven years ago, Boyle entreated Satan for his excellent hockey skills, and the dark lord sent Samuelsson, one of his secret minions (which is why he looks kinda goatlike), to grant the wish. Samuelsson arrived in a plume of wickedness and fulfilled the request. "But one day," he said, fiendishly, "I will call on you for a favour, and you must perform it, no matter the cost." Then in a wisp of devilfire, he returned to the lap of the damned. Anyway, he totally just wasted that favour.
  
  
• I thought Alex Burrows was excellent, even before he scored. He's been one of the Canucks best forwards the last two games, and it he appears to be rounding back into form. Also rounding into form? A potter's wheel.
  
  
• How terrified are opposing teams of Henrik Sedin when he's camped behind the net? Watch the Burrows goal and check out how much time Henrik has back there. Furthermore, check out how oblivious they are to Burrows smartly sliding into a scoring area. Everybody in the world knows Henrik is looking for him (I was watching Burrows from the moment Henrik got turned around). But the Sharks are so concerned with what he's going to do that they forget to take anybody else.
  
  
• A word about Keith Ballard. He was solid, playing 17:52, scoring a goal (bit of a fluke, that), and leading the team with 4 hits. He played on a pairing with Dan Hamhuis that I quite liked, and finished the night a plus-2. Here's hoping he's beginning to turn a corner and getting comfortable here. Leave the discomfort for people that buy mattresses on Craigslist.
  
  
• Many people attributed the lopsided victory to the absence of Kevin Bieksa. I hate to be the voice of reason (not true, I love it), but Bieksa was the best defender in the last game. The Canucks may have won without him, but they didn't win because they were without him. Give your head a shake, person who thought otherwise.
  
  
• Dan Hamhuis should have been a waiter, because boy oh boy can he deliver a check. I'm especially impressed with the heavy shrug he gave to ensure Douglas Murray got maximum airtime.
  
  
• While we're talking about checks, it should be pointed out that we saw the Canucks' new defensive additions pay off in spades last night. Typically, San Jose pushes the smaller Canucks around. This game was a different story. Hamhuis destroyed Douglas Murray, Alberts crushed Logan Couture, and Keith Ballard led the hit parade with a game-high 4. The stat counters claim both teams delivered 20 hits. To that I say, bah. The Canucks won the physical game handily, largely on the strength of the newfound hittiness of their top-six, as well as the total slumber party from a typically strong San Jose team.
  
  
• I owe Jannik Hansen an apology. Last IWTG, I said his hands were like the hands of the Swedish Chef, a classic Muppet show character, but on the pretty pass that led to this goal, they were more like Rowlf's.
  
  
• The Canucks have talked about being able to roll all four line. How's this? No Canuck played under ten minutes last night.
  
  
• And finally, let's talk, as we often do, about faceoffs. In a battle of the two best faceoff teams in the league, the Canucks won 57% of the draws, led by a 10-for-14 showing by Henrik Sedin. This is awesome, in that Henrik is the third-best of the Canucks three faceoff guys. When he's going, the team is going to win in the circle. Henrik won all 5 of his draws in the offensive zone, too. That'll help. Manny Malhotra had a rare sub-50% night, winning only 9 of 20 draws. Of note: the Sharks were without their best faceoff guy in Scott Nichol, and you can bet he would have helped.
  

I Watched This Game: Canucks at Penguins, November 17, 2010

Canucks 1 - 3 Penguins

After a bit of a tumultuous day for Pass it to Bulis, the Canucks played a hockey game. I watched it. It was a sloppy game filled with turnovers, bad bounces, and a certain degree of boneheadedness. There were, however, some positives. Not many, but some, as in an unknown, unspecified, or undetermined unit. One of those positives? I'm wearing new jeans! They're pretty sweet. Another positive: Modern Family is on! What a great show.

• Let's start with a negative. One of the themes of this eastern road trip has been bad first periods. The Canucks have failed to score the first goal in every game of the road trip except against Ottawa, where they still weren't particularly good. This game was no different, as they were outshot 11-6 in the 1st period and found themselves down 2-0 early in the 2nd period. It's unhealthy for both me (as it does my heart no good to get that stressed out), and the Canucks, as it causes a lot more wear and tear to keep trying to come from behind game after game.

• Another continuation on a theme: bad turnovers in the defensive zone as, once again, the Canucks had a lot of trouble escaping their own zone.

• This may seem obvious, but it's probably a bad idea to give Sidney Crosby a breakaway. Just sayin'. Kevin Bieksa will likely get blamed for not keeping the puck in as the Canucks' first powerplay was ending, springing Crosby for the Penguin's first goal, but I'd rather ask why Mikael Samuelsson thought it was a good idea to throw the puck back to the point on the wrong side of Bieksa's body for him to play it. To be fair to Samuelsson, every single other Canucks defenseman shoots left-handed. Still, you have to be aware when it is a bad idea to throw a hard pass to the point on the powerplay. One of those times is when Sidney Crosby is coming out of the penalty box. Another is when the point man is Byron Ritchie.

• Speaking of Kevin Bieksa, the post-game show on the Team 1040 claimed that he was the best defenseman for the Canucks tonight. I'm inclined to agree. He KO'd Craig Adams with a sharp right to the jaw early in the first period, reminding everyone that he is scary in a fight. He played a solid defensive game and led all defensemen with 8 attempted shots, 3 of them on net. Then, with the net empty at the end of the game, he made a stellar diving play to stop a breakaway. Dan Hamhuis and Alex Edler also had decent games and Keith Ballard managed to be the only defenseman to finish the game as a plus player. Heck, even Alberts made the most of his minutes, finishing the game with 6 hits. Hit of the game, however, was definitely Keith Ballard's open-ice hipcheck on Evgeni Malkin. Absolutely beautiful.

• You might have surmised from the fact I mentioned five defensemen as playing decently, that one defenseman did not. Christian Ehrhoff had an awful game. The Penguins' third goal was especially egregious, as Ehrhoff attempted to catch the puck in his hand and drop it down to his stick; instead, he dropped it directly between his own skates. It doesn't matter if you shoot left-handed or right-handed, that's not where you want the puck.

• The Canucks will get slammed for a listless powerplay, as they went 0-for-5, but both units actually looked reasonable and were able to create a number of scoring chances, which they just weren't able to turn into shots on goal. It was odd. Unfortunately, one of those missed scoring chances cost the Canucks a shorthanded goal.

• The Canucks' only goal of the game, as seen above, came on a fantastic play by Alex Burrows, as he took two Penguins players out of the play on the rush with an incredible display of patience before feeding it out to Daniel Sedin out in the slot. Frustratingly, Daniel chose not to shoot it, instead trying to feed it to Henrik, who was covered by the only other Penguins' player in the zone. His choice not to shoot robbed Burrows of a well-deserved assist. If it wasn't for a fortunate bounce and a heads-up push pass from Henrik to Dan "Hammy" Hamhuis, then the Canucks would have been shutout tonight. Just look at this picture:

• Imagine you're Daniel Sedin. You are 4th in NHL goalscoring and you have an obscene 22.2% shooting percentage. You have the puck all alone in the slot without a defender anywhere near you. Now imagine you pass up that shooting opportunity to pass it to someone who is covered by Kris Letang, who leads the Penguins in +/- and is their best defenseman. Now imagine kicking yourself. Yes, it worked out for the best, but it is killing me to see the Sedins passing up prime scoring chances for worse scoring chances. Even a pass to Dan Hamhuis would have been a better option. Last season, the Sedins frequently passed up a possible scoring chance because they wanted to create a better one. This season, it seems that they're passing up great scoring chances for mediocre scoring chances. It's bugging me.

• AV switched up the lines a bit in the second period, moving Samuelsson up with the Sedins and Burrows down with Kesler and Raymond. That second line looked good, creating a lot of chances with strong skating and a hard forecheck. We'll see if AV goes with the same lines again on Saturday.

• There was some crazy shot-blocking in this game. In the second period, the Penguins could have had a fourth goal when Luongo tripped behind the net, but Dan Hamhuis sprawled out to block the shot. The entire team seemed to get into the act with the net empty and only a few seconds left, preventing Sidney Crosby from padding his goal total. It was rather meaningless, but it was still nice to see that commitment from the team.

• Solid work on faceoffs continues to be a theme, as the top-three centers were all at 60% or above. Malhotra was 7-for-8 in the defensive zone, which ended up not mattering too much as all three Penguins goals came more-or-less off the rush.

• Finally, the ice quality needs to be talked about. The puck was bouncing like crazy and there seemed to be little piles of snow everywhere. Apparently BizNasty2Point0 gets more ice time than the operations crew at the Consol Energy Center. It's not an excuse for the Canucks losing, as both teams needed to deal with it, but it is an excuse for this being such a sloppy un-entertaining game. A game between the Penguins and Canucks should be a lot more exciting than this one.

Yeah, not a great game. But I was actually encouraged by the performance of the Canucks defensemen, save Ehrhoff. They clearly had some trouble with the ice surface and there were a few too many turnovers in the defensive zone in the first period, but they seemed to play better overall than on the rest of the road trip. Ballard certainly had a decent return to the lineup and clearly made the argument that Rome should stay in the press-box for a few games. In addition to being a plus player and upending Malkin, he was entrusted with ice-time on a key powerplay and penalty kill in the third period. Hopefully that increased trust from AV will translate into results.

In Defense of Bieksa's Defense

Kevin Bieksa did not end last season well. His infamous double slide (what does it mean?) in the playoffs against the Blackhawks gave those who dislike Bieksa plenty of ammunition throughout the summer to criticize the beleaguered blueliner and demand him to be traded. In fact, with the acquisition of Ballard and Hamhuis, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Bieksa was on his way out of town, given his $3.75 million contract does not include a no trade clause.

The trade rumours did make sense: after all, Bieksa has put up two 40+ point seasons, intriguing numbers for any GM wanting to add an offensive weapon to their blueline. Meanwhile, a large portion of Canucks fans have become disillusioned with Bieksa, discounting his offensive contributions because of his defensive deficiencies. Many hoped that opposition GMs would perk up at the sight of a 40-point defeseman and conveniently ignore his career -18 rating and boneheaded mistakes.

Then, Sami Salo shockingly got injured playing floor ball. Shane O'Brien failed to make the starting roster. Ballard and Hamhuis, models of health prior to joining the Canucks, fell victim to injuries just a few games into the season. And suddenly, Kevin Bieksa is a key defensive cog in the Canucks machine.

Kevin Bieksa's detractors are quite vocal (I should know, I frequently watch Canucks games with one), but I think their distaste is misguided. I won't deny what their eyes are telling them: Bieksa does make mistakes. Those mistakes, however, are rarely as egregious as they may seem, not as plentiful as imagined, and not as detrimental to his overall defensive play as generally posited. In fact, 12 games into the Canucks season, Bieksa has been a defensive stalwart. Instead, as mentioned in a Houses of the Hockey's blog post, Bieksa's detractors are suffering from confirmation bias: due to a few plays like the double-slide mentioned above, every mistake Bieksa makes is magnified and held up as confirmation of his awful defensive play. Meanwhile, every great defensive play is ignored as being inconsequential or simply, "Every defenseman should make that play." The statistics paint a different picture.

I'm going to make a radical suggestion here: the coaching staff often know what they're doing. This isn't a popular suggestion amongst Canucks fans who always know better than those inside the organization, but there is a reason Alain Vigneault is a professional NHL coach who has led the Canucks to 1st in the Northwest three of the last four seasons. Even though his decisions sometimes confuse and infuriate me, he has also been phenomenally successful as the head coach of the Canucks. Sometimes, but only sometimes, I know better than Alain Vigneault, but it's fair to give him the benefit of the doubt.

And the way Alain Vigneault has been using Kevin Bieksa in the absence of Dan Hamhuis is illuminating. Bieksa has faced the highest Quality of Competition (QoC) on the Canucks this season. He and Alberts have consistently been sent out against the top competition, with Bieksa seeing significantly more ice time per game than Alberts. Meanwhile, Alexander Edler and Christian Ehrhoff, while leading the Canucks in ice-time, have been playing very sheltered minutes, with Edler facing the lowest QoC of any defenseman not named Keith Ballard.

So, Bieksa faces the toughest competition night in and night out while playing an average of 22 minutes a night. The composition of those 22 minutes is also enlightening. In the absence of Dan Hamhuis, Bieksa leads all Canucks defensemen in shorthanded time-on-ice. He is consistently relied upon to kill penalties and is only exceeded in total minutes shorthanded by Manny Malhotra, who never seems to leave the ice on the penalty kill.

Now, all of this time spent on the ice would be detrimental to the Canucks success if Kevin Bieksa was the defensive liability he is purported to be. And yet, while he has only managed to put up 3 points this season (with 1 on the powerplay and therefore not contributing to his +/-), Bieksa is still +4.

Now I hear the stat-heads shouting already, "Small sample size!" so let's open things up from just goals scored at even-strength (which plus-minus tracks) to shot-differential at even-strength (which the Corsi statistic tracks). In a nutshell, Corsi is meant to be a measure of puck possession, using the metric of shots, including missed shots and blocked shots. Bieksa, despite being used against the opponent's best players, ranks just behind Christian Ehrhoff for his on-ice Corsi numbers with a 10.09 rating. Simply put, Bieksa moves the puck in the right direction: when he is on the ice, more pucks are directed at the opponent's net than his own.

So how do we explain this, when the story we've been given is that Kevin Bieksa is an offensive defenceman who is a liability in his own end? How do we explain Alain Vigneault consistently using him against the top players from the opposition? How do we explain his shorthanded time-on-ice? How do we explain his Corsi numbers? We've seen the mistakes with our own eyes, we decry every error he makes during each game, but the statistics for this season indicate that those mistakes either aren't as egregious as they seem or are made up for by the rest of his game. Bieksa is strong on the boards and smart with his stick, currently leading all Canucks defencemen in takeaways. He gets into shooting lanes and is third on the team in blocked shots. And he's a solid passer, getting the puck out of the defensive zone safely and still in Canuck possession.

But my theory is that one of the main reasons for his solid defensive statistics is due to what is likely the strongest area of his game: pinching down the boards in the offensive zone. Bieksa is extremely aggressive in the offensive zone, pinching all the way down past the goal line at times. With his strength along the boards, he frequently is able to keep the puck deep in the offensive zone, where the Sedins can cycle, the Kesler line can skate with the puck, and the third line can grind down the opponent's defense. And every successful pinch by Bieksa is a failed attempt to clear the zone for the other team, negating their ability to create offense. Sometimes, this tendency leads to odd-man rushes the other way, but Bieksa has shown excellent awareness thus far this season, limiting those opportunities and using his strong skating to get back into position quickly.

I mentioned confirmation bias earlier, and I admit that I am susceptible to this issue myself, as I like Bieksa and feel he has been unfairly maligned. I confess, I find myself frequently watching Canucks games keeping a close eye on positive contributions by Bieksa and risk letting those confirm my bias towards him, but I feel that the statistics strongly indicate that he is much stronger defensively than his reputation would indicate. He's not Willie Mitchell and I doubt he'll shake the reputation as offense-first, but he deserves praise for his play in the absence of Dan Hamhuis and I sincerely hope he continues his strong defensive play throughout the season.