With the news that Kevin Bieksa has started practicing with the team again, the next step will be his return to the Canucks lineup, maybe even as early as tomorrow's game against Detroit. This means that one of the Canucks' current defensemen will be hitting the pressbox, unless Sami Salo breaks again. It's almost a certainty that the odd man out will be Chris Tanev. The reasons are numerous: he's an inexperienced rookie, he's not yet used to the long haul of an NHL schedule, and Aaron Rome has kidnapped Vigneault's children and is holding them for ransom in a ploy to get more ice-time.
You will notice, however, that none of those reasons mention the quality of Tanev's play. Part of this is that it's been very difficult to properly assess Tanev: the word that keeps coming to commentator's lips is "poised", but poise is remarkably hard to quantify. It's hard to miss his lack of panic with the puck and his ability to make good outlet passes; mentally, he seems ready for the NHL and certainly has a higher ceiling than someone like Aaron Rome. But is he currently ready physically for the NHL, particularly the grind of the playoffs? Alain Vigneault has stated that Tanev won't be returned to the minors and that he has been impressed with his play, but he'll likely see significant time in the pressbox; come playoff time, with Alex Edler and Andrew Alberts returning, will Tanev see any playing time at all? Would his development be better served playing more significant minutes with the Manitoba Moose?
Yesterday, someone told me that, considering Vancouver's injury troubles, the Canucks had to try for a 6-5 or 8-7 victory, but that was never realistic. The Canucks' defencemen aren't just counted on for defense; they also facilitate breakout passes and jump into rushes. They're also the linchpin of the Canucks' offense, sending the team through the neutral zone with speed, then trailing the play and jumping into the rush. It's more than just defense Vancouver's lacking right now--it's guys that can play their system. Unfortunately, the Nashville Predators have a full lineup of guys that play their system, and that system involves clogging up the neutral zone. Effectively, The Nashville Predators are the Shawshank State Penitentiary of the NHL: the only way to beat them is to make a perfect breakout. I watched this game:
When Mike Gillis acquired Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard, it was to provide Alain Vigneault with a full stable of horses for Vigneault's defense-powered system, effectively guaranteeing that all three pairings could play it. It's an obvious statement, but you don't want guys on your team that can't play your system, because you don't want opponents getting a break from it (ask the Chicago Blackhawks' coaching staff about the downgrade to their bottom-six forwards). Unfortunately, icing a full lineup, especially in the face of injuries, often necessitates dressing less-skilled guys. Vigneault typically alternates between two pairings, guaranteeing that one puck-mover is on the ice at all times, but he didn't have that luxury last night. Sami Salo's not quite ready to hit the ice every second shift, and Christian Ehrhoff can't be on the ice all night. That means the other four guys are getting more icetime than they should, and the effect is plenty of vacation time for Nashville.
Speaking of Christian Ehrhoff, he's neither a number one defenceman nor a generator, and tasked with powering the Canucks for the entire evening, he showed he didn't quite have the juice (and speaking of not having the Juice, the team missed Kevin Bieksa something fierce). Ehrhoff's an interesting guy. He's a D-man, yes, but he's much more concerned with making breakout passes than winning defensive puck battles. He's not interested in being the man back. Often, if hemmed in the defensive zone, he'll get impatient and take a sloppy penalty or make a sloppy play, especially when he knows he's the only guy who can facilitate a breakout rush. We saw this yesterday, as Ehrhoff was on the ice for two of Nashville's three goals, and made a sloppy ring around the boards that led to the third. He also took the only two Canuck penalties on the night. Poor guy's spread a little thin.
The Sedins struggled as well. Granted, they scored a powerplay goal (above), but they had a tough time getting into the offensive zone and setting up. This isn't surprising. The Sedins don't much care for the neutral zone, which is why they have so many plays to bypass it, such as sending the puck the length of the ice for someone to skate onto, or flipping the puck way up in the air, over everyone. Typically, Vigneault plays Ehrhoff and Edler with the Sedins to ensure they have someone who can send them into the offensive zone with speed. They're having a hard time playing their game when they have to go back to the defensive zone to get the puck.
Loved Garrett's misspeak on the Daniel Sedin goal: "Did that sh*t hit O'Brien's stick?" Garrett's so street. I wanted Shorty to answer, naw. That's Daniel Sedin's 30th goal of the season, by the way. He appears to have quite a knack for that sort of thing.
Mason Raymond continues to frustrate. He had 5 shots, which is something, but most were from the outside. Furthermore, he wasn't utilizing his speed through the neutral zone. In a game where the defenders aren't capable of making the expected passes, your speedy wingers have to help cut through some of that neutral zone pressure. Instead, Raymond disappeared, like a midget into a cabinet.
Chris Tanev and Yann Sauve both had nice, quiet games. Sauve, especially, was doing a great job of putting forwards into the boards when they tried to step around him and gain the zone. He had a game-high 4 hits. Tanev continues to be calm under pressure. These two guys look like future NHL regulars. Evan Oberg, on the other hand, was the first defender the Canucks have utilized this season that didn't look like he belonged in the NHL. For a guy whose nickname is Obi, he didn't look much like a Jedi to me. Not once did he turn a forechecker away with a mind trick, for instance. This isn't the zone you're looking for. Oberg looked small and jittery. Pucks jumped off his stick, and he was caught out of position a few times. He steadily lost his coach's trust as the game went on, dipping to a team-low 4 shifts in the third period, when Tanev and Sauve had twice that number.
The Aaron Rome trip n' fall that led to Nashville's second goal (seven seconds after the Canucks tied the game) was unfortunate, but I can't decide if it was more or less fortunate than Chris Tanev's face deflecting the puck to Mike Fisher on the same one. After Rome Tanev played the surprise 2-on-1 so nicely, and took away the pass expertly. Unfortunately, his face had other plans. Suffice it to say, if the Canucks thought the hockey gods might give them a little bit of good luck back, they were sorely mistaken. Like Ryan Kesler said after the game, that goal was a back-breaker.
For the third straight game, the Canucks' third line had the most jump. But they still had nowhere near as much jump as Kris Kross.
I liked Tanner Glass and Victor Oreskovich's shift after Nashville took a two-goal lead. As we've observed in the past, it really isn't smart to fight when you're up by two, but it's a desirable time to fight if down by two. Glass and Oreskovich made some massive hits in an attempt to goad a Nashville player into a scrap, but unfortunately, the Predators were wise not be swayed. Another thing that's wise not to be swayed: summer footwear. Wait, my mistake, that's suede.
And finally: give the Canucks a ton of credit for generating the amount of shots that they did. They put 36 on Pekka Rinne, and attempted another 28. Mikael Samuelsson and Ryan Kesler had 9 shots blocked between them. Unfortunately, Rinne was able to see the shots that got through, so he stopped them. I hate when goalies do that.
I was impressed with the boisterousness of the Nashville crowd. They had an announced attendance of 15,337, just under 2000 below capacity, but it felt like a sellout. They were loud and they were proud. It's too bad they weren't also black, because that's a James Brown hat trick.
Quick Hits (From Behind) is an irregular feature on Pass it To Bulis, wherein two hockey fans chip in their thoughts on current hockey news and get assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
Hi there! Do you like links? Because PITB's got a handful of good reads to help you with your chronic e-somnambulism. But come back here when you're done. We need you.
Nowadays, he's a gutless puke, but there was a time when Matt Cooke was a fan favourite player in Vancouver. Give Charron credit for bravely being the first former Cooke acolyte to admit the dirty truth:
I used to be a huge Matt Cooke fan when he was with the Canucks, but that was before he morphed into the Matt Cooke he is today. There was a time when he was a pest, but he didn't hit dirty, he just annoyed. There was a time when, in the wake of the Todd Bertuzzi suspension, Matt Cooke was moved to his spot on the Canucks' top line with Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund and scored three goals and was a +9 during a six game winning streak which won the Canucks the division title
[...] Matt Cooke was once what Alex Burrows is right now: a marginal top line player who was a fan favourite. Burrows isn't dirty, just annoying if you're wearing a different jersey, and this is what Matt Cooke used to be, and, while I hate the 'pest' role, a lot of players do it very effectively without putting anyone but themselves in danger.
Oh my, Matt, how things have changed.
Charron is spot on about Cooke once being what Burrows is now, and fans love those sorts of players: underdogs who find chemistry with the stars and find an invaluable niche filling gaps. I've gone on record that Alex Burrows is my favourite player (or was, before a certain fourth-line winger agreed to Scrabble me), and Matt Cooke once was for a lot of the same reasons. I'm not so into him now.
Don't Panic, Canucks Fans. There Are Still Plenty of Reasons to Panic.
Welcome to the stretch drive, the unpredictable and unstable back half of the NHL regular season. With All-Star weekend now in the rearview, the next break in the schedule is the part where it ends, and the looming conclusion to the campaign is enough to send teams and their fans into a tizzy. A win streak or an untimely losing skid can alter one's position faster than drawing a character card in Candyland. With so much on the line, the questions can come fast and furious. Are we good enough? Are we tough enough? Do we have enough depth? It's a nervous time.
Canucks fans should be used to this by now: we go through it every year. But, this year is different. This year, the Canucks appear to be in good standing, and there are seemingly few reasons to panic. Longtime fans could be forgiven for not quite knowing what to do with themselves. PITB is here for you. In the past, we've tried to inject perspective into the fanbase by Babcocking the Canucks, but this time, we need not dream up doomsday scenarios willy-nilly. These are real concerns. Here, for your masochistic pleasure, are a myriad of reasons to caress that familiar panic button--enough worries to make this whole situation feel delightfully familiar. Pure, abject terror after the jump.
Give the Canucks credit for showing up to play this one. After a horrendous outing in Minnesota exposed their tired road legs, the excuses for a second consecutive poor performance were readymade. Instead, the Canucks vehemently defied the wishes of their bodies in Colorado, and kept up with the speedy Avalanche. They outshot the Avs 43 to 30 and picked up a well-earned point. It could have been two points, even, had the Canucks managed to push through their mental sluggishness the way they did their physical sluggishness.
Unfortunately for them, it was not so, and the mental mistakes came fast and furious. Bad penalties; bad passes; bad reads; lazy backchecks. Against a young, aggressive team like the Avalanche, that crap's not gonna fly. Although, by getting the regulation tie, I guess it sort of did. Hmm. Okay, it did, but then, in the end, it didn't (not unlike the Avro Arrow). Whatever. I watched this game:
Likely, neither team will be completely happy with the way they played (the Canucks were slow and sloppy, and the Avalanche let a tired road team take the lead three times) but both teams will be happy to leave the stadium with points. (It's like sports day in grade school. Everybody gets a ribbon!) And the Canucks have to be pleased with their Temple of Doom performance, in which they reached inside of themselves and played their hearts out.
The Canucks' power play covers all manner of sins sometimes. Both Edler and Ehrhoff blasted PP goals from the point that gave their team the lead, and these goals were vital. Had the Canucks had to open up and play from behind for even one second in this game, their suspect defensive play would have been even more prominent, and it could have gotten out of hand.
It's been a long time since the Canucks have had a sexy callup like Sergei Shirokov, so it was nice to see him play a standout game in his first NHL action this year. He scored his first career goal on a beautiful move (above), and he had a game-high six shots. But, before you get excited, consider he's played two fewer games this month--and nine fewer NHL games. He had fresh legs. He was like Anne Bancroft on skates, his legs were so fresh. Let's wait to see whether or not he can be a standout when the rest of his team isn't playing on fumes, but he was a breath of fresh air last night. Most importantly, he looked capable of creating his own offense, something Kesler's wings have to be able to do. A good start for Shirok.
The other callup, Chris Tanev, acquitted himself admirably as well. He finished the night a minus-1, but it's hard to fault him on the Luongo misplay that gave David Jones his first of two on the night. Jones was his man, for sure, but everyone in the building thought Luongo would swallow up that puck as it came off the boards. Other than that, Tanev was solid. He got on the ice for just under thirteen minutes, far more than anyone would have expected. He admirably broke up a 3-on-1 when Keith Ballard heeded Qris's advice to step it up, pranks-wise and decided to pull the old fall-down-so-the-rookie-has-to-fend-off-a-3-on-1 routine. Funny guy, that Ballard.
Don't tell the Vancouver media I said this, but here's your proof that the star awards mean nothing: Alex Edler was named the game's third star. Clearly, someone didn't watch the game (probably John Garrett, who has made a living watching games, but always seems to be attending his first one). While it's true that Edler had a standout game offensively with a goal and an assist, he played one of his worst games of the season defensively. He constantly lost his man, he bobbled pucks at the blue line, he looked dreadfully slow. Despite finishing the game even in the plus/minus category, Edler was on the ice for two Colorado goals, both on the penalty kill, and both times he got absolutely embarrassed by David Jones in front of the net. Jones isn't a small guy, but Edler's bigger, and the fact that Edler allowed himself to get moved right out of the play twice is unacceptable. Watch the highlight package. Colorado goals one and four are mirror images of one another, as Jones simply shades Edler into the useless area, opening up the exact same cross-ice pass. On the first goal, you can find Edler at the side of the net when the pass comes across. On the fourth goal, that's him in the middle, lazily dropping down to block nothing, opening up the same pass and rendering himself helpless to prevent Jones from finding the rebound. A terrible game from #23.
Kevin Bieksa, on the other hand, played solidly. Nearly every shift, he was breaking up an odd-man rush or clearing the zone before things got dangerous. He finished with 2 hits, 4 takeaways and 3 blocked shots, and considering these three stats are typically undercounted (especially when you play for the road team), that's one hell of a stat line.
Keith Ballard had a decent game as well, but has anyone noticed how often this guy falls? He's like an ancient empire on skates. Methinks Keith "Babylon" Ballard needs to heed the words of the prophet Jeremiah.
Is Adam Foote a diplomat's son? He's clearly got some sort of immunity. Foote's a handsy guy, but it doesn't seem to matter who he grabs, punches, or holds--there's never a call. He could grope the First Lady and someone would call it a smart, veteran play.
The referees missed some egregious offenses, but Raffi Torres sure made it easy on them, huh? Both of his penalties were of the are-you-kidding-me variety, especially his second one. Who tugs on a jersey? Not since Theodore Tugboat have I seen such pathetic tugging. Skeeter and I observed that Raffi Torres has three modes: 1) skateskateskateskate 2) get puck, and 3) put puck. Unfortunately, none of the three modes is any more detailed than that, and Raffi often skimps on the details. Torres is playing some dumb hockey right now. I wouldn't be surprised if he suffers a benching in the near future.
Speaking of penalties, Henrik Sedin's penalty in overtime was fully warranted. Granted, his man went down easy, but everyone knows there are a two situations where you should never stick your arm out. The first is when you're chasing to break up a two-on-one. The second is when you're on a school bus. That's how you lose a limb.
A better performance by Roberto Luongo and the Canucks probably leave Denver with a win. He'll get no pass; he was the freshest Canuck and he should have played like it. When your star goaltender is rested and your team isn't, you need a star goaltending performance, and the Canucks didn't get it. The second and third goals are both ones he probably should have had. Know what else he should have had? A Bacon Mushroom Melt. It's only ever at Wendy's for a limited time, and it's delicious. But now it's gone, and who knows how long he'll have to wait for them to bring it back? /regret
And finally, Jeff Tambellini was the fourth-line center last night, and while he did a fine job (especially in the faceoff circle, where he was 5-for-6) I'm not sure I like him and Mason Raymond on that line together. They're too tiny, and tiny on the fourth line is a bad idea, unless it's an ironic nickname for someone huge, like Tiny, the classic character from SNES's Clayfighter.
I Watched This Game is a recurring feature on Pass it to Bulis!, chronicling the observations and insights of some guys who watched a hockey game.
Night and day, the difference between yesterday's YoungStars game and the one a day earlier. I'm talking about everything: the sound quality, the stream, the announcing, and the play of the Baby Canucks were drastically improved from yesterday. Perhaps everybody involved in the game read my rant from the day before? I doubt it, but I can't think of any explanation for things going from inexorable worstness to decency in twenty-four hours, apart from guilt over displeasing me. Just spitballin'.
I watched most of the game, and while it was hard to concentrate when my wife was watching Dirty Dancing, loudly, in HD, on the television behind me, I was able to notice things. Those things are below. But, before we go there, can I just say that Dirty Dancing sucks? Holy crap, it's a terrible movie. The acting is wooden, the whole thing is cheesy, the movie friggin' ends with Patrick Swayze mouthing "It's all because of you" or some stupid garbage... I don't mind a well-done chick flick. For instance, I think I'm with Seth Rogen--You've Got Mail was sweet. But Dirty Dancing is a steaming pile of excrement born from out of anus of the world. Never watch it.
Aaron Volpatti was amazing last night, and he'd better be. At twenty-five, he's got a good six to seven years on some of these kids, making him kind of a creeper. Aaron Vol-PedoBear was hitting kids with his Vol-PaddyWagon all night, just like the night before. Last night, however, he also scored two goals and got in a fight that set a physical tone for the game. He was the best player on the ice. I hope he makes the team, just so I can make more puns with his name. Aaron Volpatti was all-world; we should call him Aaron Vol-Pangaea... They'll be better than that one.
The tandem of Kevin Connauton and Chris Tanev was fantastic. Connauton had a bit of trouble controlling the puck, at times, and there was one power play where I thought he really lacked the poise he's shown on other occasions, but he was jumping up in the rush, pushing the Sharks prospects back, and making space all night. That said, the rush of the night went to Chris Tanev, who took the puck all the way from behind his own net to the Sharks net, where he set up Volpatti for the score. (It wasn't a tap-in either. In the clip above, Tanev admits it was a "pretty bad pass.") Tanev had two goals and an assist. Both he and Connauton look ready for the next level.
Jordan Schroeder finally showed a couple flashes, and it's about time. Jason Botchford had the best line on Twitter: "It is Penticton. It is the prospects tournament. It is this week. OK, now tell Jordan Schroeder." He put the criticism on hold with a great bit of puck control, poise and stickhandling to set up a power play goal in the 2nd.
That said, both he and Billy Sweatt, who showed a ton of speed breaking away (although he didn't finish) may have been outplayed by Pierre Olivier-Morin. Kudos to the Kurtenblog: you guys called it, he's pretty good.
Eddie Lack was remarkable yet again. For those of you saying that Corey Schneider has zero competition for the Canucks' backup job next season, well, you're probably still right. But Lack's making a case. In fact, both goaltenders last night played very well.
The Canucks' best line of the night was Alex Friesen, Prab Rai, and Matt Fraser. Rai tends to impress me and then disappoint me within the same shift, but he was good all the way through last night. Fraser scored the Canucks' first goal on a one-timer after some great work by Alex Friesen, and he deserved it. The strong play bodes well for Fraser, as he and Morin are still not signed. Look for one or both of them to get contracts.
Taylor Ellington got in a fight with a guy and I don't remember who it was, but when Ellington lost his footing and found himself on his back, the other guy punched him square in the nose with a late shot. It was classless and gutless. Anybody else see that or remember who it was? Maybe Gogol?
I heard Blake Price say Eddie Lack was known as "The fastest glove in all of Europe." It's unfortunate that he had to leave, because "Fastest glove in all of Penticton" is much less impressive.
The Canucks' prospects are doing off-ice workouts today and resting up for a tilt with the Ducks' prospects tomorrow night. As usual, we'll have our thoughts the next day.
