'

Love My Dog

2009-10-20T03:20:00.000-07:00

My boy and I were on our way to the local veterinary to put my dog, Daisy down. I was upset, drunk and pissed off at the whole situation. That's when it happened. Young Billy said, "Dad, I'm real sorry about Daisy." I replied, "I'd rather it was you I was putting down. Now pass me another Lucky and tune in the Canuck game, you son of a bitch".

Chicago's Duncan Keith opened the scoring at 13:26 of the first period. Canucks Steve Bernier scored on the power play to tie the game at :46 of the second period. Chicago regained the lead at 18:51 into the second period scored by Troy Brouwer.

Early in the third period, Willie Mitchell came out of the penalty box and laid out a nut crunching body-check to a chin-down Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews, that's when I knew the Canucks would get their first road win of the season. Toews did not return after the hit.

Vancouver tied the game at 2 when Ryan Kesler absorbed a crushing blue-line hit before releasing a passed which rookie Michael Grabner buried for his first NHL goal. Mikael Samuelsson scored the game winner with 3 minutes left in the game. It was his second game winner of the year.

Roberto Luongo stole the show in the last 10 minutes by putting up some acrobatic game winning saves.

Badbilly

As My Cigarette Burns

2009-10-20T01:08:00.000-07:00

"Can you smoke outside, honey? It's bothering the baby."
That's the question my woman asked me the other night. I couldn't believe the nerve of her to ask me, the head of the house, to leave his favorite chair and stand in the cold of night. I told her, "If it bothers the boy, put him outside with the damn dog and on your way back, grab me a cold Lucky. I'm trying to watch the god damn hockey game!"

Both goaltenders played exceptionally well ,but in the end ,Oilers Nikolai Khabibulin came on-top with a 2-1 victory over Roberto Luongos road win-less Vancouver Canucks.Khabibulin pushed away 39 shot to Luongos 27 to earn him first star of the game.
Steve Bernier scored his second goal of the season ,assisted by Kyle Wellwood to open the scoring in the first period.The Oilers first goal was scored when the Vancouver defence gave away the slot to Patrick O’Sullivan at the 26 second mark of the second period.The winning goal came in the third period when Sam Gagner wrist shot from the slot, beat Luongo.

Vancouver almost tied the game with zero seconds on the clock.Kyle Wellwood was a half second to late after the Canucks pulled their goaltender for a extra attacker,he slip it through Khabibulin legs after a coast to coast rush down the left side .The video replay showed the puck crossed the line after the buzzer.

It was a very tame game to watch,not much aggression from either team.The lack of bone crushing body checks made it easy to believe that this game was played in Europe rather than in Edmonton.Rick Rypien did try to bring on some spark when he drop the gloves with Zack Stortini .Rypien the smaller of the two by 60 lbs, put on a great show and manhandled the heavy-weight in front of the Edmonton fans.

Vancouver better step it up , when they take on the 5-2-1 Chicago Blackhawks if they hope to get their first 2 points on the road.

Badbilly

Canucks tame the Wild

2009-10-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver Canucks played a solid 60 minutes of hockey tonight at GM place to defeat the injury plague against Minnesota Wild 2-1.

The Wilds Andrew Brunette extended his 7 game point streak with an assist to Mikko Koivu for the opening goal of the first period. The Canucks out-shot the Wild, 10-4 in the first period alone, but couldn't put anything past Niklas Backstrom, the 31 year old native of Helsinki, Finland.

At 4:23 of the 2nd period, Ryan Kesler took advantage of a stick-less Niklas Backstrom to tie the game. The Canucks were all over the Wild in the 2nd period and they out shot the Wild, 27-8. The period ended with 1-1.

Vancouver dominated the 3rd and final frame. Mikael Samuelsson scored his 4th team leading goal of the year for the winner. Roberto Luongo only faced 18 shot on the night and he played a good game compared to the 2 recent games.
The Kesler line was full of high energy. The Kesler, Grabner, and Raymond line had 17 of the 39 shots on net. The 3 stars of the game were Backstrom, Kesler, and Raymond.

The Canucks are playing the 4 and 2 Oilers, Monday night. Hopefully they continue to play a full 60 minute game and start putting pucks in the net! The well rested Oilers haven't played since they beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 on Friday night.

Badbilly

Western Conference

Central		GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
	Chicago	8	5	2	1	11	29	23	3-1-1	2-1-0	5-2-1
	Columbus	6	5	1	0	10	18	12	3-0-0	2-1-0	5-1-0
	St Louis	6	3	2	1	7	19	15	1-2-0	2-0-1	3-2-1
	Detroit	7	3	3	1	7	22	25	3-1-1	0-2-0	3-3-1
	Nashville	7	2	4	1	5	10	22	1-3-0	1-1-1	2-4-1

Northwest		GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
	Colorado	8	6	1	1	13	27	18	2-0-0	4-1-1	6-1-1
	Calgary	8	5	2	1	11	30	28	3-1-0	2-1-1	5-2-1
	Edmonton	7	4	2	1	9	28	21	3-1-1	1-1-0	4-2-1
	Vancouver	7	3	4	0	6	22	23	3-1-0	0-3-0	3-4-0
	Minnesota	7	1	6	0	2	15	25	1-0-0	0-6-0	1-6-0

Pacific		GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
	Phoenix	7	5	2	0	10	18	10	2-1-0	3-1-0	5-2-0
	Dallas	7	3	1	3	9	24	20	1-1-1	2-0-2	3-1-3
	San Jose	8	4	3	1	9	25	23	2-0-1	2-3-0	4-3-1
	Los Angeles	8	4	4	0	8	24	28	2-1-0	2-3-0	4-4-0
	Anaheim	7	3	3	1	7	16	21	1-2-0	2-1-1	3-3-1

Eastern Conference

Atlantic		GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
	NY Rangers	8	7	1	0	14	32	15	4-0-0	3-1-0	7-1-0
	Pittsburgh	8	7	1	0	14	28	18	2-1-0	5-0-0	7-1-0
	New Jersey	7	4	3	0	8	18	19	1-3-0	3-0-0	4-3-0
	Philadelphia	6	3	2	1	7	21	19	1-1-1	2-1-0	3-2-1
	NY Islanders	6	0	3	3	3	13	23	0-2-1	0-1-2	0-3-3

Northeast		GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
	Ottawa	7	5	2	0	10	22	16	3-1-0	2-1-0	5-2-0
	Buffalo	6	4	1	1	9	18	12	3-1-1	1-0-0	4-1-1
	Boston	7	3	4	0	6	20	23	2-3-0	1-1-0	3-4-0
	Montréal	7	2	5	0	4	15	24	0-2-0	2-3-0	2-5-0
	Toronto	7	0	6	1	1	14	32	0-4-1	0-2-0	0-6-1

Southeast		GP	W	L	OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
	Washington	8	4	2	2	10	28	24	3-1-1	1-1-1	4-2-2
	Atlanta	5	4	1	0	8	20	13	1-0-0	3-1-0	4-1-0
	Tampa Bay	7	2	3	2	6	17	27	2-0-1	0-3-1	2-3-2
	Carolina	7	2	4	1	5	15	22	2-1-1	0-3-0	2-4-1
	Florida	6	2	4	0	4	14	22	1-2-0	1-2-0	2-4-0

x - clinched playoff spot	y - clinched division	z - clinched conference
p - clinched Presidents' Trophy (best record in NHL)

GP - Games Played	W - Wins
L - Losses	OT - OT/Shootout losses (worth one point)
PTS - Points

Badbilly

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON

2009-10-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

We need a huge shake up in the Canucks organization. Get rid of the coaches, hire Wayne Gretzky. What the hell is going on? The last 2 games were very hard for me to watch, but I did. Playing 0nly 20 minutes of a 60 minute game wont give you victory.
The only good thing that the Canucks are doing right, is the fighting.

It's a little too late to wake up when the score is 5-0.That is what the Canucks tried to do tonight.They were nonexistent in the first 2 periods.Roberto Luongo gave up a hideous 5 goals before being replaced by Andrew Raycroft .

Rick Rypien, Mikael Samuelsson and Christian Ehrhoff were the goal scorers for the Canucks.

Perhaps start Andrew Raycroft is the answer we need right now.He is playing a lot better than Roberto Luongo who has been pulled twice in the last 4 games.Maybe even sit a couple of the so called stars (Willie Mitchell,Keven Bieksa and Henric Sedin).The Canucks have to do something and do it now before they are 10 or 15 points behind Calgary.
The Canucks are lucky to 2-4 so far this season.
Canuck coach Alain Vigneault chose to praise the Flames, rather than rip his own team.I do not like that kind of coaching,a coach should challenge his team,not praise the other team.

Tonight Vancouver is hosting Minnesota Wild ,hopefully they will come out with a little enthusiasm and get back to basics of playing hard Canadian hockey.

The Canucks are starting to piss me off..

Badbilly

A Tissue for Mr. Kane

2009-10-07T22:33:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver Canucks played fifty of sixty minutes of the 7 to 1 thrashing of the Montreal Canadiens. The ten minutes they didn't play, their fearless Captain, Roberto Luongo, stood on his head and made 4 incredible saves to keep the score 3-0.

Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond, and Steve Bernier scored the three goals in the first period. You can't blame the Habs keeper, Carey Price at all. The Montreals' defence created a lot of holes for the hungry Canuck forwards.

Roberto Luongo played his strongest game thus far, stopping 27 shots as the defending Northwest Division champions ended their worst start to a season in eight years.

The Sedin brothers played a strong offensive game, combining for seven points.
In the fighting department, 5 ft 11, 170 pound, Rick Rypien basically man-handled 6 ft 230 pound, Hal Gail.

Everything went well for our Vancouver Canucks tonight. Power play was 3 for 6. They out shot the Habs, 35 to 28. They finished their checks and they scored a bucket full of goals.

All we can hope is the Canucks can keep up the great play.

The 0-0-2 Dallas Stars are coming to town on Sunday, it would be nice to get our second win of the season. If the Canucks play like they played tonight, I'm quite sure we will have 4 points by the end of the night.

I FEEL PITY FOR MR KANE RIGHT NOW...Who is Mr. Kane?
Mr. Kane is a friend of mine (At least I think he is). He follows every step of the Montreal Canadiens. He has a great passion for the game and especially for his beloved Habs.
Grab a tissue, Mr. Kane, wipe your eyes and write about it in your blog http://dennis-kane.com/ Tell your followers how the Great and Mighty Vancouver Canucks handed the not so great Montreal Canadiens a Pacific Coast ass-kickin.

Badbilly,

Other news from the web:

Canucks get first win by routing Canadiens 7-1

NHL.com

THREE STAR SELECTIONS

VIDEO ›

1st Henrik Sedin
Center - VAN
GOALS: 2 | PTS: 4
ASST: 2 | SOG: 2
+/-: 2

VIDEO ›

2nd Daniel Sedin
Left Wing - VAN
GOALS: 0 | PTS: 3
ASST: 3 | SOG: 5
+/-: 1

VIDEO ›

3rd Roberto Luongo
Goalie - VAN
SAVE PCTG: 0.964

After opening with three straight losses, a visit from the road-weary Montreal Canadiens was just what the Vancouver Canucks needed.

Henrik Sedin scored twice in the second period and added two assists as the Canucks routed the Montreal Canadiens 7-1 on Wednesday night at General Motors Place for their first victory of the new season.

Roberto Luongo made 27 saves, 15 in the second period, in his first sharp performance of the season. He was lifted in the second period of Monday's 5-3 loss to Columbus after allowing four goals on only 12 shots and had surrendered 11 goals in Vancouver's three losses.

"He made some good saves when he had to," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "He kept us in there in the second period."

It was a tough night for Montreal goaltender Carey Price, a British Columbia native who was playing in his home province for the first time in his NHL career -- he was bypassed last season when the Canadiens came to town. Price was left defenseless for most of the night and spent the last 8:02 of the game on the bench after being lifted following the Canucks' seventh goal.

"I battled as hard as I could," he said. "Sometimes they find the back of the net. Things didn't go the way we wanted to.

"It was pretty disappointing not to be able to play (last year). This was even more disappointing."

The Canucks beat Montreal for the eighth consecutive time at G.M. Place and are 11-1-1 overall in their last 13 meetings.

The offensive barrage was a relief for a team that had had plenty of chances but not enough goals in its first three games.

"It seems easy when the pucks go in," Henrik Sedin said, "but we played like this for the first three games."

Montreal, which won its first two games in overtime, lost for the second night in a row. The Canadiens finish a season-opening five-game trip in Edmonton on Saturday before finally playing their home opener next Thursday against Colorado.

The Habs, 4-3 losers in Calgary on Tuesday, came out looking like a team that had played the previous night -- while the Canucks looked like one that had no intention of seeing its season-opening losing streak reach four games.

"We continue to work on the process," Vigneault said, "and it's going to get better."

Speed led to the Canucks' first two goals, scored in a span of 2:51.

Ryan Kesler opened the scoring at 13:50 when he split the defense, raced in alone on Price and deked twice before scoring on a backhander.

Mason Raymond made it 2-0 with a tremendous individual effort. He broke out of his own zone, bounced a past to himself off the left boards, picked up the puck behind the defense and broke in alone before beating Price.

"We were able to jump on a couple of their mistakes," Vigneault said.

With the Canadiens reeling, Steve Bernier finished off a behind-the-back pass by Daniel Sedin for a power-play goal at 18:34, capping a period in which the Canucks outshot the Canadiens 14-4.

"We didn't win any battles for loose pucks," Montreal coach Jacques Martin said. "We were outworked and outdetermined. Their better players were their best players tonight."

The Canadiens found their skating legs in the second period, getting the first 14 shots and scoring a power-play goal at 3:08.

With Kevin Bieksa in the box for holding, the Canadiens forced Luongo to make several fine saves. But after robbing Mike Cammalleri with his glove, the All-Star goaltender was beaten through the legs on a bad-angled shot from the right circle by Andrei Kostitsyn.

The Canadiens kept bombing away but were unable to beat Luongo again before a tripping call against Tomas Plekanec at 11:47 stopped Montreal's momentum and let the Canucks regain control.

Just 12 seconds after Plekanec's penalty, Henrik Sedin made it 4-1 with a gift goal -- brother Daniel's slap shot from the left circle hit Canadiens' defenseman Paul Mara in the backside and landed right on Henrik's stick, leaving Price helpless to stop his backhander.

"When you get up a few goals, you don't want to let them back in the game," Luongo said. "We were able to answer back on the power play"

Henrik scored again at 15:36 when the Canadiens botched a line change after Travis Moen failed to get the puck in deep. Sedin and Bernier went in on a 2-on-0 break, with Sedin carrying down the right side and making a spectacular move on Price before lifting a high backhander under the crossbar.

The Canucks got a third power-play goal at 11:39 of the third period when Christian Ehrhoff's shot hit Mara's foot and dropped onto the stick of Mikael Samuelsson, who knocked it into the half-empty net.

With the Canadiens in complete disarray, Alex Burrows made it 7-1 at 11:58, swatting home a loose puck from the slot after Montreal was unable to clear the zone. Montreal coach Jacques Martin lifted Price after that and replaced him with Jaroslav Halak.

-- John Kreiser, NHL.com

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I SMELL VICTORY

2009-10-07T00:37:00.000-07:00

Vancouver is 0-3 and it's early in the season. Hopefully they can take advantage of a tired Montreal Canadien team, who lost a close one last night to those nasty 3-0 Calgary Flames.

One of the problems that I see with the Canucks is that they are not finishing their checks. Another problem is their lack of communication on the d-line. Maybe they are lacking leadership. Who knows?

Our Captain, Roberto Luongo, has to step it up after that poor showing last game against the Bluejackets. When Luongo is playing his A-game, he is the best puck-stopper in the world.

I smell a VICTORY
Are you a betting man, Mr. Kane???? http://dennis-kane.com/

Article from the web

TIME: 10:00 P.M. EST VANCOUVER VS CANADIENS
VENUE: General Motors Place

The Vancouver Canucks are not about to blame Roberto Luongo for their rough start.

The team's captain could be back in net Wednesday night as the Canucks look for their first win while trying to continue their recent dominance at GM Place over the Montreal Canadiens.

Vancouver (0-3-0) has been outscored 13-6 while opening the season with three straight losses for the first time since 2001-02. Though the Canucks are averaging 40 shots per game, the area of concern is on the defensive end, particularly Luongo.

Considered one of the NHL's best goaltenders and fresh off signing a 12-year, $64 million contract extension, Luongo - who has a 2.58 career goals-against average - is 0-3-0 with a 4.56 GAA.

"None of (the responsibility) is (Luongo's)," forward Alex Burrows told the Canucks' official Web site. "We win as a team and we lose as a team. We think he's the best goalie in the league and he's going to bounce back."

Luongo was pulled after allowing four goals on 12 shots in a 5-3 loss to Columbus on Monday. Andrew Raycroft stopped 11 of 12 shots the rest of the way to possibly earn some consideration to start this contest.

"(Luongo's) the least of my concerns," said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, whose team tries to avoid going winless through its first four games since opening 0-3-1 in 1994-95. "Roberto is one of the best goaltenders and definitely one of the hardest workers in this league, so he's going to find his game, like he always does."

Luongo could find his game against his hometown team. The Montreal native is 8-8-2 with three ties and a 2.47 GAA against the Canadiens, who've lost seven straight at Vancouver since Nov. 30, 2000.

After opening the season with two overtime wins on their five-game road trip, the Canadiens (2-1-0) look to bounce back from a 4-3 loss at Calgary on Tuesday while being aware that they will next face a team desperate to get in the win column.

"Vancouver is going to be hungry after an 0-3 start, they're going to be waiting for us," first-year Canadiens coach Jacques Martin said. "We just have to come out and play three periods. We had some good intensity (Tuesday) and we have to be prepared to battle for 60 minutes."

Scott Gomez, who spent the last two seasons with the New York Rangers, scored his first goal with his new team. Michael Cammalleri added his third assist in his first season with Montreal, which has scored nine goals so far.

Gomez, Cammalleri and former New Jersey forward Brian Gionta were all brought in as part of offseason overhaul to boost a club that ranked in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference with 242 goals last season.

Cammalleri, who spent his first five seasons with Los Angeles and scored a career-high 39 goals for Calgary in 2008-09, has seven goals and 10 assists in 20 games against the Canucks. Gionta had a goal and assist with the Devils in a 5-3 win at Vancouver on Jan. 13.

Carey Price, who's 2-0-0 with a 1.89 GAA, should start for the Canadiens after sitting out Tuesday in favor of Jaroslav Halak. Price made one save in eight minutes in his only appearance against Vancouver, a 4-2 loss on Feb. 15.

Vancouver's Henrik Sedin scored a career-high 22 goals last season and has three with seven assists against Montreal. He scored his first of the season against Columbus.

4 Empty net goals

2009-10-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

The Columbus Bluejackets scored 4 empty net goals. 1 in the first period and 3 goals in the second. Our fearless Captain wasn't up to snuff, once again. So far, he has let in a brutal 11 goals on 68 shots this season, including 4 goals on 12 shots in the loss to Columbus.
If I was coach Alain Vigneault, I would start backup goaltender, Andrew Raycroft against the Montreal Canadiens. Just for a the first period, though. I think that would shake it up a bit.
Steve Mason did stand on his head for the Bluejackets, stopping 40 of 43 shots for the win. But then again, to be a top team in the NHL, goal-tending is key.

I think the Canucks offense played well tonight. After all, they did score 3 goals! Defense was missing something, perhaps a guy like Mattias Ohlund. I didn't realize that the Canucks lost Mattias to Tampa Bay. I guess I have to pay more attention.
All I can do now is hope and pray that the Canucks show up against Mr. Kanes beloved Montreal Canadiens. I will not offer any predictions about that game.

GO CANUCKS GO

News around the Nhl

NEWARK, N.J. -- The absence of Patrik Elias is certainly taking its toll on the New Jersey Devils' power play during the initial games of the 2009-10 campaign.

Elias, the franchise's all-time leading scorer, is expected to begin skating this week after being sidelined since Sept. 15 following arthroscopic groin surgery. The Devils assistant captain notched a career-high 12 power-play goals last season when his club finished 15th in the League with an 18.9 percentage with the man advantage.

But while the Devils await Elias' return -- which could come as early as the end of this month -- the team must endure.

Through two games, however, that's been a problem.

"Of course, you would miss a player like (Elias) everywhere on the ice because he plays all aspects of the game," Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner said. "Not having a guy like that in the lineup hurts, but there's no excuses here. There are guys in our lineup that are put in certain situations to produce and we have to find ways to get wins right now."

Del Zotto shines again in Rangers' win

Monday, 10.05.2009 / 10:33 PM / NHL Insider

By Dave Lozo - NHL.com Staff Writer

NEWARK, N.J. -- Think about what you were doing when you were 19 years old.

Were you sweating out a college course you skipped once a week because waking up at 11 a.m. was just too difficult? Was your biggest hassle trying to maintain your relationship with your high school girlfriend while she studied overseas for a year?

All 19-year-old Michael Del Zotto has been asked to do is be a contributor for the New York Rangers as a top-six defenseman for a team that's been to the playoffs the past four seasons.

Through three NHL games, the Rangers' first pick in the 2008 Entry Draft is looking like he's been doing this for years.

Sharks' Pavelski sidelined with a lower body injury

Monday, 10.05.2009 / 10:01 PM / News

NHL.com

The Sharks have learned they will be without Joe Pavelski due to a minor procedure performed on a lower body injury and the center will miss a couple of weeks.

"Pavs obviously wasn’t at practice," said Sharks Head Coach Todd McLellan. "He was hurt the other night and had a minor procedure this morning. He will be out a couple of weeks with a lower body injury."

During Monday’s practice, Pavelski’s spot was filled by Patrick Marleau, who was flanked by Ryane Clowe and Benn Ferriero. Pavelski may not have the name recognition of many Sharks players, but he a vital cog for the men in teal.

"Pavs plays a huge role," said McLellan. "Today we moved Patty back in there. He's accustomed to playing there and we trust him. I think Patty is a tremendous center."

I just got home from fishing

2009-10-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Three bloody bites, that's it! No blood in the boat today.
I've been awake since 7 PM last night. I'm so bloody tired.
I did get a chance to have a couple winks on my pontoon boat, though. I can't imagine what the other fishermen were thinking as they passed me by. Does it really matter? Not a chance.
The only thing that matters right now is that the Vancouver Canucks kick some ass....

The Vancouver Canucks probably hope that home is where the wins are as they bring their winless record to GM Place on Monday night to face the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Canucks (0-2-0) look to put the brakes on their worst start to a season in eight years. They were shut out by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday and fell to their bitter rivals, the Calgary Flames, in the season opener.

The back-to-back losses mark the team's worst start since dropping the first three games of the 2001-02 season.

The Canucks might correct that trend with a three-game stand at home, where they went on a rampage at the tail end of last season, winning 13 of their final 15 regular-season games.

They are also 11-2-3 all-time at home against the Blue Jackets.

The offensive drought is not due to a lack of effort. Vancouver is tied with San Jose and Toronto for second place in the NHL with 77 shots and had at least 11 shots in all three periods against the Avalanche, but they couldn't find the back of the net once in a 3-0 loss.

"Right now we've got one line that's generating in my mind offensively and that's Henrik (Sedin's) line. They had great opportunities, lots of shots," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault told the team's official website. "The other three lines right now aren't doing enough in my mind to be successful."

The Canucks will also hope their last line of defence, all-star goalie Roberto Luongo, will be able to improve his play. If statistics are any indication ? a 3.53 GAA and .857 save percentage ? he has yet to perform up to the expectations that accompany the 12-year contract extension he signed in the off-season.

Klesla a company man

The Blue Jackets (1-0-0) will hope to spoil the Canucks homecoming by starting their season with back-to-back wins for the first time in franchise history.

Entering its 10th season, the team has only one player who was there at the start, Rostislav Klesla. The defenceman was the first draft pick by the club in 2000, fourth overall. After years in the basement, the team's recent performance has Klesla excited.

"We've got a great team, with a lot of young talent and good guys," Klesla said. "I'm really looking forward to the upcoming years and to create a winning team and a championship team here."

A playoff appearance last year and a game in the win column already this season, Klesla believes his team is moving in forward. He signed a four-year, $11.9 million contract extension before the start of the season.

A championship calibre team will need repeat performances from goaltender Steve Mason and team scoring leader Rick Nash. Nash posted a single-season franchise record and career-high 79 points (40 goals, 39 assists) last year while Mason won the Calder Trophy for his rookie year performance with the Blue Jackets with 33 wins, and 10 shutouts.

Just got off work, now it's time to go fishing!

2009-10-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

Just got home; Kissed the wife, the phone rang, and it was my best friend, Sid! He wants to go fishing. What the hell? GONE FISHING....
I'll be home around 1130 AM. I'll grab a couple hours sleep and get up and watch the canucks kick some Bluejacket BUTT.

My last prediction for the Canucks was a little off. So let's try again.
OK, Canucks 4, Bluejacket 3.
I feel it's the beginning of a streak.
Now, it's time to go fishing.

GONE FISHING

2009-10-05T04:26:00.000-07:00

I'm so tired right now.

2009-10-05T04:15:00.000-07:00

It's 4:15 AM and i'm at work. I cannot wait to go home and crawl in bed! Wake up, kiss the wife to be, and watch the Canucks kick some Columbus Bluejacket ASS. Then go back to work. That's life.

WHATS GOING ON

2009-10-05T02:54:00.000-07:00

The season just started and people are thinking the worst.Trade the Sedins , Is Luongo worth the contract he signed ,Is it time for a new coach.Come on people ,give your head a shake .Its only two games into the season.
They will bounce back and get their first win of the season tonight in Vancouver against Columbus.
That's what I hope anyway.

Oct 7 Bring on Mr Kanes Habs

Bad penalties, bad finish equal bad start — but there's no panic!

By Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun

Now in his ninth season as a Vancouver Canuck, Daniel Sedin recognizes a certain situation when he sees it. It's the P-word — panic! — and one that is never far removed from the lips of the team's fervent followers.

"There was probably panicking after the first game," Daniel said Sunday, half-smiling at the thought. "I mean, that's the way it is here. Players who play here get used to that. But it's 80 games to go. You can start to panic if you feel that the team isn't playing good enough but, for the mostpart, I think we played pretty good in those games."

It's not an opinion shared by all. The 0-2-0 Canucks, who open at home tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets, were outscored 8-3 by Calgary and Colorado and their penalty killing was torched four times in just nine opposition chances. Coach Alain Vigneault's skaters have flung 77 shots on net and only three have advanced into the net.

So what's No. 1 on the list of improvements needed for the Jackets? Is it: (a) stay out of the box; or (b) find a way to finish off more of those 77 shots.

"The No. 1 thing to do better is stay out of the box," responded Daniel. "If you do that, guys are going to have the puck more and feel good about themselves. Right now, we're killing a lot of penalties and it's tough to get that flow in the game that you want. Then guys who are killing penalties have a tough time to get going. I think if we can just stay out of the box, the rest will follow."

Defenceman Shane O'Brien, who has taken two penalties and concedes that's an issue, figures lack of finish is the bigger culprit in the season's opening two losses.

"I think maybe we just have to bury more of our chances," he offered. "Yeah, we've been taking some penalties but, in Calgary, we still had 42 shots and we out-shot Colorado [35-27]. So we've had more than 75 shots in two games and I think if we just bear down a little bit and finish those opportunities, combined with our special teams getting a little bit better, that will maybe be the difference."

As for the P-word, O'Brien understands this is a Canadian market.

"You know that as soon as you lose one or two in a row in Vancouver that people are going to start panicking a little bit," he said. "They love this team and live and die by it. But there is no panic in here. It's a long year. We had a big camp and it's going to take a little bit of time to get the chemistry back and get everyone clicking."

The coach has been pleased with just one of his forward lines — the twins with Alex Burrows — and only one defenceman, Willie Mitchell. At practice Sunday, he kept all the units intact but didn't promise that he would keep them intact for the Columbus game.

"I'm not quite sure yet what we're going to do," Vigneault explained. "I just wanted to go through practice today with the same lines. I'm not going to break up the one line that is generating offence but, as far as the other three lines go, they have to find a way to get their game to where it should be.

"I never question our work ethic and our intensity. Right now, it's about our execution."

As one old coach once said when asked about his team's execution: "I'm in favour of it."

Vigneault hasn't reached that point yet.

ICE CHIPS: The last time the Canucks went 0-3-0 to start a season was in 2001-02. They finished with 94 points and made the playoffs... Tonight's 50/50 will have a carryover of $50,010 from unclaimed winnings.

				-

Wayne Gretzky stats

2009-10-04T03:10:00.000-07:00

Year	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Shots	Sh%
1998-99	NY Rangers	NHL	70	9	53	62	-23	14	132	6.82
1997-98	NY Rangers	NHL	82	23	67	90	-11	28	201	11.44
1997-98	Team Canada	Olympic	6	0	4	4	-	2	-	-
1996-97	NY Rangers	NHL	82	25	72	97	+12	28	286	8.74
1995-96	St. Louis	NHL	18	8	13	21	-6	2	51	15.69
1995-96	Los Angeles	NHL	62	15	66	81	-7	32	144	10.42
1995-96	Total LA/StL	NHL	80	23	79	102	-13	34	195	11.79
1994-95	Los Angeles	NHL	48	11	37	48	-20	6	142	7.75
1993-94	Los Angeles	NHL	81	38	92	130	-25	20	233	16.31
1992-93	Los Angeles	NHL	45	16	49	65	+6	6	141	11.35
1991-92	Los Angeles	NHL	74	31	90	121	-12	34	215	14.42
1990-91	Los Angeles	NHL	78	41	122	163	+30	16	212	19.34
1989-90	Los Angeles	NHL	73	40	102	142	+8	42	236	16.95
1988-89	Los Angeles	NHL	78	54	114	168	+15	26	303	17.82
1987-88	Edmonton	NHL	64	40	109	149	+39	24	211	18.96
1986-87	Edmonton	NHL	79	62	121	183	+70	28	288	21.53
1985-86	Edmonton	NHL	80	52	163	215	+71	46	350	14.86
1984-85	Edmonton	NHL	80	73	135	208	+98	52	358	20.39
1983-84	Edmonton	NHL	74	87	118	205	+76	39	324	26.85
1982-83	Edmonton	NHL	80	71	125	196	+60	59	348	20.40
1981-82	Edmonton	NHL	80	92	120	212	+81	26	369	24.93
1980-81	Edmonton	NHL	80	55	109	164	+41	28	261	21.07
1979-80	Edmonton	NHL	79	51	86	137	+15	21	284	17.96
1978-79	Edmonton	WHA	72	43	61	104	-	19	-	-
1978-79	Indianapolis	WHA	8	3	3	6	-	0	-	-
1978-79	Total Ind/Edm	WHA	80	46	64	110	-	19	-	-
1977-78	Sault Ste. Marie	OHA	64	70	112	182	-	14	-	-
1976-77	Peterborough	OHA	3	0	3	3	-	0	-	-
	Total	NHL	1487	894	1963	2857	+518	577	5089	17.57
	Total	WHA	80	46	64	110	-	19	-	-
	Total	OHA	67	70	115	185	-	14	-	-

MVP CROSBY

2009-10-04T02:58:00.000-07:00

Will the 2010 Olympics prove Crosby is the best?

by Jeff Mackie
The most anticipated hockey game of the 2009-10 season isn't the Winter Classic, nor is it the Stanley Cup rematch between the Red Wings and Penguins, and it isn't Dany Heatley's first appearance in Edmonton or Ottawa.

The best hockey game we'll see this season isn't even on a schedule and it may not even happen. I'm referring to a potential matchup between Canada and Russia at the Vancouver Olympics. Because they are in separate pools, the battle will have to take place in the medal round. We're hoping for a gold medal showdown, but hey, we'll take what we can get.

A Canada-Russia contest would feature the three best players on the planet in Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. The terrific trio were last on the ice together during a second-round playoff series featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. It was epic seven-game series ultimately won by Malkin and Crosby's Penguins. In Vancouver, the tables will be turned. It will be old rivals Ovechkin and Malkin joining forces against Crosby in a relatively short tournament featuring the world's best players.

With all due respect to Ovechkin and Malkin, Crosby will be the star attraction at the Vancouver Olympics. At the age of 22, he's Canada's most recognizable athlete. He'll be competing on his home soil with some very weighty expectations placed upon him. He'll be the best player, possibly the captain, on a team loaded with stars, a squad that is required to win gold. Second place will not suffice.

Crosby is treated like royalty in this country. His Stanley Cup celebration in his hometown of Cole Harbour N.S. attracted thousands of people. His endorsement deals with Reebok, Gatorade and Tim Horton's net him millions of dollars a year. His profile in this nation is befitting of someone who is the undisputed best athlete in their chosen sport.

But that just isn't the case.

Crosby has accomplished a great deal during his first four NHL seasons: he's won a Stanley Cup, along with Hart, Art Ross and Pearson trophies. The one thing he doesn't possess, however, is the title of the world's best hockey player. At the very least, he shares that mantle with Ovechkin – with Malkin closing the gap.

Who's the better player - Crosby or Ovechkin? Making that distinction is like comparing apples and oranges. They're two completely different players, of course, with separate attributes. Ovechkin is the dangerous triggerman, the finisher, while Crosby sees the ice better and would rather feed his teammates that shoot the puck himself.

From a statistical perspective, Crosby lags behind his rival. He's never scored more than 39 goals in a season, while Ovechkin has notched 50 goals in three different years. Ovechkin is also the more decorated of the two – he's won the Hart, Richard and Pearson trophies twice. He also claimed the Calder over Crosby during their rookie seasons. Ovechkin has been a first-team all-star in each of his four seasons; Crosby has made been a first-teamer only once.

Crosby may not even be the best player on his own team. Malkin, after all, did win the Conn Smythe Trophy for the Penguins last season, along with the Art Ross Trophy. He's a year younger, too, and because he plays a much less physical game, isn't as likely to miss time with injuries. I'm not suggesting that Malkin is more valuable to his team than Crosby, only that he could very well establish himself as a more prolific point producer than Crosby.

The 2009-10 campaign is a crucial one for the Crosby brand. He has the opportunity to eclipse Ovechkin and Malkin as the game's greatest player. Leading Canada to gold in Vancouver is a requirement. He also needs to wrestle the Hart Trophy from Ovechkin. Another scoring title would help too, as would a 50-goal season.

One thing is for certain: a coming out party for Sidney Crosby is scheduled over 12 days in February. Whether Crosby shows up for this party is one of the most interesting storylines of the new season

IT was Anderson who beat the Canucks

2009-10-04T02:34:00.000-07:00

DENVER (AP)-Craig Anderson(notes) always felt he could be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL. After two games he certainly has performed like one for the Colorado Avalanche.

Anderson, who signed as a free agent with the Avalanche in the offseason, stopped 35 shots, and Colorado beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 on Saturday.

It was Anderson's eighth career shutout and his first since beating Edmonton 2-0 on Dec. 11, 2008, when he was with Florida.

"It's only two games, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. "But he's come up big in both games."

Paul Stastny(notes) and Wojtek Wolski(notes) had a goal and assist each, Darcy Tucker(notes) also scored and Milan Hejduk(notes) had two assists for the Avalanche, who have won their first two games in the post-Joe Sakic(notes) era.

Anderson, who's stopped 73 of 75 shots in his first two games with Colorado, was strong throughout. He made a glove save on a blistering slapshot by Alexander Edler(notes) in the first period and poked the puck away from Daniel Sedin(notes) on a breakaway in the second.

"You don't really think. When you think you're going to hurt yourself," Anderson said. "I just tried to read and react. When he went to his backhand I went to my stick."

Wolski gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead by finishing a nifty offensive display by his linemates. Hejduk got the puck at the blueline, fed it to Stastny who slid it across the crease to Wolski as he was getting checked. Wolski chipped the puck into the open net for his third goal of the season.

"They're providing a lot of offense," Sacco said of his top line. "We expect them to produce for us offensively."

After not generating a shot on their first two power plays, the Avalanche cashed in 6 seconds into their third opportunity. Hejduk sent a pass to the right of the net and Stastny redirected it over Roberto Luongo's(notes) left pad for his first goal of the year and fourth point.

"We've played together before," said Stastny, who has four points in the first two games. "I've always played well with Wooly, and Hedjie's a smart player. When you play with smart guys you know where you're going to be."

Rookie Matt Duchene(notes) nearly made it 3-0 later in the second on a shorthanded chance, but Luongo made the save.

Colorado eventually took a 3-0 lead on Tucker's power-play goal with 14:37 left in the game, his second goal of the season.

"We good opportunities, missed opportunities and they were able to get the first score on a bad change on our part," Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said.

Luongo had 24 saves for Vancouver.

The Canucks, who are 0-2-0, pressured the Avalanche after falling behind 3-0, but Anderson stood tall. In one sequence, he lost his stick midway through the third but made a kick save on a shot by Sedin. With 2:52 left, Mason Raymond(notes) tried to stuff the puck under Anderson but the goalie made the save to preserve the shutout.

"I worked with him in Florida the last few years," Luongo said of Anderson. "He's a good goalie, very good goalie-underrated. If you want to get goals on him you've got to get more traffic in front of him."

NOTES: The Avalanche are 2-0-0 for the first time since the 2001-02 season. . Colorado plays 11 of its next 13 games on the road. . Vancouver was 0 for 3 on the power play. . The teams combined for 42 penalty minutes, including two fighting majors each in the last 13 seconds of the game.

Ace Frehley: Anomaly
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002GE8GJK/almosthuman

capt.62f58a6b711b48f58228f48b105afbf7.canucks_avalanche_hockey_codz112.jpg
135K View Download

tplimage?lid=41000000028983618&

2009-10-04T01:14:00.001-07:00

http://dennis-kane.com/

Does Mr Kane need a hug?

2009-10-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

It all started around 545 am this morning.I was shutting down work and getting ready to go home to my wonderful family.Mr Kane ,a devoted company man and Montreal Canadian fan is my relief for the day.As I was passing Mr kane I asked him if he has seen my latest TWITTER post,thats when it all happened .Mr Kane went straight for the juggler vein,he started to raise his eastern scratchy voice in my direction DONT YOU PUT ANY NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT ME OR THE MONTREAL CANADIANS IN YOUR TWITTER.TWITTER IS A PLACE FOR POSITIVE STUFF,he barked at me.
After Mr Kane calmed down ,I asked him ....what are the chances of the Vancouver Canucks to win Lord Stanley this year?,his response was...not a hope in hell ,they will fold under pressure like previous years.Then I asked him the same question about the Montreal Canadians.Just the expression on his face showed it all.The love and backing of the Montreal Canadians.It was like watching a kid at a candy store.This boy sure loves those HABS."Montreal has a excellent chance"was his answer.

If you want some good old Canadian hockey reading visit http://dennis-kane.com/feed/

and yes Dennis needs a hug,doent everybody...............

Lookout here we come

2009-10-03T02:22:00.000-07:00

Looking back to the last game against the Flames .The Canucks played 40 out of 60 minutes of hockey.The first 20 minutes reminded me of watching the Montreal Canadians Win the Stanley Cup over the LA Kings back in the early 90s {very boring hockey}.The last 40 minutes was full out ball breaking Stanley Cup hockey even if it was the first game of the season.Yes Mr Kiprusoff made 39 saves to take the win over the canucks, But I do like the drive and hunger that the canucks showed in the last 2 periods .
The Canucks are on the road to visit the lonely Avalanche Saturday at 12pm.I beleive the Canucks will be burning on all 8 cylinders and basically walk all over the Sakicless Avalanche.

My prediction van 5 col 2

A little Canuck history

In 1945 the Pacific Coast Hockey League established an ice hockey franchise in the city of Vancouver. Known as the Canucks, they immediately enjoyed success by winning PCHL championships in their first (1946) and third (1948) year of existence. In 1952, the PCHL merged with the Western Canada Senior Hockey League to form the professional Western Hockey League.

The Canucks would again win the President's/Lester Patrick Cup in 1958, 1960, 1969, and 1970. The team played at the Vancouver Forum.

In 1965, when the NHL announced plans to expand to six additional markets, the owner of the WHL's Canucks (and former Vancouver mayor), Fred Hume, announced that the city of Vancouver would apply. However, the presentation to the NHL's Board of Governors was sloppily prepared. Because of this, and the fact that the Vancouver ownership group was disliked by Detroit Red Wings owner Bruce Norris and Toronto Maple Leafs majority-owner Stafford Smythe (who hated Vancouver in general because of a failed arena plan), the application did not succeed. Nevertheless, the Pacific Coliseum, which was to be the first home for a prospective Vancouver NHL team, was built on the grounds of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE).

Do you remember this Bure goal?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xL3_T9NAww

What happened last night in Calgary

2009-10-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

Dion Phaneuf scored an empty net goal with 1:03 remaining in regulation to ice this game. Up until he got the puck at centre ice, took a few strides and ripped a slap shot into the empty net, Vancouver was in this game pushing for the tying goal.

The Canucks trailed 4-1 midway through the second period before back-to-back goals cut the Flames lead to one. Vancouver threw everything it could at Miikka Kiprusoff in the third outshooting Calgary 21-7, but it simply wasn’t enough

Who am I

2009-10-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well I'm just a guy from a small town on the SUNSHINE COAST of BRITISH COLUMBIA.I have three girls ages 9 ,11 and 15.And let me not forget the youthful beautiful beauty ,my wife to be Lisa.
I enjoy fishing and basically all outdoor ventures.
One thing that I have a great passion for is the Vancouver Canuck NHL hockey Team.
Another thing I like to do is bash any and everthing about those Montreal Canadiens .You might here the name Mr Kane or Mr Behan in this Blog from time to time.Mr Kane is a guy with Great passion for his beloved "make me sick to my stomach" Montreal Canadiens and Mr Behan is a Great man enjoys time with family and thrwing the odd insult at Mr Kane.