Edmonton @ Vancouver aka Canucks got kicked out of the playoffs

This happened a week ago, so I don't remember the exact emotions I felt while watching the game at GM Place. I know I was depressed like heck (as you will see on my facebook status) afterwards and so on... I can't remember the efforts they gave during that gam, but I do know...

THEY HAD 923848235894758394 POWERPLAYS AND THEY FAILED TO CAPITALIZE ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE.

Yeah. Good work, guys. One of those powerplays was a 5-minute major.. the refs were practically GIVING the game to us, but it seems like Dwayne Roloson had other ideas.

Calgary @ Vancouver aka Canucks fans say goodbye to Trevor Linden, although he hasn't announced anything yet so he might feel even more pressured to retire now.

Another boring game. Seriously guys, it's FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT. The least you can do is score 3874829374 goals to show your appreciation to the fans, not get scored on 7 goals.

Although it's sort of like a win-win situation as a fan.. :P If they win.. yay they win.. if they lose, YAY HIGHER DRAFT PICK! But I was praying that they lost by like 10-9 or something.

So it was a very depressing game again, in more ways than one. The whole standing O Trevor Linden got was really sad and heartwarming. It was also very sweet of Iggy to take the rest of the Flames players and say their goodbyes to Linden.

But the most depressing for me is the fact that Markus Naslund may not be back as a Canuck or as a hockey player. :( I will really miss you Nazzy, if you don't sign with the Canucks. Don't worry, I'll jump on the bandwagon of whichever team you do sign with and cheer from you there... (Even if it's the Leafs or Flames... or someone I hate just as much.)

Very great of the Vancouver crowd to cheer for Iggy's 50th goal of the season. At first I thought it was only the Flames fans cheering, but they were so loud, and when they announced his 50th in the building, the cheering even got louder.

Anyway. Yeah. My friend and I ALMOST won a jersey. UGH. he guy who won Roberto Luongo's jersey is at Section 311, Row 12, Seat 9... WE WERE IN SEAT 111/112... SAME FREAKING ROW AND SECTION.

The Advantages of NOT Making the Playoffs:

1. I save the money that I would have spent on Playoff tickets and can use that money on girly things like clothes, shoes, purses and makeup.
2. Canucks get a bit higher draft pick than usual.
3. I can fully concentrate on studying for my final.
4. ... I'll think of a 4th reason.

The Disadvantages of NOT Making the Playoffs:

1. I'd have to read the Canucks forums that's full of bitching everyday.
2. It's hard to be rabid when I'm not cheering for the Canucks...
3. I'd have to listen to Vancouver sports radio bitching about the Canucks the whole day.
4. ... The Canucks are not in the playoffs.
5. ... I'll think of a 5th reason.

The rest of the photos can be found on my flickr.

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Some random notes about last night's very enjoyable to watch game:

• Markus Naslund's game tying goal came at 19:19. :D HEE! Goal scored by #19 on 19 minutes and 19 seconds. YEAH.
• Gah. Trevor Linden could have gotten a hat trick. Oh well, huge two goals from him, including the game winner. AV was double shifting him in the 3rd period powerplays just to get the 3rd goal.
• Taylor Pyatt played like a monster last night. Seriously, how many times did we see him bulldoze his way into the offensive zone? Then win puck battles by pushing guys around. I think Pyatt just hates Jim Vandermeer. And since Vandermeer is part of the Flames, he hates the Flames, too. HAHA And on that PK. XD Seriously awesome.
• All 4 lines scored tonight, I believe. Always a good thing.
• Mike-ro-Weave scored his first point as a Canuck!!! Apparently the guys were telling him that Canucks are 1-0 when he scores a point. Keep em coming!
• HAHA. I love when Jarome Iginla gets pissy at Burrows and Kesler.. and Mitchell and everyone. HAHA.
• I was watching the post game player interviews... XD! When they were interviewing Weaver on the bike, someone kept patting him on the back and Bieksa just had the huge smile on his face. XD

Uhm. That's all I can remember.

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Wow. Maybe I should have continued live blogging the game, it might have kept the Canucks energetic throughout the last 2 periods. Or maybe I should stop watching Canucks PPV games, because honestly, all the games that I have actually watched a significant amount of, the Canucks has lost in terrible fashion.

My mom even pointed it out. I rebutted by saying "I WATCHED THE PHOENIX GAME LAST TIME!" and she reminded me that I only watched a portion of the 3rd period before it blacked out and .. it's true.

PPV Games I've seen this year:
vs Flyers (8-2 loss)
vs Wild (2-1 loss)
vs Rangers (3-0 win) [I was watching at a restaurant with friends, so it sorta doesn't count]
vs Ducks (4-1 loss)
vs Flames (3-2 loss)

Anyway, back to the game.

What the fuck.

Seriously. WTF happened there?

I know Canucks aren't the 'toughest' team in the league (despite their huge amount of penalty minutes), but usually when the game gets physical against a divisional rival, they can usually answer the bell and at least hit back a little. But 7 hits to Calgary's 29???! WTF!

Not to mention, the 1st period was all nice and peachy, they were skating well, passes were going tape to tape, they were taking away pucks from Flamers left, right and center, they were creating chances, and suddenly, it stopped.

A big factor was the sustained pressure Calgary placed, but it's like the moment they received the puck on their stick, they're lost and doesn't know what the heck to do with it. Then they get hit. A lot. And then they lose the puck and they're stuck in their own zone again.

And the penalties. God the penalties. Okay, to be honest I don't have a huge issue with a lot of the penalties, since it's the Canucks fault they got in that mess in the first place. BUT THE DUMB PENALTIES. MY GOD. Too many men on the ice??? Delay of game by knocking your own net off??? Burrows you have to be smarter than that, please. Don't do it when you know you're on the penalty kill and take your team 5 on 3.

And God, Bieksa on the winning goal by Phaneuf. You're the only man back, I know you broke your stick, but read the play properly and make sure someone will cover your ass if you decide to leave. But he totally misread it, and he opens up the zone for Phaneuf to receive the pass and well.. goal.

I think he needs to be treated to a healthy dose of a healthy scratch just to give him a wake up call. It's okay to make mistakes especially when you're not a veteran yet, but if you repeatedly make the same mistake over and over (and I'm not talking about just leaving, but his giveaways) without any sign of learning, you have to take desperate measures. Seriously bench his ass for just one game just so he knows that this is not acceptable.

God I wish Ohlund was back so we can afford to do this. Scratching Bieksa would mean putting Luc Bourdon in, but at this rate, at least Luc has the excuse of it being rookie mistakes if he give sup the same errors as Bieksa.

I don't hate the guy but gah.

Every Canuck had a good first period, and I thought Taylor Pyatt, Willie Mitchell, the Sedins, Markus Naslund and Matt Pettinger had a really good game.

Well, I thought Nazzy had a good game during the few moments we see him on the ice, which is sadly a few since we took 83748237423 penalties in the 2nd and the 3rd he hardly got any ice time.

Despite Pyatt taking 2 penalties, I also thought he played pretty well since he is one of those guys who actually created offensive chances whenever we got the opportunity to in the Flames zone. The Twins also set him up with a chances to score on Kipper, but no dice, still played well, powerforward style. (Seriously, we need to get someone to fight/hit/piss off Pyatt before every game. He plays that much better.)

Hmm yeah. penalties suck. Dumb penalties suck even more and the Canucks need to learn how to keep it down. Ugh. Though the penalties aren't even the issue, they won't be getting penalized if they can just clear the puck and just ugh. clear the puck.

For a bit of good news... The Baby Canucks feasted on the Baby Avalanche, winning the game 7-2. Let's hope the Parent!Canucks do the same to the Avalanche tomorrow.

Goal scorers include the Sniping Viking, Jannik Hansen and the ever Grabtastic, Michael Grabner. Good job Moose!

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[06:30] Nazzy and Danny SCORES. SWEETNESS!!!

LOL. I thought Nazzy's goal is nice.. I love when he holds on to the puck and just shoots after everyone else falls down. LOL

Then Danny. Poor guy XD;; His 2 goals to 'end' his goal scoring drought are both lucky goals.

I see Nazzy yelling someone out from the bench. Oooh Nazzy really letting the refs hear it. Probably arguing about the  location of the faceoff.

[06:35] Cowan and Goodard colliding 'accidentally'. Yeah right.

[06:40] HAHA Yes. Another penalty for Eriksson.

[06:42] I love how you hear  lot of "Go Canucks Go" amidst the "Go Flames Go!"

Edler's shot was almost placed in the Calgary goal by the defenceman.

[06:45] Hehe nice effort by Petting Zoo and Cowan, keeping the puck in the Flames zone.

I hate how i keep hearing Vandermeer's name. I'm glad Taylor Pyatt beat up his ugly mug.

And freaking clear the puck.

Thank you for clearing the puck for us.

Yes another penalty for Calgary. The Canucks better take advantage of this. UGH.

[06:47] Haha. Pyatt powermove. :B On Vandermeer.

I wonder how they started their fight?

Vandermeer: Hey pretty boy? Remember me? The one who tried to make you ugly while I was in Chicago?
Pyatt: Hey jealous boy! Remember me? The one who made your ugly mug uglier?
Vandermeer: DID YOU JUST CALL ME UGLY YOU BITCH?
Pyatt: Yeah I did, jealous? :P
Vandermeer: THAT'S IT DROP THE GLOVES. I'LL PUNCH YOUR FACE IN.
Pyatt: NO PROBLEMO, AT LEAST I KNOW MY UGLY FACE LOOKS PRETTIER THAN YOUR NORMAL FACE. BRING IT ONE BITCH.
Vandermeer: IT'S ALREADY BEEN BROUGHTEN!

*drop gloves*

Too lazy to continue this live blog. I'm not made for the live blog business. I need to concentrate.

And Pyatt takes the Canucks off the powerplay.

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Pyatt!! I love you when you fight!! Heehee.

XDDDDDD *swoons*

Excuse me while I go faint.

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Pyatt!! I love you when you fight!! Heehee.

XDDDDDD *swoons*

Excuse me while I go faint.

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Okay. No real comment here, since I only saw the last 10 minutes of the game, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I just had to say...

OMG WILLIE MITCHELL SCORED!! FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON!! And just like last year, it was assisted by Markus Naslund!!! Total Nazzy-Willie connection, I tell ya.

I saw the replay and it was such an awesome play by Nazzy! Amazing patience with the puck again, and all the Flamers were just focusing on Naslund and Willie went unchecked and unnoticed as he skated through the slot to receive Nazzy's pass and, voila, GOAL!!!

Also, Brad Isbister scored his first goal of the season and as a Canuck. As I said yesterday, that line deserves it. Looks like they pretty much shut down Iginla and the top line again, except for that fluky Aucoin goal that apparently grazed over Pyatt's shoulder.

Anyway, good on Iz. :) Good for that line.

And wow, is it possible? The Canucks practically have three scoring lines, one of which doubles as a shutdown line, and a fourth line that can also contribute once in a while.

Heck, the game against Minnesota had all four lines scoring.

Wow, eh?

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I officially dislike my brother this week. X( I missed all three goals in the 2nd period because we had to pick him up from the skytrain station.

Anyway, I'm making this quick, but the Canucks were able to hold on to this game and come out with the win.

Even after dominating the first 2 periods of the game, the Canucks ran into a bit of penalty trouble and gave the Flames a chance to comeback. Fortunately, Roberto Luongo was in tiptop shape and was able to make key saves to hold on for the 3-2 victory.

It wasn't just Lui who was amazing, our defense was pretty good tonight.

Alexander Edler was again solid throughout the 22:06 minutes he racked up tonight; 2nd in the team for ice time. 2ND!!! My favorite, and probably most memorable play of tonight's game was probably that Calgary 2 on 1 in the first period. I loved how Edler played that by pokechecking the puck once the Flamer tried to pass it off the other Flamer.

There's also our forechecking and special teams. Had Calgary scored in all 4 of their powerplays in the 3rd period, this game would have been such a different story, but it seems like the Canucks are slowly going back to their old PK form.

Everyone was just great. I don't really remember anyone having a particularly horrid game....

Oh yah... Congratulations to Trevor Linden for passing Stan Smyl in the Canucks' All Time Assist record. Also congrats to Byron Ritchie who finally scored his first goal tonight against his old team.

Fun fact: Ritchie's last goal (before this one) as a Flame was against the Canucks. It's funny how his first goal as a Canuck is against the Flames.

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In the Moment: Oct 6, 2007

Wow, was that game unreal or what? All goals scored by the Canucks were scored on the powerplay!

POWERPLAY!!!

Get outta here!

It was a classic Canucks/Flames tilt, but in terms of actual determination, I thought the Flames looked better tonight than the Canucks.

Calgary had a better forecheck for most of the game, defensemen pinching in at the right times, which always kept the puck in our zone. They were also stronger on the puck, especially when the Canucks had a lot of chances to clear it out, pressure from the Flames kept it in. The Canucks also gave up a couple of breakaways, thank god that they either missed the net, can't pull the trigger on the shot or beat Luongo or else this game would have been over.

As for the Canucks, their powerplay, and for the most part, their penalty killed pull through. Mostly the powerplay, though.

Shannon finally pots one in

He did make up for it in the 2nd period, by scoring on the powerplay to make the game 2-1 Canucks, and then that last great effort on the later OT powerplay. He also laid out a rare hit on Dion Phaneuf (PHANUEF! OF ALL PEOPLE!) which got him a roughing penalty in which the Flames eventually scored in, but honestly, the refs did blow the whistle late, and I am sort of glad he even hit Phaneuf in the first place.

Luongo's near-injury experience

Our defense... was a little weak tonight. I am probably one of the biggest Willie Mitchell homers in the planet, but he played just okay tonight, but I know he can be better... more dominant. I thought Aaron Miller stood out as the best defensive defenceman on the ice tonight, I mean, other than that crosscheck on some Flamer that almost got Luongo injured... Yeah, Miller was solid tonight.

Mattias Ohlund also had a great night offensively, scoring that goal that tied the game, and then, like Naslund, he got the puck to the net in that last second OT powerplay that led to Daniel Sedin's game winner.

I just wish Kevin Bieksa does what Ohllie did in the powerplay tonight... SHOOT THE PUCK A LOT MORE. Please Juice. This is how you scored last year. Just throw it on the net, you have a nice shot, use it.

Anyway, the Sedins are back with Taylor Pyatt tonight and I thought he looked better on the Sedin line than Mason Raymond did. I'm sure it just comes with chemistry and experience which is why Pyatt looked good there, but this is what I've wanted all along: For the Sedins to finally have some solid linemates. I just want them to build on the chemistry they already have with Pyatt and vice versa.

Taylor Pyatt trying to look like he's doing something

As for Taylor Pyatt's effort tonight... He did hit a couple of players, had some nice shots on goal, including that one timer that caused Kipper a delay of game penalty... I still think he can play better. He is still getting pushed around a lot, especially on the boards, but at least I thought he's skating better this year compared to last year. I thought he looked faster. He also played a pretty "big" role on Ohllie's game tying goal, screening Kipper enough that he was unable to see Ohllie's shot.

As for the rest of the team... I already mentioned that near-injury situation with Roberto Luongo. Not only does he have to be afraid of players from other teams bearing down on him, there's now the threat of his own teammates pushing another player on him.

Please guys, you're there to protect Luongo and push people AWAY from the net, not towards it. Please, let's remind ourselves of this.

Hmm... I'd comment on how I disliked AV's decision of scratching Mason Raymond and Trevor Linden out, but I won't. I should give Brad Isbister a chance and stop hating on Alex Burrows and Matt Cooke.

But you know what scares me? Someone on the Team 1040 pregame show, I'm assuming Tony Gallagher, mentioned that Alain Vigneault prefers "grit" over "skill/talent". And sometimes I can't help but agree, but that's a story for another day.

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I finally got my NHL TV Console to work so I can watch the preseason games, and thank god it picked the right time to finally start working.

1. I got to see Cory Schneider play -- he was good, but I can't really judge his talent on the 1.5 periods he played, but so far so good. He did make that amazing save just after he got in on goal.
2. Michael Grabner, and Juraj Simek were amazing in the 3rd period. I didn't notice them as much in the 2nd period, but they really put extra effort into their game in the 3rd. Michael Grabner had a goal and an assist, and threw a big hit on Dion Phaneuf. As for Simek, even though it did not show on the scoresheet, he was one of the best players on the ice, and I think he threw big hits on some Flamers, too.. forgot who though.
3. Alex Edler was the best. This is mostly my bias for defencemen speaking, but didn't he look solid? He also has more confidence on jumping up on the play now in the offensive zone, and defensively, he was as good as it gets. I really hate this Bourdon vs Edler storyline, I think both are great defencemen, but I feel that Bourdon just has that extra pressure from himself and the media that he can't get his head together. Luc is a good defenceman prospect as well, but I feel it's the expectations that will ruin him. Edler had a huge advantage on this side because no one expected this much from him at the start.
4. Markus Naslund had some pretty good moves tonight, especially near the end of the 2nd period, including the pass in which he set up Edler for his goal. I thought he looked good on the backcheck as well, and I really can't wait to see what Nazzy will bring to the team this year.
5. And my favorite topic: Taylor Pyatt. I was pretty impressed with him tonight. For this game, I saw him use his size more, and he was definitely strong on the puck compared to what we saw from him last season. Perhaps he is more confident? There was just this certain powerplay in the 2nd period (I believe this is the one before Schneids came in for Lui, and McIver/Peters "fight"), where he was just by the boards with 2 Calgary players on him and those two guys just can't push him off the puck. AV also put him on the PK, which in a way was surprising. I can't say he did bad because we shut down Calgary's powerplay, so he must have done something right.

As for the other players, Mattias Ohlund was a rock, Lukas Krajicek is growing into his PP QB role, Roberto Luongo is still bingo-bango amazing, and Nathan McIver is definitely tougher than Rick Rypien--health wise.

Hope to see more games like this in the regular season. :D

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