1 post tagged “canucks vs sabres”
Sabby was this close. THIIIIS close to getting his first NHL win, leading 3-2 in the final minute of the 3rd period, yet we were FOILED by whoever waived Morrison off the faceoff, and by whatever lucky bounce that got the puck in the back of the net to tie the game. That was just really unlucky, but I guess I shouldn't complain because our own tying goal was pretty fluky (more on that later).
I think (the real) Canuck fans, at least I do, wanted this game for Sabourin. The team said they wanted this game for Sabby as well, and I think especially after seeing his performance tonight, they're beating themselves for not pulling this through for him.
I don't know what it is about the Canucks that just seem to have horrible defensive games everytime Sabby is on the net. Is it the lack of confidence they have with the an behind the net, at least compared to the amount of confidence they have in Luongo? Or is it just Sabres outskating us this time, even though we played well defensively?
For me, I thought it was really bad defensive coverage, especially on the first 2 Buffalo goals. You know, you see it on TV and think "why didn't you push that guy away??? Why is that guy free to shoot the puck???" I know they really wanted this win for Sabourin, and yeah, the offense did their part compared to the previous games wherein we couldn't score, but augh the defense!!! How many times were they unable to clear the puck? Other than the 2nd period, Buffalo had the decided advantage on puck possession. They couldn't win the same puck battles on the boards like in previous games.
Meeh. I don't know. Sabby did his part, and I think he has gained the respect of his teammates and coach now, and maybe some of the Vancouver Canucks' fans and critics. I've always thought he was a decent backup. Other than the Nashville game where our defense was probably at the lowest point, he's only allowed around 2 goals per game, most of which came from the 1st period. After that 1st period, he shuts it down and gave the team the chance to win, but at that point, the Canucks couldn't score to save their lives.
He made some really HUMONGOUS saves to keep the Canucks in the game tonight. Just wow. I was watching at the bar, and during that 5-on-4, Sabres had a wide open net and should have scored but he was able to keep it out, and everyone was just giving him a round of applause in the bar.
As for the other things... wow, that's like a whole post on Sabby! XD...
- Taylor Pyatt scores again. With his skates. LOL! 2nd game in a row, and keeping his 4 game goal scoring streak alive! Who woulda thunk that Cushion/Pylon of all people would be in this kind of goal streak? Especially with a broken thumb? Though in his defense, Pyatt has been playing better of late. I used to complain a lot on how he doesn't use his size to win those puck battles, but lately, he's been winning a lot of those. Not to mention he's becoming invaluable on the powerplay... scoring with his skates and all. :P How talented!
- The always snazzy Markus Naslund also scored tonight, keeping his own point streak alive! I forgot how long that streak was... 6 games I think? It as on a powerplay, after the Sabres tied the game 2-2, and Kevin Bieksa shot the puck to the net, it bounced off the boards into the stick of Markus Naslund. Ryan Miller was slow to recover from the Juice' initial shot, and practically left Nazzy with an open net. But you know, at least it went to Nazzy's stick... not like Josh Green, Marc Chouinard or Jan Bulis or something. How many times have those guys missed a gaping net???
- Speaking of... Jan Bulis scored Canucks' 2nd shorthanded goal this season! It was on a breakaway, and I was so surprised no Sabres player was able to catch up to him, speed and all. Bulis has been playing well lately, but I think he's still under some bad light after his agent released news about him requesting for a trade. I love how the Canucks players genuinely celebrated with him when he went to the bench, and not just ignored him especially after hearing news of the trade request.
- The overtime....... on the powerplay -_-, it's like both Salo and Bieksa forgot how to shoot the puck. They just keep passing it to each other.
- The shootout....... Our 2nd shootout loss and I'm beginning to think we need to start training one of our players to be shootout specialists. Maybe spend extra time with Kesler in practice to improve his patented "leg kick whatever I decide to" shot? I mean, we really have no "shootout" scorers, other than Morrison who has been..... 3/4? 2/3? this year? At the beginning of the season, it seemed like Nazzy has already found the solution to his shootout woes from last year, but after his long goal slump, he lost his touch again? ...... and Josh Green on the shootout. It only worked once, AV. augh.
Other than that, almost perfect Northeast division victory, and wouldn't complain about the loss tonight. Glad that Sabby got us the point!
