Yeah, I know. There’s been a ton of hockey (mostly Canucks) related posts as of late here. It’s getting kind of ridiculous for a ‘pop culture’ type blog.

Part of it is that money’s been tight and I haven’t been able to spend a whole lot of dough on entertainment. Hockey games are free, the stats are there for me to sift through and it’s something I tend to have an easy time to write about.

I’ll have some non-hockey stuff up soon, for those few of you who actually come to the site for that sort of thing.

Canucks ‘Blue’ Chance At Eighth Seed In Ugly Affair

Fans in Vancouver will undoubtedly be angry at Mike Leggo and the on-ice officiating in tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues, who defeated them 3-1 on game 6 of their 8 game homestand. I am of course referring to the poor decision against Alex Burrows that would’ve put the Canucks within one goal of the Blues midway through the third period. Or maybe it was the lack of a double minor against Burrows after he was decked in the mouth and required stitches. Or the fact that the referees were calling anything and everything in the first and then inexplicably decided to put their whistles away for the rest of the game.

Christmas is coming and everyone is busy shopping, getting the perfect Christmas tree, drinking too much eggnog and hiding from the cold. You don’t have time to keep track of everything related to the Vancouver Canucks. Never fear, as here’s a rundown of everything that happened with the Canucks this week!

The Moose are looking to wrap up their 2 game homestand against the Lake Erie Monsters with another victory, after Cory Schneider shut out the Monsters last night 1-0. Guillame Desbiens had the lone marker in what was my first Manitoba Moose game of the season. I’m still getting a handle on the Moose, so I’m just going to do some pseudo live-blogging for the next few games. That said, here’s my thoughts on tonight’s game!

Rumours continue to swirl that the Vancouver Canucks are interested in some guy by the name of Ilya Kovalchuk. Although this rumor was shot down last Saturday on Hockey Night In Canada by Pierre LeBrun, that hasn’t stopped speculation to continue to mount. Most recently, apparently talks have stalled between Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers , a claim that is being denied by Thrashers GM Don Waddell. This hasn’t stopped speculation that Waddell may start looking into moving Kovalchuk if a deal can’t be reached.

A bit later than usual on this one, apologies. I got distracted with some other stuff. Anyway, here’s my thoughts on tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals.

After putting forth a performance not even a mother could love Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks, the Canucks were looking to put forth a far better effort as they went up against the Washington Capitals, a team ranked third overall in the NHL.

I used to follow the Manitoba Moose rather heavily in past seasons, but got away from that recently. That changes now. Unfortunately, since the Canucks game and Moose game overlapped a bit, I didn’t get to pay full attention to the third as I wanted to. That said, here’s some observations and comments about the Moose. I’ll try to place emphasis on Canucks prospects and will hopefully have things more in-depth for tomorrow.

Or, The Assassination of Darcy Hordichuk by the Coward Trevor Presiloski

Alright, this is sort of an extension from my postscript on Wednesday, where I talked about the problems that are going on in the Canucks bottom six. Kyle Wellwood has been catching a lot of flak from people as of late as his offensive production so far this year has ranged from miniscule to dreadful. Just as Wellwood’s waistband has been shrinking, so too have his numbers on the scoresheet. Some fans have called for his being waived or bought out, as we simply must have him off the roster post-haste. Others have been content to let him stew up in the pressbox, letting him have a couch potato’s seat for his couch potato efforts.

But are ALL of these criticisms fully deserved? Is Wellwood truly as bad as everyone is making him out to be, or are people getting caught on the lack of offensive numbers and roasting him on a spit as a result? I don’t think so, as even without Wellwood’s offensive contributions, he actually improves the team and gives them a better shot at winning when he is in the lineup. So, here comes the analysis!

It’s getting to be that time of year where everyone is cranking out their ‘Best of’ lists, recounting their favorite things from throughout the year. This year is a little bit different, though, as we’re going to be entering into a new decade this January, so there’s a bunch of Best of lists recounting the past decade. I was thinking about doing a Best Songs of the Decade list, but that’s sorta played out, as I don’t want to be the 732nd person to wax about ‘Hey Ya!’, ‘Yellow’ and ‘Mr. Brightside’ (or whatever.)

That’s when I realized that there’ve been a ton of great musical moments throughout the decade that involved songs that didn’t originate from this Decade That Was. Cover songs, a renewed interest in an artist, artistic selection for television and film, that sort of thing. There’s a bunch of good stuff to delve into while looking at some of the big trends that came about as a result of this decade. So, here goes!

I was hoping that the Canucks inconsistent nature had gotten sorted out after a rather convincing win on Monday against the Kings. The Canucks were clicking on all points, getting contributions on the PP, being flawless on the PK and improving in the faceoff circle.

Based on what transpired tonight in GM Place, you wouldn’t have known that  the Canucks had been improving and looking like a team that was on the upswing. I don’t even know where to begin.