You’ll have to forgive me for being a little late with this postgame writeup. My day yesterday consisted of the Sweden/Finland game, the Moose/Stars game, this game and the Canada/USA World Juniors game. Rather busy schedule for me which got even more hectic with that whole New Year’s Eve thing. Had a great time out last night, was drinking straight Jack’s, which in retrospect probably wasn’t a good idea, and woke up in time for the Winter Classic.

I honestly can’t think of a better 48 hours of hockey that was filled with so many enjoyable moments and games. Maybe the season opener after the lockout, but that may have just been my need for a hockey fix kicking in.

The game against the Blues and Canucks had all the makings of  a dull game. The Canucks, who have been stymied on the man advantage and have matched up poorly against the St. Louis Blues (who boast one of the top penalty killing numbers in the league) certainly had their work cut out for them. I was optimistic about their chances, though, as they had played a tight game against the Coyotes on Tuesday and would be in the right frame of mind against the Blues.

That said, my optimism was put to the test for most of the game. The Canucks did come out with some jump right at the beginning, playing a physical game and trying to set the tempo. The Blues were able to weather the storm, though, and ended catching a huge break in the first as Rick Rypien was ejected for having tape on his hands. A lot of noise has been made about this rule and while it’s true that Rypien really didn’t have any sort of advantage with the tape that was around his wrist and thumb, the officials weren’t in the wrong for calling the penalty.

The ensuing 5 minute major led to a goal for the Blues, after the Canucks had killed off the first four minutes. Things got worse for the Canucks, as the Blues built on their lead and were looking as though they were going to go 3-0 in the win column against the Canucks this season, as Tkachuk and Andy McDonald both contributed to give the Blues a favorable 3-0 lead.

The third period was all Canucks, though, as the Sedins both scored. I was complaining about them not doing a whole lot for most of this game, as the Blues were doing a great job at shutting down our top line and was frustrated that their inability to score was continuing from the Phoenix game. They did a great job of providing some timely offense, although I wasn’t a fan of the fact that they couldn’t get anything going on the man advantage at all. Samuelsson also had a great game, notching a second goal that prompted the Canucks comeback efforts. If this recent offensive contributions are a result of Samuelsson being snubbed, I’d just like to say thanks to the Sweden officials.

The other thing I’d like to point out is that despite Samuelsson not getting much offense prior to these last two games he has been working hard and shooting the puck. While it’s obviously better to have your second line contributing offense, the fact that he’s still working hard and making things hectic for the opposing team (rather than floating or looking disinterested) is a good thing.

Our bottom six, for the most part, has also been playing some great hockey as of late. Wellwood is finally starting to some some offensive flash out there and is also making contributions on the scoring sheet: his pass to Ehrhoff in OT was great. It was also funny to hear Shorthouse say Wellwood’s ‘barging past’ the St. Louis defenders. Glass and Bernier are starting to mesh well together. They aren’t the best third line in the world, for sure, but they have been playing well.

Bolduc had a pretty rough night, as he was on-ice for the first St. Louis goal and was killed in the faceoff dot, only winning 1 out of 7 attempts. I still think he’s a better alternative to Rick Rypien as fourth line C (at least until Johnson gets back) and his play has been good enough, for the most part.

Shane O’Brien continues to baffle me. Last night, there was a huge scrum that included both Sedins getting manhandled by the Blues and SOB just stood around, not really doing anything. I wonder if he’s taking that whole disciplined approach to not taking penalties too far.

There’s more I could probably talk about with this game, but alcohol has muddied my brain, so this will be a little lighter on thoughts than usual.

The Canucks are set to play the Dallas Stars in an early tilt tomorrow, 11am PST/2PM EST. Marc Crawford and Marty Turco are a great combo for the Canucks to unload a ton of offense on, so here’s hoping tomorrow’s game will be a high scoring affair!