Hey, that’s a pretty good impersonation of a post-game Canucks fan, there Spezza!

…

Do I have to talk about the Canucks game?

Really?

Okay. There’s a lot of hating, complaining and wringing of hands going on with tonight’s loss. Oh no, we’ve lost two in a row. The end of the world is coming and the Canucks are sinking like the Titanic.

Steve Bernier’s breakway attempt was nothing short of pitiful, yes. He’s been horribly inept offensively, yes. So have Pavol Demitra and Kyle Wellwood for that matter. Unfortunately, Steve Bernier is in a really odd position with the Canucks right now.

He’s one of the few folks in our bottom six who can play a gritty game and isn’t a complete defensive liability. In tonight’s game, Bernier had 3 hits and was an even player. Going back over the last 20 games, Bernier’s been an even player. So the BIG problem, and I emphasize the word big, is that Bernier simply can’t get the puck into the net, yet the other tools he brings to the table: defensive awareness and size, are a combination that is sorely lacking in our bottom six. Darcy Hordichuk and Tanner Glass may provide grit for our bottom six, but they can’t be trusted to keep the puck out of the back of the net.

I know that some people will point to Jannik Hansen. To that, I’ve got a blog post coming regarding Hansen, a player who I actually happen to be a fan of, and the general condition of our bottom six in the near future. At this moment in time, I’m not necessarily convinced he’d be an upgrade over Bernier on the third line.

I also am somewhat bemused that folks are slagging Kyle Wellwood. In a game where the Canucks were limited to 4 shots for about half the game, you would figure that one of the big guns, like Raymond (who had a glorious chance in the first) or the Sedins would be the ones managing to get one past Brian Elliott. The fact that Kyle Wellwood came up big, virtually at the last minute, shouldn’t be a sticking point for fans. I’ve maintained that the third line has been making an effort: if they’d been stinking it up in both ends of the rink and looking uninspired I’d probably be irate. Like Bernier, Wellwood has also shown some defensive flair and it’s the lack of offense that is utterly frustrating. Unfortunately, there aren’t many options for the Canucks to replace Wellwood right now, as our depth down the middle is just as bad as our lack of competent grit in our bottom six.

The other BIG complaint from folks right now is the decision to start Andrew Raycroft. To which I have to say, Roberto Luongo probably wouldn’t have won this team the game were he in net tonight. I actually liked Alain Vigneault’s decision to rest the captain, even with the loss tonight.

Here’s why: the Canucks were going into the Corel center against a red hot Ottawa team. Luongo was going to be needing some rest somewhere on this road trip, especially after the rather dodgy performance he had against the Canadiens. The rest of the team didn’t look particularly well defensively (although the coaching staff wouldn’t admit to that) so putting Raycroft out and hoping the team would tighten up defensively didn’t look like a bad idea on paper. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way, so Luongo, at the very least, was able to get some rest.

The Canucks play the Bruins tomorrow before having 2 days off against Tampa and then have three more games to close out the first half of the road trip before the break. I’m sure the plan was originally to start Raycroft against Boston, but Luongo’s poor play and showing signs of fatigue nixed that. That said, having a fresh Luongo up against the Bruins would maximize the team’s chances of getting 2 vital points, whereas a worn out Luongo probably wouldn’t have made a difference tonight.

Beyond all that, Trois Kronors had probably their worst game in a long time tonight. I mentioned they looked a little out of synch against Montreal. Tonight, it got even worse as the Sedins and Burrows just couldn’t put anything together. Unfortunately, this marks roughly 8 periods where the top line has been largely invisible. They really need to come up big against Boston, insert cliche about your best players have to be your best players, yadda yadda yadda.

I dunno what else to say about tonight’s game. The Canucks should taking last night’s game as motivation. Luongo should hopefully have a fire lit underneath him. Here’s hoping the rest of the team follows his example.