Man, what an intense looking bunch there. Wellwood especially. I kid, I kid. Anyway, here’s a brief recap of the Canucks week that was, although it’s a little light on some details.

Games

The Canucks continued the Road Trip From Hell this week with visits to the other two Eastern Canadian teams, with two decidedly different efforts that resulted in losses for Vancouver. The Canucks had what I thought was a good effort against the Montreal Canadiens, outshooting their opponents and getting a lot of close calls, while they more or less phoned it in against Ottawa. Roberto Luongo also had a rare day off against the Senators, something which I suggested may happen.

The benchings continued for Quebec born Canucks, as Steve Bernier was a healthy scratch in an early Saturday game against the Boston Bruins, a game which saw an absolutely epic effort from Luongo and a big game for Pavol Demitra, who scored to tie the game and then in the shootout. Roberto Luongo stopped all three shooters, earning the win for the Canucks.

Through all of this, the Sedins were held pointless. Given how ridiculously good they’ve been as of late, I guess it was a little unrealistic to expect it to continue onwards. We’ll see how they do next week against the Florida squads, though.

Injuries

Kevin Bieksa has his cast off and it is hoped he’ll  be back mid-March.

No updates on Mitchell. The Canucks are still looking to have him back sometime after the Olympic break.

Off Ice

I guess the biggest story this week revolved around some comments Cody Hodgson made in his first press conference since being demoted to the OHL’s Brampton Battalion. The Vancouver sports media were quick to pick up on his comments, specifically those he made pertaining to Alain Vigneault and Dave Gagner. Reaction was immediate, with articles proclaiming a rift existed between Hodgson and the Canucks and that Mike Gillis didn’t care about Hodgson.

Unfortunately, that all ended earlier today when Mike Gillis came out and put to bed everything that was being said regarding the supposed ‘rift’ between Hodgson and the Canucks. Kind of silly this whole thing, as Hodgson has been described as nothing but a class act by everyone he’s come into contact with.

As mentioned in the last story I linked, both Alex Edler and Mikael Samuelsson were named to an eight player reserve list by Team Sweden, meaning they could see action in the Olympics should anyone be injured.

In other news, there are rumours going around that the Dallas Stars may be interested in Canucks prospect Cory Schneider. I can’t imagine the Canucks would be interested in dealing Schneider now: his recent struggles with the Moose have more than likely lowered his value and there is nothing past him if Luongo goes down with another injury, but it’s good to know that there are other teams showing interest in him.

Finally, I forgot to mention this last week as it was published the same day, but Mike Gillis is shutting down contract talks with both Mason Raymond and Ryan Kesler. It’s an interesting decision, although not necessarily out of character for Gillis, given how he conducted contract talks with both the Sedins and Luongo last off-season.

The Moose

The biggest problem with having moved is that I keep forgetting that Moose games are actually on at different times. As a result, I keep forgetting to catch Moose games when they’re on.

That said, I got to partially see both games against the San Antonio Rampage this weekend. The first tilt was an absolute heartbreaker of a game: the Moose came from behind and tied the game at the last minute, only to give up the deciding goal 45 seconds into over time.

The second game had a different outcome, what with the Moose winning, and was another fairly high paced game, with Kyle Turris and Mikkel Boedker showing some great razzle dazzle for the Ramps, while Grabner finally started showing some signs of life in the late stages of that game. Jannik Hansen also looked particularly solid in the second game, probably his best in a long time.

Prospects

Cody Hodgson returned on Thursday and notched 2 assists.

Beyond that, I’m a little behind with prospect info due to being sick and job hunting this week. I’ll try to have a far more in-depth look at the Canucks prospects next week! Horrible, I know.

What a fascinating game, today’s matinee affair was.

Partially because I’ve been high on cold medication all day and it took me a while to gather my thoughts, but also because this was pretty much the reverse instance of what went down with the Montreal game. The Canucks had a rather poor start (which saw the first goal being scored by the opposing team and which saw yet another early penalty leading to said goal) but were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to an absolutely stellar effort from Roberto Luongo, who responded well after being sat Thursday in Ottawa.

I mentioned in the Ottawa Postscript that I liked the decision to sit Luongo, as it maximized the chance to win against Boston, a team that’s been struggling as of late. A focused, rested Luongo was exactly what was needed against a Bruins team that had upstart netminder Tuuka Rask in net for them. Luongo had what was probably his best game in a LONG time, particularly in the second period where he was single handedly keeping the Canucks within one. It’s nice to see him getting hot and I hope the trend continues as the Canucks head down to Florida.

While I opted to defend Alain Vigneault’s decision to bench a player last game, I have to find fault with his decision to scratch Steve Bernier. Yes, I’m aware that he hasn’t been contributing any offense as of late, but you have to look at the other things that he brings to the table. Specifically, the fact that he’s not Tanner Glass, Darcy Hordichuk or Rick Rypien.

Look, I’ve become a fan of Tanner Glass. As a prairie boy myself, we have to stick together, and he’s been a pleasant surprise since Gillis signed him in the off-season. But he has no business playing on the third line. Especially when our fourth line is such a disaster zone as it is, having all three of Hordichuk, Glass and Rypien in the lineup is playing with fire. Don’t believe me? The two players in the box that resulted in both Boston goals were Glass and Rypien.

I’m not convinced that Jannik Hansen would be the solution to the bottom six’s woes, but he would’ve been a far better option in lieu of Glass to slot in place of Bernier. Alas, he’s down in Manitoba, so we’d have no way of knowing. Again, I don’t agree that Bernier should’ve sat in today’s game and in my eyes, it could have cost the Canucks another 2 points.

That said, I was glad to see Alain Vigneault distributing minutes to players who were having good games. For the third straight game, the Sedins looked off. I don’t know if it’s the schedule, potential flu bug (I say only because I’m under the weather myself right now and not because I’ve read anything) or just one of those things that happens to professional athletes, but AV noticed and reduced their icetime as a result. The minutes then went to players like Kesler (25:55 of icetime), Raymond (21:50) and Samuelsson (19:26.) I know we’re like almost 5 years past Marc Crawford’s time as bench boss of the Canucks, but I greatly enjoy how Vigneault holds his players accountable no matter who they are (Luongo and the benching, the Sedins and their icetime) even if I don’t always agree with it (Bernier, for example.) Far better than with Crow, where you had no real chance at seeing an increased role even if you were playing lights out.

I also find it hilarious that Alain Vigneault was getting Burrows AWAY from the Sedins as he put him alongside Raymond and Kesler as the game went on, rather than, say, putting Kesler with the Sedins. Who are the star forwards again?

Although Wellwood didn’t get as much icetime, he was being seeing some action as the Canucks tried to tie things up late in the third. I thought his play has improved as of late (not necessarily just because of that lone marker he scored against the Senators) and I’m glad that Vigneault is trusting him. He also beat Rask in the shootout, but hit the post, so all in all a good game from him.

Demitra’s starting to round into form. Don’t mind him taking some time to get into gameshape, actually, as he has missed a significant chunk of time. The Olympics should do him some good, as he should be seeing some solid icetime.

Aaron Rome’s been quietly playing some decent-to-good hockey as of late. There are the odd miscues that will go on (the Montreal game, where he was on the ice with Lukowich and the fourth line) but he’s a +3 in his last 10 games and has been a minus player in only one game (the Montreal one.) He’s not going to win the Norris any time soon, but he’s been a damn sight better than Lukowich (who I like) and Baumgartner (who I don’t particularly care for.) I’m glad he’s sticking in the lineup right now.

That about does it for my thoughts on the game. The Canucks next game is Tuesday against the Bolts. On PPV. Woo?