Earlier today, Chicago Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland talked some trash on Chicago radio, making fun of the Sedins by calling them sisters. Vancouver Canucks fans were, predictably, outraged at yet another public figure making fun of the Sedins. Honestly, it’s nothing particularly new.

Hilariously enough, the ‘Sedin Sisters’ name has a long history. One that originated in Vancouver. By both the media and the fans. See, these days, it’s very much the vogue thing to adore the Sedins and view them as being pretty freaking awesome. Unfortunately, there was a rather loud vocal contingent of Canucks fans who were very keen on jettisoning the ’soft’ and ‘weak’ ‘Sisters.’Heck, even Mike Gillis wasn’t a fan when he first became GM of the Canucks.

Even as recently as 2009, there were serious thoughts being bandied around about not re-signing Henrik and Daniel. Insane thoughts, like signing Marion Gaborik and Marion Hossa, both players well known for their tenacity, were being seriously proposed by some…enthusiastic fans.

So if Canucks fans want to get enraged about other folks calling the Sedins ‘Sisters’, they really have no one to blame but themselves. It was a nickname foisted upon them by both the fans and the media and it’s stuck ever since.

Man, I love/hate the playoffs.

I love the playoffs because nothing, absolutely nothing, matches the excitement of watching live sports. The only thing that I think comes close is the atmosphere that comes with the World Cup. World Series? Yawn. Super Bowl? No thanks. I’ll stick with the Stanley Cup playoffs, thanks.

You win some, you lose some.

And sometimes you lose horribly. Guess what category tonight’s game slots into?

Yeah, this matchup had just about everything tonight. Some fights, some 5 on 3s, a goalie getting pulled, a lopsided score. Just about everything.

The Canucks were looking to extend their hot start post-Christmas with a win over the Phoenix Coyotes. The Yotes were looking to earn a franchise best 10 straight victories at home. Whatever happened tonight, someone was going to be going home disappointed. Unfortunately, it was some bad decision making in the second period that resulted in the Canucks going to overtime and eventually losing in the shootout to the Desert Dogs.

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 Sedins have been enjoying immense success as of late. There’s been much talk of Henrik being right at the very top of the NHL’s scoring elite, being outpaced only by Joe Thornton, while brother Daniel has been making a lot of noise for himself: he recently picked up his third career hat trick, was named 2nd star of the week by the NHL and player of the day December 11th.

Which isn’t to say that linemate Alex Burrows hasn’t been doing well for himself, either. Although cooling down a bit when Daniel was out with an injury, Burrows has 10 points (6g, 4a) in his last 10 games and has been an absolute beast on the penalty kill.

With all that said, there’s been little talk about the Sedins linemate, as the Canucks top line is looking like a top line. Before Burrows was given the opportunity by Alain Vigneault last season, the constant issue for the Canucks was finding someone to fill in that role. Over the years, there have been numerous players who were pegged to be the ‘Third Sedin’, so here’s a look at some of the more notable Third Sedins of the past, as well as a look at one potential future Third Sedin.

Not a whole lot to say about tonight’s affair. The Canucks played a tight, conservative game against the red hot Chicago Blackhawks, a team that has been on a 6 game winning streak prior to coming into tonight’s affair. It looked as though coach Alain Vigenault was trying to prey on the fact that the Hawks had played 3 games in 4 nights and was trying to completely exhaust them and capitalize on any mistakes they might’ve made.

Unfortunately, that’s not how things turned out, as a single gaffe ended up costing the Canucks. That said, I was quite happy with the team’s performance, considering that Chicago had outscored their opponents by a ratio of 4:1 and they were quite effective at shutting down Chicago’s offense. Both goaltenders looked great, particularly Niemi, who was a total brick wall in the third period, completely denying the Canucks on a number of great chances. Were I to get a present for the Canucks for Christmas, it’d probably be a Caps Lock key, as the inability to capitalize is what ultimately cost us the game.