I am le horrible with le blogging. I know. Interviews and other responsibilities have taken me away from this. Or, excuses, excuses. What will the lazy bastard come up with next?

Ahem. So, the Edmonton game was pretty horrible. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to blog that, as I like to try and write something up even when the Canucks lose. So, sorry. I do think that Luongo looked bad and that he’s probably run out of mulligans this season for off nights. I’ve got something brewing shortly looking at Luongo, but, well, time.

Back on the 27th of January, I wrote a piece talking about the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Canucks and their respective approaches to social media. My point was basically that the Canucks have been quick to embrace the digital world, while the Leafs have been slower to adapt.

Imagine my surprise when I was actually contacted by someone at the Leafs. Jonathan Sinden, formerly of Toronto’s 102.1 Edge radio station (”The IIIIIIIIIIINSIIIIIIIIIDE EDGE” guy) and currently the chap who operates the Leafs official Twitter account dropped me a line, arguing that I ‘may not have all the facts’ regarding the Leafs and social media. I mean, I’m ‘just’ some blogger: no formal affiliation with any sites and a really, really small fish in the hockey blogger pond. That someone at the Leafs would want to chat with me about my article was rather interesting, but cool.

As I’ve mentioned in some previous posts, I’ve finally moved back to Calgary. Since I’m now situated in Alberta, I thought now would be a great time to touch on what’s now the ‘hometown’ team for me.

Why am I writing about the Flames? Well, Sun Tzu laid it out pretty cleanly:

“If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.”

While it may not be enjoyable to do so, I consider it a necessary evil.

More off-ice shenangians, injuries and some games to recap all going on this past week with the Canucks. I don’t know about you, but my week was a busy one. But you’re not here to read about my dreary life, you’re here for the Canucks Week That Was!

Lots of talk being made about Edmonton radio personality Dan Tencer’s postgame comments following the Oilers loss to the Canucks Wednesday night. Tencer, in what he described as his frustration taking over due to what was a poorly officiated game that saw some weak calls made against the Oilers (something which I did note and comment on in my postscript), commented that the Canucks have been mediocre and that their fanbase is cocky. Going the predictable route of an Oilers fan who is trying to win an argument involving his team, he was quick to make mention of the Canucks lack of championships and that he doesn’t understand why the Canucks have a sense of entitlement.

Yeah, consider me surprised. After a rather forgettable 50 minutes or so that saw the last place Edmonton Oilers, a team that had just 1 win in their last 15 games, carry the play and pretty much look like a team that wasn’t last in the Western Conference, the Canucks finally woke up and decided to win the game.

This was sort of a lazy week for me (and presumably most of you folks out there!) There was Christmas, naturally, but also travel concerns cramping my style and making it so that I couldn’t write as much as I wanted to. No plugs and also a condensed look at the Canucks. A little heavier on commentary than straight up news. I’ll try to balance it out for next week.

While tonight’s game against the last place Edmonton Oilers may not appear to have the makings of a changing point for the Canucks, it could very well end up being one for them.

Prior to tonight, the Canucks had fared incredibly well against opponents that were on hot streaks or above them in the standings and were absolutely dreadful against last place teams. Expectations for some fans weren’t really that high against the last place Oilers, so having a convincing 4-1 win against the Oilers may have been just what the doctor ordered.  Add in a Boxing Day victory at home, something the Canucks haven’t accomplished in 35 years, and things are suddenly looking very good.

Normally, I’d be happy with back to back wins with the Canucks. Especially when the Canucks outscored their opponents 11-4. However, sloppy play has been a concern as of late. Now, I’m not trying to dip into eternal pessimist territory (Tony Gallagher and Dan Russell have that position on lockdown), but the Canucks inability to play a consistent 60 minutes should be worrisome, particulary with big games against the Sharks, Devils and Flyers coming up.

Basically, when you have a mostly healthy team going up 4-0 against the Edmonton Oilers, a team that played the night before and has been ravaged by the injury bug, there’s no reason why you should be letting that team get back into the game.