It’s over. Finally.

The marathon 14 game road trip with the Canucks ended tonight in Arizona and probably not a game too soon. Naturally, on the very last game of the Canucks road trip, a slight detour had to be made with some overtime and the shootout.

Bret Hart once said, who are you to doubt El Dandy?

I guess it’s my turn to say, who are you to doubt the Canucks?

So, is it premature to be getting excited about the playoffs?

On one hand, the Canucks have become the team that doesn’t die. Today’s win over the Nashville Predators marks nine instances this year where they have battled back from being down after 2 periods, winning the game. That sort of ‘never say die’ attitude and work ethic is something that will be incredibly useful going into the playoffs and I have to say it makes me optimistic about the Canucks chances. (Also, you have to wonder if the Canucks being so strong in the third period is reflective of some of the initiatives Mike Gillis has introduced, like the sleep specialists. Are the Canucks better conditioned than their opponents? Something to think about.)

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 NHL trade deadline came and went earlier this afternoon and man, what a difference it made with these new look Canucks. What do you mean, we only traded for one NHL regular? Oh well.

Amazing how tonight’s game worked out. Second game of a back to back, Luongo playing his first post-Olympics game against Detroit on the road, all signs pointed to a Canucks loss. But it was not meant to be!

Mike Gillis didn’t go hog wild on the trade deadline, as he continued to play a conservative game with his picks and prospects. While his contemporaries were doling out 2nd rounders like candy, Gillis, who didn’t have a 2nd rounder in this year’s draft, decided to be a little more creative with his wheeling and dealing, heading over to the bargain bins of the various NHL teams.

Gone are Mathieu Schneider, PC Labrie and a 3rd round draft pick.

Coming in are Yan Stastny, Andrew Alberts, Sean Zimmerman and a potential 6th rounder.

Been a while. I think it might take a while to get back into the swing of things.

That goes for both my blog posts AND the Canucks. What a weird first period that was. The NHL trade deadline is tomorrow and I’m feverently hoping and praying that Gillis is going to do something to address the problems with our defense and our bottom six. The first goal surrendered was a bottom pairing/bottom line disaster. Aaron Rome or Nolan Baumgartner Were on the ice for all three goals against. That Brad Lukowich was sent down on waivers today gives me hope that there’s a deal in the works to bring in another quality defenseman.

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.

I guess you could say that I called this game. Literally.

You had to know the Canucks were looking to avenge a rather ugly loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Roberto Luongo was overdue for a shutout and the Sedins/Burrows couldn’t be held off the scoresheet forever. Going up against a team that was short a few men (Nathan Horton was out due to injury and Dominic Moore had just been traded to Montreal) and really only had Tomas Vokoun going for them and you sort of figured that the Canucks had to win this game.

It comes down to six.

The bottom six, specifically. Tonight’s game was a frustrating one that saw the Canucks put forth a rather solid effort, but found themselves lacking a bit in the ‘puck luck’ department. Unfortunately, were it only that, the Canucks probably would’ve had something to show other than a regulation loss to the Bolts.