So the Olympics are over. Boo. Now, everyone has to go back to watching mighty teams like the Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs battle it out for the right to lay sole claim to the NHL’s basement.

But before we get into that, everyone’s still basking in the glow of Team Canada’s victory on Sunday. I’d just like to point out that I more or less correctly called how things would go for Canada to get to the gold medal game (Slovaks scoring the upset over Sweden, Russia having problems and Canada coming out huge against them.) Sometimes a blind squirrel finds a nut!

While everyone’s focused on Roberto Luongo’s performance as a goalie (my opinion? He finally cemented himself as a legitimate big game/name goaltender) I thought I’d go in another direction and focus on another Canuck who had a huge Olympics. Pavol Demitra, who led the tournament in scoring and led Slovakia to their highest ever finish at the Olympics (and losing in what could only be described as a heartbreaker of a loss) is going to be having some mighty high expectations now that we’re going back to NHL hockey.

I think it’s a little unwarranted, Demitra has played well (when healthy) when given the opportunity. See last season with Kesler and Sundin. This year he only played a handful of games prior to the Olympics and had to do it with the likes of Steve Bernier, Kyle Wellwood and Tanner Glass. All players who are a far cry from the likes of Gaborik and Hossa and even Handzus.

Recent reports indicate that Demitra has been promoted to the second line, so Demitra’s got every opportunity to succeed coming out of the Olympic break. Good, says I. Although I’d argue that there’s something else head coach Alain Vigneault could look at if he really wants to make the most of the Slovak one: put him on the penalty kill.

I don’t know if anyone noticed, but Demitra was logging some icetime on the penalty kill. Demitra led the Slovaks in icetime amongst forwards (three guesses as to who led icetime overall for Slovakia. Hint: he’s big and plays for Boston) and part of that icetime came from being played on Slovakia’s special team units. Powerplay AND penalty kill.

The Canucks penalty kill is a little woeful right now, ranked at 80.8% efficiency which is good for 20th overall in the league. It’s been one of the Canucks weaknesses this season and something that Alain Vigneault should be looking at improving. Ryan Johnson, for whatever reason, hasn’t been working out, as I’ve elaborated in the past, and I feel that his play on the penalty kill especially has been dragging down the Canucks numbers.

So why not mix it up? Interestingly enough, despite having over 120 minutes of PK team in the last three seasons with Minnesota and Los Angeles before becoming a Canuck, coach AV really hasn’t utilized Demitra on the penalty kill. Last season, Demitra had a whopping 5:58 of icetime killing penalties and was averaging only 5 seconds a game, a far departure from the past three seasons. I guess Vigneault wanted to try and get all of his players engaged in the game last season, which is why he leaned on guys like Johnson, Pyatt and Hansen for his second unit penalty kill. Pyatt, whose skill on the penalty kill made him a useful asset to the Canucks last season, is gone and the PK has suffered as a result, having dropped from 16th overall to 20th. Having the 16th ranked rated penalty kill is really nothing to brag about, but the Canucks should be looking at improving things any way they can.

Demitra could do that and it could benefit the Canucks as a result. Giving icetime to someone who has been playing as lights out as Demitra has is never a bad call and would make him feel happy about being utilized. Additionally, given Demitra’s offensive prowess the Canucks second unit PK could really try and force the issue and try for short handed goals. Mason Raymond, who isn’t a complete stranger in his own end, could make for an interesting PK unit against weaker teams. Think along the lines of how Pavel Bure used to operate as a ‘penalty killer.’ Conversely, Demitra and Hansen could also work well together playing in a more traditional PK role.

Heck, keep him as a winger on the PK and let Johnson come in, if Alain Vigneault still insists on that particular course of action. Bottom line, I’d like to be seeing Demitra on the penalty kill, especially since powerplay minutes are probably going to be split between him and Samuelsson. It keeps him active and could end up helping out the Canucks as a result.

Win/win, if you ask me!

So, I’m ridiculously late. Also, I didn’t post Postscripts on the last two Canucks games. With the Olympics going on, I figure a) not many people care and b) I wanted to enjoy the festivities myself, so I took a bit of a break from blogging this weekend. I’m sure my ones and ones of fans are devastated with this communications blackout.

Anyway, a recap of the Canucks last week before the Olympics, yes?

Games

The first stage of the Road Trip From Hell ended this week, with the Canucks going .500 for the first eight games of the fourteen game extravaganza. The week opened up with a pair of games against the two Florida teams, which saw the Canucks split decisions between them, losing to Tampa in an ugly affair and then having Luongo post a shutout against Florida in the first of back to back games. The second affair saw the Canucks pull off a stunning come from behind victory, earning Andrew Raycroft his 100th career win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, after a rather ugly start from the team.

Things closed out on Sunday against the Minnesota Wild, an afternoon affair that saw the Canucks put in a completely ugly effort before going off before the Olympics. I hate making excuses for the Canucks, especially in games where the Canucks get trounced, but I’d say that the Canucks were pretty clearly distracted by the Olympics. With 8 players set to represent their respective countries, it’s pretty hard to stay focused.

Then again, Minny has now won the last two matchups between the squads, so perhaps the better team simply won on Sunday.

Injuries

Nothing new with Mitchell or Bieksa. It’s hoped Mitchell will be back sometime after the Olympics, as he’s still exhibiting concussion symptoms. I haven’t seen anything new on Bieksa, who is still hoped to be back in mid-March.

The big news this week, though, is that Henrik Sedin has been playing with an injury for the past ten games or so, according to Jason Botchford.

Off Ice

Pavol Demitra left the team early in the week to travel back home, due to his wife falling ill (original article, not in English.) He missed most of the action this week and suited up on Sunday.

I missed this earlier, but apparently there was interest exhibited by Mike Gillis in St. Louis Blues defenseman Darryl Sydor last offseason. This might explain, at least in part, who Gillis and company were scouting at that Montreal/Blues game a few weeks ago. While I have nothing against Sydor, the Canucks already have an established veteran blueliner with playoff experience in Brad Lukowich and I’m not sure he’d be much (if any) of an upgrade for the Canucks.

The Moose

Canucks prospect and defenseman Taylor Ellington was re-assigned to the Victoria Salmon Kings earlier this week. Not particularly a good sign for the former second round pick.

Speaking of disappointing, Matt Pope, a guy who racked up a some points in the Moose’s Calder Cup run last season, was also demoted to the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Pope only has 1 point in 25 games played with the Moose this season and is part of the contingent of disappointments that have panned out this season. I liked what little I saw of Pope as an energy player, but I guess the coaching staff were expecting a bigger contribution from him.

Not everything was dire in Mooseland this week, though, as they received some help on the blueline. Nick Boynton of the Anaheim Ducks was also placed on waivers this week and, since the Ducks don’t have an AHL affiliate this season, was assigned to the Moose. Nolan Baumgartner was also sent back down to the Moose, presumably for the duration of the Olympic break and contingent on Willie Mitchell still being out once the Olympics are over, so the Moose’s blueline is looking a lot better now.

I love the picture the Moose used to herald Baumgartner’s return to Manitoba:

Whoever picks the photos over at their website has a sense of humor, methinks!

Oh yeah, there were some games, too. The Moose played a pair of games this week, both against the Toronto Marlies. Friday’s game went rather well, Michael Grabner netted a pair as the Moose trounced the Baby Leafs (the Seeds?) 5-1. Toronto bounced back the next night, though, as they beat the Moose 2-1, with Grabner getting the lone marker.

Hopefully this is a sign that Grabner is starting to heat back up, after going cold for a spell.

Prospects

I got something cooking later in the week, so I’m going to forego updates on the Canucks prospects tonight. I know, second time in a week, but I have made a promise for content and I WILL deliver (hopefully!)

Enjoy the Olympics everyone!

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?

The Vancouver Canucks were facing a depleted, struggling Pittsburgh Penguins club. The Penguins were without the services of Marc Andre Fleury, who suffered a broken finger and regular backup goalie Brent Johnson. Star forward Evgeni Malkin was going through a 11 game goalless drought which can serve as a microcosm of the Penguins general offensive woes: 29th rated powerplay in the league.
So with the third string backup goalie in net and Malkin scoring the game’s first goal you sort of had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be the Canucks night.

Thank goodness for Trois Kronor, is all I can say. The Sedins and Burrows responded back in a big way after Malkin’s goal, Henrik getting a nice bank goal off of goalie John Curry’s back/shoulder and Burrows scoring an absolutely beautiful shorthanded goal.

From there, things got ugly as the Canucks scored 3 more goals in the second period and chased Curry from the crease, leaving Russian netminder Alex Perchusky to come out in relief. Perchusky, who doesn’t speak a word of English and had been recalled from the WHL last night after signing an emergency tryout contract, looked alright in his NHL debut and only allowed a single goal.

Although the Canucks could have pressed things further and lit up Perchusky like a Christmas tree, they opted to slightly ease their foot off the gas. While Ron MacLean would insist that the Canucks were getting ‘cocky’ I didn’t see that, as the first unit PP was still out there.

The other big story was returning forward Pavol Demitra, who played his first game of the season tonight. I didn’t really notice Demitra all that much during the game and thought that his timing was a little off. He’s certainly got some rink rust that’ll go away with time. As for the shoulder? He fired off a blistering slapshot in the third period, so it looks like he’s having no problems there. Great to see and hopefully he’ll work out the kinks.

Beyond that, Mikael Samuelsson continues to look impressive, notching another goal tonight. I said awhile ago that he’d been working hard and would start getting rewarded. I’m not entirely sure that the Olympic snub is what jump started him (how long do ride being snubbed?) but either way, I’m glad to see him putting up points.

Also, Roberto Luongo. I keep saying it, but please stop trying to handle the puck. Marty Turco is on his way out the door and not even his magical puck handling skills could save his job. You had some decent moments here and there, but I also caught several times where you fed the puck straight to a Penguin. These lead to goals against, dude.

Idle question: what do you do with Jannik Hansen? No, seriously. His play as of late means he should be playing higher than the fourth line, but where do you fit him in? This becomes especially problematic when Bernier and Johnson come back. Yeah, I guess I’m complaining about the Canucks having forward depth now. What a strange situation to be in…

Lukowich’s age and lack of mobility is showing, but he is working hard out there and is generally making smart decisions with the puck. I feel we’ll be needing him more in the playoffs than we would Rome or Schneider so it’s good to see him fitting in well. Also like that he’s paired with Edler.

The Nashville game resulted in another loss for a Canucks team who has been inconsistent and got burned on the powerplay. The team also looked worn out (!) and tired out there, which again makes me worried about the upcoming Road Trip From Hell, Pt 1 and Pt 2.  Annoyingly, Nashville games continue to be ones that punish our defensemen (remember Bieksa’s laceration and Salo getting his nose broken in the same night?) as Alex Edler is out for a couple of weeks with an arm injury. What makes this all the more frustrating is that Edler was looking to be turning things around and has been one of our more consistent offensive contributers from the backend, alongside Ehrhoff.

Not many positives to take out of the Nashville game and it’s old news, so let’s move on. After losing against Nashville and going 2-2 on the 4 game road trip (did I say 5 games in earlier blog posts? This is what happens when you have an English major try to count!) the Canucks highly vaunted ’sleep specialists’ suggested the team stay an extra night in Nashville.  This didn’t seem to go over well with the team, with Willie Mitchell giving a rather curt reply.

If the plan was to have a cranky team that came out with a chip on their shoulder it looked like it paid off. The Canucks mucked it up, scoring garbage goals and securing an early game hat trick for Daniel Sedin (to match the one Henrik got earlier in the season, no doubt.) The Thrashers, who were looking to make a strong case for themselves as a strong team during their all-Canada road trip, ended up going  0-3 against teams north of the border. They didn’t look particularly great last night, either, giving up numerous chances while they were on the powerplay and leaving goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to be shelled as he faced 38 shots on the night. The worst indication that the Thrashers played a poor game, though? Shane O’Brien gets the nod in the three stars selection. Which isn’t to say Obie had a bad game, quite the opposite, as he’s been playing quite well since drawing back into the lineup, with a +3 effort over the last 5 games and playing mostly mistake-free hockey. All I’m saying is that if you can’t earn the token third star selection in a losing effort and Shane O’Brien beats out your entire roster, your team played a rather horrible game.

Speaking of guys I tend to rag on, Darcy Hordichuk was actually noticeable out there and had a good game to boot. That said, when both Tanner Glass and Rick Rypien are dropping the gloves, and when it’s becoming a regular occurance, you can’t help but feel a little bad for Hordichuk, who is supposedly this team’s enforcer. It’s great that he has a jump to his game and is playing with some energy, but Glass AND Rypien provide that and more. Seriously, I don’t hate Hordichuk, but it’s like the world is conspiring against me to like him.

The most surprising roster decision, though, was with Kyle Wellwood, who sat out tonight’s game. Some would say that’s a long time coming, although if you believe reports that Wellwood was struggling with an injury at the start of the season, I’d be inclined to give him a bit of leeway. That said, his injury problems have cleared up and he’s been given a few games to try and contribute and it just hasn’t been happening. More than anyone else on the roster, I’d say Kyle Wellwood’s gotta be worried about Pavol Demitra’s impending return. Demitra gives the team some flexibility down the middle, as he’s capable of playing wing and center. While I don’t think he’d be an ideal candidate for a third line centerman (and I’m loathe to move Kesler down or switch him up as a winger), he’d certainly be an upgrade over Wellwood at this point and he’d make it easier for Grabner to stick with the club. As a fan of Grabner, that is clearly what is most important. Seriously, though, I have to wonder if Rypien serving as pivot for the third line is a temporary thing and meant to evaluate Wellwood’s linemates prior to Demitra joining the roster.

And that’s that! The Canucks play the Minnesota Wild tomorrow on Hockey Night In Canada. Join me, won’t you, for another game being called by the most exciting broadcasting team in the world of hockey…and then check out Mark Lee and Kevin Weekes once the Leafs game is over.

Ta!