So Mike Gillis and the Vancouver Canucks opted to make a deal with the Florida Panthers. Unlike the Indiana Jones franchise, it seems that making yet another trip to the well has paid off for the Canucks, as they obtained defenseman Keith Ballard and forward prospect Victor Oreskovich in exchange for Steve Bernier, Michael Grabner and the Canucks 1st round pick in this year’s draft.

Many folks are screaming bloody murder over the deal, believing that the Canucks were ripped off or overpaid. I will admit that I was initially one of those folks, although I will attribute that to my being a fan of Grabner and being a little irrational when hearing that the Austrian had been traded. Having given it some more thought, though, I actually really like the deal. Broken down, it makes a lot of sense and isn’t as bad as one would think.

Let’s take a look, shall we?

Assets Coming In

With Willie Mitchell sitting on the injured reserve this past season and with no real immediate help in the Canucks farm system available, it was clear that the Canucks were desperately needing to upgrade their backend if they were wanting to continue being the Stanley Cup contenders that their fans want them to be. Even if Willie Mitchell is no longer feeling post-concussion symptoms, and I’m skeptical as to how close to 100% Mitchell is given the timing of his announcement, the Canucks still needed to upgrade the backend in the worst way.

Enter Ballard. Although he isn’t a gigantic Norris candidate that can also put up points (and really, who outside of Chara, Pronger and perhaps Myers would qualify?), he is a physical, fast skating forward who is more than capable in his own end. His skillset alone should be making fans happy as he is almost exactly what folks were hoping and praying Gillis would pick up at the trade deadline. Throw in the fact that he is signed for another five years and has a cap hit of $4.2M and fans should be rejoicing that Gillis picked him up.

What’s that? You mean that his cap hit is not an albatross hanging from his neck? I’d argue yes. While he does become the Canucks highest paid defenseman, it’s not by a significant amount and it’s not something that should be held against him. Regardless, even if the Canucks plan was to sign a free agent defenseman July 1st, they’d be paying at minimum $4.2M or more for a contract. For reference, the top UFA defensemen this offseason are Sergei Gonchar (who is reportedly looking for a deal north of $5M/year), Dan Hamhuis (who has been rumored to be seeking a deal in the $4.5M range),  Paul Martin (who was making $4.5M this past season) and Anton Volchenkov (who will more than likely be receiving a deal that pays him $5M+/year.) No matter how you slice it, the Canucks were going to have to pony up some cash to upgrade the blueline.

Interestingly, Ballard’s contract has a limited no-trade clause. Starting last July, he had to list 7 teams which he would accept a deal to. Assuming he didn’t further waive his NTC, that means he liked the Canucks enough to include them on his list last off-season, which is a good sign, as hopefully he’ll enjoy playing here.

Unfortunately, I don’t know a whole lot about Victor Oreskovich beyond the fact that his name is more annoying to spell than mine. I do know that his addition to the Canucks roster DOUBLES the total number of people named Victor that are on the Canucks payroll. Oreskovich joins Victor de Bonis, who is the team’s Chief Operating Officer. I guess you could say that Oreskovich’s impact is immediate, as he’s already given the Canucks a pair of ‘vic’-tories.

That was horrible and I apologize. More seriously, Oreskovich is a big man who likes to hit. Depending on how you look at it, he’s either an upgrade on perennial AHLer Pierre Cedric Labrie, who was moved at this year’s trade deadline, or a downgrade on Steve Bernier. Depends on what part of his skillset you want to obsess over. I’m unsure where he’ll end up, but Gillis did state in his presser after the first round that ‘our third line can’t be constituted with guys who are goal scoring players’ translated that means the Canucks bottom six will be more rough and tumble and less finesse and flash this year, which means he’ll probably be getting a shot.

Also, both players have connections to Vancouver: Ballard played under Canucks assistant coach Rick Bowness in Phoenix and Oreskovich is familiar with Dave Gagner, Director of Player Development for the Canucks.

Assets Going Out

Steve Bernier, despite my defending him over the course of the past season, wasn’t meeting expectations and his $2.5M contract made him a liability. While I don’t think he was as bad/inept as people were making him out to be (he did play most of the season injured or WAS injured) he had slipped down into the bottom six and was underperforming relative to what he was making. Not a good combination and I think most people are happy to see him gone.

Michael Grabner, on the other hand, has captured the attention of most Canucks fans. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t a lot of room on the roster for Grabner: with the Sedins, Kesler, Samuelsson and Burrows all occupying fulltime spots in the top six and with Mike Gillis intending to get Mason Raymond signed to a deal, there wasn’t any room to slot Grabner in, especially if you go with Gillis’ comments about not wanting goal scorers on the third line. Factor in players such as Cody Hodgson and Jordan Schroeder, both of whom have higher potential than Grabner, and it’s clear that Grabner got lost in the shuffle. Unfortunate, but he’ll be getting a very real chance to shine down in Florida, which is probably the best possible situation for him.

Finally, there’s the 25th selection who ended up being Quinton Howden. I know it’s incredibly rash to render judgment on a player who just got drafted, but based off of what Bob McKenzie and Pierre McGuire were saying, Howden looks like he’s going to be a bit of a project and will take some time to develop. That’s of no benefit to the Canucks, who are clearly in ‘win now’ mode. I do appreciate that the Gillis made some aspect of the deal conditional contingent on whether or not certain players were available.

I gotta write about tonight’s game, though. First off, I’d just like to get something out of the way really quickly. Some of you may have noticed I participated in a roundtable over at Canucks Corner. In that roundtable, I made a couple of predictions. Regarding the Canucks, this is what I wrote on April 14th (scroll down to 8:47 or so):

“Canucks in 6. Luongo will have 1 bad game but look solid throughout the rest. Sedins and Samuelsson lead the way offensively.”

Let’s see.

Luongo had 1 bad game (and was pulled) and looked solid throughout the rest.

Samuelsson leads the Canucks offense and leads the NHL in goals scored and is looking like a (VERY EARLY) Conn Smythe candidate (then again, so is Sidney Crosby.)

Daniel is third in NHL points, fifth for assists and second for the Canucks.

Henrik is third in scoring for the Canucks and third in assists.

To be fair, I did predict Jonathan Bernier was going to step up, which didn’t happen. But Quick did falter.

I also wrote,

“I also think hockey poolies are going to be frustrated with Frolov.”

1g, his only point in the entire series. I know he’s young and it was his first time, but jeez, you had a worse outing than Ladislav Nagy had against the Canucks in the 06/07 playoffs (1g,1a) and that was a low scoring affair. Pretty weaksauce!

So, let this be a lesson to anyone who may happen to work for a West Coast hockey team and may just so happen to besmirching my good name. I CAN use my powers for good. Anywho…

I had been saying for a while I was willing to be patient with Luongo and his play. I pointed to the Olympics and also said that sometimes, goalies just happen to go through slumps. I wanted to see if he’d show up for the playoffs. I loved the big goalline save he made in Game 1 (helped in part by Michal Handzus being a dummy and celebrating early, mind) but did Luongo ever show up tonight. Several Mount Olympus sized saves and a compete level that would have Al Pacino’s character from Any Given Sunday drooling in envy.

A great game, for the most part. While it’s frustrating that Burrows and Raymond didn’t have a fantastic series, I’d like to think that it’s in part due to the relative size of the Kings in comparison to them. Both of them are in the 6′0-6′1″ and 185-188 lbs range while the Kings have numerous players over 6′3″ (Handzus and Modin are both 6′4″) and are on the heavier side of the scale. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Samuelsson, who is 6′2″ and 218, enjoyed more success on the Sedin line than Burrows did.

It’ll be interesting to see how Burrows and Raymond come out against likely second round opponents Chicago, who have forwards and play a game that are more suited to Burrows and Raymond.

I also spoke about Alberts. Injuries had him back in the lineup and I thought he played a lot better and actually had some big clears on the penalty kill, too. That said, his misplay with the puck resulted in Luongo’s The Save and it looks like Alain Vigneault was none too pleased with his antics, as he got only seconds of icetime in the third. I’ve said before it may have just been a matter of adjusting to systems play and getting rid of bad habits with Alberts and he seems to be getting better as time goes on. Very interested in seeing him next season.

Beyond that, I’m loving both Steve Bernier and Shane O’Brien’s play in the postseason. SOB has been asserting himself well for the most part. His ‘Are you not entertained?!’ bit on Friday was a little much in the eyes of some, but it’s the playoffs. You gotta completely throttle your opponent.

Bernier’s just been playing a simple game, capitalizing on his chances, and playing a sound defensive game. Glad he’s picked the right time to start contributing.

I’ll have more on the second round once their opponent is confirmed (probably Chicago!) Also, looks like the Canucks are going to be set to play on Thursday, so keep your schedule open!

So I’ve made mention in a couple of other blog posts that I was going to be doing up a piece talking about the Canucks bottom six. And why not? There’s been a lot of talk lately about certain members of the Canucks third and fourth liners, most of it laced with profanities.

Steve Bernier needs to be shipped out of town, Kyle Wellwood should be benched and so on and so forth. While I’m not in disagreement that the bottom six players are bad, I would argue that there are reasons why our bottom six hasn’t really been performing all that well that extend beyond ’such and such player sucks.’

At least that’s what I’m hoping to get across here.

I’ll start with the mainstays of the third line, Kyle Wellwood and Steve Bernier, both guys who have come under a lot of scrutiny so far this season. Some praise, first, though. Together, they’ve been on the ice for 27 goals against and 37 goals in 5 on 5 situations. Wellwood, in particular, has only been on the ice for 9 even strength goals against and is a +7 (this is including 4 on 4 situations.) They don’t take a lot of penalties, either, as they’ve combined for 27 PIM (22 minutes worth of minors.) All while averaging roughly 14 minutes of icetime a game. At the very least, the third line is responsible 5 on 5 and are capable of playing disciplined hockey.

That’s about where the praise ends, though. Points-wise, the third line has combined for a grand total of 38 points (if you include Demitra, 48 if you include Tanner Glass’ 10 points.) When compared to the other top teams in the Western Conference, they’re dwarfed by San Jose’s and Chicago’s third lines of Clowe/Nichol/Ortmeyer (Manny Malholtra typically slots in, but my understanding is he’s been bumped up to the second line as of late) and Byfuglien/Madden/Versteeg, who have produced 70 and 75 points respectively. With Tanner Glass’ contributions factored in there, they’re only one point better than Phoenix’s third line of Korpikoski, Lang and former Canucks pariah Taylor Pyatt, although the Canucks line has been far superior defensively, as the Coyotes line is a combined -14 and have been on the ice for a combined 58 even strength goals against, while averaging about a minute less of 5 on 5 icetime.

Things continue to break down when you look at the ice time, though. I mentioned that the Canucks third line averages 14 minutes a game. That’s pretty respectable for your third line: San Jose’s averages about the same amount of icetime, Chicago’s third line averages close to 16 minutes a game and Phoenix’s trio averages around 13 and a half minutes of icetime. The problem, though, is how those minutes are distributed.

Bernier and Wellwood are both seen as offensive players and have been given time on the powerplay where they’ve been less than underwhelming: Wellwood has just 14 points on the year while Steve Bernier has 20, despite averaging 2 minutes a game on the powerplay.

Compared to San Jose, Clowe averages 2 minutes and change a game on the powerplay, while Nichol spends about the same on the penalty kill and very little time on the man advantage. Clowe’s point totals are almost double those of Bernier’s (39 points vs. 20) despite their icetime totals being damn near identical to each other’s. Nichol, who doesn’t spend much time on the powerplay, has as many points as Wellwood Remember, Nichol is a guy who averages a minute and a half of powerplay time a game, whereas Wellwood doesn’t. Heck, Wellwood is keeping pace with Pyatt with points and he averages less PP time than Wellwood.

Again, performance in certain situations is what’s led to the Canucks third line being so dismal. For the amount of powerplay time both Bernier and Wellwood get, they should be having some more to show for their efforts. The players on other teams are capable of playing at even strength and on special teams and producing results. Hopefully the addition of Demitra will spark some regular strength production, however, it does not explain the lack of PP production from them, which is what is truly hurting this third line.

While Wellwood and company are capable playing 5 on 5, the same cannot be said about the Canucks fourth line, generally consisting of Hordichuk, Johnson and Rypien. They’re a combined -10 and only average 8 minutes of icetime. That number is slightly inflated due to Johnson’s time spent on the penalty kill, where he’s been on for 20 goals against, half of the total number of goals the Canucks have given up while down a man. Factoring out Johnson’s PK minutes, the Canucks fourth line averages just over 7 minutes a game. That’s roughly a full minute less than both of San Jose and Chicago’s lines (yet both those lines don’t consist entirely of minus players and, in Chicago’s case, are producing a ton more) and almost 2 full minutes less than the Coyotes 4th line.

The Canucks fourth line also takes a ton of penalty minutes. Thus far, they’ve combined for 196 minutes worth of penalties, although Rypien and Hordichuk have 22 majors between them. Throwing in Glass, who really should only be playing on the fourth line, the Canucks have 33 fighting majors split between three players.

The only comparables for the Hawks, Sharks and Coyotes are Staubitz (with 7) and Bissonette (who has 15 majors.) Eager and Fraser also have 11 majors split between them, but they also are plus players and have 22 points. Phoenix’s fourth line has 41 points, while San Jose’s fourth line only has 17 points between them, but make up for it for more disciplined play by taking less penalties. Rypien and Hordichuk? Combined -8 and 8 points.

The impact this has had on the Canucks is rather apparent, especially on the road, where the home team has the last change advantage. When you have a fourth line consisting primarily of players whose main skill is fighting and are defensively inept, it essentially shortchanges your bench and makes it easy for opposing team’s coaches to match up against your squad. A common complaint I see in game day threads or on Twitter is ‘What is Steve Bernier/Kyle Wellwood doing out on the ice in the third period?’ Well, the reason for that is because you can only shorten your bench so much. I’d rather have Bernier or Wellwood out there than Hordichuk or Johnson. When your bottom six is a mess, you have to go with the option that is the least likely to come around and bite you. Other teams, like Chicago, have a bottom six of players who can go out and play in key situations, a luxury that Vancouver doesn’t really have.

So what can be done? Beyond the simple answer of ‘Trade or Waive ‘em!’ I’d argue that the Canucks don’t need to do a whole lot to try and fix things. But here’s what I think Mike Gillis may be looking at:

- Getting a replacement centerman for the third line. I’ve been defending Kyle Wellwood for ages and have even done so in this blog post, but it’s clear that he just isn’t capable of getting it done: his lack of overall finish on the powerplay is evidence of that. A trade for a Matt Cullen type would be phenomenal and help out the third line a great deal.

- Stop playing Hordichuk/Rypien/Glass so goddamned much. I understand that Alain Vigneault likes the idea of a ‘crash and bang’ line, but when that group spends too much time in its own end of the rink you really should be dialing back the amount of icetime Hordichuk gets. Glass is probably the best forward out of the three listed, based on production and overall icetime: he’s been the one seeing time on the third line and his overall icetime averages reflect that. Put him in a fourth line role, where he’s not out of his element.

- Look at utilizing some of our ’skill’ players down on the farm. This would involve waiving or trading individuals on the roster, as the Canucks are at the roster max presently. That said, Jannik Hansen, Michael Grabner and Matt Pettinger are all guys who could potentially fit with the Canucks (and regulate Hordichuk et al. to the pressbox.) Hansen is a solid skater who can also forecheck like mad. Pettinger is a guy who has NHL experience, is capable of chipping in some offense and can play on the PK. Putting those two guys with Johnson could give a fourth line that is defensively responsible and provide some options on the penalty kill…and may just improve it.

As for Grabner, he showed that he was capable of clicking with Kesler and Raymond earlier in the season. He has been cold as of late, but putting him on a line with Raymond and Kesler, arguably the two best Canucks as of late, could jumpstart him much in the same way pouring gasoline on a bonfire causes things to heat up. Failing that, you could bump him down to the third line and have him try and work something with Pavol Demitra, who is capable of playing the center position.

The proposed solutions may not work, but they’d be providing something different. With a Canucks squad that’s been struggling offensively on the road, getting scored upon first and has had major problems with their bottom six a slight makeover might do the Canucks a world of good.

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.

Offensively, the Canucks continue to slide. The Sedins continue to be silent and the offensive contributions from the second line are starting to dry up: outside of a lone marker from Ryan Kesler there wasn’t much going on in terms of secondary scoring. Even worse, the Canucks gave up a short handed goal.

While the problems with the top six is worrisome, I’d argue that the real issue lay with the bottom six. All eyes were on two players in particular tonight: Steve Bernier and Jannik Hansen, both players who were out of the lineup. I’ll be honest, I was hoping for a strong effort from both of them, as I figured both players would have something to prove: Bernier was scratched against Boston, while Hansen had been sent down on a conditioning stint. Neither particularly overwhelmed me: Bernier looked flat out there, while Hansen didn’t do much to really stand out. I wouldn’t necessarily blame them individually, though.

The reason? Well, the Canucks bottom six is a mess and that leads to problems on the road where Alain Vigneault doesn’t have the luxury of the last change. When you have half of your forwards being ineffectual or lost out there it makes it very easy for opposing coaches to match up against the players who are actually capable of doing something out there and shutting them down.

There’s more to it, but the Sedins slumping can at least be partially explained by our problems in the lower lines. On the plus side, Ryan Johnson being out of the lineup meant that the fourth line didn’t spend all their time in the defensive zone. They still looked disorganized and out of sorts, but hey, some progress. I will say that Hansen’s forechecking skills helped keep that line out of their own end.

Defensively, the Canucks blueline was pretty bad, too. Aaron Rome, who had been quietly playing some acceptable hockey as of late, mucked that all up with a terrible performance, looking very lost out there. Edler was shooting the puck early and often, but wasn’t realy noticeable beyond that.

Positives from tonight’s game? I liked the start the Canucks had and the fact that they were working hard. Hard work only amounts to so much if you can’t get results, but I liked the fact that this road game looked more like the Montreal game (where the Canucks were getting chances) and less like the Ottawa game (where the Canucks looked like they were unable to find the offensive zone without a map.) I’d rather the Canucks lose while putting forth a good effort than have them lose and look like crap. Kesler’s goal was a thing of beauty and I’m glad to see he’s learning how to be effective on the road. Other than that, Luongo looked good, but not great and Shane O’Brien was really the only other Canuck who I thought was looking good out there.

Canucks square off against the Panthers Thursday.

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?

Hey, that’s a pretty good impersonation of a post-game Canucks fan, there Spezza!

…

Do I have to talk about the Canucks game?

Really?

Okay. There’s a lot of hating, complaining and wringing of hands going on with tonight’s loss. Oh no, we’ve lost two in a row. The end of the world is coming and the Canucks are sinking like the Titanic.

Steve Bernier’s breakway attempt was nothing short of pitiful, yes. He’s been horribly inept offensively, yes. So have Pavol Demitra and Kyle Wellwood for that matter. Unfortunately, Steve Bernier is in a really odd position with the Canucks right now.

He’s one of the few folks in our bottom six who can play a gritty game and isn’t a complete defensive liability. In tonight’s game, Bernier had 3 hits and was an even player. Going back over the last 20 games, Bernier’s been an even player. So the BIG problem, and I emphasize the word big, is that Bernier simply can’t get the puck into the net, yet the other tools he brings to the table: defensive awareness and size, are a combination that is sorely lacking in our bottom six. Darcy Hordichuk and Tanner Glass may provide grit for our bottom six, but they can’t be trusted to keep the puck out of the back of the net.

I know that some people will point to Jannik Hansen. To that, I’ve got a blog post coming regarding Hansen, a player who I actually happen to be a fan of, and the general condition of our bottom six in the near future. At this moment in time, I’m not necessarily convinced he’d be an upgrade over Bernier on the third line.

I also am somewhat bemused that folks are slagging Kyle Wellwood. In a game where the Canucks were limited to 4 shots for about half the game, you would figure that one of the big guns, like Raymond (who had a glorious chance in the first) or the Sedins would be the ones managing to get one past Brian Elliott. The fact that Kyle Wellwood came up big, virtually at the last minute, shouldn’t be a sticking point for fans. I’ve maintained that the third line has been making an effort: if they’d been stinking it up in both ends of the rink and looking uninspired I’d probably be irate. Like Bernier, Wellwood has also shown some defensive flair and it’s the lack of offense that is utterly frustrating. Unfortunately, there aren’t many options for the Canucks to replace Wellwood right now, as our depth down the middle is just as bad as our lack of competent grit in our bottom six.

The other BIG complaint from folks right now is the decision to start Andrew Raycroft. To which I have to say, Roberto Luongo probably wouldn’t have won this team the game were he in net tonight. I actually liked Alain Vigneault’s decision to rest the captain, even with the loss tonight.

Here’s why: the Canucks were going into the Corel center against a red hot Ottawa team. Luongo was going to be needing some rest somewhere on this road trip, especially after the rather dodgy performance he had against the Canadiens. The rest of the team didn’t look particularly well defensively (although the coaching staff wouldn’t admit to that) so putting Raycroft out and hoping the team would tighten up defensively didn’t look like a bad idea on paper. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way, so Luongo, at the very least, was able to get some rest.

The Canucks play the Bruins tomorrow before having 2 days off against Tampa and then have three more games to close out the first half of the road trip before the break. I’m sure the plan was originally to start Raycroft against Boston, but Luongo’s poor play and showing signs of fatigue nixed that. That said, having a fresh Luongo up against the Bruins would maximize the team’s chances of getting 2 vital points, whereas a worn out Luongo probably wouldn’t have made a difference tonight.

Beyond all that, Trois Kronors had probably their worst game in a long time tonight. I mentioned they looked a little out of synch against Montreal. Tonight, it got even worse as the Sedins and Burrows just couldn’t put anything together. Unfortunately, this marks roughly 8 periods where the top line has been largely invisible. They really need to come up big against Boston, insert cliche about your best players have to be your best players, yadda yadda yadda.

I dunno what else to say about tonight’s game. The Canucks should taking last night’s game as motivation. Luongo should hopefully have a fire lit underneath him. Here’s hoping the rest of the team follows his example.

So the road trip goes on. Despite some late game heroics and a lucky double minor in the latter half of the third period, the Canucks were unable to come from behind yet again against the Montreal Canadiens. Or should I say the Canucks could not find a way to solve Jaroslav Halak and subsequently are STILL without a win in February.

You know, it’s really hard to try and stay positive about this club, but not having a win for the entire month of February is pretty goddamned bad. You start looking ahead. Can the Canucks still make the playoffs? Does the Olympic roster freeze necessitate GM Mike Gillis blowing up the core? Do we look at moving the Sedins, who were without any points tonight? Especially since Henrik Sedin’s lead in the NHL scoring race is held by only the slimmest of margins (Alexander Ovechkin sits behind him by only a single point now.)

You also have to wonder about Roberto Luongo and if he’s smarting over the Olympic snub, where he was not named the bonafide starter for Team Canada. I mean, it’s one thing to make several miraculous saves late in the third period when the opposing team is only leading by one goal and it’s another thing entirely to melt down after the third such save and allow yourself to be scored upon. You can’t help but start second guessing if he truly is one of the best in the league.

Lots of soul searching must go on now, in this bleak, dreary second month of the year. It may have been Groundhog Day today, officially, but it seems like the Canucks have been trapped in the Bill Murray film for quite a while. I now know the pain that Edmonton Oilers fans are enduring.

Winless for the month of February. When will the pain stop?

…okay. I’m pretty sure I’ve beaten THAT particular topic into the ground. As you could probably surmise, the Canucks ended up running into a hot goaltender tonight. While there are some people who are losing their minds over this loss, I thought I’d try and put things way into perspective here with the Canucks. Yes, the Canucks lost. As much as I hate to have it happen against the Canadiens, losses can and do occur and the Canucks had just completed a great 7 game stretch where they beat some of the best teams in the league (Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Chicago.)

That said, while I can be accepting of the Canucks losing, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to be critical. I know that the popular target tonight is Roberto Luongo because Luongo failed to make a save on one of the first shots of the game from the Habs. Prior to Sergei Kostitsyn’s tally, the game was all Canucks, as they generated several quality scoring chances but were unable to convert.

So, fair enough. I gave Nolan Baumgartner grief on Saturday for his whiffing on a momentum killing pass in what turned out to be a win against the Maple Leafs, I’ll do the same here and hang Luongo’s first goal against as being a momentum killer and saying he had played bad.

But that means the blame needs to be spread around as well. The defense, in my estimation, was a jumbled mess tonight. I thought Sami Salo and Shane O’Brien looked good in spots, but that was about it. Edler looked bad, disappointing considering he had been playing well prior to this game. I am not a huge fan of the Rome/Lukowich pairing (can we not pair each of them up with more responsible/talented partners?) Ehrhoff and SOB were on the ice for two of the goals scored (remember how I said SOB looked good in spots?) All in all it was a bad night for the Canucks blueliners. As much as I was hoping Luongo would sit for tonight’s game despite knowing that there was zero chance of it happening (Luongo sitting in Montreal? Yeah, right) I hope that Alain Vigneault seriously considers starting Raycroft against Ottawa to let his defensemen understand that having a star goaltender is a privilege, not a right. Plus, it’d give Luongo a rare night off and get a chance to get rested.

Beyond that, a lot of talk has shifted towards the Canucks bottom six. Steve Bernier is getting a lot of flak over his play as of late, moreso than Kyle Wellwood, which is unusual. While Bernier’s gone cold, cold, cold and the third line has been an offensive black hole right now, they still are managing to be quite adept at not being scored against. I’d be very interested in seeing how our third line matches up against the third line of other teams, as I’m not convinced they are as horrible as some people are making them out to be.

Don’t get me wrong, the lack of offense is frustrating, but people are acting like our third line is like our fourth line which IS a complete disaster. I loved Ryan Johnson’s piece he wrote for the Province and I know he is capable of being a good, quality bottom six guy, but for whatever reason he just isn’t working out in Vancouver and oh my god I cannot wait until he is gone from this team. I feel bad writing that, but goddamn.

Throwing him AND a mix of Glass/Rypien/Hordichuk out there is a disaster on ice. Hence why the second goal was scored: our fourth line plus Rome/Lukowich equals chaos.

At the very least, there’s hope for that third line, if they can ever get their act together. Same thing can’t be said for the fourth line.

On the plus side, the Canucks top lines looked fairly solid. The Sedins seemed a little out of synch tonight, although they were dangerous and had a number of golden scoring opportunities right on Halak’s doorstep. The second line did their job, as Mikael Samuelsson continues his post-Olympics snub tear.

Anyway, the Canucks didn’t play a perfect game, a costly early goal ended up deciding things and they ran into an incredibly hot goalie. It happens. Let’s see what happens against Ottawa now on Thursday.

The Canucks continue with their topsy turvy play as they came into tonight’s matchup suffering an ugly loss to the St. Louis Blues. Sound familiar? Yeah, I realize that these recaps sound like I could have simply did a Find and Replace in Word, but better the Canucks win a game than lose all the time. But, tonight’s game did have two guys dressed in green spandex (see above), so this most assuredly wasn’t a repeat!

Things could have gone either way tonight, as the Predators were a hot team, having won 6 of their last seven and have been dynamite against the NW Division as of late. Conversely, they were also a Central Division team, the sole division which the Canucks have had a losing record against all season (1-7-0 before tonight.) Thankfully, things went in favor of the Canucks.

Lots of things to love about this game. Lately, the Canucks weren’t playing with the same jump that they’ve had a lot of success with through the course of the season. There was the lethargic effort against the Blues and the game against Anaheim, where they took forever to register a shot on net. Not tonight, as the Canucks came out flying. The first period saw a strong effort from the Kesler line, as they were buzzing all over the place, particularly Raymond and Kesler. Alex Edler, who had missed a number of games due to an injury suffered the last time the Canucks played the Predators, was back in the lineup and looked great: he had a solid hit in the first and was involved in the power play, shooting the puck.

The defense looked good. How good? When Shane O’Brien is leading the backend in icetime, you know they’ve been playing a good game. Sami Salo also chipped in with some offense, adding a final indignity to the Predators who looked tired and on their heels for most of the game.

I think that Ryan Kesler’s tilt with Shae Weber. At 6′4 and 234, Weber was a bit out of Kesler’s weight class. However, Kesler, who took umbrage with a hit from Weber, decided to stand up to him and show that he wasn’t going to suffer any sort of shenanigans on behalf of the Predators. The resulting 4 on 4 led to Wellwood’s hard work over the last couple of games finally paying off as he worked to contain the puck in the Predator’s end before dishing it to Bernier who scored his 10th of the season. I cannot understand why people continually make reference to Bernier being trade bait. He’s our best bottom guy and one of the more physical players on our team. Boggles the mind.

The Canucks seemed to feed off of Kesler’s actions, as the Sedins, who have been rather quiet and had probably their most invisible games of the season against the Blues and Capitals woke back up. After getting some chances in the first, the Sedins exploded and had a great night. Daniel’s goal, placing him at 8th overall in all time goals scored by the Canucks, surpassing the mighty Don Lever. Henrik, not to be outpaced, notched his 125th career goal, giving the Canucks a stranglehold in the game.

If I had to pick one Canuck to criticize, it’d probably be Hansen. He had a couple of oddball decisions and took a penalty to boot. Still, he was skating well, was doing what he was supposed to do and created enough havoc in front of the net to draw Dan Hamhuis to him, allowing for Salo to score and score midway through the third.

Samuelsson might be the other guy I’d give some grief to. Dude’s been working hard like Wellwood, but has nothing to show for it. Ah well, Detroit fans advised us that he was streaky, so you have to take the good with the bad.

All in all, this was a great game from everyone, top to bottom. The Canucks dominated on the shot clock, in hits, on the scoresheet, had powerplay contributions and were perfect with the penalty kill. For once, can the Canucks please take this great effort into the next game, a tilt against the last place (where have I heard that one before?) Edmonton Oilers on Boxing Day.

Looking back, you could probably say that that there were a lot of odds stacked against the Canucks winning in Raleigh.

There was the fact that it was a criminally early start, part of Gary Bettman’s efforts to forcefeed the NHL to markets that are less than interested in watching the game, sometimes at the fans expense.

There was Alain Vigneault’s decision to start Andrew Raycroft in lieu of Roberto Luongo, who had looked great in back to back starts against the Devils and Flyers. Given how crazy the Canucks schedule will be coming up, you can’t necessarily blame Vigenault for wanting to give Luongo an afternoon off.

Couple in the fact that this was the third game in four nights and you begin to understand why the Canucks looked bowling shoe ugly against the last place Carolina Hurricanes. Yeah, there are a number of excuses you could dip into to justify the Canucks dismal play, all of which I am sure played a factor in the 5-3 affair, despite a late third period comeback attempt.

While it’d be convenient to chalk up the Canucks loss to the schedule, today’s game had bigger concerns than the Canucks not being able to sleep in. Despite being number one in the league for goals scored on the power play, the Canucks have been absolutely impotent with the man advantage lately, failing to cash in on three attempts, leading to the Canucks being shut out on their last twelve powerplay attempts. Improving the powerplay was one of the areas Mike Gillis focused on this past offseason and seeing such inconsistency with the Canucks has got to be frustrating for the GM and fans alike.

Especially when playing against the Hurricanes, a team ranked 20th overall with their efforts on the penalty kill, a team that is also missing their number one goaltender, Cam Ward. Interestingly enough, the Canucks rank just below the Hurricances, clocking in at 21st overall on the PK. It should be noted, though, that the Canucks have been impressive at killing off penalties lately, having killed 12 of their last 13.

Special teams have got to be a concern for the Canucks, as their 5 on 5 play has actually been solid over the course of the season, as their 5 on 5 goals against ratio rates them 4th overall, behind only Washington, Calgary and San Jose. That said, I don’t care how great of a team you are or how poorly the team you’re playing against is, if your powerplay isn’t producing chances, you’re going to get caught eventually.

As for the schedule? There should be some cause for concern from the Canuck faithful as well, as they haven’t fared too well in games that have been clustered closely together. Up until now, the Canucks schedule hasn’t been that challenging. There’s the 14 game road trip coming up due to the Olympics, followed up with 5 games in 8 nights. There’s also a similar three games in four nights coming up in December, including back to back NW division matchups. If the Canucks are exhausted or taken out of the swing of things this easily, it’s going to be hard for them to make the playoffs come springtime.

All that said, there ARE some positives to come out of this game. Steve Bernier continues to play well this season and is on pace to smash his previous career high offensive totals…all while playing on the third line. Kyle Wellwood was one of the few Canucks who looked like he gave a damn in the second period, showing some flashes of his play during the playoffs where he actually went to the net. Kesler, despite being absolutely snakebitten right now and ending up a -2 in the game, had some great chances along with Raymond. I really hope that Iain MacIntyre was wrong in his assessment that Michael Grabner will be sent down to the Moose once he’s healthy, as I’d like to see that second line come together again. That said, if Pavol Demitra will be healthy, it looks as though there won’t be much of a choice. Sigh.

Sidenote: I can’t get over the fact that Kesler is ‘only’ 25 years old. Seems like he’s been a Canuck for ages. Hopefully Gillis will get him signed and make that a reality.

The Canucks close out their road trip with a trip to Music City, taking on the Predators Tuesday at 5PM PST/8PM EST. They’ll then enjoy an 8 game homestand.

Man, where to begin with tonight’s game? It was bowling shoe ugly…

As I wrote in my recap last night, the Canucks needed to play a full 60 minutes and get away from the sloppy play that allowed an injury riddled and exhausted Oilers team to make it a game after going down 4-0 in the first period.

Taking 3 penalties in a row is a recipe for disaster against a team like the Sharks, particularly when your PK has been having problems like it has for the Canucks. Factor in a team that played the night before and a powerplay that was firing blanks by going 0 for 4 and the Canucks could ill afford to suffer poor play.

Luongo had another un-Luongo like night, starting with a gaffe in the second period, coughing up a poor rebound that led to Dan Boyle’s eventual game winning goal. He also let in two goals in 0:13 late in the third, sealing the Canucks fate. It’s an annoying sports cliche, but when your best players aren’t your best players, you’re going to suffer.

Especially when your non-best players are putting forth efforts like Darcy Hordichuk. Again, Hordichuk is the sort of player that I like, in theory: he’s a hard hitter, likes to drop the gloves and works hard. The problem is that I haven’t SEEN that Hordichuk on the ice thus far. The Hordichuk that I have seen was a -1, took a penalty that led to the GWG and was an anchor on Ryan Johnson and Jannik Hansen’s line. Thankfully, head coach Alain Vigneault seemed to notice that Hordichuk wasn’t having a great game and ended up benching him early in the third period. A little too late, but the fact that you noticed is appreciated, Alain. I don’t know what it will take to get Hordichuk back into form, as being benched for a stretch hasn’t helped. Rick Rypien cannot get back into the lineup soon enough.

I never thought I’d be saying this, but coach Alain Vigenault might want to take a look at sitting Alex Edler and letting SOB draw into the lineup, as he’s had more ups and downs than Matt Cooke’s feet during a Cooke highlight reel. After a solid effort last night and contributing to the Canucks first goal, he was pretty godawful out there for the rest of the game, making bad decisions with the puck along with a stint in the sin bin.

If there’s some positives to take out of tonight’s game, it’d be that the Canucks did a great job of shutting down San Jose’s big guns. Aside from Boyle’s marker, the usual suspects with the Sharks, Heatley, Thornton, Marleau, Setoguchi were kept off the scoresheet.

Much like the game in Chicago, the Canucks were excellent at shutting down the opposition, but lack the ability to capitalize on their own offensive opportunities. For comparison, the Canucks also went 0-4 on the man advantage in the 1-0 loss to the Blackhawks a week ago.

Bernier continues with his solid play, being one of the few Canucks to have brought a physical edge to the game. Perhaps the Quebec native was buoyed by the Alouettes winning the Grey Cup.

Hansen also looked great, having some solid shifts in the second and third periods, although his effectiveness was hampered due to You Know Who. Nice to see him get rewarded with a goal. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a promotion to the third line and play with Wellwood and Bernier, and/or snag a bit of PP time in exchange for Samuelsson sitting, as he’s another player who has looked a bit out of it lately, complete with taking stupid minors in back to back games. I’m not as bothered with Samuelsson, though, as he’s known to be a bit of a streaky player.

Then there’s Wellwood. Looks like he’s over whatever it was that was plaguing him for the first quarter of the season, as he cut Tanner Glass’ lead in goals in half by potting his second goal of the season. I’m reminded of the Sam Gagner/Darcy Hordichuk goal ‘rivalry’ that was going on between some Oilers and Canucks fans from last year. If this keeps up, I hope it’s because both Glass and Wellwood keep producing…although I’ll be just as happy if only Wellwood continues with some solid offensive production.

The Canucks square off against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday on TSN. Road games haven’t been kind to the Canucks this season, as they’re 4-8-0 away from GM Place. Hopefully the team’ll get over whatever it is that’s been causing this sloppy play before they line up against Brodeur and company.