PS3: NHL10 as Therapy

Normally after watching the Vancouver Canucks lose I don't want to even think about hockey, at least not until the disappointment fades away. So I wouldn't have thought playing NHL10 right after was in the cards. It doesn't turn out that way, however. It's especially after a Canucks' loss that I need to sit down and play NHL10 to ease my wounded soul.

Canucks 3, Blackhawks 1

How do you spell relief? The Vancouver Canucks finally put in a 60 minute effort in this series. Tonight the Canucks took a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Semi-finals, versus the Chicago Blackhawks.

Despite leaving Vancouver with the series tied 1-1 I was pretty depressed because of the way the Canucks collapsed with the lead in the first two games. If the Canucks play the rest of the series like they played tonight I'll be happy.

Sometimes I think some hockey god has it in for the Canucks, or has some cosmic sense of irony. The Canucks came in to this series with a long layoff to heal. In the first 3 games of this series Salo, Demitra, and now perhaps Ohlund are injured such that the former two at least aren't able to play.

***
On a related note regarding the Phoenix Coyotes entering banckruptcy and Jim Balsillie's $212.5 million offer contingent on the team relocating to southern Ontario, I hope it happens. I really hope it happens... but I'm not optimistic. For some reason Bettman and whoever else makes these decisions hate the idea of more Canadian NHL teams. Canadian teams relocating to the USA -- fine and dandy. USA teams relocating to Canada -- not until hell freezes over.

It has to be the money, I guess, but I just don't get it. Do they think the market in Canada is too small? Southern Ontario can definitely support two NHL franchises, I don't know why they think otherwise. Meanwhile they stick teams in southern U.S. locales with no significant fan base. No such problem in Canada.

I can see that if the NHL is to up its profile/profit it needs to expand in to the U.S. but I don't understand why they can't do that without forsaking Canada. Get more U.S. teams via expansion, but don't prevent a bankrupt team from relocating to Canada.

Blackhawks 3, Canucks 5

Whew. When Chicago tied it up at 3 in the third I had visions of past Canucks collapses, but the Canucks survived the first game of the Western Conference semi-finals.

The Canucks will need to improve their powerplay and stop taking stupid penalties.

I wonder if GM paid up front to name GM Place, or if there's some sort of annual payment; I ask because if the latter I wonder if they would consider dropping sponsorship because of GM's current financial woes.

Canucks Sweep Blues

Hurrah! The Vancouver Canucks defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in the dieing seconds of the first OT to sweep the Blues in their best of seven series.

I can hardly believe it -- I can't remember, literally, the last time the Canucks ever won a series 4-0. It's a huge relief from all the 6 game, 7 game series I remember.

The Blues went for 0-7 on the powerplay in the sudden death OT, alone. Whew.

CBC cut off the Canucks game after regulation to broadcast the start of the Sharks - Ducks game. Idiots. It was sudden death elimination OT versus the first period of a non-elimination game. I would have thought the decision obvious, but CBC must have different ideas on what constitutes excitement and drama. Weak sauce, CBC. Weak sauce.

Edit. I just heard Shorty on the radio say the Canucks have never previously swept a 7 game series. Woohoo! To boldly go where no Canucks team has ever gone before...

Blues 0, Canucks 3

Hurrah! The Canucks take a 2-0 lead in the best of seven against St. Louis, by beating the Blues 3-0.

I'm becoming increasingly optimistic about the Canucks' chances to go deep, or at least make it past the first round. The Canucks need to finish this series early to gain an opportunity to rest; don't drag it out to seven.

Sundin scored! The game winner, no less! I guess he's still useful even though he's as slow as a turtle.

Luongo made some incredible saves, although a few pucks went off the post.

Blues 1, Canucks 2

Whew. Way too many penalties -- but at least the Vancouver Canucks survived and took game one of their series against the St. Louis Blues, in the Western Conference quarter-finals.

I hope now that the first game is under their belt the Canucks will be more disciplined for the rest of the games.

I watched the game on CBC and I was struck by the many commercials that made use of hockey and the NHL. It's good to be back in Canada. :o)

I think the funniest commercial tonight was one for a beer (?) company -- in it announcers worked a table hockey game and when the puck was stuck in the neutral zone, unreachable for any two-dimensional player, they described it as the "neutral zone trap". :o)

Anywhoo, on to game two!

Oh yeah, what's up with Sundin? Is he still out of shape or has Sundin always been that slow?

Introducing Kirk McLean

Currently LW Jean-Luc Picard is the points leader by a 30+ point margin and goal leader by a 50 goal margin at the mid-point of the season where the Vancouver Canucks currently lead the league. With Picard starting the Canucks have won 29 straight games.

Picard averages 3.5x goals and 4.6x points per game. His highest points in a game was 13 (7 goals, 6 assists) and Picard's most goals in a game was a triple hat trick.

Posting all this is not so much to brag (I'm playing the Rookie/easy level, after all -- speaking of which, after playing 75 games Picard becomes "Pro". Is that Pro as in the next skill level? That would be neat) but to provide some info as to why it's become a trifle boring; there's no challenge anymore.

I don't want to start all over again because I've played almost 50 games with this player -- it would be a waste. Plus, Picard is a sure fire way to Stanley Cup success, a fail safe in case other avenues fail.

So... I'm turning elsewhere to indulge my competitive spirit... to an alternate NHL universe where stand-up goalie Kirk McLean joined the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL for the 2008 season. After 10 games (10-0-0) with a 2.42 GPG and a 93.5% save percentage McLean was called up to the Montreal Canadiens.

Calling McLean up so early must partly be due to the fact that after 16 games the Canadiens are rock bottom at 30th in the NHL -- McLean's first game in a Canadiens uniform will be to put an end to an 8-game losing streak (the Canucks, by the way, currently are 1st place in this NHL-verse).

I hope it's been the Canadiens goalies Price and Havlak that have been leaking and not the D-men. McLean at 19 is unusually young for a NHL goalie -- I wouldn't want him to be emotionally scarred after being crushed in a poor game.

Can Kirk McLean revive the flailing and failing Montreal Canadiens?

Bieska Traded?!

Vancouver Canucks Kevin Bieska was traded to the Minnesota Wild for Marc-Andre Bergeron -- in NHL 09, not real life -- after 25 games (Edler was called up concurrently, by the way).

This trade shocked me a little because I'd just been wondering whether Jean-Luc Picard could be traded despite being my created Be A Pro player on the Canucks. Probably not, right? Still, I wonder... it might be kind of neat if he was.

The trade also shocked me slightly because the Canucks and Wild are both in the Northwest Division -- intra-division trades don't happen often, do they?

Anywhoo, the Canucks have 37 points after 27 games, placing them 5th in the league, 4th in the Western Conference, and 2nd behind league-leading Colorado Avalanche (40 points) in the Northwest Division.

LW Picard has 53 points (41 goals, 12 assists) with the Canucks and is 2nd behind NHL point leader Daniel Sedin (54 points). Picard leads the league in goals, and is currently +45.

Picard Called Up By Canucks

Jean-Luc Picard was called up by the struggling Vancouver Canucks, having racked up 49 points (44 goals, 5 assists) after 16 games in the AHL. Picard has scored 33 points (24 goals, 9 assists) in 8 games in a Canucks uniform. Since Picard joined the team the Vancouver Canucks (12 wins, 8 losses, 2 OTL) have won 8 straight.

At first I couldn't understand how the Canucks could have such a poor record (4 wins, 8 losses, 2 OTL) with reasonable team stats and a great goalie. I was still puzzled after the first few games Picard joined the Canucks -- Luongo was hot, scoring goose eggs or single goals per game. Recently, however, Luongo has been letting in 5 at a time with a poor save percentage, to boot. If this was how Luongo was playing in the simulated games no wonder the Canucks were playing 0.286 hockey after 14 games.

NHL 09

I just recently purchased NHL 2009 for the Playstation 3 -- money amazingly well spent if you're a hockey fan. This game is great.

There are a couple graphical glitches away from the ice (sometimes the stands/boards blink black) but graphics and game play are excellent. You can play the entire game in a particular position (playing goalie is surprisingly boring for long stretches of time). Being on the bench after a line change is a convenient way to relax for a few moments after the rush of on-ice action.

The AI is pretty good. I actually think I've been geting more ice time when I play well, less if I'm not.

There are several game modes one of which is "Be A Pro" where my created player is just beginning his professional hockey career.

Having recently joined the Canucks' AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose (5-0), 19-year old Jean-Luc Picard plays left wing, shoots right, is 6-ft. 195 lb and wears jersey #17. Picard began the season on the 3rd line and after 11 points (8 goals, 3 assists) in five games Picard has been moved to the 2nd line. Assuming Picard continues to play well he has a good chance to make the 1st line -- and to ultimately get called up by the Canucks and play in the NHL.

Expect further updates on this Vancouver native's promising hockey career.

Linden's #16 Raised to the Rafters

Wonderful. This post is a couple days late, but... finally! I'd hoped, I'd expected, but not until they officially announced it was I able to perform a mental celebratory dance.

On the night of 17 December this year, prior to the game versus division rivals Edmonton Oilers, former Vancouver Canucks captain Trevor Linden's jersey #16 will be lifted to the rafters of GM Place to become only the second jersey (the other being Stan "the Steamer" Smyl's #12) retired by the Canucks and the first to be retired in GM Place.

Here's a link the the official announcement: A Night to Remember.

Here's a previous post partly explaining exactly why Trevor Linden, the most popular player in team history, deserves this ultimate tribute: Forever a Canuck.

No one is more deserving of this singular honour. Congratulations, Linden, and thanks for all the memories.

Vancouver Canucks Great Goaltenders

On a forum there was a discussion about who were the great Vancouver Canucks goaltenders. Anywhoo, someone posted some stats and it led me to this webpage.

In it the author looked at Canucks goalies with at least 30 wins in a season; turns out there are five -- Gary Smith, Kirk McLean, Dan Cloutier, Alex Auld, and Roberto Luongo.

The webpage considers several factors (including the number of games per season, shoot-outs, overtime et cetera) and calculates statistics adjusted accordingly. Again, check the website for the details -- I've just copied and pasted the stats (after minor editing for formatting).

Most adjusted wins in an season:
34 - Kirk McLean (1991-92)
32 - Gary Smith (1974-75)
31 - Roberto Luongo (2006-07)
29 - Dan Cloutier (2002-03)
26 - Alex Auld (2005-06)

Most adjusted points in a season:
83 - Roberto Luongo (2006-07)
81 - Kirk McLean (1991-92)
73 - Gary Smith (1974-75)
68 - Dan Cloutier (2002-03)
65 - Alex Auld (2005-06)

Best adjusted winning percentage in a season:
.633 - Kirk McLean (1991-92)
.630 - Dan Cloutier (2002-03)
.562 - Gary Smith (1974-75)
.561 - Roberto Luongo (2006-07)
.508 - Alex Auld (2005-06)

To my delighted surprise Kirk McLean, in these statistics, comes out on top in 2 out of the 3 categories, and 2nd in the third. Kirk McLean has always been my favourite Canucks goaltender and I thought he had fallen in the shadow of Luongo. For now, at least, I can say it's the other way around. :o)

Forever a Canuck

Trevor Linden officially announced his retirement after 19 years in the National Hockey League. Linden spent all but three of those seasons as a Vancouver Canuck, returning to the Canucks in 2001.

Here are some numbers on Linden (taken from canucks.com):

• 1st - Round draft pick of the Canucks in 1988 (2nd overall)
• 95 - Points in 118 playoff games as a Canuck (34 goals, 61 assists)
• 41 - Career game-winning goals
• 318 - Career goals as a Canuck in the regular season
• 415 - Career assists as a Canuck.
• 733 - Career points as a Canuck for Trevor Linden
• 867 - Career NHL points for Linden (375-492-867)
• 1,382 - Career NHL games

At 21, Linden was named the Canucks captain, at the time the youngest captain in the NHL. He kept the "C" for 7 years until The Midiot and Keenan arrived. Linden then played for the Canadiens, Islanders and Capitals before returning to Vancouver in 2001.

In 1994 Linden led the Canucks all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Rangers, carrying the Canucks on his back in game seven, scoring 2 goals in a 3-2 loss. This was the Canucks' 2nd (the 1st was in 1982) trip to the Finals, and to date its last. I was glued to the television for the entire playoff run, and to this day I detest anyone on that 1994 Ranger team.

Captain Canuck is the franchise all-time leader in games played (1140), assists (415) and is second in goals (318) and points (733). Trevor Linden's 118 games, 34 goals, 61 assists and 95 points in the playoffs are all franchise records.

Linden contributed both on and off the ice. He helped raise money for Canuck Place, BC Children’s Hospital, Canadian Cancer Society, B.C. Cancer Foundation, Camp Goodtimes, Ronald McDonald House of B.C., Kids Help Phone, the Michael Cuccione Foundation, and many other charities in BC, helping to raise millions of dollars for those in need.

In recognition of Linden's contributions to the community he was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1997, given annually to the "NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution in his community". In 2008 Linden received the NHL Foundation Player Award, awarded annually to the NHL player "who applies the core values of hockey – commitment, perseverance and teamwork – to enrich the lives of people in his community".

Linden was an NHL Players Association player representative since 1990, and the NHLPA President for 8 years (1998-2006).

I've probably said this before, but Trevor Linden is my all-time favourite NHL player. His stats and on-ice skill never matched the greats - though they're nothing to sneeze at - and I don't think he'll make the Hockey Hall of Fame (though I wish he does), but his heart, drive and determination were second to none.

After game 6 of the 1994 Finals against the New York Rangers, the game the Canucks won 4-1, and a game The Midiot cheap-shotted Linden as he was crawling to the bench from an earlier hit by Graves, in the immortal words of play-by-play announcer Jim Robson:

"There is going to be that seventh game. We'll hope they can patch Linden up and get him in that one. He will play, you know he'll play! He'd play on crutches! He will play, and he'll play at Madison Square Gardens on Tuesday night! The game is over!"

That iconic pic above is from that game 6, a bloody, exhausted Linden hugging goalie Kirk McLean.

If you haven't guessed by now, Linden is the only NHL player I'm emotionally attached to. :o)

If Trevor Linden's #16 isn't retired (it would be only the 2nd officially retired jersey in Canucks history, up in the rafters with Stan Smyl's #12), then I'll grab my fork and torch and march up to Orca Bay and demand they do so. Well, I'll send a mean e-mail, at least. :o) No Canuck deserves such recognition more than Trevor Linden.

Best of luck in all your future endeavors, Trevor, and thanks for the memories....

Vancouver Canucks go home early

Old, depressing news. The Vancouver Canucks played their way out of the playoffs. Sitting in 7-8th spot in the Western Conference (and hence in a playoff position), the Canucks then proceeded to lose SEVEN of the the last EIGHT games to end the regular season in 11th place and OUT of the playoffs. Wangos. Wangos in spades. This is the second time in three years the Canucks failed to make the playoffs.

I wonder if Trevor Linden will retire. I hope he doesn't. But Alain Vigneault scratched a healthy Linden how many times during the season? If this does turn out to have been Linden's last year, the Canucks organization had better give him a send off to remember.

A photographic tribute to Canucks legend, Trevor Linden.

Wake me up, please!

This can't be happening. Four games left to the season and the Vancouver Canucks are currently 9th in the Western Conference, behind the Nashville Predators for a playoff spot. This is not supposed to be happening - Luongo was supposed to backstop up into the playoffs. Wangos. But as always the Canucks can't put pucks into the other team's net. Frustrating.

Trevor Linden: 412th career assist

In last night’s game (Canucks defeated Calgary, 3-2 in the Saddledome), Trevor Linden surpassed Stan Smyl by marking his 412^th career assist in a Canucks uniform – an all-time franchise record.

Congratulations!

Canucks re-sign Linden!

Hurrah! The Vancouver Canucks have re-signed Trevor Linden for another year! I hope the Canucks have a good run this year. It might be a long shot but I think Linden is one of those players that deserves a Stanley Cup.

The Canucks will need some luck and more support for Luongo to have a realistic chance at the Cup, though. Last year they were basically the same team that missed the playoffs previously, but the addition of Luongo took them to the second round.

Anywhoo, this news makes me even more eager for the season to start.

"Linden is Vancouver's all-time leader in games played (1,081) and points (721).
He also holds franchise playoff records for games played (118), goals (34), assists (61) and points (95)."--cbc.com

Linden's longevity may have contributed to his numbers, but as the last playoffs showed, he can still make a positive contribution to the team and on the ice.

Canucks lose series 4-1

Well, that’s it. The Vancouver Canucks are done for this season. The Annaheim Ducks defeated the Canucks 2-1 (2OT) in their Western Conference Semifinal, taking the best-of-seven series 4-1.

Heart-breaking and frustrating.

Frustrating because the Canucks could just not CLEAR THE ZONE. The result: 58 shots on Roberto Luongo, 27 shots on Giguere. An imbalance like that is just asking for trouble. It’s remarkable that Luongo was even able to keep the game close, let alone in to the 2nd OT.

The Canucks lost this series because our defense couldn’t handle the Ducks’ fore-checking. Every time the Canucks gained possession we could not clear the zone, whether due to intercepted passes, turn-overs or what have you. Canucks COULD NOT CLEAR THE ZONE. In contrast, for the vast majority of time the Ducks’ defense was able to skate the puck out of their zone at will.

The Canucks lost this series because our top scorers did not score. Canucks that were supposed to score, didn’t. For all the positive press the Sedin twins received for their performance in the regular season, the Ducks (and the Dallas Stars) for the most part shut them down in the playoffs. Contrast this with the Ottawa Senators, where Spezza, Alfreddson, and Heatley are expected to get points, and they do.

I’m not placing blame for the loss on individuals--I’m just mentioning areas where I think the Canucks need to improve if we’re to do better in 2008.

Hockey is a team game, and our team lost.

Game 4-- Ducks 3 , Canucks 2 (OT)

The Vancouver Canucks blew a 2 goal lead to lose to the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in OT. The Ducks now have a 3-1 series lead in their Western Conference Semifinal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Ugh.

What I find so frustrating, ignoring the Canucks' so-terrible-it's-not-funny PP, is how difficult it is for them to get the puck out of our zone. I guess some credit has to go to the Ducks' fore-checkers, because there has to be some reason the Canucks keep giving them puck in the defensive zone. The game commentators frequently mentioned how great the Canucks defense was because they blocked a lot of shots. True. But perhaps they wouldn't have to block so many if they were able to clear the zone.

While the Ducks were able to maintain constant, sustained pressure in our zone, the Canucks were only able to manage brief periods of pressure in the opposite end. The Sedins were pretty silent, and have been quiet for most of the playoffs, in my opinion. Plus, I think they're kind of pitiful defensively. Naslund has finally stepped up the past couple games, and Linden had another impressive performance. Linden has a history of playing his best hockey in the playoffs. Morrison scored his first(!) goal of the playoffs, and generated a few scoring chances.

I had hopes that Vancouver finally had the final piece required to make a serious run for the Stanley Cup when we acquired Luongo. But from watching this series it's obvious the Canucks need more experience on defense in addition to Mitchell. It's probably a combination of lack of experience and/or skill overall in our defense. I may be wrong, but I seem to remember hearing that Bieska is one of the better Canucks D-men, along with Salo. But Bieska along with Green were two of the worst Canucks at clearing our zone, I thought--too many short chips or short cutesy passes that resulted in turnovers. And a mistake by Salo gave Selanne the tieing goal.

Another thing that needs to be fixed, in my opinion, is that Vancouver is pretty much a one offensive line team, with the Sedin brothers. In the playoffs they've been mostly shut down, and while some players like Linden have actually stepped up their play, we still need more offense. I'm getting flashbacks to when the Morrison-Naslund-Bertuzzi line was one of, if not the best, scoring lines in the league, but were also shut down in the playoffs and Vancouver bowed out early.

If it sounds like I'm writing off the Canucks, well... I won't say never, and teams have come back down 3-1 before, and the Canucks have done it before (as well as having it done to them), but I think it looks pretty grim.

Game 2- Canucks 2, Ducks 1 (2OT)

Yippeeee!!! The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 in the 2nd OT in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the best of seven series now tied 1-1.

Jeff Cowan scored the winning goal in the middle of the 2nd OT, assisted by Trevor Linden after some great fore-checking. I'm not sure how the puck went in--Giguere was pressed right up against the near post, but Cowan's shot slid along the ice right between Giguere's skate and the near post. Wow.

I have to say that after the first game I was extremely disappointed with the Canucks' performance. I wasn't sure whether we were just playing badly, or if the Ducks are just a much better team. After Game 2 I'm glad to see that the Canucks can actually compete with the Ducks, despite being in my opinion the underdogs in this series.

To tell the truth, even if the Canucks had lost this game, putting them down 2-0 in the series and in a big hole, I wouldn't have been too upset. I would have been very disappointed, of course, but overall there's no way I can criticize the effort and intensity the Canucks displayed on the ice. If the Canucks can continue playing this way for the rest of the series I'll be content.

There were only a few minor issues I had. Naslund finally scored a goal, but he also took a few penalties, including one in the 1st OT, though a couple looked kind of weak. Maybe I'm just paying more attention to Luongo than Giguere, but my impression is that the Ducks are bumping into Luongo much more than the Canucks into Giguere. Luongo played much better this game, though he was saved by a couple posts. A couple of Canucks were injured and not dressed for the game, including two of our regular defensemen. If memory serves, we outshot the Ducks, but I think the Ducks had more scoring chances than the Canucks.

I noticed in the previous series, and also in this one, that the Canucks often have difficulty in clearing their zone. This is especially aggravating, and stressful, when they're on the PK--it seems like it's impossible for them to even "ice" the puck (fyi, no icing calls for a team on PK), resulting in several turn-overs in our zone.

Anywhoo, back in Vancouver for Game 3 on Sunday!