Wednesday, March 24, 2004
CANUCKS 1, KINGS 0
The Canucks finally have a win to hang their hats on. They are now a grand 2-3-2-1 since the Todd Bertuzzi incident. After that COL/VAN debacle, the Canucks dropped from one point behind the Avalanche to three points behind the Avalanche. After tonight (somehow, someway), they are in the exact same spot, just with less games (five, COL has six) to make up the ground. Sure, the Canucks have been crap, but the Avalanche aren't really doing anything to put the Canucks away for the division lead for good. Last year, the Canucks lost to the Kings in their last game and also lost the division to Colorado. In a perfect world, the tables turn this year. As my friend Grant would say, "it could happen. It's a McWorld."
I tried to fire up the ChainCast player on the 56k (haha) and it wasn't the quickest, but then I turned on the radio to see if there was any chance in hell I could get CKNW from Vancouver, and sure enough, it was audible. It was fading in and out, but I could hear it. I had convinced myself the game was a 7:30 start, but it must not have been because I tuned in at 9:30 thinking I'd be hearing actual game action. This wasn't the case. However, thanks to the miraculous fact that I got reception, I was able to catch the postgame show. I was getting the station at 980AM on the dial, and I was getting something else inbetween 980AM and KJR, and they were also talking hockey. I think it was a Calgary station or something. You gotta love hearing faraway stations at night!! I didn't check to see if I could get KNBR from San Francisco, but I might try it later.
The Canucks pretty much dominated the first two periods of play, and the Matt Cooke (9th of year) goal in the first period turned out to be the only tally. Cooke was moved to Bertuzzi's spot on the Naslund-Morrison line to basically wreak havoc and be strong on the forecheck. Though this 1-0 win does give the Canucks something to build on, and does give Dan Cloutier (15-stops shutout) something to build on, they still went 0-for-3 on the power play. Cloutier didn't have to do much until the Kings held the puck in the Vancouver zone for much of the third period and took some shots. Cristobal Huet did a good job keeping the Kings in the game, fending off all but one of the Canucks shots in a furious first period.
And now, after a one-game absence from Sports and B's, postgame notated commentary taken by me of the Russell/Shorthouse/Larscheid postgame chitchat:
Dan: LA was badly outplayed in the 1st. Klatt hit the crossbar in the 2nd. LA had the puck in the Vancouver zone a lot in the 3rd.
--
John: big 1st period
Tom: Vancouver outshot the Canucks 13-4 in 1st and could have had 20 shots in 1st (missed net). The finishing isn't there like they want, but got the one goal. This was a big two points for the Canucks.
Dan: It was scary -- LA was always one shot away from tying the game.
John: If the other team sticks around for that long, it's always scary. The team is fragile, which isn't good, and it feels worse when they're only up by one.
Dan: The tide could have turned on the late Luc Robitaille shot
Tom: Luc came over the boards (line change) to launch a shot from 25 feet...Cloutier made a great save.
John: That was his best save of the night. Who knows what would have happened if the game went to OT? Getting two points is good, should give Dan Cloutier some confidence.
Tom: LA's deadline acquisitions are not panning out...The Kings have lost 4 straight on home ice, and would be better with decent goaltending
--
Dan: The three stars were Cooke, Huet, and Cloutier
Tom: The game should help Dan's confidence...Huet was fantastic...Cooke was flying in the first period
John: Matt Cooke is on the forecheck...that's why he's on that line
Dan: The practice time seemed to help them this week with the new faces...the power play is still quiet, however.
Tom: They'll continue to work on that...I liked the way the defense moved the puck...Malik was good; he was plus-1 on night, plus-33 for year, tied for NHL lead...(radio fadeout here) It makes sense to have Jovanovski and Ohlund on the ice in last 5 minutes of game
John: Jovo coming back is key...he adds an entirely different dimension to this team.
Dan: Baby steps...Vancouver had to win, but had to play well; they needed something to feel good about.
Tom: They played really good without the puck (held LA to 15 shots). They still has players in long goal slumps. Sooner or later, the defense has to start scoring. I never thought Naslund would have these horrible numbers (the latest stretch) for this time of year.
Dan: Big game on Saturday.
John: Vancouver does not control its own destiny to get 4th seed and home ice in first round
Dallas at Vancouver on Saturday. Biiiiiig game.
Before I end the post, I have to say that I stayed up until 2am last night to see if CBC British Columbia still ran the animated cartoon flyover with "O Canada" playing before they went off the air for the night. I'm pretty sure they don't have it running anymore. Instead, I was treated to a video montage of Canada, with a weird orchestral arrangement of Canada's anthem. I want the animated flyover back, dammit!! There's a slight chance they could have ran the flyover, but that'd have to be if they showed it between the CBC still logo with stuff (graphics) moving behind it and then the static/snow.
And to those who haven't done research, the French version of "O Canada" translates out to something pretty violent. If I remember right, swords are involved along with property defense (seconded upon finding first link).
I tried to fire up the ChainCast player on the 56k (haha) and it wasn't the quickest, but then I turned on the radio to see if there was any chance in hell I could get CKNW from Vancouver, and sure enough, it was audible. It was fading in and out, but I could hear it. I had convinced myself the game was a 7:30 start, but it must not have been because I tuned in at 9:30 thinking I'd be hearing actual game action. This wasn't the case. However, thanks to the miraculous fact that I got reception, I was able to catch the postgame show. I was getting the station at 980AM on the dial, and I was getting something else inbetween 980AM and KJR, and they were also talking hockey. I think it was a Calgary station or something. You gotta love hearing faraway stations at night!! I didn't check to see if I could get KNBR from San Francisco, but I might try it later.
The Canucks pretty much dominated the first two periods of play, and the Matt Cooke (9th of year) goal in the first period turned out to be the only tally. Cooke was moved to Bertuzzi's spot on the Naslund-Morrison line to basically wreak havoc and be strong on the forecheck. Though this 1-0 win does give the Canucks something to build on, and does give Dan Cloutier (15-stops shutout) something to build on, they still went 0-for-3 on the power play. Cloutier didn't have to do much until the Kings held the puck in the Vancouver zone for much of the third period and took some shots. Cristobal Huet did a good job keeping the Kings in the game, fending off all but one of the Canucks shots in a furious first period.
And now, after a one-game absence from Sports and B's, postgame notated commentary taken by me of the Russell/Shorthouse/Larscheid postgame chitchat:
Dan: LA was badly outplayed in the 1st. Klatt hit the crossbar in the 2nd. LA had the puck in the Vancouver zone a lot in the 3rd.
--
John: big 1st period
Tom: Vancouver outshot the Canucks 13-4 in 1st and could have had 20 shots in 1st (missed net). The finishing isn't there like they want, but got the one goal. This was a big two points for the Canucks.
Dan: It was scary -- LA was always one shot away from tying the game.
John: If the other team sticks around for that long, it's always scary. The team is fragile, which isn't good, and it feels worse when they're only up by one.
Dan: The tide could have turned on the late Luc Robitaille shot
Tom: Luc came over the boards (line change) to launch a shot from 25 feet...Cloutier made a great save.
John: That was his best save of the night. Who knows what would have happened if the game went to OT? Getting two points is good, should give Dan Cloutier some confidence.
Tom: LA's deadline acquisitions are not panning out...The Kings have lost 4 straight on home ice, and would be better with decent goaltending
--
Dan: The three stars were Cooke, Huet, and Cloutier
Tom: The game should help Dan's confidence...Huet was fantastic...Cooke was flying in the first period
John: Matt Cooke is on the forecheck...that's why he's on that line
Dan: The practice time seemed to help them this week with the new faces...the power play is still quiet, however.
Tom: They'll continue to work on that...I liked the way the defense moved the puck...Malik was good; he was plus-1 on night, plus-33 for year, tied for NHL lead...(radio fadeout here) It makes sense to have Jovanovski and Ohlund on the ice in last 5 minutes of game
John: Jovo coming back is key...he adds an entirely different dimension to this team.
Dan: Baby steps...Vancouver had to win, but had to play well; they needed something to feel good about.
Tom: They played really good without the puck (held LA to 15 shots). They still has players in long goal slumps. Sooner or later, the defense has to start scoring. I never thought Naslund would have these horrible numbers (the latest stretch) for this time of year.
Dan: Big game on Saturday.
John: Vancouver does not control its own destiny to get 4th seed and home ice in first round
Dallas at Vancouver on Saturday. Biiiiiig game.
Before I end the post, I have to say that I stayed up until 2am last night to see if CBC British Columbia still ran the animated cartoon flyover with "O Canada" playing before they went off the air for the night. I'm pretty sure they don't have it running anymore. Instead, I was treated to a video montage of Canada, with a weird orchestral arrangement of Canada's anthem. I want the animated flyover back, dammit!! There's a slight chance they could have ran the flyover, but that'd have to be if they showed it between the CBC still logo with stuff (graphics) moving behind it and then the static/snow.
And to those who haven't done research, the French version of "O Canada" translates out to something pretty violent. If I remember right, swords are involved along with property defense (seconded upon finding first link).
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