Saturday, November 05, 2005
MARVIN WILLIAMS WATCH, GAME 3
It was a much better game for the Atlanta Hawks this time in a game that at least went to the wire before they lost. Lose they did, to Nate McMillan and the Portland Trail Blazers by a score of 94-93. 2004 Bremerton graduate Marvin Williams played 25 minutes off the bench, scoring 2 points on 1-for-5 shooting from the field. He also recorded 2 rebounds, an assist, and a block. He was also whistled for five fouls.
The Hawks travel to face the Lakers in LA on Tuesday.
The Hawks travel to face the Lakers in LA on Tuesday.
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GAME 15: FLAMES 1, CANUCKS 0
Flames 1, Canucks 0
[initial partial post]
Would the Canucks toss away the first game of a doubleheader again? Well, yes. Except this time they didn't crap the bed in the first game. Calgary showed the grit they showed the last time these two teams hooked up in the playoffs. The Canucks blew their big chance in the third period when they had two minutes' worth of a two-man advantage and two more minutes of 5-on-4 and couldn't score.
1st period
»» 1, CALGARY, Marcus Nilson 2 (Craig MacDonald, Andrew Ference) 10:28
»» FLAMES 1, CANUCKS 0
2nd period
none
3rd period
none
Three stars -- (1) Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff, (2) Calgary's Marcus Nilson, (3) Auld
skater, goals-assists-points
none for Vancouver
The Canucks are now 10-3-2, good for 22 points in the standings.
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Friday, November 04, 2005
MARVIN WILLIAMS WATCH, GAME 2
The Atlanta Hawks were beaten once again, 92-77 in the Clip joint. Bremerton 2004 graduate Marvin Williams, who started in this game, shot 2-for-8 from the field, hit his only three-point attempt, and shot 1-for-4 from the line. Marvin scored six points and grabbed nine rebounds (three on offense). He had two assists to offset two turnovers, and he recorded a steal as well in a team-leading 35 minutes of play.
Next on Atlanta's docket is a trip to the Rose City to face Nate McMillan's TrailBlazers tomorrow night.
Next on Atlanta's docket is a trip to the Rose City to face Nate McMillan's TrailBlazers tomorrow night.
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GAME 14: CANUCKS 5, BLUE JACKETS 3
Canucks 5, Blue Jackets 3
[posted in full Fri 11 Nov ~1:31a]
Would the Canucks keep their level of play high against Columbus, or would they play down to the level of a team playing without Rick Nash and playing without impressive rookie and Vancouver Giant alum Gilbert Brule? Would the Canucks continue their penalty kill success as of late that had eluded them for most of the season? Would Alex Auld continue to fill in admirably in net?
1st period
Nikolai Zherdev blistered home a one-timer from just inside the blue line on the left side. The big line of Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison, and Todd Bertuzzi were on the ice for this goal, and they were out of position. Bertuzzi turned the wrong way, and the puck was in the net before he turned around.
»» 1, COLUMBUS, Nikolai Zherdev 2 (David Vyborny, Todd Marchant) 7:36
»» BLUE JACKETS 1, CANUCKS 0
The Canucks outshot Columbus 9-8. They were 0-for-2 on the power play, while Columbus was scoreless on their only power play chance.
2nd period
Using Daniel Sedin as a screen, Mattias Ohlund blistered in a one-timer from just inside the blue line to give Vancouver the lead.
»» 2, VANCOUVER, powerplay, Mattias Ohlund 4 (Anson Carter, Henrik Sedin) 5:29
»» BLUE JACKETS 1, CANUCKS 1
Sami Salo lasered a one-timer from the back of the left circle, and it may have hit Columbus goalie Marc Denis before finding its way past him.
»» 3, VANCOUVER, powerplay, Sami Salo 4 (Nolan Baumgartner, Markus Naslund) 11:36
»» CANUCKS 2, BLUE JACKETS 1
David Vyborny centered a puck that went off of Linden's skate and into the open net. That's bad luck again.
»» 4, COLUMBUS, powerplay, Vyborny 4 (Zherdev, Manny Malhotra) 17:34
»» BLUE JACKETS 2, CANUCKS 2
On a great three-way passing play, Salo centered to Henrik, who merely had to roof the puck since Denis had already gone down to the ice.
»» 5, VANCOUVER, H Sedin 5 (Salo, Carter) 18:27
»» CANUCKS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2
Vancouver outshot Columbus 13-7 in the period and 21-16 overall. They were 2-for-3 on the power play in the period, while Columbus was 1-for-3.
3rd period
Daniel Sedin centered nicely to Anson Carter for a one-timer from the slot, beating Denis stick side.
»» 6, VANCOUVER, Carter 3 (Daniel Sedin, Ed Jovanovski) 2:23
»» CANUCKS 4, BLUE JACKETS 2
A loose puck was put home by Zherdev on a deflection.
»» 7, COLUMBUS, Zherdev 3 (Malhotra, Bryan Berard) 8:15
»» CANUCKS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3
Markus Naslund funally put the game away for Vancouver from the blue line on the empty net.
»» 8, VANCOUVER, empty net, Naslund 8 (unassisted) 19:50
»» CANUCKS 5, BLUE JACKETS 3
Vancouver was outshot 8-5 in the period by Columbus. The Canucks were 0-for-1 on the power play in the period, while Columbus went 0-for-2. Vancouver went 2-for-6 on the night while Columbus was 1-for-6. Auld stopped 21 of 24.
Three stars -- (1) Carter, (2) Columbus' Nikolai Zherdev, (3) Salo
skater, goals-assists-points
Carter 1-2-3
Naslund 1-1-2
Salo 1-1-2
H Sedin 1-1-2
Ohlund 1-0-1
Baumgartner 0-1-1
Jovanovski 0-1-1
D Sedin 0-1-1
The Blue Jackets, minus Rick Nash and Gilbert Brule, still proved to be pesky. They did manage to score the first goal of the game, and they did tie the game late in the second period at 2-2, though that tie lasted a mere 53 seconds.
Vancouver was 32-for-63 (51%) on faceoffs. Brendan Morrison was 7-for-17, Trevor Linden was 4-for-8, Ryan Kesler was 7-for-14, and Henrik Sedin was 10-for-16. Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, and Anson Carter were all plus-2. Plus-1 skaters included Mattias Ohlund, Richard Park, Steve McCarthy, and Ed Jovanovski. Minus-1 skaters included Nolan Baumgartner, Markus Naslund, and Lee Goren. Todd Bertuzzi was a minus-2. All others were even. Baumgartner led the team with five shots. Kesler and Josh Green led the team with four hits apiece. Mattias Ohlund had a six-minute ice time cushion on anyone, his 29:52 being more than the next closest, Sami Salo at 23:51.
The Canucks are now 10-2-2 in the standings, good for 22 points and a five-point division lead over the second-place Edmonton Oilers. The Canucks have won all seven of their home games so far this season.
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Wednesday, November 02, 2005
MARVIN WILLIAMS WATCH, GAME 1
It's another year of the Marvin Williams Watch here at Sports and B's. This year, it's NBA-style.
The Atlanta Hawks were pasted 122-97 on the road at Golden State. In 25 minutes of play off the bench, Marvin scored 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field, and hit his only attempt from the free-throw line. He grabbed six boards (two offensive) and also recorded an assist, a steal, and a block, along with four fouls.
The Atlanta Hawks were pasted 122-97 on the road at Golden State. In 25 minutes of play off the bench, Marvin scored 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field, and hit his only attempt from the free-throw line. He grabbed six boards (two offensive) and also recorded an assist, a steal, and a block, along with four fouls.
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GAME 13: CANUCKS 2, WILD 1
Canucks 2, Wild 1
[posted in full Thu 10 Nov ~4:21p]
How would the Canucks fare without top-four defenseman Bryan Allen (knee injury), number-one goalie Dan Cloutier, and also third-line speedskating agitator Matt Cooke, out indefinitely as of Tuesday with a broken jaw due to a flying puck?
Not too badly, actually. Very treacherous ending though.
1st period
It didn't take long for blood to boil as Derek Boogaard and Wade Brookbank got into an early scrap. Brookbank held his own at first, but Boogaard landed some more blows late in the scrum to tip the fight close to his favor. Wes Walz went to the box for a hold. On a sketchy line change by Minnesota, Todd Bertuzzi made a nice centering pass from the left-wing corner to Ed Jovanovski in the low slot, and he put it home. Strangely, this prolonged Bertuzzi's point streak to five games.
»» 1, VANCOUVER, powerplay, Ed Jovanovski 3 (Todd Bertuzzi, Sami Salo) 5:28
»» CANUCKS 1, WILD 0
The Canucks outshot the Wild 13-11 in the period, which doesn't sound so bad except that the Canucks opened with an 11-3 shot advantage. The Canucks made good on their only power play chance. Minnesota was 0-for-2. Also in the period, Bertuzzi knocked vital Minnesota cog Marc Chouinard from the game with a hit.
2nd period
The line with the Sedins had some early chances in the period, but just couldn't find the back of the net. Scoreboard denting occurred in the latter reaches of the period. After fishing the puck out along the boards, Richard Park dished to Jarkko Ruutu, who wristed the puck short side past Dwayne Roloson from the right faceoff dot.
»» 2, VANCOUVER, Jarkko Ruutu 2 (Richard Park, Jovanovski) 15:42
»» CANUCKS 2, WILD 0
As the Ruutu goal was being announced in the arena, Randy Robitaille finished off a 2-on-1 rush by cracking a slap shot past Alex Auld on a feed from Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
»» 3, MINNESOTA, Randy Robitaille 2 (Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Derek Boogaard) 16:17
»» CANUCKS 2, WILD 1
Vancouver outshot the Wild 11-5 in the period and 24-16 overall. The Canucks were scoreless in three chances on the man-advantage, whereas Minnesota never had a power play in the period.
3rd period
This was a nail-biter of a scoreless third period. Auld had to make a huge save on Pascal Dupuis after Bertuzzi had given away the puck to start a 2-on-1 the other way. Henrik Sedin went to the box for a hold, and the Canucks were having trouble clearing. To make matters even more edgy, Bouchard hit the post on a shot with Auld down on the ice. Morbidly, Bouchard shortly after was hit in the side of the head with the puck while heading out on a change. Then came a play that made everyone scratch their heads -- Bertuzzi going off for a slash 200ft in front of his own net with 2:46 remaining. That's not a way to protect a one-goal lead. With the Canucks on the penalty kill, Ryan Kesler tried banking the puck off the glass in his own end and down the ice. This would have been great except the puck went over the glass. That's delay of game, and it happened only 20 seconds after Bertuzzi had gone to the box. The penalty kill had to come up huge. To make it even worse, Sami Salo also put the puck over the glass with 1:01 left. Eventually Minnesota pulled Roloson from the net and had a 6-on-3 to close out the game. Trevor Linden, Mattias Ohlund, and Ed Jovanovski did a bang-up job heep the puck out of the net and making key checks. Ohlund had a big check, and Jovanovski landed a big hit on Andrei Zyuzin. Minnesota predictably outshot the Canucks 16-6 in the period and outshot the Canucks 32-30 for the game. Alex Auld was stellar, stopping 31 of 32.
Three stars -- (1) Jovanovski, (2) Minnesota's Filip Kuba, (3) Auld
skater, goals-assists-points
Jovanovski 1-1-2
Ruutu 1-0-1
Bertuzzi 0-1-1
Park 0-1-1
Salo 0-1-1
That's certainly not how you want to protect a one-goal lead in the third period of a game, but it's quite the feeling to know that your penalty kill can do that. It's also unfortunate to see a couple of the guys get nailed for putting the puck over the glass, but better to learn not to do it now than to do it in the playoffs or late in the season or something.
Vancouver won 31 of 54 (57%) of their faceoffs on the night. Brendan Morrison was 11-for-17, Trevor Linden was 7-for-9, Ryan Kesler was 7-for-12, and Henrik Sedin was 5-for-12. Plus skaters (plus-1) included Richard Park, Kesler, Steve McCarthy, Jarkko Ruutu, and Ed Jovanovski. Minus skaters (minus-1) included Mattias Ohlund, Daniel Sedin, Wade Brookbank, Henrik Sedin, and Anson Carter. All other skaters were even. Jovanovski led the team with five shots, and Morrison had four. Todd Bertuzzi delivered three hits.
The Canucks are now 9-2-2 in the standings, good for 20 points and a six-point division lead over the Wild. The second- through fifth-place teams in the division all have between 12 and 14 points.
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Tuesday, November 01, 2005
BOHR'D
Well, I really don't know what else to post right now. What can I say other than the Sonics are a bit banged up and/or still figuring out their offense, and what Bill Bavasi said about Bobby Madritsch's approach to his rehab was shady, especially given that he wouldn't elaborate on it. It's hard enough to be a Mariner fan to begin with, and it's things like this that make we wonder why I even bother. But I do.
So, since I don't feel I can crank out paragraphs of worthwhile opinion or elaboration, I dug through the photo archive on the ol' computer, threw some sepia toning on it, and posted it. Fun.
Anyway, the Canucks host the Wild tomorrow night, and the Seahawks better beat Arizona on Sunday, reputation in bye weeks be damned. It's got to end sometime, right?
And I just felt like misspelling the word "bored," that's how bored I am. If you thought about atomic structure, well, sorry. Later models put the electrons into clouds around the nucleus rather than definite orbits as in the Bohr model, but I really should stop talking about this.
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