Friday, March 31, 2006
GAME 75: WILD 2, CANUCKS 1 (SO)
Wild 2, Canucks 1 (SO)
[initial partial post]
Just two nights earlier, the Canucks got some last-second heroics to net a win against the Minnesota Wild. With the end of the regular season drawing ever so closer, the Canucks need every point they can get to sew up a playoff spot. They could use another two points in this rematch against the Wild. Could the Canucks nab those points and break through the Minnesota trap?
1st period
none
2nd period
»» 1, MINNESOTA, powerplay, Marc Chouinard 13 (Randy Robitaille, Filip Kuba) 9:45
»» 2, VANCOUVER, Anson Carter 31 (Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin) 14:59
3rd period
none
overtime
none
shootout
Koivu -- YES; deke to backhand, roof and score
Naslund -- NO; forehand hit outside of post
Rolston -- NO; finesse on backhand, toe sv Auld
Ruutu -- NO; deke to backhand, rolled off stick
Gaborik -- NO; hit post
D Sedin -- NO; Fernandez stops
Three stars -- (1) Minnesota's Mikko Koivu, (2) Minnesota's Manny Fernandez, (3) Carney
skater, goals-assists-points
Carter 1-0-1
D Sedin 0-1-1
H Sedin 0-1-1
The Canucks gained the single point for forcing overtime, though they really could have used the second point. They are now 40-28-7 (4-4 shootout, three overtime ties), good for 87 points. This leaves them in third place in the Northwest Division, one point behind Colorado (Avalanche have a game in hand), who they could have tied. The Canucks are three back of Calgary (two games in hand on Vancouver) for the division lead and the third seed. In the conference picture, the Canucks are seventh, one point up on Edmonton (Oilers with a game in hand), and a point behind Anaheim (two in hand), who is in fifth while Colorado is sixth.
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Thursday, March 30, 2006
HELLO KIRO LISTENERS
Hey, you may have heard me on New York Vinnie's show on KIRO 710 this evening.
If you did, welcome to Sports And Bremertonians.
We've been busy as of late, but I guess now we need to start posting again, since we were plugged on the Seahawks' flagship station and all. By the way, it was great to listen to a real sports talk radio show again. Seriously, Arkansas sports radio is absolutely terrible.
Thank you, Vinnie and the crew. You made my week complete.
Sports And Bremertonians, we still exist. You knew that, of course.
If you did, welcome to Sports And Bremertonians.
We've been busy as of late, but I guess now we need to start posting again, since we were plugged on the Seahawks' flagship station and all. By the way, it was great to listen to a real sports talk radio show again. Seriously, Arkansas sports radio is absolutely terrible.
Thank you, Vinnie and the crew. You made my week complete.
Sports And Bremertonians, we still exist. You knew that, of course.
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BIRD FEED
If you need your Seahawk news with regularity, hit up Sando's blog, because it's simply great.
-- Apparently Mike Holmgren is no longer on the competition committee. With how the Super Bowl went and with any amount of crazy calls that went against the Seahawks at various points in the season, I was giddy with anticipation for Holmgren to raise some ruckus at the competition committee meetings. However, Holmgren decided it'd cause him to spend way too much time away from his wife. Priorities.
-- It turns out the consolation prize to not being featured in NFL Kickoff Weekend the year after you get to the Super Bowl is to have your second preseason game televised nationally from Indianapolis.
-- Congratulations to John Marshall for formally being named the defensive coordinator for your Seattle Seahawks. Ray Rhodes stays on as a consultant. Marshall did an incredible job last year after Rhodes had his health issues. Seahawk fans hadn't seen a defense like last year's in forever. Add Russell Davis, Julian Peterson, and more (draft) to the defense...and it should be fun.
-- Lastly, per ESPN, down by contact plays are now reviewable. I've been waiting three years to finally say this. I could check back in the archive for the 2004 Seahawk season to see where the Seahawks got screwed on down by contact calls, but it's a bit late. Still, these are turnovers we're dealing with, and I'm glad the competition committee finally woke up to this.
Seriously, there should be dancing in the streets now that down by contact plays are reviewable.
-- Apparently Mike Holmgren is no longer on the competition committee. With how the Super Bowl went and with any amount of crazy calls that went against the Seahawks at various points in the season, I was giddy with anticipation for Holmgren to raise some ruckus at the competition committee meetings. However, Holmgren decided it'd cause him to spend way too much time away from his wife. Priorities.
-- It turns out the consolation prize to not being featured in NFL Kickoff Weekend the year after you get to the Super Bowl is to have your second preseason game televised nationally from Indianapolis.
-- Congratulations to John Marshall for formally being named the defensive coordinator for your Seattle Seahawks. Ray Rhodes stays on as a consultant. Marshall did an incredible job last year after Rhodes had his health issues. Seahawk fans hadn't seen a defense like last year's in forever. Add Russell Davis, Julian Peterson, and more (draft) to the defense...and it should be fun.
-- Lastly, per ESPN, down by contact plays are now reviewable. I've been waiting three years to finally say this. I could check back in the archive for the 2004 Seahawk season to see where the Seahawks got screwed on down by contact calls, but it's a bit late. Still, these are turnovers we're dealing with, and I'm glad the competition committee finally woke up to this.
Seriously, there should be dancing in the streets now that down by contact plays are reviewable.
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Wednesday, March 29, 2006
GAME 74: CANUCKS 2, WILD 1
Canucks 2, Wild 1
[initial partial post]
Did the Canucks need this one? They need every one from now until the end of the regular season to assure they even get into the playoffs. A big thing for the Canucks was to take advantage of the fact that Anaheim and Edmonton had lost the previous night and were idle on this night. Of course, the team that beat the Oilers was the Minnesota Wild. Wild fans hate the Canucks, it's that simple. The rivalry doesn't quite seep into the Wild players to the same extent, but usually these games get contentious. Unfortunately, since a Jacques Lemaire team is involved, it means the game has the potential to get a bit boring. Of course, there have been Canucks/Wild games I've kept track of where the Canucks outshoot the Wild 34-14 and lose 3-2. In short, the Canucks would have to grind this one out to get a win.
At least it ended nicely.
1st period
none
2nd period
»» 1, VANCOUVER, Daniel Sedin 21 (unassisted) 7:00
»» 2, MINNESOTA, Brian Rolston 32 (Wes Walz, Pierre-Marc Bouchard) 7:40
3rd period
»» 3, VANCOUVER, powerplay, Anson Carter 30 (D Sedin, Henrik Sedin) 19:53
Three stars -- (1) Carter, (2) Minnesota's Manny Fernandez, (3) Auld
skater, goals-assists-points
D Sedin 1-1-2
Carter 1-0-1
H Sedin 0-1-1
The much-needed win helped the Canucks keep pace with Calgary, who had beat the Kings earlier in the night. Vancouver now has a record of 40-28-6 (4-3 shootout, three overtime losses), good for 86 points. Right now, Vancouver is tied with Anaheim (two games in hand) for sixth in the Western Conference, and they are two points up on Edmonton, who holds the eighth slot. The Sharks are two points behind the Oilers in ninth place. Amidst all of this is the fact that the Canucks are only two points out of the Northwest Division lead and the third seed in the upcoming playoffs. The only unfortunate thing is that every other team in the playoff race has more games left to play than Vancouver. Next for the Canucks are a home rematch on Friday with Minnesota before a Sunday/Monday double-dip at Anaheim and Los Angeles. Then they get four nights off so this games-in-hand stuff can dissipate a bit before they host Calgary in a huge game Saturday of next week.
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Tuesday, March 28, 2006
TO THE CURB
Come on, just take a wild guess as to which certain team isn't included in next year's NFL Kickoff Weekend, despite that whole Super Bowl appearance and everything. Come on, take a wild stab at it.
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Monday, March 27, 2006
GAME 73: CANUCKS 7, KINGS 4
Canucks 7, Kings 4
[initial partial post]
It'll probably be redundant from here until the end of the regular season, but the Canucks needed this one. They started the day on the outside looking in, with 82 points in ninth in the Western Conference. San Jose also had 82 points, but had two games in hand on Vancouver. Still within reach was the Northwest Division lead, which lied only four points away. But this particular game was against the Los Angeles Kings, over whom Vancouver had only a one-point lead. Though the Kings had just fired their head coach, they were also vying for a playoff spot as well. Would the Canucks be able to regain the momentum and jump in their step they developed from the Edmonton miniseries? Would this group that has failed to get any momentum going for a span of months finally be able to do it? Their playoff hopes depended on it and will continue to do so.
1st period
»» 1, LOS ANGELES, Tom Kostopoulos 8 (Aaron Miller) 17:33
»» 2, VANCOUVER, powerplay, Daniel Sedin 20 (Anson Carter, Mattias Ohlund) 18:44
»» 3, VANCOUVER, powerplay, Carter 29 (D Sedin, Henrik Sedin) 19:30
2nd period
»» 4, LOS ANGELES, powerplay, Mark Parrish 27 (Craig Conroy, Mattias Norstrom) 1:49
»» 5, LOS ANGELES, Parrish 28 (Konstantin Pushkaryov) 3:53
»» 6, VANCOUVER, Alexandre Burrows 5 (Ohlund, Todd Bertuzzi) 14:10
»» 7, VANCOUVER, Brendan Morrison 16 (Ohlund, Markus Naslund) 16:43
»» 8, VANCOUVER, Burrows 6 (Bertuzzi) 17:15
3rd period
»» 9, VANCOUVER, Richard Park 8 (Morrison, Naslund) 1:58
»» 10, VANCOUVER, Burrows 7 (Ryan Kesler, Nolan Baumgartner) 12:41
»» 11, LOS ANGELES, powerplay, Mike Cammalleri 25 (Conroy, Norstrom) 17:24
Three stars -- (1) Burrows, (2) Ohlund, (3) Bertuzzi
skater, goals-assists-points
Burrows 3-0-3
Ohlund 0-3-3
Carter 1-1-2
Morrison 1-1-2
D Sedin 1-1-2
Bertuzzi 0-2-2
Naslund 0-2-2
Park 1-0-1
Baumgartner 0-1-1
Kesler 0-1-1
H Sedin 0-1-1
Vancouver's win made them 19-1-1 when leading after 1st period. It also propelled them to a record of 39-28-6 (4-3 shootout, three overtime losses), good for 84 points, the same number as Edmonton. However, the Oilers have a game in hand, so they take the seventh spot in the West while Vancouver is eighth. Still, the win put two more points of cushion between them and the Kings and Sharks beneath them. Also, the Canucks got to within two points of the Northwest Division lead and the third seed in the West. Every team with more than 80 points that isn't from Detroit, Dallas, or Nashville is in the thick of a playoff race right now. Seven teams are in the race, and only five can make it.
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Sunday, March 26, 2006
MASONRY
Maybe it's just me, but was anyone else glad to see Connecticut's luck finally run out on them? Everything they had go their way in the Washington game was enough in itself, but the layup to force today's game into overtime was a bit much for me.
But big thanks to George Mason for giving everyone something to talk about at work tomorrow. An 11 seed just made it to the Final Four. Incredible. And if anyone out there tells me they had George Mason in the Final Four in their bracket, I absolutely will not believe any such person.
It just occurred to me how far off my radar the Mariners are. Here we are, eight days from Opening Day for the Mariners and I've got the tournament, the Canucks' stretch run and hopefully the playoffs, the Seahawks and Vikings engaging in offer sheet wars, etc. At least the Mariners can be glad the Sonics are sucking this year.
Anyway, way to go, George Mason.
And hey, we've been issued a flash flood warning here on the island of Oahu for the next 40 minutes. Fun.
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