Saturday, December 06, 2008

Streak Snapped, Sundin Decision Soon, Coyotes in Trouble

Canucks 2 - Wild 1

The losing streak is over... about time.

For the second time this season the Canucks pulled off a huge win in Minnesota playing on back to back nights. The Canucks were perilously close to losing 5 games in a row for the first time in nearly a decade... the strange thing was that they weren't playing that bad. They were in every game, at times even leading, yet they weren't good enough to win. It was the little things that were costing them games. The defense core was having a terrible time with the puck, often giving the puck away in their own zone (particularly down low) when they had opportunities to get the puck out. The team as a whole was taking far too many penalties, while at the same time failing miserably on the power play. As if that wasn't bad enough the goaltenders were averaging a soft goal every game. The difference between winning and losing in the NHL is often a fine line and it's usually the little things that decide which side of the line you fall on.

For most of the night in Minnesota the Canucks were doing the little things. They weren't taking penalties, or giving the puck away down low. They were also managing to get shots through on the power play and to top it all off the goaltending didn't give up any weak ones. But then with a few minutes to go in the game Willie Mitchell, who had plenty of time, failed to dump the puck deep into the Minnesota zone which led to a Taylor Pyatt penalty on the Wild transition into Vancouver territory. I was thinking "Oh boy here we go again..." Fortunately the Wild power play was short lived and the Canucks managed to kill the rest of the clock. Still, it was one of those little things that nearly cost Vancouver the regulation win.

Sunding Decision Coming Soon

Canuck fans will soon find out whether they will be receiving an early Christmas present. According to Sundin's agent J.P. Barry, Sundin should be making a decision by December 15th. Mike Gillis was also on the Team 1040 and sounded optimistic about the chances of Sundin landing in Vancouver. He will be meeting with Barry soon. Obviously Sundin would be a huge addition to the Canucks, but as a long suffering Canuck fan you can't help but think something will go wrong and Sundin will end up somewhere like Colorado.

Coyotes Facing Bankruptcy?

According to the Globe and Mail, the Phoenix Coyotes are in serious financial trouble. With the current economic crisis you have to wonder how many other teams are in serious jeopardy. As much as I would like to see more teams in Canada, it's never a good thing when a team has to move or fold.

Still working on that November report card... I'm going to force myself to get it done by tomorrow.

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