Canucks Rolling Through December

The Vancouver Canucks are mowing down opponents in December, sporting a 7-1-1 record as they head into Detroit to take on the 2nd place Red Wings. They now have an opportunity to move into 2nd place in the conference with a win tonight. Despite the great December record, Colorado is putting up a strong fight for the Northwest Division title, both teams have 42 points.

Vancouver has played the second fewest games in the NHL. On one hand those 6 points could put Vancouver at the top of the Western Conference standings. On the other hand, those 3 extra games have to get crammed into the schedule somewhere. As a result the Canucks have a very ugly January schedule. It all starts the first week of the new year where they play an insane 5 games in 7 days. That makes the last 5 games of December pretty important especially since 3 of the teams are currently ranked in the top 4 of the NHL standings.

Notes from Nuckland...

• What more can be said about Ryan Kesler? He has taken his game to an entirely new level, despite not getting a whole lot out of his linemates. He leads the team in even strength goals(10) and at the same time the defensive side of his game has been outstanding. Kesler has to be a leading candidate for the Selke trophy.
• While Kesler has been getting most of the headlines of late, Roberto Luongo has been quietly putting up some great numbers. Luongo is 7-1-0 with a 1.73 GAA and .925 SvPct in December.
• Kesler's play has taken some of the pressure off the Sedins and for some reason their seems to be a perception that the Sedins aren't playing that great. Well lets take a look at the numbers: Daniel has 11 points in 9 December games, Henrik has 10. Daniel is on pace for 42 goals and 100 points, Henrik is on pace for 82 assists and 97 points. Not too shabby.
• Despite the great record there are several Canucks who can be a lot better. Jeff Tambellini's play has tailed off, but he appears to be coming on. Even though he is on pace for a career high in points, Samuelsson has not scored since November. Raffi Torres has 1 goal and 4 points in his last 19 games.
• For perhaps the first time in the Mike Gillis era the Canucks are getting a contribution out of the 4th line. Having a centre who has some size, can skate and plays physical is a huge part of that. Alex Bolduc is a huge upgrade on Ryan Johnson. During the Johnson era a shift in the offensive zone was a rare occurrence, now it's happening on a regular basis. Tanner Glass is playing the best hockey of his career. Jonas Andersson was solid in his short callup and Aaron Volpatti has already contributed.
• On the blueline Kevin Bieksa is playing as good defensively as he ever has. The brain farts are still there, but overall he is playing well. Christian Ehrhoff has gotten his game together and Alex Edler continues to be the teams best defenseman. Dan Hamhuis has put his foot injury behind him and Keith Ballard is finally starting to see his minutes climb.

Poetic Performance by Luongo in 3-0 Shutout of Blackhawks

Roberto Luongo's poetry skills were on display last night, but more importantly so were the goaltending skills which once had many believing he was the best goaltender in the world. Luongo's game stealing performance was all the more impressive/encouraging because it came against a Chicago team that was "in the head" of Luongo and the Canucks. Luongo stealing the game was impressive, but it was the way he stole the game that really resonated with Canuck fans. It was the first time in a long time that Luongo truly frustrated a team. It reminded me of Kirpusoff's Vezina winning season, where team's knew they needed to be lucky just to get more than one goal. In the past few seasons that fear and dominance has been missing from Luongo's game. It's only one game, but it's a start.

Perhaps the significance of the game - and in turn Luongo's performance - is being overstated, but Canuck fans have to be encouraged by the team's response to their humliatating 7-1 home loss to the same Chicago Blackhawks. On to the game notes...

• While the shot totals do not flatter the Canucks, it was actually a fairly even game. The Hawks obviously had a few grade a chances and the Canucks didn't play enough in the offensive zone, but most of Chicago's shots were from the outside or above the circles. After the first Chicago only had 13 even strength shots on goal.
• Other than Ehrhoff's terrible turnover on an ill advised behind the back pass, the Canucks six defensemen had a great game. Keith Ballard was outstanding blocking 6 shots and delivering 4 hits in only 12:45 of ice time. Easily his best game as a Canuck - he deserves an increase in ice-time. Dan Hamuis was also oustanding, it looks like he is finally getting over his foot injury.
• The Canucks special teams continue to reside at the top of the league and they came through again in Chicago. The penalty kill was perfect and the power play came through with the key insurance goal in the third period.
• The 4th line has received a lot of criticism this season, but delivered a solid game. Glass scored what turned out to be the game winning goal and Perrault had his best game as a Canuck.
• The third line had a tough assignment and struggled at times, especially Torres and Samuelsson, but Malhotra was once again dominant in the faceoff circle winning 15 of 20 draws!
• Jeff Tambellini showed that he can be effective in tight physical games. He was credited with a team leading 6 hits and had a solid night overall.
• As a team the Canucks blocked 19 shots and did a great job at containing the Blackhawsks on the outside. The forwards and defense were particularly effective defending Chicago's tactic of circling up high in the offensive zone. The Canucks communicated well and stayed with their checks, switching off or staying with their man whenever it was appropriate.

With the "statement" game out of the way the Canucks take on the slumping St. Louis Blues Sunday night in Vancouver. After a great start to the year the Blues have lost 4 in a row and are 3-9-1 since November 10th. The Blues play in Edmonton Saturday night so they should be ripe for the picking on Sunday.

Canucks Dismantle Flames 7-2

After 4 days off the Canucks returned to action and dismantled a sad looking Flames squad 7-2. Despite a pretty sloppy effort overall - culminating in a brutal 5:00 min power play to end the second - Vancouver exploded in the third with 4 goals, much to the delight of the Canuck fans on hand at the Saddledome. The Canucks were simply too fast for Calgary and by the end of the third even Miika Kiprusoff had given up on his team. Game notes...

• While the final score and most of the stats were impressive, the Canucks didn't really play that great of a game. There were way too many turnovers, especially in the first, and the Canucks were failing to clear their zone far too often.
• Jeff Tambellini had another great game. He now has 2 goals, 2 assists and 9 shots on goal in three games since being re-called from Manitoba. If he keeps playing like this he won't be going back.
• Mason Raymond had a break out night with his second career hat trick. That's the Raymond we saw last year, he was flying and getting quality shots on goal. That short handed goal was impressive.
• The second power play unit was terrible. I'm not even sure they managed to setup in the offensive zone at all. They got on the board late in the third after the Flames had given up, but when the game was still on the line they did not get it done. The number one unit is still producing at a league leading rate, but at some point Kesler might need to move to the 2nd unit.
• Kevin Bieksa showed why he frustrates fans so much. There were two instances last night where Bieksa moved the puck up the boards directly to the opposition. Terrible decision making and way to casual. Kevin was credited with 3 giveaways on the night.
• After a good night against San Jose the 4th line returned to form. With Bolduc heading down for a conditioning stint with the Moose (who play Friday and Saturday) Joel Perrault's days are numbered. He's got Friday and and Sunday to show he is capable of helping this team. A -1 and 2 for 7 in the faceoff circle VS Calgary did not help his cause.
• Roberto Luongo was not busy, but still managed to look shaky. Luongo gave up a patented Beached Whale Goal™ to Alex Tanguay, but didn't have to do much after that.
• Keith Ballard looks to be getting a little more comfortable as a Canuck which isn't easy when you are paired with Andrew Alberts. Look for Ballard to start carrying the puck up ice more often.

Finally for those fortunate to be going to next Saturday's game against Tampa Bay, the start time has been moved back to 7:30 and the doors will be open at 5:00. The Canucks are recommending that fans should be in their seats by 6:00pm. I guess they're going to raise Naslund's number really slowly.

Canucks First Quarter Report Card

The Vancouver Canucks have now played 21 games and are a quarter of the way through their season. That means it's time for some letter grades...

Note that player grades are relative to expectations for the player!

Team Grades

Overall Team Grade: C+

The Canucks are 11-7-3 for 25 pts which puts them on a pace for 97.6 pts. Last year in the west, the 7th and 8th positions required 100 and 95 points respectively. Clearly the Canucks season so far hasn't quite been up to expectations.

Power Play: A

The Canucks have the best power play in the NHL at 25.6%. The only complaint with the power play is that there is a big drop off to the second unit. Despite that perception the non first unit forwards do have 5 goals which isn't too bad considering the amount of time they receive. Still you'd like the 2nd unit to be more consistent in terms of controlling the play in the offensive zone.

Penalty Kill: A

Last season the penalty kill was a huge issue, this year it is currently ranked 5th at 86.8%. They finished last season at 81.6% 18th overall. That is a huge improvement.

Player Grades

D Alex Edler: A

Alex Edler has been AV's go to guy and he's been the best overall Canuck this season. His offensive numbers are solid, while his defensive play has taken huge strides. He leads the team in ice time at almost 25 minutes a game and is out their in every critical situation.

F Daniel Sedin: A-

Daniel is tied for 5th in points (26) and is ranked 4th in goals (13). It's hard to argue with that kind of production. That said, the Sedins haven't controlled the play enough 5 on 5, so there is still (scarily enough) room for improvement.

F Henrik Sedin: B+

Like Daniel, Henrik's numbers put him up with the best of the NHL. He is tied for 5th in points (26) and leads the NHL with 24 assists. However Henrik hasn't been the same Hart Trophy player he was last season. He isn't taking the puck to the net enough and too often passes off the puck when last year he would try and score. As a result he has only 2 goals. He has become too reliant on Daniel and needs to remember that he's also capable of putting the puck in the net.

G Cory Schneider: B+

Up until the Buffalo start and Chicago debacle, Schneider had been absolutely brilliant, posting outstanding numbers.

F Ryan Kesler: B

Kesler has only 4 assists and half his points have come on the power play. Five on five the 2nd line has been a disappointment and Kesler is a part of that. On the positive side, Kesler's overall play has improved as the season has gone along and he is now playing very good hockey.

F Manny Malhotra: B

Malhotra has been a huge part of the Canucks improved penalty kill. He is ranked 2nd in faceoff pct at 62.3% and is 4th in total won faceoffs despite taking far few faceoffs than the guys in front of him. The only negative against him is that his line has been on for a few too many goals against.

D Andrew Alberts: B

I don't think anyone expected Alberts to play in every game and play 15 minutes a night - all while playing as well as he has. Sure there have been some low points, but overall Alberts has been pretty solid. The Canucks would like to dial back his minutes to the 12:00 mark, but so far he has met and maybe exceeded expectations.

D Kevin Bieksa: B-

Many will grumble at this ranking, but overall Bieksa has been pretty solid this season. You'd like higher offensive numbers and he frustrates you with his decision making, but he has been very good on the PK and is a +2 on the season.

F Alexandre Burrows: B-

Burrows has been a slight disappointment in 11 games since his return, but his struggles were expected. He appears to be on the cusp of returning to last year's form.

F Jannik Hansen: C+

Hansen needs to contribute more offensively, but he has been very good on the forecheck and has been a key contributor to the strong PK.

F Raffi Torres: C+

Torres has come pretty much exactly as advertised. He is great for a few games and is completely MIA in others. The inconsistency in offence is expected, but the Canucks need more consistency in terms of focus. Torres is capable of being a physical force far more often than he has been.

F Tanner Glass: C+

While the 4th line has been terrible Glass has had a decent start. He's managed to pop a couple goals, is on pace for nearly 20 points and has contributed to the PK as the 5th forward. If the 4th line wasn't so bad he'd deserve a higher grade. With better linemates (Bolduc, Hansen) Glass should have a better grade next quarter.

D Aaron Rome: C+

After sitting to start the season Rome has found himself playing more than expected. He has been a serviceable 3rd pairing guy, but he gets exposed when he has to play too much. So far this season he has been playing far too much at 17:04. Like Alberts the Canucks would like that down near the 12:00 mark.

F Peter Schaefer: C

Peter Schaefer's time as a Canuck is over, but he still gets a grade here. Schaefer was good on the PK when he got into the lineup, unfortunately for him he didn't make any kind of impact five on five.

F Guillaume Desbiens: C

Desbiens had a good opportunity coming out of training camp before he broke his hand in a fight. Despite the opportunity he didn't do much. I'll give him some slack because of the poor centre icemen he played with, but 4 shots on goal in 12 games shows that he hasn't been good enough on the forecheck and a -3 shows that the 4th line is "losing" too many shifts.

F Mikael Samuelsson: C-

The second line needs to be better and Samuelsson is a huge part of that. The effort has been there, but he looks like he is trying to do too much. He is over handling the puck and isn't playing with enough confidence. The numbers aren't terrible, but they need to be better.

F Mason Raymond: C-

Raymond has also struggled. It's believed he is playing with a hand injury so some of his play can be excused, but not all of it. Raymond is playing like the 08-09 Raymond, not the 09-10 Raymond. He should be better as the season progresses.

F Christian Ehrhoff: C-

While playing a tonne, Ehrhoff might be the most disappointing Canuck this season. The defensive game just hasn't been there. Too many turnovers and some weak physical play. The Brouwer goal (where he walked around Ehrhoff to the front of the net) pretty much sums up his weak play this season.

G Roberto Luongo: C-

8-7-2 2.82 .907 isn't good enough for a goalie making as much money as Roberto is. Luongo has had his moments of brilliance, but he has been inconsistent and has been outplayed by the other guy far too often.

D Dan Hamhuis: C-

Hamhuis got off to a great start, but has had his season derailed by a nagging foot injury. He should be arguably the team's best and most reliable defenseman. He's been far from bad and once healthy again he will be much better.

D Keith Ballard: D

Ballard has been a huge disappointment thus far, but things are starting to turn around. He is a much better defenseman than what we saw through the first quarter of the season. As he puts his health issues behind him and gets comfortable in Vancouver he is going to play a lot more and much better.

F Rick Rypien: D

It's not clear how much his personal issues have affected his play, but it is clear that Rypien is not good enough to be of much use right now. He failed in his opportunity to show he is capable of centering the 4th line and his poor puck skills have been a major factor in the ineffectiveness of the 4th line (can't get the puck out of the defensive zone).

F Jeff Tambellini (Incomplete)

In his first stint with the club he failed to do much as a bottom 6 forward, but when playing in a top 6 role he was much more effective. He's now back up and in a top 6 role and so far he has made the most of it. He's doing a great job at getting in a position to shoot the puck. If he keeps it up he'll find himself with a regular job on this team.

F Mario Bliznak (Incomplete)

Bliznak's called up was part of the Canucks new philosophy of giving guys some experience in the NHL to prepare them for future callups should the need arise later in the season or playoffs. Bliznak made the most of his 4 games, he has been the best 4th line centre the Canucks have iced since Bolduc went down in game 1. Needs to work on his faceoffs.

D Ryan Parent (Incomplete)

In limited action Parent was mistake prone, but showed flashes of why he was picked in the first round. The Canucks want to hang on to him and do not want to expose him to waivers. He will likely spend the rest of this season as the 8th defenseman and will only play in emergency situations. Currently the Canucks are taking advantage of the option to send him down to Manitoba for a conditioning stint.

F Joel Perrault (Incomplete)

Has only played 3 games, hasn't made much of an impact but has been good in the faceoff circle. Has a few games left before Bolduc returns and likely steals his job.

F Alexandre Bolduc (Incomplete)

Had a very good camp before spraining his ankle in the first game of the season. The 4th line has been terrible this season, the Canucks are counting on Bolduc to remedy the issue.

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Rick Rypien Takes Another Leave of Absence

Rick Rypien is once again taking an indefinite leave of absence from the Vancouver Canucks. Two years ago Rypien was limited to only 12 games because of a similar absence due to personal reasons. It looks like fans and media will be left speculating again.

Rick Rypien certainly deserves his privacy, but you have to wonder if the speculation is more detrimental than the actual reasons behind his leave of absence. Regardless, good luck Rick.

Canucks Try to Get Back on Track

Well I sure picked a good time to miss watching my first game of the year. Yes I was fortunate enough not to be watching the HNIC debacle on Saturday night. Instead, I watched it off the PVR (without knowing the score) on Sunday before the Phoenix game... well I watched part of it anyway. You can only stomach so much of that. Does it get any worse than being completely embarrassed by your arch rival on Hockey Night in Canada?

Usually a blowout loss in the regular season doesn't really mean a whole lot. They piss you off, but they happen every now and then - no big deal. However, losing to the Blackhawks like that really raises some red flags with this club. Clearly the Hawks are "in the heads" of the Canucks, Roberto Luongo in particular looks like an AHL goalie vs Chicago. At this point Mike Gillis has to be a little concerned. The December 3rd game in Chicago is going to be a real measuring stick for the Canucks. Anyway, enough about that game...

• After the road trip last week I asked "What's going to happen when the power play cools off a little?" Well the Canucks couldn't even generate a power play on Sunday and as a result they only scored twice. Five on five play needs to be better
• Peter Schaeffer's time as a Canuck (and likely time as an NHLer) is over. Out of camp Schaeffer won a job because of his versatility, specifically his ability to kill penalties. Unfortunately Schaeffer didn't have any kind of impact. He couldn't find a way to earn more ice time and he was easily replaceable on the penalty kill.
• Jeff Tambellini will be taking Schaeffer's place and will be playing with Kesler and Raymond on what should be a very quick line. Don't be surprised to see him reunited with the Sedins should the Canucks struggle offensively.
• The bottom six will also have a different look as Samuelsson will drop down to the third line, bumping Hansen down to the 4th line. The 4th line is a lot better without Rick Rypien and I'm interested to see what they can do with Hansen's speed on the line. Tanner Glass is a guy that can contribute, but he needs players around him that can retrieve and move the puck. If he's with bad players he's going to be a bad player. Put him with some guys that can play (Hansen) and he can contribute.
• The Canucks desperately need Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard healthy and playing up to their capabilities. Andrew Alberts and Aaron Rome are serviceable guys, but neither should be playing much more than 13 minutes a night.

The Canucks begin the second quarter of their season tonight versus the division leading Avalanche (yes Colorado has taken over the division lead). Tomorrow I will post player report card ratings for the first quarter of the season...

Canucks Complete Disappointing Road Trip

The Vancouver Canucks completed their five game road trip with a 3-1 loss to Sydney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins - leaving them with only 5 points in 10 games. For most teams a .500 road trip would be considered fairly successful, but for a team that is supposed to be a Stanley Cup contender .500 is not good enough.

So what went wrong? It took them until Buffalo to actually have a good start to a game. Even though they got a quick lead in Ottawa, the first 10 minutes of each Canadian game was awful. A main reason for the slow starts was just plain old sloppy play. The entire road trip was filled with awful passes and turnovers. The Canucks were simply being too cute. Too many touch passes, too many blind passes, not enough hard work and get the puck to the net mentality.

Maybe the Canucks have been reading too many of their headlines. They seem to think they can pass the puck around at will, they seem to try for the pretty goal instead of taking their opportunity to get the puck to the net. How many times did you see the Sedins make a blind behind the back pass? How many times did you see them pass up a shot on goal in order to pass the puck? Sure it's awesome when it turns into a goal, but the over passing becomes contagious. Everyone starts to make that one extra pass - often resulting in a turnover - instead of getting the puck on net.

The Canucks success this year has been heavily reliant on their special teams. Vancouver is currently ranked 2nd on the power play at 27.1% and 6th on the penalty kill at 86.6%. That's outstanding. However five on five play is another story. Their goals for/against ratio at five on five is 0.97 which puts them at 16th in the NHL. That's not going to get you far in the playoffs. What's going to happen when the power play cools off a little?

It seems a little silly to be criticizing a team that's 2 points out of first place in the conference and which is lead by two players who are tied for 5th overall in league scoring. But this is a major hockey market who believes this team may be Vancouver's best Cup chance ever. This team is going to be under the microscope all season long. So in the spirit of looking under the microscope here are some random observations....

• While the defense is very deep, Kevin Bieksa is the only right handed shot and that's making it tough on the guys who have to clear the puck out of the zone on their back hand. Sure Sami Salo's return would alleviate the problem, but that type of injury is tough to come back from.
• You can debate the value or necessity of the 4th line, but one thing remains clear, the Canucks 4th line isn't very good. While Bliznak has done a pretty decent job, he is saddled with a couple wingers who are awful with the puck. Tanner Glass is a serviceable 4th liner, but Rick Rypien is an awful hockey player. Sure he can fight, but other than that he brings nothing. In 5:07 of average ice time he is a team leading -5 in only 9 games. He is incapable of getting the puck out of his zone and you just can't have that when you are on the road in the playoffs.
• What is with Roberto Luongo? Just when you think he's getting in a groove and is recapturing his vezina nominee form, he gives up a goal like the lazy wrap around last night. That was just a pathetic attempt at getting across the crease. Unacceptable for a supposed elite goaltender.
• Mason Raymond and Mikael Samuelsson have to be a lot better. There's no reason why the 2nd line should be a minus on the year.
• The guys coming off injuries have to start becoming integral parts of the team. Alex Burrows now has 8 games in, time to get it going. Keith Ballard needs to start moving up the depth chart. I'll give him this homestand, by the end he should be contributing over 18 minutes a night. I'll also give Hamhuis a pass, he's been pretty solid but he is capable of being this team's go to guy. Once his foot problem clears up he should be that guy.

The Canucks are now off for a couple days before they face the Blackhawks on Saturday. That means they finally have a chance to get a practice in. Hopefully AV can get the sloppiness out of their game.