Gage’n The Canucks: Point Squandered On The Island

So much for goals and entertainment! The Canucks started their 4 game road trip with a lackluster all around effort that ended up with a single point in the standings, in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders.

 

Give the New Yorkers credit, they didn’t give up and Joey MacDonald was very good in goal, but this was a game that started very well for the visitors and then for some unexplainable reason they started playing Santa Claus Hockey; offering up giveaways as presents by the sled-full to any Islander who happened to be skating near them.

 

The Islanders were lucky to come out of the first period only behind by one and the Canucks were lucky it was tied heading into the final frame. The boys woke up a little in the 3^rd and OT and had their chances to get the second point, but the recent lack of finish throughout the roster continued, and MacDonald and his mates got their 3^rd straight win for the first time this year.

 

Balls-in-hopper Vigneault surprised everyone by throwing Pavol Demitra onto the number one line with the Sedins and it looked like a stroke of genius when Demitra one-timed a cross-ice feed from Daniel 49 seconds into the game. The trio continued to dominate on every shift, seemingly controlling the play at will, but by the time the 3^rdrolled around they were split up at times, after over-handling the puck too much and losing it way too often.

 

There’s no doubt that Demitra and the Sedins looked very good together, and we all know how difficult it has been to find the triplet, so I would be shocked if AV doesn’t go back to it right away. I think you have to be very smart and have great vision to play with the twins, and being able to read the play allows you to understand what they are trying to do and know when to move in and out of their cycles … the right winger on that line needs to do more than just stand in front of the net with his stick on the ice.

 

Mason Raymond, who had such a great start to the year, was the guy who drew the short straw falling from playing with the twins all the way down to the 4^thwith Ryan Johnson and Darcy Hordichuk. Raymond’s ice time has been cut considerably in recent games and last night’s two penalties, the first of which the Islanders scored their only goal on, means that straw will remain short.

 

The kid is struggling for sure, but no one can expect an uninterrupted rocket-like ascent to stardom without any setbacks. All players go through slumps and start to doubt themselves, and this kid was only playing his second year of College Hockey two years ago. He’s got a lot of talent and is pretty much a lock to be a very good player in this league for a long time, and Canuck fans just have to be patient while he learns his way.

 

 

 

The Grades …

A … Luongo

B … Mitchell, O’Brien, Nycholat, Kesler

C+ … Salo, Davison, Ohlund, Demitra, Henrik, Daniel, Burrows,

C … Hansen, Johnson, Hordichuk, Pyatt, Bernier, Wellwood

C- … Raymond

 

 

 

Alex Edler has now missed 2 straight with the Flu, but he practised today and is ready to go … the team kept him off the charter flight from Van and had him go directly to Manhattan on his own and wait for the team there to avoid his illness spreading through the ranks.

Tomorrow sees a date with Markus Naslund at Madison Square Garden in the first of back-to-back games before visiting division rivals Minnesota the following night. Making them fly two hours to Minny after playing the Rangers is not great, but when you throw in the fact that they then fly back east again after that game for an afternoon match up against the Penguins 37 hours later?

 

I hate to bitch about the Canucks’ schedule, because it is what it is and it always will be, but it’s hard to understand how this particular 4 games in 6 night stretch can be handed to any team, especially a west coast team. Not only are they forced to fly back and forth through time zones unnecessarily, so it seems, but the Saturday game against the Pens has a 2 in the afternoon puck drop!

 

This is a gate-driven league and the NHL continues to put its product on display without doing everything it can to ensure that the players are properly rested, ensuring the people paying for those tickets receive value for their dollars … the lack of understanding and foresight in this is really atrocious, when you think about it. 

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