Canucks win! Canucks win!
This is one of those odd nights where I don't have much to complain about. In fact, I have to struggle to come up with a selection from my "Ugly" part of the game, which means there probably isn't anything that was wrong with the game. This leaves me in a bit of a bind as to what to write about. I can't write anything TOO good about the Canucks or else the hockey gods will percieve that as smugness, and they will strike me down rather quickly.
So I will take this time to tell you all a little story.
I have met several Canucks over the years. I met Trevor Linden when I was young.
I use this picture because a) i don't have a picture from back in the day when I would have met him and b) I couldn't get a picture with him on this day because their was literally a giant crowd in front of him, so no one could really get near him.
Trevor Linden: *grunt*
Young me: Gosh sir, could you please sign my card???
TL: *grunt* *swipe* *sign*
Young me: Gee whillickers! Thanks sir! *prances off merrily*
I met Roberto Luongo several times.
We both look thrilled, I know. Maybe I shouldn't have given him those tips on how to stop breakaways.
Me: They should let you have a C on your jersey
RL: *grunt* it'd be nice
Me: I'm really excited to see you play for us, I'm glad the Canucks picked you up
RL: *grunt* yep. exciting.*
And I met Ohlund several times back when I worked at Blockbuster video.
Mattias Ohlund. No, he did not try and sleep with me.
Me: Hey man, great game last night. I picked you for my pool, so you have to play well this year!
Ohlund: Oh no. No no no. That was not a good idea.
Me: Oh come on, you get lots of points.
Ohlund: No no no. You should have chosen Jovo.
Aside from a lot of grunting (And Ohlunds brutal honesty), these interactions were mostly pleasant in nature, rife with small talk, and a tinged with a slight awkwardness as we both struggled to get through our interactions together with the least amount of weirdness of knowing that we were both grown men, yet one of us got paid millions of dollars, while the other one rented out videos.
And that is how most of my interactions with players would go. Small talk, lame joke, and move on.
Why am I telling you this? I tell you this because I don't 'hate' any player. I may rail on them, or scream about them, but I don't really hate any player.
Dan Cloutier, however, is the one guy I could see pushing those boundaries. As a player, I definately hate Dan Cloutier. I hate his style, I hate his mask, I hate his stupid face. I hate that we wasted years on this guy, trying to force him into a starting role that he was no good at. As a person, well, I don't hate him because I don't know him, but I know I definately wouldn't want to hang out with him due to my prejudice against him.
So were I to meet him, I imagine it would go like this.
This is literally the 2nd image that pops up on Google when you search Dan Cloutier. I am so proud.
Me: Oh hey, you're Dan Cloutier
DC: Yes I am!
Me: So.
DC: ....
Me: I have a bus to catch.
No lame joke. No small talk. I think I would just acknowledge that he is indeed a live human being, and then I would move on. I would imagine what it would feel like to push him off the sea wall into the water, or to drop him in one of those dunk tanks, but that would be the extent of it.
What is the point of all of this? The point is, I don't hate Desbiens. I have nothing against him. I fully acknowledge he is a way better hockey player than I will ever be. He has accomplished far more in hockey than I ever will. He could come out to ball hockey with me and he would probably kick my ass.
And as a person, he is probably a really good guy. A guy you could hang out with and grab a beer with.
So I don't relish in his injury on a personal level, in anyway. I generally feel bad for the guy, because his NHL career will probably be a short one. That being said, he gets to play hockey for a living, can probably carve out a nice career doing so in Europe, makes far more money than I ever will so....
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Desbiens broke his hand and is out of the lineup. Thank the freaking gods, there is a chance we might have a serviceable fourth line! YES! YES! YES! YES WE CAN!
BYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Woo!
Anyways, as you can see, Desbiens broke his hand in a fight last night. First off, I know, you're shocked he even managed to get into a fight. But yes, he did, and he decided that punching a helmet would prove some sort of moral point to Cody McLeod, which in the end only broke his hand. So Desbiens is forced out of the lineup for a bit.
For the record, that makes it Bolduc and now Desbiens that are gone, while Brendan Morrison still remains one of, if not the best, Flames this season. Just saying.
With that, we go to the Good the Bad and the Ugly of last nights game.
Best Ninja Turtle Ever
The Good
-Schneider. My god, this kid looks really good right now. In the past couple of years, he has looked shaky and inconsistent. But this year? Solid as a rock. So solid that you kind of want to throw him to the wolves against a Chicago type team to see how well he does. He is playing so well it makes you think for a quick second "Wait, what if we trade Luongo instead...." before you realize that's crazy talk and that you're getting ahead of yourself. Regardless, Schneider looks awesome. I don't know if this is a case of Schneider simply maturing (Schneider's calm demeanour has stayed with him at all levels of play), if it's a case of Rollie Melanson helping improve his game, or if it's simply the case of bringing a kid along slowly (Something we don't really understand or see much of in Vancouver) thus allowing a kid to achieve his true potential. Maybe it's all of the above? Either way, it's fun to have a backup goalie you want to see play in net instead of cringing everytime you hear Luongo isn't starting. Bob Essensa was the last backup goalie that I felt this way about. Anyways, Schneider only let in one goal, absolutely stoned Matt Duchene on a breakaway (he made it look oh so easy), and basically looked like a legit NHL starting goalie. He is going to break our hearts playing for another team one day.
-Sedins. I have a feeling the Sedins will be in the 'Good' category all year long. Henrik had a sweet goal where he banked the puck in off Budaj from behind the net. That has happened to me in real life. Most notably and often by my friend Kelly. I hate it when that happens. I feel for you Budaj. Forwards don't understand what an asshole move it is to bank the puck in off of the goalie. Still, Henrik and Daniel are the engine of this team right now as our 2nd line continues to struggle. Also, Kesler on the PP with the Twins is growing on me, even though I openly hated on this move earlier in the year.
-Edler is slowly turning into the Mitchell-lite that Hamhuis held briefly this year. Eating up tons of minutes and not making mistakes. I have always said the one thing that holds Edler back from being that $6 million dollar number one d-man is his consistency, and so far this year, he has looked remarkably consistent. (I still stand by my statetment that Salo, if healthy, would be our best d-man, and is, when he is playing un-injured, a $6 million dollar d-man)
-Raffi "F-ing Rights" Torres got another goal. Off of another wicked tip. Holy hell, this guy is blowing me away so far. Of course it's a hot streak, and it's bound to end sometime, but it's nice to know that if Raffi gets hot, he can lay out huge hits and be an annoying pest in front of the net. All last year we were devoid of a presence in front of the net from our bottom two lines (Oh wait, we had Bernier.....ha....ha.....sigh.), so it is very nice to see Torres fitting into that role quite nicely. At $1 million, he is one of the best value contracts in the NHL. Brendan Morrison being another. Again. Just saying.
-Desbiens. He had 2 seconds of ice time. That is perfect.
Triceratons? What the hell were they thinking.
The Bad
-As I said earlier, there wasn't a lot of bad in this game. In fact, the only really bad thing I can think of is Bieksa and Alberts paired together. It was a bit of a gong show at times. I know Bieksa is playing much better lately, but still, the brain farts, they remain. At one point Bieberts (Not to be confused with Justin Bieber fans and/or Justin Biebers parents) both screwed up and let Matt Duchesne walk in all alone on Corey Schneider. Almost cost us a goal. Bieberts needs to keep their head in the game.
-Tanner Glass. Now with Desbiens gone, Tanner Glass, step on up! Tanner "Black hole of any offence" Glass works really hard, I'll give him that. He plays as hard as he can. I just wish he had a tiny little bit of stick handling in him. If he could just manage a bit of puck control, that 4th line might be salvageable. As it stands now, Glass is basically useless with the puck, and should be avoided touching the puck at all costs. In fact, anytime he sees the puck coming towards him, he should drops his gloves immediately and fight the first person he can find. Even if its his own teammate.
Nothing against Beebop, but he is pretty ugly
The Ugly
-I only have one Ugly, and that would be the 2nd line. Once again they cannot seem to play well together. Kesler is having fun on the PP, but he cannot seem to mesh with Ray Ray and Sammy. I put a lot of the blame on Sammy, because I know Kesley and Raymond have some chemistry, it just seems Sammy is the Tanner Glass of this line. He isn't shooting from anywhere like he did last year. At the very least, last year, you could at least count on Sammy to put the puck on net. This year, he gets the puck and it just promptly dies with him. He either turns it over, or sends the puck inexplicably away from his linemates into some odd corner. Sammy needs to wake up. Hopefully that is what is holding Raymond and Kesler from meshing.
Alright, next game is Saturday, on the weekend, so god knows if I will get my game day preview up tomorrow. We shall see!
No comments:
Post a Comment