Remember this Toronto? We sure do.
When: 4:00 pm Saturday the 13th
Where: Centre of the Universe, Toronto
Why: Toronto fans wanted to see a team with real centers
Ah Toronto. Our games against you used to be so much fun back in the late 90's, early 2000's. Back then, you actually had a good team. Back then, you could actually beat us, and did so many a time. Back then, your fans used to show up at GM Place and annoy the hell out of us with your loud cheering.
Oh how times have changed. We've gone from this:
Gone are our epic battles between Naslund, Bertuzzi, and Morrison vs Sundin, Tucker, Cujo, and Steve Thomas. Now we have the Sedins, Burrows, Kesler, Ehrhoff, Edler and Luongo vs.....Kadri? They called him up, right. Finger? Nope, wait, they waived him. Kaberle is still there? That's pretty good, right? Er, they have Giguere....and.....Kadri, wait, no already said that.....Seguin! They have.....wait wait wait nope.....oh yeah, that Kessel guy......Phaneuf is out with the cut leg....hrm......
Hrm, so yeah, times have changed. The Canucks now head to Toronto to take on a struggling Leafs team that started off so well (Oh you should have seen Leafs fans. They had hope in their eyes for the first time in years. Burke statues were being built, daughters were being offered to Ron Wilson, it was pandemonium.), but has now dropped back to earth as they are currently last in their division with 13 points, riding a 5 game? 6 game? losing streak.
Good news for Leafs fans, though, our Canuck teams excel at losing these types of games! Is your team in a slump? Just wait for Vancouver to hit town and you'll see guys break out of any slump they're in. Giguere will probably have a 35 save shutout and Kessel will get a hat trick, because that is just what we Canucks do. Bah.
Canucks fan paranoia aside, the Canucks should win this one easily. There is no point breaking down both teams because the Canucks basically have the better team in every category possible, there is no reason for the Canucks to lose this game. And even so, if you guys want a stats breakdown, TSN, the papers, the radio, they are going to do that for you. So let's look at some of the matchups those guys might have missed, lets look at some of the more subtle matchups that might be taking place behind the scenes in the game between the Nucks and Leafs.
Best Moustache:
It is the month of Movember, where men across the nation grow some facial hair to show support for prostate cancer. Well, let's look at the historic matchup between these two teams:
Lanny Mcdonald
vs
Dave Babych
I'm sorry, but I have to give the edge to Lanny Mcdonald (Shown here in Calgary uniform because it showcases his manmade lip hair better, and to also show how in order to win a Stanley Cup, he had to leave Toronto). Kudos to Dave Babych for rocking the moustache so well, but the fact a ginger can grow a proper moustache, well, you have to give the edge to Lanny for that alone.
Who would win in a current matchup? Well, since not many people rock the moustache nowadays, we shall have to rely upon photoshop. So I present to you:
Alex Burrows
VS
Phil Kessel
Ok, I won't lie, I have to question Kessel's choice of moustache here. Historically that moustache has not been a very good look. Burrows, on the other hand, has a moustache that has a moustache. That is basically a double winner right there. So I would have to say for facial hair, the edge goes to the Canucks.
Best Grumpy Coach
Ron Wilson
VS
Alain Vigneault
Well let's be honest here, this isn't even a challenge, Ron Wilson wins this one hands down. Ron Wilson is the kind of guy who starts watching an adult film and then complains about the lighting. He's the kind of guy who could win the lottery but then complain about the hardships of being rich. He is devoid of any sort of happiness. I assume this is what happens when you fail in the playoffs every single year, but, alas, there it is. With Alain, you can still see the potential for smiling in his eyes, you can still see that he doesn't want to push old people down stairs or take away candy from a baby. Ron Wilson on the other hand, if you look into his eyes, you see the eyes of someone who has seen the end of the world, yet is still stuck coaching the Maple Leafs. You cannot beat that kind of sadness.
Anthem Singers
Sarah Marince
VS
Mark Donnelly
OK Toronto, you win this one too. You have cute girls singing your anthem, we have a big guy who honestly looks like he is about to eat his own microphone. While our guy will stop halfway through the song to let the crowd sing along, I am not convinced he has to do this because he is out of breath, so I can't give him credit for that.
So Toronto, when it comes down to meaningless matchups, you win 2-1. When it comes to the real matchup, I am going to have to say the Canucks take this one 5-2.
Things to Watch For:
-Honestly, it's shocking how bad it would be to do a head to head up matchup against the Leafs, so basically all we as fans have to be concerned about is Phil Kessel and Clarke MacArthur, as they are the only guys who can kind of score for the Leafs.
-Kadri and Keith Aulie have been called up by the Leafs. For those who don't know much about these guys, Kadri is the Leafs version of Hodgson (Their young guy with impossibly high standards to achieve) and has been scoring at a point per game clip in the AHL. Aulie is a young d-man the Leafs got in the Phaneuf trade. Aulie is a big 6"5 kid who lacks offense, has troubles in his own zone, but is strong and big. Did we mention big? Basically Pat Quinn would have given his right nut to draft this guy to go along with Chris Mcallister back in the 90's. Those two will be worth watching to see how they do in the NHL.
-If Keith Aulie sees his future self in Andrew Alberts, will time stop?
- Will Ballard play against the Leafs? Many people want to know what the hell is going on with Ballard. Management assures us Keith isn't injured and that Rome is outplaying him, hence Ballard is sitting. Theories range from 'Ballard is still suffering from the effects of the concussion/hip surgery' to 'Canucks want to test Rome and Alberts to see if they can manage to trade Bieksa away without having to worry about defensive depth' to 'the speed of Montreal and Ottawa would exposed Ballard.'
Which one is it? I assume is the obvious one 'AV doesn't like Ballard." I assume at one point Keith Ballard said Jacques Villeneuve was overated and AV just went beserk and had to be held back by three people. As such, AV decided to scratch Ballard to show him what's up.
If Ballard does not draw into the game against Toronto, then I will have no idea what the hell is going on. You don't bring in a top 4 d-man, then scratch him claiming he isn't playing well, when you never gave him a chance to play well in the first place. Ever since he got here Ballard has had a huge hill to climb in trying to get any icetime to showcase his stuff, and instead of being given a chance to find his groove, AV is scratching him for multiple games. You don't bring in a 4.2 million dollar d-man and treat him like Aaron Rome. You just don't. One healthy scratch game, sure, fine, a wakeup call, I get it, but 2 games in a row? Possibly 3? Especially when the Montreal game Aaron Rome was terrible? Ugh.
-Burrows got his first goal of the year last night, I am excited to see if this opens up the floodgates
-Our 4th line managed two goals AND hell didn't have to freeze over for it to happen. Amazing. Can they continue to score against the Leafs? Or will they be outshot by the Leafs?
They will be outshot.
Alright, enjoy the game, Go Canucks go!
*No Leafs fans were harmed in the making of this preview
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