Canucks Report: Feb 10

DAN HAMHUIS INJURED

The Canucks have the day off today, so there won’t be any further update on the condition of defenseman Dan Hamhuis, who was knocked out cold after he took an elbow to the head from Anaheim forward Ryan Getzlaf.

Early indications were positive.

"Dan has got the glass plastered to his face right now," Vigneault said. "He has got a big red mark, but he seemed fine."

The Canucks have two days off before hosting the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. It’s unknown whether Hamhuis will play.

CANUCKS RECALL ORESKOVICH

Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that right wing Victor Oreskovich has been recalled from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Aaron Volpattihas been re-assigned to Manitoba.

Oreskovich, 24, has appeared in 31 games for the Moose this season, recording 11 points (4-7-11) and 27 penalty minutes. The Whitby, Ontario native has played in 50 career NHL games, collecting six points (2-4-6) and 26 penalty minutes.

Oreskovich was acquired along with Keith Ballard from the Florida Panthers on draft day for Steve Bernier, Michael Grabner and a 1st round pick.

Volpatti, 25, has split the season between the Moose and Canucks. He has registered six points (0-6-6) in 26 games in Manitoba and two points (1-1-2) in 15 games with Vancouver, including his first NHL goal.

February Giveaway!

Okay, okay. I know I've got two posts on the day already to make this the 3rd, but this is just too good to pass up.

McDonalds is started to serve Buttermilk Biscuits in Canada on Tues, January 25th. They are supposed to be offering Free Biscuit Sandwiches on Feb 9 & 10th: 

*Sausage, Egg and Cheese
*Bacon, Egg and Cheese
*Sausage only

One per customer, breakfast hours only. It's supposed to be nation-wide.


Sauce? Yes please!


McDonald's Canada Home Page


AS A NOTE, I AM NOT DOING THE GIVING

Around the League: Mikael Samuelsson is the NHL's second star

Canucks forward Mikael Samuelsson was named the NHL’s second star last week, leading the NHL in scoring with six points (two goals, four assists) in three games.

Samuelsson recorded multiple points in each game, starting with one goal and one assist in a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Feb. 1. He recorded two assists in a 6-0 win over the Phoenix Coyotes Feb. 2 and finished the week by notching one goal and one assist in a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks Feb. 4. Skating in his second season with the Canucks, Samuelsson ranks fourth on the club in scoring with 33 points (11 goals, 22assists) in 52 games.

“Since we put him back with Ryan and Mason he’s been playing better, playing to his strengths and we need him to contribute, obviously he is a big part of our team and he knows that and it’s good to see that he is finding his stride right now,” said Coach Alain Vigneault.

Samuelsson too, was quick to credit his new line mates.

“Absolutely, we played a lot last year, so we have found some chemistry right away. I feel good about it”.

Samuelsson’s hot streak comes on the heels of a 14 game goalless stretch, but his teammates never worried about the much publicized mid-season slump.

“This is the time of year that he steps up, he did it last year too, he was unbelievable in the playoffs last year too, this is what we need from him,” said Captain Henrik Sedin.

Canucks Report: Feb. 7

The Canucks (34-10-9, 77 points) place their league leading home record up against the NHL’s third worst road record tonight as the Ottawa Senators (17-28-8, 42 points) come to town. Having lost 15 of their last 16 games, the Senators now hold the third worst record in the NHL, above only the New York Islanders (41 points) and Edmonton Oilers (38 points).

The Canucks currently lead the NHL's overall standings and rank first in faceoffs, second on the power play and third in offense, defense and the penalty kill. The Canucks boast the NHL’s best goal differential (+54), the Senator’s, the league’s worst (-57).

On paper, it’s a matchup between two teams that couldn’t have less in common.

Trap game: when a great team looks beyond a lesser opponent, assuming they can coast to victory without bringing their A-game. It’s a pitfall this year’s Vancouver Canucks pride themselves on never falling victim to and, to a man, every Canuck player and coach alike vows not to take the Ottawa Senators lightly.

“Every game is the same for us, it doesn’t matter what the situation is, who we are playing, what the standings are we want to have the same approach and mentality coming in here, work hard and play our game,” said Coach Alain Vigneault. “There are no given points in this league, anybody team can beat anybody anytime, so we have to be ready to play”.

Roberto Luongo gets the start in net tonight. The NHL’s hottest goalie over the past two months has a career 7-11-1 mark against the Ottawa Senators, most of the losses coming when he was with Florida Panthers against some very good early 2000’s Senators teams.

“We’re getting ready for a real good opponent tonight, we know they are going to play real hard and we’re gonna do the same thing,” said Luongo.

One lineup change tonight as Andrew Alberts slots in after missing eight games with a shoulder injury. He  takes Chris Tanev’s spot on the third defense pairing, playing alongside Keith Ballard.

Canucks Report: Feb. 3

The Canucks look for their third straight win against a struggling Coyotes team in Phoenix tonight. The Coyotes have lost their last four in a row at home, allowing over four goals a game in the process. They are 10-9-5 in Glendale this season and only the last-place Edmonton Oilers (7-13-4) have fewer home-ice wins in the West.

Roberto Luongo gets the start in net tonight for the Canucks. He had 25 saves in a 3-2 loss to Phoenix earlier this season, but is still 8-4-1 with a 1.95 GAA in 13 games against the Coyotes since being acquired by the Canucks prior to 2006-07.

Luongo will look to continue a hot streak that has seen him post a 12-0-5 record in his last 17 starts; his last regulation loss coming almost two months ago on December 5th against the St Louis Blues.

Aaron Volpatti will sit out after suffering an upper body injury during the first period of yesterday’s game against the Dallas Stars. Jeff Tambellini slides back in on the fourth line right wing, while Tanner Glass will move over to the left side. The defensive pairings will remain the same.

The Coyotes are the fifth highest scoring team in the Western Conference, but don’t have a player with more than 15 goals, or a forward with more than 40 points. They have 9 players between 10-15 goals, and are one of only two teams in the NHL with a defenseman (Keith Yandle 9-36-45) leading the team in scoring (Nashville’s Shea Weber being the other). Conversely, the Canucks have three forwards with more than 40 points (D Sedin, H Sedin, Kesler) and two with more than 25 goals (D. Sedin, Kesler).

“The Coyotes are a real strong team, one of the best teams in the conference, they play real hard in both ends and it’s going to be a good matchup,” said Coach Alain Vigneault.

Tonight’s Game features one of the league’s best power play units against one of its worst. The Canucks lead the NHL with 49 power play goals and are tops on the road at 28.6 percent, while the Coyotes rank a lowly 22nd on the penalty kill at 79.6 percent.

After the game the Canucks return home to prepare for a Friday night matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Canucks Report: Jan. 26

The Vancouver Canucks (30-10-9) will host a hot Nashville Predators team (27-16-6) in their final game before the all-star break tonight at Rogers Arena.

Nashville has won 10 of their last 13 games, averaging 3.5 goals per game during the span. It’s the first meeting between the two clubs this season, with the teams splitting their head to head matchup two games apiece last season.

The Canucks are 27-15-3 all time against the Predators, including a 14-6-2 mark at home, their third best home record among teams in the Western Conference.

Nashville sit 4th in the Western Conference this year, a surprise for many who criticized the team’s lack of offensive depth at the beginning of the season. The Predators are winning through team defense and scoring-by-committee; they feature 10 different players who’ve registered between 6 and 15 goals this season.

“They are really well structured in all three zones, they compete real hard and obviously they’ve been getting great goaltending this year,” said Coach Vigneault. “We’re going to have to play our best game on the ice tonight”.

This evening’s matchup could be a defensive battle; it features two teams tied for 3rd place in Goals Allowed. The Canucks, however, are far ahead in the Goals For department, having scored 30 more than the Predators this season

Goaltender Pekka Rinne has been spectacular for the Predators this season, going 17-12-4, and sitting 2nd in the NHL in Goals Against Average (2.11) and Save Percentage (.928).

The Canucks are no slouches in the goaltending department either; quietly, Roberto Luongo is dominating, going 15-1-5 with a 1.96 GAA and a .936 save percentage in 21 games since late November. He will start in net tonight for the Canucks.

Vancouver is coming off a 7-1 drubbing of the Dallas Stars last Monday night, which saw 14 different players register at least a point.

“It would be nice to feed off of last game, it was a big stepping stone for us after some mediocre hockey and we’d like to follow it up with a strong performance heading into the all-star break,” said Kevin Bieksa.

Alex Edler is suffering from back spasms and is a game time decision. If he can’t go, defenseman Lee Sweatt will get his first NHL start. He has 14 points for the Moose this season in 41 games played.

After the game the Canucks have the rest of the month off, resuming play in Dallas on February 4th.

Canucks Report: Jan. 25

Everyone got into the action in last night’s 7-1 victory over the Dallas Stars; 14 of the Canucks 18 skaters registered points in a ruthless victory that solidified the Canucks place atop the Western Conference.

Most notably, former 30 goal scorer Mikael Samuelsson scored his ninth goal of the season, his first in 15 games. He finished with a game-high 5 shots and was a +2 in 13 minutes of ice time.

"It feels good to score goals, I'm not going to lie to you about that," said Samuelsson. "But this may sound cocky but I knew that if I kept doing the right things, being strong on the puck and moving it, it was just a matter of time”.

Fellow slumper Mason Raymond also potted his first in 12.

“It’s always good to get the monkey off the back, from there I have to work harder and continue to do the things that make you successful,” saidMason Raymond.

During the course of a season there will be ups and downs and slumps and streaks but it’s not something Coach Alain Vigneault worries about.

“At one point or another this happens to players,” said Vigneault. “Nobody made excuses, nobody was looking to blame anybody and they worked really hard to stick with the process and get on the right track”.

Throughout the secondary scoring drought the Canucks have demonstrated their maturity, battling hard, and finding ways to get points. For a supposedly slumping team, the Canucks are remarkably hot, having picked up points in 22 of their last 24 games.

The power play was the deciding factor last night, going 3/7, scoring two important goals in the first period when the game was still in doubt.

“Our special teams were huge and that made a big difference helping us get off to a good start,” said Mason Raymond.

The Canucks 3rd ranked power play has had trouble at home this season, ranking an anomalous 16th at Rogers Arena and 1st on the road.

“I thought last night the guys moved the puck better and were able to get into lanes where they could get pucks to the net and we had people there,” said Vigneault. “That’s the best way to make a power play work”.

The Sedin twins, buoyed by their power play contributions, continue their climb up the NHL scoring charts.Henrik Sedin had a goal and two assists last night, while brother Daniel added two helpers. Daniel is now third in NHL scoring, three points behind Sydney Crosby and four behind leader Steven Stamkos. Henrik registered his 50th assist of the season last night and sits ten assists above his nearest challenger.

As a final illustration of the team’s willingness to do whatever it takes to win, Canucks fourth liner Aaron Volpatti punctuated the dominating victory by diving to block a shot when the score was 7-1. His effort did not go unnoticed by the Rogers Arena faithful.

The Canucks are 2-0 against the Stars this season, outscoring them 11-2. Vancouver now hold a five point lead over the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference.

Vancouver hosts Nashville tomorrow night at Rogers Arena.