Canucks vs Avalanche, Mar 28/13

And the Canucks bad luck continues, as Keith Ballard has been placed on the already enormous injury list, with a fractured foot. Fortunately, Steve Pinizzotto made a return, after being sidelined with a mystery illness. So, the only line change was that Pinizzotto played with Ebbett and Higgins on the 3rd line. Barker was replaced by Alberts on the 3rd defensive pairing.

One could only hope that this game would be just a little more exciting than Tuesday's match against the Blue Jackets. I was not disappointing. Less than 5 minutes in, the Sedins struck. From the left faceoff circle, Daniel backhanded a pass to the other circle, right onto the tape of Henrik. Henrik threw a pass through a few pairs of feet, and found Burrows, who snapped it past Varlamov. Those first 5 minutes were easily the best that the Sedins have looked in quite some time, but it ended just as quickly as it began.

Past that first goal, the Canucks passing turned it to what can only be described as ***(censored for your safety)***. Furthermore, I thought one of the best players on the ice for the Canucks in the first, was Andrew Alberts (Asides from Schneider, of course). Yep, pretty awful.  Vancouver let the Av's take 10 straight shots without registering one of their own. The only thing that stopped Colorado from tying the game was some goaltending brilliance by Schneider. First period ended with the Canucks up 1-0, shots 11-8. Vancouver was outhit 11-2.

More of the same in the 2nd, as the Canucks continued to turn the puck over and failed to maintain any zone pressure. The only excitement came with 6 minutes left in the period, when Pinizzotto and Ebbett collided in the Colorado zone. Ebbett was slow to his feet, and limped slowly to the bench. He returned without missing a shift, but we all made a huge deal out of it because this game felt like a replay of Tuesdays game. Still 1-0 through 40 minutes, shots 21-15 for Colorado. Only 1 regulation goal in the last 5 periods at Rogers Arena (courtesy of Hosea Chung), simply a testament to how boring these past few games have been.

4 minutes in, and the Avalanche made this snooze fest a little interesting. Parenteau dig the puck out from behind the net, and found a wide open Duchene in front, who buried it over a sprawling Schneider. Realizing that they didn't have an 8-1 lead, the Canucks attempted to turn up the heat. Just moments later, Daniel's pass found Bieksa in front, but it bounced, and he wiffed on it. With 7 and a bit left in the third, the Canucks struck. Hamhuis found Burrows on the sideboards, who snapped a quick pass to Daniel at the faceoff circle. Daniels shot went 5 hole past a screened Varlamov, and may have been tipped by Henrik. Regardless, 2-1 Canucks. Henrik and Higgins both potted empty netters, sealing the deal with about a minute and a half left.

Kind of funny how this game ended 4-1 Vancouver, when it was truly one of the worst games of the season.


Tidbits:

 - PP: Zip for zip. No chances, no analysis.
 - PK: 1/1. Ehhh. Kept the puck out of the net, but left the sides open.
 - Schneider: As always, incredible. Saved the Canucks butt's more than once.

Next game is Saturday in Edmonton at 7.

Game in Review: Canucks 3 - Avalanche 0

The start of this game was no different than all the other Canucks games this season. The Avalanche dominated the first 10-some minutes, keeping Vancouver at 0 shots until somewhere between the 7 and 10 minute mark. The first shot of the game trickled in behind Luongo, and was only denied when Luongo twisted and somehow kept it out with the knob of his stick. Pure luck. Weise dropped the gloves with McLeod just 5 minutes in, something that's becoming a theme in recent games. On the Canucks first shot, Garrison scored his first of the season, and his first as a Canuck, after burying the puck off a dump and chase set up by the Burrows line. After that, Vancouver picked up it's play and had the majority of the scoring chances.

 The 2nd period saw Edler and Tanev playing as a pair, but only briefly. Lappiere squeaked past the defense and charged up the wing, putting the puck through Varlamov's 5 hole to make it 2-0. A crap call by the ref (A boarding call. on Tanev. TANEV) led to a 5 on 3 powerplay for the Avs, that lasted almost a minute and a half, but the PK came through again. In the 3rd, Kassian broke the Canucks 2 goal curse AND the powerplay curse by burying a perfect cross ice pass from Hamhuis. Moments later, Schroeder had a great chance on a 2 on 1, but was denied. Vancouver kept up the pressure in the final minutes and held on to earn a 3-0 win.


Tidbits:

 - Luongo played well, but the Avalanche weren't exactly overwhelming him with shots.
 - Penalty Kill: Fantastic. Went 4/4, and constantly had the puck at the other end of the ice.
 - Powerplay. Not so awesome. Kassian broke the drought early in the third, and the cycle game was great, but they have challenges moving the puck into the zone. Had trouble keeping the puck in the offensive zone, and gave up a number of short handed chances, including a breakaway.
 - Powerplay also saw Hamhuis-Edler and Bieksa-Garrison on the point, splitting the 2 big shots between the 2 units.
 - Speaking of D, Tanev continues to play smart hockey. Knows how to cut down the passing options, even without a stick.
 - More about the D: Tanev (right handed shot) maybe a candidate for a permanent position on the first line. Edler plays his best on the left side, but has been forced to play right side to accommodate his partners. Tanev is defensively responsible, which would allows Edler to jump up a little more on the rush.
 - Kassian's PP goal was his fifth of the season, he only scored four last year. Testament to how far he's come since last year. Granted anyone can score 50 points with the Sedins (cough cough Anson Carter), but Kassian has gotten a lot faster and is able to read plays well. Able to hit hard, too.
 - Lappiere: Strong game, plenty of take away's, held down the 4th line just fine.
 - Refs messed up big time. Raymond gave McLeod a high stick in the 3rd, but it wasn't called. McLeod, with blood gushing from his forehead, yelled at the ref for a call. Ended up getting a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, totally crap.

I'm not going to dig into who starts the next game, mainly because whenever I guess I end up being wrong.

Next game is Friday vs Chicago at 7PM. This is the first meeting between the Canucks and Blackhawks since Duncan Keith took out Daniel Sedin with a dirty head shot. I'd say that this would make for an intense, violent game, but that's just a normal match up between these 2.