After the first 10 minutes of this game, I assumed a 5-1 Ducks victory. The Canucks defense was so porous that the Ducks basically walked in and rammed into Schneider. That changed after Aaron Volpatti dropped the gloves against Matt Beleskey, and Beleskey ended upon his knees looking up at Volpatti's fist. Later on, Daniel Sedin finished off a great passing play on a 5 on 3 powerplay by tucking the puck past Hiller to make it 1-0. After that, the defense tightened up and Anaheim started taking stupid penalties. Raymond batted his own rebound out of mid air late in the first on the powerplay to make it 2-0, and things only got better.
Volpatti picked up a loose puck in the 2nd and buried it to extend the lead. Kassian finished off a Sedin passing cycle with a nice shot over Hiller's pad on the PP to make it 4-0. Beleskey, still mad about beaten by Volpatti, came back and duked it out with Bieksa in the 3rd. Also received a penalty for attempting to do the same thing with Hamhuis. Ballard got his can kicked minutes later, against Perry, as the Ducks got progressively madder as the game went on. Schroeder earned his first career point, after feeding a great cross ice pass to Raymond, who buried it under the cross bar with 4 and a half minutes left. Through all of this, Schneider stood tall and made save after save on goal worthy attempts.
After a rough start to the season, the Canucks finally seem to have their feet under them. All 4 lines are clicking, and turning into a well oiled machine. The powerplay went 3/9, and proved to be effective enough to keep us on our feet early in the game. Schneider's 30 save performance earned him his 5th career shutout, and he truly deserved it.
Tidbits:
- Malhotra was a healthy scratch, his wife gave birth earlier in the week. Ebbett took his place on the 4th line.
- Weise can't keep his head up to save his life, but it drew a penalty.
- The Canucks powerplay was still insistent on performing the back pass in the neutral zone. IT FOOLS NOBODY.
- Mason Raymond seems to be slowly getting over his fear of going into corners and crashing the net (Caused by his broken back sustained in the Cup Finals a few years ago). He crashed the net a few times, drawing a penalty once and scoring on another.
- Ballard is becoming an anchor for the 3rd defensive pair. Solid play in his own end, seems to be reading plays well. Also came to the defense of Edler in the 2nd when Perry tried to fight him.
- Canucks PK seems to be content to collapse back around the net, letting the passes roll around the outside and the Ducks take the point shots. Plenty of blocks.
- Schneider still stick handles like an elephant in handcuffs, should be kept on a leash. Almost gave the puck away behind the net.
- Burrows was given a penalty shot in the 2nd, but bobbled it and failed. 0/4 in his career.
- Kassian almost made a beautiful no look pass to Daniel Sedin, but it was picked off. Showing great chemistry on the 1st line.
- The Canucks looked very mature, didn't react to cross checks or shoves, and were rewarded with a whole bunch of powerplays..
- Late 3rd period powerplay group turned into Lapierre, Weise and Volpatti.
The Canucks play on Sunday in San Jose, then Monday in Los Angeles. San Jose is a perfect 3-0-0 this season, and LA hasn't won a game since hoisting the cup.
Showing posts with label Ducks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ducks. Show all posts
Friday, 25 January 2013
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Game in Review: Anaheim 7, Vancouver 3.
I looked at my notes after the game, and almost laughed at the number of times I scribbled '...what?!' on the side. But really, what went wrong? Almost everything. But keep in mind Vancouver usually takes a few games to get fired up at the beginning of the season. I imagine it'll take a little longer this year, due to a very short training camp and that 2 key players are missing. But it's only game one, so don't flip out yet. YET.
Anaheim opened the scoring before the 10 minute mark of the first, and pretty much didn't stop. Vancouver tied it up at 9:53 on a beautiful shot by Hamhuis from the point, with Lappiere screening. The passing leading up to it was pretty solid too. A couple of minutes later, Daniel Sedin buried a rebound on the powerplay that came off of an Edler point shot, giving the Canucks the lead. Souray tied it up for Anaheim on the powerplay (maybe a bogus call, but too-little-too-late). Both teams went into the 1st intermission with about equal shots, equal chances and equal score. I don't think the second period could of gone worse. 3 straight goals by Anaheim, including 2 goals in 11 seconds, in the forced Schneider out. Luongo only faced a few shots in the second period, and let in one. You can't blame it all on the goalies, it felt like both the defense and offense just watched the puck go past them. Given the bountiful amount of icing calls on Vancouver's part, i'd say they were exhausted by the 10 minute mark. The 2nd period ended 6-2 Ducks. Edler made everyone a little happier when he pounded in a shot from the point on the powerplay. But less that a minute later Anaheim pushed another one past Luongo, and that's how the game ended. 7-3 Anaheim.
The stats were pretty even. Vancouver had the lead in shots (29-26), while Anaheim led in hits (21-10) and face-off wins (38-37). The Ducks went 3/3 on the PP, and the Canucks finished at 2/4.
Tidbits:
- Weise actually looked good. Pulled a spin move in the 1st to create a good opportunity, had some good hits and was quick on the backcheck.
- Ballard and Tanev were horrible as a pairing.
- Hansen and the twins seem to be a good match on the 1st powerplay unit.
- Powerplay mainly consisted of shots from the point, pinching by defense. Seemed to work.
- Actually, almost all the Canucks scoring chances came from the point. All 3 goals came off of the point shot in one way or another.
- Sedins/Burrows line was surprisingly quiet during 5 on 5, seemed like their ice time was cut down quite a bit too.
So will Schneider start tomorrow against Edmonton? Probably. Luongo ended up playing most of the game, and Schneider needs to learn to to bounce back from tough loses if he wants to play as number 1.
Anaheim opened the scoring before the 10 minute mark of the first, and pretty much didn't stop. Vancouver tied it up at 9:53 on a beautiful shot by Hamhuis from the point, with Lappiere screening. The passing leading up to it was pretty solid too. A couple of minutes later, Daniel Sedin buried a rebound on the powerplay that came off of an Edler point shot, giving the Canucks the lead. Souray tied it up for Anaheim on the powerplay (maybe a bogus call, but too-little-too-late). Both teams went into the 1st intermission with about equal shots, equal chances and equal score. I don't think the second period could of gone worse. 3 straight goals by Anaheim, including 2 goals in 11 seconds, in the forced Schneider out. Luongo only faced a few shots in the second period, and let in one. You can't blame it all on the goalies, it felt like both the defense and offense just watched the puck go past them. Given the bountiful amount of icing calls on Vancouver's part, i'd say they were exhausted by the 10 minute mark. The 2nd period ended 6-2 Ducks. Edler made everyone a little happier when he pounded in a shot from the point on the powerplay. But less that a minute later Anaheim pushed another one past Luongo, and that's how the game ended. 7-3 Anaheim.
The stats were pretty even. Vancouver had the lead in shots (29-26), while Anaheim led in hits (21-10) and face-off wins (38-37). The Ducks went 3/3 on the PP, and the Canucks finished at 2/4.
Tidbits:
- Weise actually looked good. Pulled a spin move in the 1st to create a good opportunity, had some good hits and was quick on the backcheck.
- Ballard and Tanev were horrible as a pairing.
- Hansen and the twins seem to be a good match on the 1st powerplay unit.
- Powerplay mainly consisted of shots from the point, pinching by defense. Seemed to work.
- Actually, almost all the Canucks scoring chances came from the point. All 3 goals came off of the point shot in one way or another.
- Sedins/Burrows line was surprisingly quiet during 5 on 5, seemed like their ice time was cut down quite a bit too.
So will Schneider start tomorrow against Edmonton? Probably. Luongo ended up playing most of the game, and Schneider needs to learn to to bounce back from tough loses if he wants to play as number 1.
Game Preview: Canucks vs Ducks, January 19th 2013
So, the season kicks off tonight. I'd apologize for this post being late, but seeing as the blog was only created today, and that the only page view is my own, I won't.
Anyways. Back on track. The Canucks season starts off tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim finished dead last in their division last year, and a full 15 points out of a playoff spot. Normally, this would waive any sense of threat that I, and many others, would feel...
... BUT...
2 factors:
- The Canucks are short Ryan Kesler and David Booth, the staples of the 2nd line
- Anaheim and Vancouver split the season series at 2 a piece last year, and have frequently been a pain in the butt.
Truthfully, this game could be a blowout or a shootout win for either side.
Moving on, here's the expected lineup for tonight:
Sedin-Sedin-Burrows
Raymond-Ebbett-Kassian
Higgins-Lappiere-Hansen
Weise-Malhotra-Volpatti
On that note, I don't expect the 2nd line to get as much ice time. Granted, if Raymond plays like he did a few years back, and Kassian has truly upped his game, I could be absolutely wrong. Either way, I think that we'll see the 3rd line get a lot more ice time.
Now, onto Dale Weise. Coming off of an impressive run in the Netherlands (oxymoron?) where he obtained 40+ point in less than 20 games. Looking back, he does have some talent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQSVrna3tKE), but will his stint in De Dutch lead to a Weise that is constantly trying to force an up ice rush, even when nothings there?
Just some thoughts from a fan.
Anyways. Back on track. The Canucks season starts off tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim finished dead last in their division last year, and a full 15 points out of a playoff spot. Normally, this would waive any sense of threat that I, and many others, would feel...
... BUT...
2 factors:
- The Canucks are short Ryan Kesler and David Booth, the staples of the 2nd line
- Anaheim and Vancouver split the season series at 2 a piece last year, and have frequently been a pain in the butt.
Truthfully, this game could be a blowout or a shootout win for either side.
Moving on, here's the expected lineup for tonight:
Sedin-Sedin-Burrows
Raymond-Ebbett-Kassian
Higgins-Lappiere-Hansen
Weise-Malhotra-Volpatti
On that note, I don't expect the 2nd line to get as much ice time. Granted, if Raymond plays like he did a few years back, and Kassian has truly upped his game, I could be absolutely wrong. Either way, I think that we'll see the 3rd line get a lot more ice time.
Now, onto Dale Weise. Coming off of an impressive run in the Netherlands (oxymoron?) where he obtained 40+ point in less than 20 games. Looking back, he does have some talent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQSVrna3tKE), but will his stint in De Dutch lead to a Weise that is constantly trying to force an up ice rush, even when nothings there?
Just some thoughts from a fan.
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