Coming off 2 of the worst game of the season, Vancouver was looking for a little vengeance against the Oilers, who burned them 4-0 in their last meeting.
Just a few lineup changes tonight, as Roy made his Canucks debut, and Kassian returned from the Wolves. Burrows stuck with the Sedins, while newcomer Derek Roy centred between Higgins and Hansen. Jensen and Kassian played with Lapierre on the 3rd, while Sestito, Ebbett and Pinizzotto brought up the 4th. Barker replaced Alberts on the 4th line, playing with Tanev.
Thankfully, Vancouver didn't allow a goal in the first 16 seconds. In fact, they even had pressure and a forecheck early on, and managed something called a shot. Vancouver was forced to face a Lapierre interference call early on, but handled it nicely. By the 7 minute mark, Taylor Hall hadn't even registered a goal, never mind a hat trick. With 5 and a bit left in the period, the Canucks were given a 5 on 3 powerplay. After moving the puck around a bit, and losing it once or twice, Garrison unleashed his slapper. It hit Petri right in the leg, leaving him to limp around as the Canucks cycled the puck. It quickly found it's way to Bieksa, whose shot went in past a Daniel Sedin screen. Other than a couple of insane scrums in front of the Oilers net, but nothing else went in. 1-0 Canucks, end of the 1st.
Vancouver did a great job of not allowing Edmonton to move in on Schneider, early in the second. By the halfway point of the second, the Canucks had only allowed Edmonton to take 11 shots in the entire game, while managing 19 of their own. All 4 lines continued to push, but Khabibulin stood tall. Pavel Bure, who was in attendance, received a standing ovation during the TV timeout. No relation to the game or anything, just thought you'd like to know. Vancouver finally broke through with 5 and a half left in the seconds. Daniel crossed the blueline and dished to Henrik behind the net, who gave it back to Daniel at the left faceoff circle. Daniel then passed it to, guess who, Henrik, at the side of the net. Henrik somehow didn't pass the puck, and snapped it passed a sprawling Khabibulin. Roy's line presented the Oilers with quite a final few minutes, but again couldn't put the puck in the net. Through 40 minutes, 2-0 Canucks.
More of the same in the third, as the Canucks just dominated puck play. at the 7 minute mark, Hansen forced and turnover and shot the puck up to Roy. Roy took it into the Oilers zone, out waited the defenseman, and shot the puck to Higgins who tipped it past Khabibulin. Minutes later, a great Sedin passing play resulted in Daniel hitting the crossbar, but no goal. 7 and a half left in the third, Tanev moves towards the net. Tanev was hooked, then spun around before being stripped of the puck. John Shorthouse was so surprised at the non call, that he just stopped talking all together. With just seconds remaining, Garrison took a hit from Brown awkwardly in his own zone, and limped to the bench. In that same play, Lapierre took the puck down the wing and threw it on net. Kassian picked up the rebound, and snapped it home with 3 seconds left. Game over, 4-0 Vancouver.
Tidbits:
- PP: 1/5 Still all over the place, but any time the Canucks PP capitalizes in a good, and welcome one.
- PK: 4/4 Great job clearing the puck out of the zone. Saw Henrik and Daniel in the latter halves of the penalties, for whatever reason.
- Roy: Liked his speed. Played well with Higgins and Hansen, saw PK time.
- Kassian: Eager to play after his injuries/demotion. Played fast and hard, plenty of shots.
- Bieksa: 200th career point on the opening goal.
- Sedins: Impressed with their play this game, quite a pick up from the last 15 games. If they stay like this, Vancouver might have a chance of making it past round 1 in the playoffs.
Showing posts with label Oilers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oilers. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Saturday, 30 March 2013
Canucks at Oilers, Mar 30/13
The last time the Canucks and Oilers faced off (almost 2 months ago), Vancouver pulled off a 3 goal comeback that finished with Tanev scoring his first NHL goal in overtime. Kassian was medically cleared to participate. this game, and took part in the pregame skate, but he did not play.
Previous to this game, the Canucks had scored the first goal 9 times in a row. Oh, spoiler alert. 16 seconds in, Edmonton struck. With Hamhuis pinching, Eberle cleared the puck, and found Hall down the wing. Hall's shot went top corner, just over the glove of Schneider. Daniel had the perfect chance to tie it seconds later, but was denied 1 on 1, after failing to recover from his spin-o-rama. 2 minutes later, a defensive miscue led to the Oilers second of the game. Petry's cross point pass found a wide open Smid, whose shot beat Schneider down low. That would do it for poor Cory, who let in 2 goals on 2 shots. But even a goalie change couldn't save these poor playing Canucks. 38 seconds after the Smid goal, RNH found Hall on the rush, and Hall buried it top corner, again. 3 shots, 3 goals for the Oil. Not so fun fact: That is the fastest 3 goals in Oilers history. In other words, this period was so bad it made the history books.
Vancouver managed to calm down a little after that, and were even gifted a powerplay. Of course, the puck went everywhere but the net, and nothing came of it. Just seconds later, the Oilers took their turn at the powerplay roulette. After being given the entire top of the zone to move the puck, the Oilers gave it to Hall at the side of the net, who tucked it 5 hole on Luongo. 4-0, just 8 minutes in. With that, Hall broke Gretzky's record for fastest Oilers hat trick. 4 minutes later, Higgins stole the puck and almost put the Canucks on the board, but Dubnyk got his blocker on it. Hemsky had a chance to make it 5-0, but bobbled it and Luongo was able to get his stick on it. Bieksa tormented Hall for the rest of the period, checking his every chance he got. Shots 11-10 Oilers at the end of 20.
Less than a minute it, Paajarvi's shot beat Luongo on the rush, but hit the crossbar. Despite that bobble, the Canucks picked up play, and were once again gifted a powerplay. They managed a few more shots on this one, and managed to maintain zone pressure, but no result. Luongo was forced to make some nice saves midway through the period, as the Canucks defense continued to let the Oilers drive wide. 2nd period ended with the Oilers still up 4-0, shots 18-14 Canucks.
Only notable thing about the third was that Luongo stood on his head a couple times, denying Hall twice while coming cross crease. Other than that, nothing notable.
Tidbits:
- PP: 3/3. Why do I even do this. no change in how the PP has played since the beginning of the season. Occasionally moves the puck a little better, but really no change.
- PK: 1/4. Always leaving that point man open. Sometimes pays off, sometimes not. Didn't in this game.
So what happened? The Canucks went from a 6 game win streak to this? They had it coming. Vancouver's roster has been incredibly injured the last 10 games (Kesler, Booth, Kassian, Ballard, Weise, Malhotra etc), and it's kind of amazing they were able to put together 6 straight with that many missing. And if you've watched the last 10, their play really hasn't been all that, well, impressive. It was only a matter of time before a monumental collapse such as this.
Next game is Monday at 7:30 in San Jose.
Previous to this game, the Canucks had scored the first goal 9 times in a row. Oh, spoiler alert. 16 seconds in, Edmonton struck. With Hamhuis pinching, Eberle cleared the puck, and found Hall down the wing. Hall's shot went top corner, just over the glove of Schneider. Daniel had the perfect chance to tie it seconds later, but was denied 1 on 1, after failing to recover from his spin-o-rama. 2 minutes later, a defensive miscue led to the Oilers second of the game. Petry's cross point pass found a wide open Smid, whose shot beat Schneider down low. That would do it for poor Cory, who let in 2 goals on 2 shots. But even a goalie change couldn't save these poor playing Canucks. 38 seconds after the Smid goal, RNH found Hall on the rush, and Hall buried it top corner, again. 3 shots, 3 goals for the Oil. Not so fun fact: That is the fastest 3 goals in Oilers history. In other words, this period was so bad it made the history books.
Vancouver managed to calm down a little after that, and were even gifted a powerplay. Of course, the puck went everywhere but the net, and nothing came of it. Just seconds later, the Oilers took their turn at the powerplay roulette. After being given the entire top of the zone to move the puck, the Oilers gave it to Hall at the side of the net, who tucked it 5 hole on Luongo. 4-0, just 8 minutes in. With that, Hall broke Gretzky's record for fastest Oilers hat trick. 4 minutes later, Higgins stole the puck and almost put the Canucks on the board, but Dubnyk got his blocker on it. Hemsky had a chance to make it 5-0, but bobbled it and Luongo was able to get his stick on it. Bieksa tormented Hall for the rest of the period, checking his every chance he got. Shots 11-10 Oilers at the end of 20.
Less than a minute it, Paajarvi's shot beat Luongo on the rush, but hit the crossbar. Despite that bobble, the Canucks picked up play, and were once again gifted a powerplay. They managed a few more shots on this one, and managed to maintain zone pressure, but no result. Luongo was forced to make some nice saves midway through the period, as the Canucks defense continued to let the Oilers drive wide. 2nd period ended with the Oilers still up 4-0, shots 18-14 Canucks.
Only notable thing about the third was that Luongo stood on his head a couple times, denying Hall twice while coming cross crease. Other than that, nothing notable.
Tidbits:
- PP: 3/3. Why do I even do this. no change in how the PP has played since the beginning of the season. Occasionally moves the puck a little better, but really no change.
- PK: 1/4. Always leaving that point man open. Sometimes pays off, sometimes not. Didn't in this game.
So what happened? The Canucks went from a 6 game win streak to this? They had it coming. Vancouver's roster has been incredibly injured the last 10 games (Kesler, Booth, Kassian, Ballard, Weise, Malhotra etc), and it's kind of amazing they were able to put together 6 straight with that many missing. And if you've watched the last 10, their play really hasn't been all that, well, impressive. It was only a matter of time before a monumental collapse such as this.
Next game is Monday at 7:30 in San Jose.
Monday, 4 February 2013
Game in Review: Canucks 3 - Oilers 2 OT
I only watched a bit of this game, so i'll only breakdown what I saw and the goals
Hemsky made it 1-0 for Edmonton late in the 1st, after a lobbed pass from Yakapov bounced just over Garrison's stick, leaving Hemsky to pull the puck into his feet and dump it backhand into the net. Midway through the second, what can only be described as a cluster of mess ups led to Ryan Smyth making it 2-0 while shorthanded. As the puck was pumped into Vancouver's zone, Luongo left his net and played the puck to Edler, who couldn't get his stick on it. The puck went right to Landers, who gave it to Smyth, who only had to shoot it past a sprawling Luongo. Granted, Luongo got a huge piece of the puck, but it still trickled it. 4 minutes later, Hansen saved the day. Schroeder won the battle behind the net against a much bigger Potter, and dished the puck to Hansen. Hansen spun around his man and snapped it at the net, and Dubnyk couldn't do a thing as the puck rolled off his back and into the net.
Fast forward to the third period, just 2 and a half minutes left. Hansen leaves the puck behind the Oilers net for Raymond, who tries to slide the puck in on his backhand, but the puck squirts right to Hall. Schroeder, seizing life by the balls, smacks Halls stick with his own and the puck slides right to Bieksa. Dubnyk, who was screened by 2 of his own players, didn't see the puck and it flew right past him, tie game. Schroeder deserves a high five for his work on that play. Anyways, off to OT. Didn't watch most of that, apparently Taylor Hall got a penalty shot. The important stuff: Chris Tanev got his first NHL goal, and the Sedins passing game is back. Can we combine that into one little video? CanucksHD already did. After digging the puck out of a scrum, Henrik dishes the puck to Daniel, who serves it to Henrik, and Daniel gets it back on a nifty back pass while Henrik breaks for the net. But no one has been watching Tanev, who streaks into the middle and takes a beautiful pass from Daniel, and then just buries it. Love it.
Tidbits:
- Schroeder is not afraid to rush into a scrum and dig out the puck. He's like a little bulldog. Best example is on the Hansen goal.
- Tanev's shot improved quite a bit over the lockout, I witnessed it a few times when the Wolves and Heat played.
- Henrik has gotten way more aggressive, and seems to like it. After his 4 hit performance against Chicago, the captain purposefully checked an Oilers player from behind and into the boards, earning him a seat in the penalty box.
That's all I've got for ya, next game Thursday against the Wild at 5. Schneider is expected to start.
Hemsky made it 1-0 for Edmonton late in the 1st, after a lobbed pass from Yakapov bounced just over Garrison's stick, leaving Hemsky to pull the puck into his feet and dump it backhand into the net. Midway through the second, what can only be described as a cluster of mess ups led to Ryan Smyth making it 2-0 while shorthanded. As the puck was pumped into Vancouver's zone, Luongo left his net and played the puck to Edler, who couldn't get his stick on it. The puck went right to Landers, who gave it to Smyth, who only had to shoot it past a sprawling Luongo. Granted, Luongo got a huge piece of the puck, but it still trickled it. 4 minutes later, Hansen saved the day. Schroeder won the battle behind the net against a much bigger Potter, and dished the puck to Hansen. Hansen spun around his man and snapped it at the net, and Dubnyk couldn't do a thing as the puck rolled off his back and into the net.
Fast forward to the third period, just 2 and a half minutes left. Hansen leaves the puck behind the Oilers net for Raymond, who tries to slide the puck in on his backhand, but the puck squirts right to Hall. Schroeder, seizing life by the balls, smacks Halls stick with his own and the puck slides right to Bieksa. Dubnyk, who was screened by 2 of his own players, didn't see the puck and it flew right past him, tie game. Schroeder deserves a high five for his work on that play. Anyways, off to OT. Didn't watch most of that, apparently Taylor Hall got a penalty shot. The important stuff: Chris Tanev got his first NHL goal, and the Sedins passing game is back. Can we combine that into one little video? CanucksHD already did. After digging the puck out of a scrum, Henrik dishes the puck to Daniel, who serves it to Henrik, and Daniel gets it back on a nifty back pass while Henrik breaks for the net. But no one has been watching Tanev, who streaks into the middle and takes a beautiful pass from Daniel, and then just buries it. Love it.
Tidbits:
- Schroeder is not afraid to rush into a scrum and dig out the puck. He's like a little bulldog. Best example is on the Hansen goal.
- Tanev's shot improved quite a bit over the lockout, I witnessed it a few times when the Wolves and Heat played.
- Henrik has gotten way more aggressive, and seems to like it. After his 4 hit performance against Chicago, the captain purposefully checked an Oilers player from behind and into the boards, earning him a seat in the penalty box.
That's all I've got for ya, next game Thursday against the Wild at 5. Schneider is expected to start.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Game in Review: Oilers 3 - Vancouver 2, SO
Young talent and plenty of energy won out against a tired Vancouver team tonight. Despite the fact that the Canucks lost, the overall effort was much better. Luongo started in goal, and looked pretty solid. Edler opened the scoring midway through the first, after poking a short pass out of his own zone, weaving through center, and blasting a classic slapper past Dubnyk. Kassian finished off a beautiful play by the Sedins in the 2nd, after missing 2 chances earlier. But the Oilers tied it on a defensive blunder with only 3 seconds remaining, as Eberle cut past everyone and back handed it past Roberto. Hemsky ripped one past Lou late in the third to tie it at 2, as the defense failed to cut him off on the wing. Overtime was a blunder of end to end rushes, but nothing came off of them. On to the shootout: Luongo failed to stop the first 2, and neither Edler nor Burrows could put was past Dubnyk.
Tidbits:
- The starting lineups were the same as last night, but AV played with them a lot. The Sedins saw both Weise and Kassian on their wing, while Burrows played with Ebbett and Raymond in the third.
- Kassian: Fantastic game. His goal was the result of Sedin wizardry, but he had good positioning all through the game, putting a few shots just wide. He fought Ben Eager in the 3rd, which resulted in Eager going to the dressing room with blood splattered on his sweater.
- Weise: Played to impress, plenty of energy. Maybe too much. Ended up on his butt a few times (once after missing a hit, and another after failing to deke out Dubnyk on a breakaway), and slammed face first into the boards after just clipping the target on a failed hit. Apparently his enthusiasm was enough to land him on the first line, but only for one shift.
- Powerplay: Vancouver went 0/5, but had a decent passing game. Still insistent on doing the back pass in the neutral zone. A better defensive team would've ripped that apart.
- Penalty Kill: 3/4, not too bad. Let the Oilers pass around the edges, but were able to cut it off before the shot.
- Defense: Better, but not good enough. Both Edmonton goals came off defensive lapses, where the puck carrier was allowed to pull it down the wing and get a shot off. Ballard and Tanev were much better, but still a little sketchy.
- Shootouts: I'm no expert, but both Edler and Burrows came in much too slow and game Dubnyk way too much time to react. Luongo at least remained upright, but still left too many gaps.
Next game is on the Wednesday the 23rd at home against the Flames. Easy game to start Schneider, as the Flames are at the bottom of their 'rebuilding' phase. But more on that when it comes around.
Tidbits:
- The starting lineups were the same as last night, but AV played with them a lot. The Sedins saw both Weise and Kassian on their wing, while Burrows played with Ebbett and Raymond in the third.
- Kassian: Fantastic game. His goal was the result of Sedin wizardry, but he had good positioning all through the game, putting a few shots just wide. He fought Ben Eager in the 3rd, which resulted in Eager going to the dressing room with blood splattered on his sweater.
- Weise: Played to impress, plenty of energy. Maybe too much. Ended up on his butt a few times (once after missing a hit, and another after failing to deke out Dubnyk on a breakaway), and slammed face first into the boards after just clipping the target on a failed hit. Apparently his enthusiasm was enough to land him on the first line, but only for one shift.
- Powerplay: Vancouver went 0/5, but had a decent passing game. Still insistent on doing the back pass in the neutral zone. A better defensive team would've ripped that apart.
- Penalty Kill: 3/4, not too bad. Let the Oilers pass around the edges, but were able to cut it off before the shot.
- Defense: Better, but not good enough. Both Edmonton goals came off defensive lapses, where the puck carrier was allowed to pull it down the wing and get a shot off. Ballard and Tanev were much better, but still a little sketchy.
- Shootouts: I'm no expert, but both Edler and Burrows came in much too slow and game Dubnyk way too much time to react. Luongo at least remained upright, but still left too many gaps.
Next game is on the Wednesday the 23rd at home against the Flames. Easy game to start Schneider, as the Flames are at the bottom of their 'rebuilding' phase. But more on that when it comes around.
Game Preview: Canucks vs Oilers
After a terrible performance last night against the Ducks, the Canucks play again tonight against the Oilers. Lineups haven't been released yet, but i'm guessing there won't be many, if any, changes. I'm also going to go ahead and assume Schneider gets the start tonight.
Edmonton finished just slightly lower than Anaheim last year, 14th overall in the West. The season series went to Vancouver 5-1, and the Canucks outscored the Oilers 22-13. I desperately want to say Vancouver will win, but here's the snag. Edmonton is mainly composed of young (Oilers first line has an average age of 20), talented players, the majority of whom have been playing in the AHL over the lockout. This is trouble because they've had time to develop more chemistry with each other, and are in game shape already. This, combined with the fact that the Canucks just played last night, means we're in for a tough one.
Players to watch tonight: Nail Yakapov and Justin Schultz. Yakapov and Schultz are both playing their first NHL games tonight, and are reinforcements to an already up and coming elite squad. There has been talk of Schultz starting on the first defensive pairing, and I don't doubt it. Yakapov will most likely start on the 2nd line.
Vancouver's success tonight will mostly balance on the defense communicating with each other, and their ability to shut down Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the fourth line of Volpatti-Malhotra-Weise is the best option for suppressing Edmonton's first, due to their great performance last night against Anaheim. Weise showed speed and skill, as well as an ability to hit. Malhotra also has great defensive sense, a must for playing these guys.
My guess is that Vancouver plays better tonight, because they know what Edmonton's top 2 lines can do.
Edmonton finished just slightly lower than Anaheim last year, 14th overall in the West. The season series went to Vancouver 5-1, and the Canucks outscored the Oilers 22-13. I desperately want to say Vancouver will win, but here's the snag. Edmonton is mainly composed of young (Oilers first line has an average age of 20), talented players, the majority of whom have been playing in the AHL over the lockout. This is trouble because they've had time to develop more chemistry with each other, and are in game shape already. This, combined with the fact that the Canucks just played last night, means we're in for a tough one.
Players to watch tonight: Nail Yakapov and Justin Schultz. Yakapov and Schultz are both playing their first NHL games tonight, and are reinforcements to an already up and coming elite squad. There has been talk of Schultz starting on the first defensive pairing, and I don't doubt it. Yakapov will most likely start on the 2nd line.
Vancouver's success tonight will mostly balance on the defense communicating with each other, and their ability to shut down Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the fourth line of Volpatti-Malhotra-Weise is the best option for suppressing Edmonton's first, due to their great performance last night against Anaheim. Weise showed speed and skill, as well as an ability to hit. Malhotra also has great defensive sense, a must for playing these guys.
My guess is that Vancouver plays better tonight, because they know what Edmonton's top 2 lines can do.
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