Rob The Hockey Guy

One day after the Dallas Stars inexplicably had their poorest showing of season, a 7-1 loss at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks, and one day before Mr Roxy himself, Shane O’Brien returns to town, it seems appropriate to look in-depth at the “Roxy Flu”.

Jeremy Roenick on the Roxy:

It is the place to go to on the road. They play great music. There are hot chicks. There’s lots of beer. There’s lots of shots.

Definition

The Roxy Flu is a term that has been coined to explain poor performances by visiting opponents in Vancouver. It is usually contracted when teams arrive to Vancouver early, thus giving visiting players a chance to party it up and causing them to not be at their best.

Last year, Shane O’Brien contracted the rare hometown Roxy Flu, of course contracted when a player on the home team frequents the club and then is late for practice the next day!

Latest Cases

January 24, 2011 – Dallas Stars

The Stars had every reason to come out with a great effort against the Canucks. The Stars are enjoying a great surprise season that has them in third in the Western Conference and are coming off a disappointing loss in Calgary. It was also the return of former Canucks coach Marc Crawford and a chance to show they belong among the NHL’s elite. Recipe for a motivated team in Vancouver right? Wrong. The Stars spent the weekend in Vancouver after their Friday night game in Calgary and presumably partied it up in Vancouver on Saturday and/or Sunday. They lost the game 7-1. Definite case of the Roxy Flu.

December 28, 2010 – Philadelphia Flyers

A good way to identify the Roxy Flu is when a good team comes into town early and gets lambasted by the home team. That was the case when one of the best teams in the league came to town about a month ago and were beat down, falling 6-2. And there’s more than a few photos on the internet to suggest Mike Richards and Jeff Carter like to party (like here, HERE and here).

Shane O’Brien’s Itinerary

If Predators head coach Barry Trotz is smart, he’ll keep a close eye on big number 55 in his return to Vancouver slated for tomorrow night. I’m not sure what the travel plans are for the Predators, who lost last night in Calgary. Presumably they arrived in Vancouver late last night. As dumb as O’Brien can be, I think he’ll wait until after the game tomorrow to head over to the Roxy. With the all star break looming, he’ll have lots of time to let loose. If he does decide to pay the Roxy a visit, I’m sure there will be no shortage of Vancouver sluts puckbunnies there waiting for him.