David Booth hasn’t exactly gotten off to the most roaring start with his new team since he was traded to the west coast on October 22nd. Booth started the year in Florida notching 1 assist in 7 games, while playing on the third line. Not great numbers, but those were expected to change in Vancouver where he would get a chance to play with better players in a more prominent role.

Booth has 2 goals and 5 assists in his first 12 games with the Canucks. Those numbers are average, but when we dig a little bit deeper, they’re less impressive. One of his goals was into an empty net. Of his 5 assists, three of them were of the phantom variety (ie. second assists where he had very little to do with the scoring play).

What’s worse with Booth is that he doesn’t appear to be much of a physical presence, despite his size (6’0″, 212 lbs). He also doesn’t appear to see the ice well. For the moment, Booth is back on the second line with Ryan Kesler and Chris Higgins, but I think that’s more out of hope than merit. The ‘American Express’ line has a great nickname, but they haven’t shown a lot of promise together.

Booth is still early into his tenure with the Canucks, so there is a lot of time for him to gel with his teammates and improve his play, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned. If Booth, along with Keith Ballard, don’t improve considerably Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon will come off looking like a genius. In just over one calendar year, Tallon has offloaded two overpaid hockey players, as judged by their play this year and last. Both players have three years remaining on their contract, at over $4 million each.

It’s still early and Booth has a chance to turn it around, but I’m starting to lose hope that he’ll become the perfect fit on the Canucks second line. For the moment he appears destined to be a bigger version of Mason Raymond. I hope I’m wrong.

I’m not sure when exactly this began, but it’s pretty clear that the Vancouver Canucks are the most hated team in the NHL. We got more evidence of this when the recently retired Mark Recchi decided to offer this up:

(In) 22 years they are the most arrogant team I played against and the most hated team I’ve ever played against. I couldn’t believe their antics, their falling and diving. It was very frustrating, but at the same time as the series wore on we knew we were getting to them and we knew our physical play and our skating, I think it caught them off guard a little bit.

Mark Recchi is open to his opinion of course, and he certainly isn’t alone in his hatred for the Vancouver Canucks. But what I don’t understand is how the entire hockey world seems to be in agreement that the Canucks are a bunch of jerks while the Bruins get off Scott free.

Recchi cites the diving the Canucks were doing, which I believe is grossly exaggerated. What never seems to get brought up is the amount of cheap antics the Bruins employ. We’re all familiar with Brad Marchand’s punching bag job on Daniel Sedin in game 6 last year, but apparently that’s honourable. The latest example of a cheap shot by the Bruins came from Milan Lucic:

Amazingly, this didn’t receive any kind of a suspension. It’s a clear cheap shot on a defenseless player that resulted in an injury. Wait, isn’t that how they described Aaron Rome’s hit on Nathan Horton?

Has anyone in the NHL noticed that Nathan Horton is back playing hockey this season and hasn’t missed a single game? That’s interesting because his concussion was described as being ‘severe‘ last June. It’s also interesting because Horton himself admitted that he was symptom free on June 20, only 14 days after the Rome hit. Sounds like the Bruins may have embellished the injury to Horton in an effort to get Aaron Rome suspended (on a related note, read this article from March 23rd titled “Mark Recchi Says Canadiens Embellished Max Pacioretty’s Concussion in Effort to get Zdeno Chara Suspended).

Oh hey, Zdeno Chara was in the news recently. Here is his hit on Max Pacioretty last season in case you forgot about it.

If you noticed that Nathan Horton is back playing, you probably also noticed that Mason Raymond still isn’t. Raymond is still recovering from a fractured vertebrae. I think the entire hockey world has forgotten that Johnny Boychuk was the guy that delivered the crushing blow on a late hit.

But above every cheap hit by the Bruins that has resulted in a lot of injuries with few consequences, it’s the chirping they do that makes it worse. Mark Recchi has his Stanley Cup ring, but refused to take the high road this week. He also said that Max Pacioretty was embellishing an injury while he was out with a fractured vertebrae and a concussion. Milan Lucic was pretty unapologetic after giving Ryan Miller a concussion, and he basically called the Sabres a bunch of wimps in the process. And what about Nathan Horton? He voiced his displeasure about Aaron Rome sending him a text message, rather than phoning him, after his hit last June. You know how Johnny Boychuk apologized to Mason Raymond? Through text message!

I get that the Canucks are not the most liked team in the NHL, and that’s fine, but sooner or later logic has to prevail here. I don’t like the cheap shots the Bruins deliver, and I don’t like that they’ve gone unpunished. But enough with the whining that goes along with it!

From time to time, I like to make up rumours. They never come to fruition, they completely lack any kind of insider knowledge, but they’re fun to talk about damn it!

While watching the Winnipeg Jets get their first win in 16 years tonight, I couldn’t help but think that the Canucks could poach some talent of the young Jets roster. One guy in particular is Tobias Enstrom. Enstrom, if you’re not familiar with him, is a small but skillful offensive defenceman in his fifth year in the NHL. He’s quietly put up two consecutive 50+ point seasons the last two years in Atlanta. He is 26 years old and makes $3.75 million per season.

Essentially, Enstrom is the perfect replacement for the departed Christian Ehrhoff. Ehrhoff is a player the Canucks still miss, particularly on their power play.

The Jets are weak in goal and up front, but they’re rich in young offensive defencemen. Perhaps the Winnipeg Jets are willing to part with Enstrom, given that they already have Dustin Byfuglien and the young Zach Bogosian on their blue line. In order to get better up front or in goal, the Jets might be wise to move of them.

So what can the Canucks give up? They have a few pieces that the Jets might find attractive.

Cory Schneider spent three seasons in Winnipeg with the Manitoba Moose and the Jets brass is likely very familiar with him. He’s a natural fit in Winnipeg and could form a nice goaltending tandem with Andrej Pavelec.

I’m not sure if I would make this trade straight up, but if you could add Keith Ballard (who has the potential to be a good all-around defenceman) and Blake Wheeler (a big strong forward with skill), I would make this deal. The Jets might need a forward thrown into the deal, in which the Canucks could add a player like Chris Higgins or Mason Raymond once he recovers from his injury (or if that tickle their fancy, prospect Jordan Schroeder might look appealing).

What do you think Canucks and Jets fans? Would you make this deal? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments section.

Earlier this week we took a look at the Canucks goaltenders and defencemen, deciding who is likely to return and who is likely to move on. Today, we look at the Canucks’ forwards.

Mike Gillis doesn’t have a lot of work to do with his forwards, but he does have options. His most important forwards are already under contract for next year, so it’ll be just a matter of tinkering with his depth forwards. Given the lack of production from his second line at even strength, he may want to find a better winger to play with Ryan Kesler.

Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows

They’re all part of the core of this team and all locked up long term. They’re not going anywhere.

Mikael Samuelsson

Samuelsson had no shortage of critics this season but I wasn’t one of them. He is a smart, versatile player with a good shot and can get on some nice scoring streaks at times. He was playing hurt for a while this year which hurt his production, but I think he can regain his old form. He’s also a Stanley Cup winner and has underrated grit. He stays.

Mason Raymond

The time for Mason Raymond to prove that he is a legitimate second line winger is almost upon us. He turns 26 before next season and in my mind the jury is out on him. He might have been a prime candidate to be trade bait this offseason, but given his current injury, he won’t be. The Canucks will hope that he can show more grit and more finish, especially if he is going to be playing alongside Ryan Kesler for long periods of time. He stays.

Manny Malhotra

He’s a leader, does a lot of the intangibles and assuming his eye recovers 100%, he will be back for another season. He stays.

Chris Higgins

Chris Higgins is an unrestricted free agent and had a very impressive playoffs. There’s probably not enough money for him here and he will sign elsewhere. He goes.

Maxim Lapierre

Lapierre probably exceeded everyone’s expectations in the playoffs this year and that should earn the restricted free agent a raise. He’s earned probably $1.3-1.5 million. The question is if the Canucks can afford to pay him and play him on the fourth line. The other question is if they need to make space for Cody Hodgson. I think Lapierre is trade bait. He goes.

Cody Hodgson

Cody Hodgson didn’t get a lot of playing time with the big club this season, but that may change next year. The organization’s top prospect is now 21 years old and needs to play. Is more AHL time in his future or do the Canucks play him out of position on their 2nd or 3rd line? In the end I think the Canucks play him on the wing. He stays.

Jannik Hansen

Hansen had a breakout year, and will return to the team, but at what price? He’s a restricted free agent and could get more than $1.5 million. They’ll find a way to do it though. He stays.

Raffi Torres

Torres signed a bargain basement $1 million deal last summer, and I don’t think he intends to be a bargain this time around. I think he brought an important element to the Canucks this year but I think he will sign elsewhere for more money. He goes.

Tanner Glass

I think Tanner Glass’ time with the Canucks is over. He seems to be well liked in the dressing room but he’s kind of a “tweener”. He can do a little of everything, but doesn’t do any one thing particularly well. I think they will replace him with a bigger, more physical player. He goes.

Jeff Tambellini

I thought Tambellini was a nice insurance policy this season, a speedy player that can fill-in at times, but I don’t think the Canucks will want to give him another chance given younger players like Cody Hodgson and Sergei Shirokov should be able to do that as well. He goes.

Victor Oreskovich

Oreskovich had a real nice finish to the season. His combination of size, speed and youth are perfect for the fourth line. He stays.

As I sit in the comfort of my own living room, watching drunken hooligans ransack downtown stores, I was finally able to relax myself enough to type this up. I, like most of you, truly believed this was THE year. A President’s Trophy, a Clarence Campbell Bowl, a franchise record for points in a season, a William M. Jennings Trophy, an Art Ross Trophy, and Hart, Selke, Vezina, and Adams Trophy nominations. The highest scoring team in the regular season. The highest scoring defensive corps in the regular season. Let’s not forget that home teams in Game 7s of the finals were 12-3, and the whole trend of Stanley Cup wins after hosting Olympics in Canada. But quite simply put, it was not meant to be. Boston was the better team this series, and as painful as it was to watch them lift Lord Stanley’s Cup in OUR home arena, they deserved it. Here are my reasons why things turned out the way they did.

1. Boston was able to bend the rules enough to gain an advantage.

As much as fans in Vancouver love blaming the officiating and bellyaching about how there is a “conspiracy” against the Canucks, I believe that these are just excuses. No matter what is thrown at you, champions find a way to win. I hate using bad officiating as an excuse, so I won’t, as frustrating as it can be (Game 6, 1st period, Chara beats the crap out of Henrik, yet BOTH are given penalties?!?!) Officiating aside, Boston was able to get away with so much behind the scenes: slashes to the hands and legs, high crosschecks that don’t look that brutal because their hands were placed close enough together to make it look like a push, etc). What made it worse was the embellishing the Canucks did. They already have a reputation of embellishing, so officials are already cognizant that some Canucks will try to sell calls, so when they cry wolf too often, even if it inflicts real pain, nothing will be called. The Canucks could have easily been chippier at the end of Games 3, 4, and especially 6, with the score being out of reach. Mark Messier broke Cliff Ronning’s hand with less than a minute remaining in Game 6 of the 1994 final, and crosschecked Trevor Linden in the face. The game was already out of reach for the Rangers, so why not try to weaken the opponent for the game that really matters, Game 7? Brad Marchand knew exactly what he was doing when he punched Daniel in the face FOUR times in the waning moments of Game 6. I was pleading with the Canucks to resort to some dirty stuff, but alas, nothing.

2. Boston has the better depth upfront.

The Bruins are a large, physical team, especially on the backend, with a good mix of size, skill, speed, scoring touch, defense, toughness, trash talkers, muckers, aggressiveness, and most importantly, the will to fight through any obstacle to win, upfront. Going into the Finals, I knew that Boston’s top 12 forwards were stronger on paper, and after watching 7 games, they definitely proved it. To have a guy like Nathan Horton getting knocked out in Game 3, and being able to go 4-1 the rest of the way proves it. They had Rich Peverley on their FOURTH line. This guy had 22 goals and 55 points for Atlanta last year! His transition to the top line was seamless. Imagine the Canucks losing Alex Burrows, and having to move a 4th line player to the top line. Who would you pick? Oreskovich? Glass? Bolduc? Hodgson?

3. Injuries.

No Hamhuis. No Raymond. No Samuelsson. And only fractions of the true players Kesler (groin/hip), Edler (back/2 broken fingers), Ehrhoff (shoulder), Higgins (foot) were (and I’m sure there are more that we don’t know about yet). It’s true that you can’t use injuries as an excuse, as Ryan Kesler bravely said in his post-game interviews, but let’s be realistic here: that is SEVEN Canucks out or playing through substantial injuries. Add to this the Rome suspension and that makes it EIGHT players. That’s ONE player short of HALF the TEAM (forwards + defense)! It’s true that the Canucks have great depth, especially on the backend, but when guys like Ballard, Tanev, Alberts, Tambellini, and a not 100% healthy Malhotra get called to action in the STANLEY CUP FINAL, it’s tough…and the Canucks could not recover from all those injuries. Aside from Horton, did it seem like any Bruins were in the same physical shape as the Canucks listed above?

What the Canucks need next year to make another run:

Luck.

For a team to make it this far into the playoffs, stars really do need to align. For the Canucks this year, it was a combination of many things: San Jose’s injuries. The stanchion in Game 5 of the Conference Final. The rolling puck on Burrows’ Game 7 OT winner against Chicago. The round 2 Nashville matchup (Kesler was able to bring his game to new heights, mostly due to the fact that Nashville’s 2nd D pairing, which Kesler got to play against a lot, drop off substantially from the Weber/Suter pair, who played against the Sedins). And while the bounces that were there in the first 3 rounds didn’t help the Canucks in Game 7, it did get them 25 games into the playoffs, a Canucks record.

More grit.

The Canucks were bullied by the Bruins. We need more assholes on this team (excuse my language). But seriously, we need assholes who are respected in the NHL…or at least more respected than the “assholes” that are on the team now (Burrows, Kesler, Lapierre). Even Kevin Bieksa gets no respect. I look at a guy like Shawn Thornton who changed the series in Game 3 with his insertion into the lineup. I look at a guy like Dave Bolland, who changed the Vancouver/Chicago series when he returned in Game 4. These 2 are bonafide shit disturbers who for some reason, are respected for their play by fans, media, other players, and referees. The Canucks don’t have anybody like that (Rick Rypien would have fit the role well). And why is it that Vancouver pests in recent memory are all hated around the league? Names that come to mind: Matt Cooke and Jarkko Ruutu.

Humbleness from Roberto Luongo.

I have defended Luongo from many “fans” who are keen on criticizing him about everything he does. I own 2 Luongo jerseys, 1 autographed, and I am truly a big fan. You can’t blame him for the Game 7 loss if the team can’t put a single puck behind Thomas, but man, Roberto needs to be less cocky, less about him, and phrase things in interviews so that others can’t use it against him. I’m finding it harder and harder to defend him, and I hate to say it, but if the fans and media in Vancouver are going to be all over him all the time, I don’t know how much longer this relationship can last (not long enough until his NTC expires). I’m not sure I even want to type out the following, but after listening more and more to his interviews and pressers, reading his quotes, and whatnot, it might just be easier for him (and us) to play somewhere else.

A top 6 forward who can play with Ryan Kesler

List of potential UFAs who could fit this role and within a reasonable salary: Jussi Jokinen. Justin Williams. Tomas Fleischmann. Tomas Kopecky. Eric Cole. And after their performances in the playoffs this year: Sean Bergenheim/Joel Ward. As you can see, the list ain’t great. This year’s UFA forwards aren’t particularly a strong group, so it’ll definitely be slim pickings if the Canucks want to improve their top 6.

Try to re-sign as many of the UFA defensemen as possible.

With the imminent retirement of Sami Salo, and Christian Ehrhoff and Kevin Bieksa heading to unrestricted free agency, this leaves the Canucks D looking like this as of June 15: Dan Hamhuis, Alex Edler, Keith Ballard, Chris Tanev, Aaron Rome. I wouldn’t bet on both Ehrhoff and Bieksa coming back (although I’d love for them both to return), so getting at least one of them is the priority, and I’m leaning towards Bieksa (right hand shot, grit, shutdown abilities, offensive skill, and mobility). There is some high-end defensemen available, but they’re going to be quite pricey. Maybe somebody like Ian White or Anton Babchuk would fit the Canucks mold of being mobile, having a good first pass, and responsible defensively. Plus, if the past few seasons have shown anything, you can’t have enough defensemen on hand.

Health (see above).

All things aside, and all frustration cleared, the Canucks had an unbelievable year, and were one win from winning the Stanley Cup. All recent Stanley Cup champions have endured late round heartache before being able to win the big prize (Pitt losing to Detroit before winning it all, Chicago losing to Detroit in the Conference Final the year before winning it all, Boston losing all those series in Game 7s before winning 3 Game 7s this year to win it all). I’m still very confident that next year will be another great year for this team. Until September, Go Canucks Go!

I’m not one to use Canucks marketing campaign slogans on a regular basis (I’ve never said that ‘we are all Canucks’), but never has ‘this is what we live for‘ been more true. Game 7, Stanley Cup Final, at home. This IS what we live for. It’s what the players live for, it’s what the fans live for. Quite simply stated, it’s the biggest game in Canucks history. It’s bigger than 1994. There will probably never be a bigger game for this franchise. This is their time. They will become legends if they win, or be labeled as chokers should they come up short.

Making Sense of Game 6

If you’re like me, you were angry at the Canucks performance in game 6, then went into a deep depression for over 24 hours and it’s only now that you’re getting excited for game 7. So just what happened in game 6? As funny as it sounds, I don’t think the Canucks were that bad in game 6. Obviously they weren’t spectacular, but they needed a save from Roberto Luongo. With each goal let in, the Bruins received an enormous surge of momentum. The Canucks couldn’t weather the storm, and it became 4-0 very quick. In game 7, the Canucks will need their goaltending to be air tight, especially early.

Injuries

By now you’ve probably heard about Mason Raymond’s injury. He won’t be in the lineup for game 7, and the health of Andrew Alberts and Alex Edler are uncertain also (though I expect both to play). Ryan Kesler is banged up, as is Henrik Sedin, Chris Higgins and a whole host of others. I expect Jeff Tambellini to spot in for Mason Raymond, but the rest of the walking wounded will likely play, and will need to dig down deep for the game of their lives.

What worries me most about these injuries is that maybe the Canucks are no longer the better team on paper. With Dan Hamhuis injured and Christian Ehrhoff hobbled with a bad shoulder, their defense is in shambles. Their high end talent up front is severely banged up. Who is the better team right now?

Keys to Victory

1. Roberto Luongo. He has been spectacular at home and terrible on the road. He needs that to continue. Momentum has been so huge in this series, Luongo has to play the game of his life.

2. Goals. The Canucks haven’t scored enough in this series, and they need that to change (duh). The Canucks power play has to get it together. They need to solve Tim Thomas. I think the way to do that is to throw a whole lot of pucks on goal and hope they get a good bounce. If they get too picky, they will shoot themselves in the foot.

3. Sedins must show up. They’re the Canucks best players and it’s time for them to step up. I feel like the key for them is to quicken up their cycle. Because Hudson Bay rules seem to be in play during this series, if the Sedins spend too much time on the cycle, they will get crosschecked off the puck. Daniel Sedin predicted that the Canucks will win game 7, and now it’s time to back it up.

4. Don’t anger the hockey gods. Before game 6, the poll question on Team 1040 was “who will Henrik Sedin give the Cup to first?”. They can’t afford to think along those lines. The team that deals with the distraction of being one win away from the Stanley Cup the best will be best suited to actually winning it.

5. Heart. There’s not likely to be a lot of power plays and scoring chances, as is the case in most game 7s, so the Canucks will probably have to win this in the trenches. Who has more heart? We will find out.

As a longtime Canucks fan I just feel like ONLY the Canucks could put us on such an emotional roller coaster, such as this. To do what they did against Chicago in the first round and then have such a bizarre series against the Bruins, who’d have thunk it? But in a way, isn’t this how you knew it would be? If the Canucks were to lose this year, you know they would do it in absolutely the most painful way possible, just when you think they’ve got it won. But on the flip side, if they were to win the Stanley Cup, you just knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. One of two scenarios will play out on Wednesday night. This is what we live for.

Late last night I received an email from my friend Darin. Darin is a die hard Canucks fan, about as die hard as you can get. He watches every game, analyzes every play. He loves the Canucks. But he also takes losing pretty hard. He last ranted this hard during the Chicago series last year. He was remarkably quiet during the first round this year, but after last night, he needed to rant.

Enjoy:

I was twelve years old when Jim Robson famously called “the Vancouver Canucks are going to the Stanley Cup FINAL!” after Greg Adams’ famous goal in 1994. And now 17 years later, a new generation has a iconic call of their own (give kudos to John Shorthouse, he wasn’t fooled). It wasn’t pretty, but the Canucks were the best team in this series versus the Sharks, and deserve it. This team keeps winning, and they keep doing it in different ways. Lets review how it all went down last night:

Shots, Shots, Shots…

The Canucks were outshot in every period of the game, except for double overtime. They didn’t direct nearly enough pucks towards the net all night long, save for maybe the tying and winning goals. The Sharks on the other hand directed 56 shots on goal. Roberto Luongo was spectacular and this performance will go a long way to show everyone that he is indeed a big game goalie. He was the first star, and stole the game.

Kesler the Warrior

Jim Robson famously said that Trevor Linden “will play on crutches” and Ryan Kesler wasn’t far off that last night. He clearly injured his leg midway through the game and looked like he was on one leg for the rest of the night. Despite this, he wasn’t a liability defensively and scored a big goal to tie the game with 14 seconds left.

Bad Breaks

The Canucks got their share of bad breaks in game 5. The first Sharks goal was scored off a weak point shot that Keith Ballard whiffed on with his glove, fooling Roberto Luongo. The second Sharks goal was aided by a bouncing puck getting over Henrik Sedin’s stick. I thought the Canucks also got completely jobbed in the first overtime period with non-calls on the Ian White trip/clip and the high stick on Mason Raymond. Both are automatic penalties in my mind, no matter what time of the game.

Good Breaks

Obviously the Canucks got their share of good breaks as well. They benefited from an icing call that went off a Canuck just before the tying goal in the last minute of the third period. They also got away with a high stick in overtime (since when do high sticking penalties get let go seemingly on purpose?). And of course, the break of all breaks, the bounce off the stanchion that fooled everyone except for Kevin Bieksa.

The Stanchion

It was probably the biggest play by an inanimate object since the inanimate carbon rod. Now you can even follow @theStanchion on Twitter. Remember the “hand of god” goal by Maradona? Maybe we’ll start calling this the “bounce of god”. In any case, the hockey gods sure were shining down on the Canucks last night.

Did Henrik Touch it?

By “it”, we mean the Clarence Campbell Bowl, and no, Henrik Sedin didn’t touch it. It’s kind of a funny tradition now, but it’s something that everyone looks for when the conference trophies are handed out. I would have been fine with Henrik picking up the trophy (just don’t drop the top like Linden did).

The Party

What a party it was on the streets of Vancouver last night. Fans filled the streets and one can only dream about what it will look like if they can win it all.

It wasn’t a picture perfect win, but it was a win nonetheless Monday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Canucks limited the Predators chances, en route to a gritty 2-1 win.

Usually I’m not a big fan of sitting on a one goal lead for long periods of time, but if there ever was a time to do it, it was game 6 in Nashville. The ice surface was so poor that it was very difficult to make complete passes and hold pucks in the offensive zone. The puck looked like a bouncy ball out there, hopping and skipping around all over the place.

Game 6 was a story of the Canucks getting some slump busting performances from Daniel Sedin and Mason Raymond. Daniel Sedin hadn’t had a goal since game 6 versus Chicago, while Mason Raymond got his first of the playoffs. Game 6 was also a nice bounce back game for Alex Edler, who had been slumping of late as well.

Roberto Luongo let in one goofy goal, but that was it. He’s still getting criticized in this city, but if you look at his numbers in this series, they’re sparkling.

Two players that haven’t had a lot of press lately are Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis. They’ve flown under the radar, but they’ve been outstanding in these playoffs. They have been so steady, and game 6 was no exception.

And how about Ryan Kesler? I’m not sure what else can be said that hasn’t already been said, but he’s simply a man possessed out there. His will to win is outstanding and he put the team on his back numerous times during this series.

The plucky Preds put up a great fight and worked hard, but the Canucks’ talent was hard working too. It’s now onto the third round, with game 1 expected to start on Saturday or Sunday against either San Jose or Detroit.

Detroit or San Jose?

So who do you want to play? I think the Canucks match up better against the Red Wings than the Sharks, but if Detroit is the opponent, they will have just rattled off 4 wins in a row and will have great momentum on their side. Detroit is also more banged up than the Sharks, with Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk banged up. In any case, I’m sure all Canucks fans want it to go to a seventh game, preferably with lots of physical play!

One of the great things about this year’s Canucks has been the way the players have absorbed each other’s best qualities. Malhotra’s faceoff skill, Ballard’s hip checks, Sedin body positioning, and Bieksa’s tenacious yet positionally sound defence have been picked up by the entire team.

The stud in the shared skills stable though is certainly Kesler’s sizzling every-inch-matters brand of intense puck pursuit. In game 1, the Sedins back checked and won pucks, Higgins was aggressive at both ends of the rink and even twinkle toed Mason Raymond has turned into a fore checking menace!

If there was anyone who needed an injection of Kesler-tensity it was game-winning Yale-preppy Christopher Higgins whose 3rd line (w/ Hansen & Lapierre) will have to consistently punish Nashville’s lesser defencemen if the Canucks are to win the series.

"You gotta EARN my respect Higgins!”

Connecticut-born Christopher Higgins played high school hockey at the all-boys Avon old Farms preparatory school. He then told Harvard and Boston College to keep their scholarships and instead walked into Yale and became an instant star in the NCAA’s hilarious “Ivy League” conference.

But in my mind, even after his best game as a Canuck, he’s still got stink on him from Montreal decline and 2 years of lackadaisical play in Florida and stop in stank ass Calgary. He’s 28 and 3 years removed from his last productive season after which he slumped, partied and got hurt.

Because of his weak roots, history of mediocrity and the way he dropped off in the last series, keep a close eye on Higgins’ “compete level” at both ends of the ice, it’ll likely be a good barometer of the overall focus of the team.

If he can keep up his line’s play and somehow manage to outscore (the similar but better and cooler) Mike Fisher, there’s no way the Predators can win this series.

Come on Maaan!

Joel Ward (5 pts in 1st round) played like garbage and was not ready for the Vancouver intensity. He whiffed off a beauty Mike Fisher cross-ice pass during the Predators first bout of consistent pressure about half way into the third.

Kesler is so tough that he even dives aggressively. He got touched, fell, drew the penalty and nonchalantly slashed the offender all in one fluid motion.

Andrew Ference demonstrated dirty hockey 2.0, watch his feet in the replays, no question he does it on purpose: Watch CBC finks at the ‘iDesk’ kiss Ref legend Dan Marouelli’s ass for 3 minutes about this… HERE.

“That’s Tuurible”

Does Reggie Bush like Canucks Green Men exclusively or does he dig men in Japanese fetish suits all the time?

Here’s today’s French Canadian bonus video, enjoy le golf fellas…
Canadians Halloween Party

Want more? Here’s our comprehensive Round 2 Breakdown