OffThePost.org

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Tale of the Tape
'Nots are 4-0 against NW division teams and Colorado is 1-4. Which obviously means a major letdown by the home team...


Fuh-Colorado.

Stories we are watching from the Home Office in Shuswap Lake, BC:

• Great Dane to return, which is good news for the now-struggling Kesler/Burrows line; that also means Ouellet sits...
• Roberto Luongo: 0 GA in last 201 minutes played. I expect long-time Canucks-tea-bagger, Milan Hejduk will light him up like a Roman Candle on July 4...
• On the other hand, that other Canucks-killer, Joe Sakic, didn't make the trip, which bodes well for Vancouver, and pretty much means Burrows/Kesler/Hansen can key on Smyth / Stastny / Hejduk
• The Cannots have so far been outscoring the Evilanche. When was the last time that happened?
  
  That's all I got.

Not looking forward to this one...we just came off an improbable shutout win against the Preds, our luck will most certainly run out tonight. The Canucks will most certainly have to try very hard to lose this one. It's about special teams and I don't see the Avs PK being able to stop the Twins. And they've shown this season they don't know how to solve any of the elite goaltenders in this league.

Not looking forward to this one...

1. Heightened expectations

2. A (good) streak coming in, just for extra distraction

3. Long layoff from last game

4. A game against Colorado, against whom the Canucks are like .133 even in their best seasons.

= 5-2 Colorado.

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I won't make any predictions tonight,I don't want to jinx Louie.

GO CANUCKS GO!!

Well the break came at a crap time for Louie I'm thinking. but I expect our special teams to be really good tonight after a few days of practice.

4-2 Nucks

7-1

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"if your parachute doesn't open up while skydiving, don't worry, you have the rest of your life to figure it out"

Not surprisingly, a sucky first period... lucky not to be trailing.

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You're right about the first period but now the Avalanche are lucky to not be down by 3 or 4.

Loooooooooooooooooooou!!!

Pyatt on a Penalty Shot?!?! Glad someone can put them in!

Well, if you'd have told me the Avs were going to win this in a shootout and Budaj was going to turn in a comparable performance to Luongo I'd have thought you were smokin' crack. And SVATOS, who's usually not all that great at shootouts, delivers the game-winner. Great move by Wolski to score the first one BTW.

Other points--I don't care if he doesn't play defense or not, keep Hensick up here, and when Sakic's healthy GET ARNASON THE FUCK OUTTA TOWN.

Wellwood's got mad creativity, as do the twins. If only there were enough snipers/finishers to supplement them I think the Canucks might not be so concerned about their offense.

Oh well...Avs needed this one, but now we go to Edmonton and Calgary. Likely both losses if they're going to keep relying on goaltending and Paul Stastny to win games.

Wow I really feel bad for Luongo 0-5-2.These guys can't beat the AV'S---No offence to you Avalanche fans but your team is not looking to good-& what does that say about the Canucks?

To all the Pyatt haters that was a big goal eh?

AV just did not have them ready to play & how can the PP be so bad? 0-4

Losing to the AV'S

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Zack Kassian for Cody Hodgson = Gillis on CRACK

I thought the Canucks' PP looked good... they just can't put the puck in the empty net when they create that chance.

That Mason Raymond penalty was horrid. When it happened, I knew the shutout streak was over. Offensive zone penalty in the final 30 seconds of the 2nd... might as well not even bother with the PP and just put a goal up on the board.

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Injustice? Cobain died and Eddy Fucking Vedder lived to haunt us with his shitty fucking voice, trite lyrics and his Eddy Vedderness.



- Ancient Chinese Proverb

I believe te Raymond penalty was a direct consequence of Foote jabbering at the refs for like ten minutes straight. He was upset over the icing race he nearly lost to MayRay. Budaj was impressive but more impressive was the Nux inability to hit an empty net. The game could easily have been 5-1 if there was someone who could hit the net from 5-10 feet away!

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"Never trust a man in a blue trench coat, and never drive a car when your dead."
Tom Waits

This is a problem but good teams find ways to win. The Canucks find ways to lose games they should win. I realise they are going to be games were the team struggles but this game should not have been one.

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Zack Kassian for Cody Hodgson = Gillis on CRACK

Couldn't help but notice this game was an almost perfect microcosm of how the new rules affect the outcome of a game and also some old rules some of the pundits have been complaining about do as well. Avs got a 5-on-3 lasting over 60 seconds on account of two consecutive delay-of-game penalties (a rule that I agree is complete bullshit, there's absolutely no evidence that suggest hockey players at ANY level purposefully shoot the puck out of the rink and into the stands). Thankfully for the Canucks the Avs continue to be one of the most inept teams at the 2-man advantage in the league, if not THE most inept. There was also the issue of the Foote penalty called after him and Raymond were racing for an iced puck...if the European rule were enacted, that wouldn't have happened. And of course there's the whole issue of a stellar performance by Luongo overshadowed by the shootout.

I for one would like the trapezoid and delay-of-game rule eradicated and us going back to ties, no more shootouts. If the powers-that-be INSIST on no ties, then do what the NBA does...play OT until someone wins.

I think there is more than one way to bad.Did they move the puck effectively? hold the zone ? dig the puck out of the scrums? Sure but the difference in the game was 1 PP goal by Colorado vs none for the Nux.
Vancouver's PP is currently 17th in the league & is actually marginally better on the road.It's a coaching problem.

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Zack Kassian for Cody Hodgson = Gillis on CRACK

I'm not one who normally defends AV but our PP looks great,What doesn't look great is our finish,We have numerous chances to score on the PP every game and you certainly can't blame AV for our lack of offensive talent.Freaky?,I know you don't like him but there isn't any logic at all in blaming him for things which no coach has any control over.

The PP is currently being coached by Ryan Walter I believe.

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"Never trust a man in a blue trench coat, and never drive a car when your dead."
Tom Waits

I think as long as the PP is getting chances, the goals will come... Elite finishers don't grow on trees, and no one is about to hand us a Dany Heatley or Ilya Kovalchuk or Marian Gaborik. A Sundin would no doubt help, but I'm 95% sure he's going back to Toronto for another kick at the can... Lessee - two weeks ago, BB met with Sundin... Then two days ago, he's let go in Anaheim; I can see the two of them re-uniting with Dave Nonis in Toronto in a few weeks...