GDT- 10/9 - Flames at the Garage - 7:30 - CBC(HD)

[Mikodat]

Wowwwwww... great game... and we finally outhit Calgary.... and the speed was fantastic. Lou held the fort for 1st period and then the Canucks took control.... Burrows... Ohlund had great games.. Kessler = A Warrior .. Bernier... guts and skill... 6 - 0 and even the Great Dane got into fight mode .. fanfuckingtastic

[Broda]

WOW!!! That was rediculous.. i thought they would score tonight but not 6. That was incredible.. worst player on the ice tonight for the canucks was Hordi, but thats only cause he wasn't amazing.
This was the best Canucks game i think any of us have seen in a couple years. The adrenaline is pumping right now.. so yeah i want to write something about all the players but yeah. Ohlund was a rock out there, throwing his weight around he looks like he is on a mission(my best player of the night), O'Brien really impressed me with hitting when he should hit and playing smart when he needed too. Bernier who... look it up.. is Jovo when he was 24... everytime i see him... Jovo??? anyways he seems to already have good chemistry with the twins knowing when to back off from the puck to leave it for them and know to go to the net with his stick down. Bieksa was skating beautifly. The speed of Rypien, Raymond..and his puck confidence, Hansen, Kes, Burr, Demitra. This team is fast and tough, just as advertised.. beating up a Keenan team like that the first game of the season was ... drop the H.... UUUUUGGGGEEEE (ala Al Michaels)

This team is going places i know its just the first game but if we stay realativly healthy this year. We are forsure going to be in a race for Div title. I said it earlier this morning our team will be one of those flurry type teams where once we get one we are going. everytime we scored we had another chance within the next two shifts.

One of the only things that is a big deal though tonight was the fact that there Number one D man in Regher... say what you will about it being Neon Dion, but yeah he is there Rock. You won't get many games where that guy is out of the lineup and we have to take advantage. Sure he will be back for the next one.
Flames looked decent early though, they were fast. Giordano showed why he was worth the money that he wanted last year always pinching when he should, and adding another big offensive push from the back end. It was awsome to see Iggy get off his game. As much as i love watching him its nice to see him pointless in a game against the nucks. I wonder if he is more or less excited that we added O'brien, Rypien, Brown, Bernier to our line up this year.. guess he won't be able to fight one of our welter weights.. Anyways probably none of you read this.. btu this is for my pure enjoyment of critiquing the game.

Oh yeah big shout out for the great Dane jumping in for Captain Lu, who also played well.

Vote Gillis in 08

[Cornuck]

Sedin line - 6 points
Burrows - 2 points
Ohlund - 2 points
Kesler - 2 points
Luongo with the Shutout

Can an opening night get any better? Nice show of speed, grit and defense. Great to see that we were not just doing a 'dump and chase' for offense. Our speed was actually making things happen - when did that last happen? Luongo wasn't the story for once - that counts for a lot. Team toughness wasn't just a catchphrase tonight.

If the team shows that kind of intensity most nights, I'll feel that my 38 years of cheering for this team will not have been in vein.

[LotusBlossom]

Sedin line - 6 points
Burrows - 2 points
Ohlund - 2 points
Kesler - 2 points
Luongo with the Shutout

Can an opening night get any better? Nice show of speed, grit and defense. Great to see that we were not just doing a 'dump and chase' for offense. Our speed was actually making things happen - when did that last happen? Luongo wasn't the story for once - that counts for a lot. Team toughness wasn't just a catchphrase tonight.

If the team shows that kind of intensity most nights, I'll feel that my 38 years of cheering for this team will not have been in vein.

Yeah it's one game, but that didn't seem like a team destined for 14th place in the conference to me.

Whaddya know...These guys *ain't too fuckin' bad*

Fan since '81, I know your pain....

I'll give a full synopsis of this game tomorrow, I'm still trying to soak in the dominance!

[LotusBlossom]

According to Canucks.com and a tv lisings website, the game starts at 7:30 p.m. Pacific. That's better.

Yep - fixed now - living in the Central time zone still screws me up...

Tell me about dude...I bounce back and forth from Central to Eastern time...not easy. I am SO excited about the Nucks visiting Chicago now.

[Robert]

I think we should start the playoffs tomorrow. Without seeing any of the other games, there is no doubt that the Canucks had the best opening purrformance.

I think we would win all. Well, in reality if this team starts the playoffs that healthy and that confident I think we'll be ok.

[dr.dork]

I missed the game (don't want to talk about it, it will only increase my blood pressure) but Vancouver was outshot 25-23 and won 6-0 ? Does Kipper want out of Calgary or what ? Was he that bad or does that 0.739 save percentage not mean a lot ?

[Robert]

Vancouver was outshot 25-23 and won 6-0 ? Was he that bad or does that 0.739 save percentage not mean a lot ?

Shots on goal were meaningless. The goals were mostly unstoppable... just check out Ripiens goal at the end if you can get a replay. Truly sick.

[JCardinal]

Wow! They played exactly as I had hoped they would play given the moves over the summer. I really couldn't understand why so many people I know were dissing the Canucks and saying they weren't really excited for the season to start. I guess they didn't keep up with the news and see the trades that were made and the way the team was being re-designed. I'm going to enjoy reminding those bastards what they said over the summer when they jump back on the band wagon again.

Very impressive, I hope they can keep up that pace for the rest of the season, at the very least against the NW division. If they do I could see them easily winning the division. They didn't just beat the Flames tonight, they shamed the Flames.

I agree this has got to be the best home opener I've seen in as long as I can recall watching the Canucks back to the flying V days. Usually the first game of the season is a dissapointment because the last hockey you remember is the intense playoff hockey but this more than measured up to that.

I loved it when anyone on the Flames started acting up they were *instantly* taken to task for it by anyone on the Canucks who happened to be the closest guy who saw it happen.

Nice tribute to Bourdon and how classy was that for the lady who won Luc's game worn sweater at the end of last year to give it to the family?

There were so many good things going on in this game it would be a long ramble to go into them all, but overall there was solid evidence of a lot of speed, toughness and heart.

Saturday should be awesome, I expect a lot of Flames trying to prove something to their home crowd and a lot more rough stuff.

(man I hate that new "save" button at the bottom, I keep clicking it by accident)

[westvandal]

I odn't need to repeat what's been said, but I have to admit, that was one of the best regular season games the Canucks have played in years.

So many moments.....


my favourite?

tied between the Rypien breakaway goal, Hansen coming in with haymakers!!!!, and Steve fucking Bernier.

These guys are clearly playing for eachother, they have a collective chip on their shoulder, They are fast, tough, and balanced? who the hell are these guys??????

Burrows, way to play for your friend, and the whole night was so classy.

I'm drunk.

I'l post more tomorrow, but i'm honestlt blown away.

Nobody is gonna slap around these Canucks . AWESOME!

[Ilevakam]

I may have creamed my pants

What a game.

[Cookie La Rue]

Shit, right now in teardrops of joy at work while reading the last comments.

It wasn't a dream for sure but we don't have the cup yet....damn.

[Jovorock]

Yeah it's one game, but that didn't seem like a team destined for 14th place in the conference to me.

[/color]

I think the eastern TSN boys that picked the Canucks to be 10th spot maybe rethinking.

What I seen in pre-season was this team is faster skating, harder hitting, out worked the Flames and won most of the puck battles last night. Sure it's one game, but as long as the back end doesn't have 4-5 defensemen injured at one time no way will this team miss the playoffs.

[Bartman]

Now THAT was the way to open the season. They hit, they battled, they used their speed, they finished but to me the most important thing they displayed was a killer instinct. Calgary was off their game in a big way and our boys seemed excited to put the boots to them while they were down. That's something that's been missing for the past decade. It was good to see. Was it the result of the emotion from Bourdon's tribute? That remains to be seen but for now I'm going to revel in a dominant performance!

[the Cunning Linguist]

Great opening night game; haven't had that much fun at the Phlegms expense in Lord knows how long...

Interesting to see how AV used his team speed to expose their d - and you could see that when the Phlegms d pinched in, a bounce here and there would result in a two-on-one the other way. Can't remember how many outmanned rushes Vancouver had all night that resulted from their d pinching in, or conversely, from the speed of Vancouver's forwards.

Some sweet passes - vintage Bertuzzi - they actually seemed to surprise Cammaleri and Iginla. If Iron Mike can manage to find the patience to keep them together long enough to really develop some chemistry, look out. Just glad they couldn't pull the trigger last night. Of course, it didn't hurt that Cap'n Lu looked All-World already.

It's only one game and the season is a long one but this was a terrific first step. We'll see how resilient the Phlegms are this Saturday and more importantly, whether the Nucks can ride this wave of confidence for a few (dozen) more games.

And Clam, you were right... I bow to your wisdom. And I'd like to meet the lady in your avatar.