GDT: Oct 10 - Canucks @ Columbus - 4pm - SNET-P(HD) RADIO: 1

[Topper]

His wheels are done, 2 knee operations will do that.

I'm waiting to see the effects of a second hip operation.

[BladesofSteel]

I think Ballard made the best use of his 13 min of ice time last night. Tanev certainly struggled with his shot/puck movement and decision making against an average forechecking team. I wonder if Alberts will draw in against Philly tomorrow.

[ukcanuck]

At this point I am way more concerned about someone eventually sending a message to Methot than the actual two points.

I'd rather a message be sent and lose this game than win it and nothing be done about that hit.

But Maclean may be right... it's probably too late at this point.

Maybe someone can write Methot a stern email after the game?

After the liberties taken with the Sedins last spring by Boston, I would have loved to see some serious objection shown towards ANYONE who runs our star players last night. I get the idea of turning the other cheek and taking the powerplay, but do I want to trade a powerplay or two points for a concussion to one of the Sedins?

[Hockey Widow]

My thoughts, with nothing to compare it to as it is the first game I have seem this season.

I liked Ballard's game. Of course I liked him last season too. He is a great skater, great passer, can throw the hip check, block shots and is a perfect match for Tanev. Other D made mistakes last night that Ballard would have been crucified for. I think he will only get better as his confidence grows and he finds a role for himself on the team.

Nice to see Hamhuis back. I am more impressed with him each time I see him play.

Bieksa looks to be the good Kevin again. But he hasn't seem to have found his hitting game yet. Glad we kept him.

Edler didn't impress me much. He looks to be a step behind in his decision making. Perhaps he is a slow starter. Like to see him get way more physical.

Salo looks much much better than he did last season after his return. His speed is back and he is shooting the puck way more. If he can stay healthy I think he will get a ton of points to help make up for the loss of Ehrhoff's point production.

Tanev is so smooth out there. A few inexperience errors but he is so impressive for a kid. I don't know if he will ever develop a mean streak or learn how to move a body in front of the net but I like his poise and no panic level. It would be nice to see him start to get some points too.

Cory! One real real bad goal ala Luongo but other than that he kept us in the game and shut the BJ's down when he had too. That PS save was huge. It scares me that I feel more confident in him shutting the door than I do Luongo right now. Makes me realize how far Luongo has dropped in my book and how I just don't trust him the way I used to. I'm still on his band wagon but I realized watching Cory that I have one foot off.

Hank, Dank and Bank looked pretty good most of the night. Hopefully Hank is OK and will have no lingering affects of that hit. The twins should both be near the top of the scoring by seasons end.

No real second line presence but Hodgson impressed me. He actually looks faster this season. Still needs to learn to take the body and be more effective on the forecheck but I like what I see. It is going to be tough for him when Kesler gets back, well maybe not if Hank is hurting.

Malhotra looked good. I didn't get to see him play the pre-season but I did like what I saw last night compared to the playoffs. Hansen I didn't notice last night and I only noticed Higgins because of his give aways, oh and the one nice goal. He can play with more intensity as can Hansen so I look for good things from them when they get their stride back. That line needs to be more of an energy and shut down line for us.

4th line was meh. I liked Lappy's game very much but the other two were not overly impressive. They both need to play bigger out there. Got caught in their owen end a few times that reminded me of last year's 4th line. I would like to see more intensity and more hard hitting from them. And ya, a response to a very cheap hit would have been nice.

AV's philosophy has always been to turn the other cheek and make them pay on the PP. We got the two points last night and in the scheme of things that is more important. It is hard to stomach after what happened in the Boston series I know but in these close games the points are far more important I think. We were team tough last year and we need to be that again this year. We simply do not play well as a team when we are running around with pay back on our minds. This inspires some teams but not us. When we become undisciplined the wheels fall off. If the opportunity had been there for pay back or a challenge then fine but I don't recall our 4th line being out there that much and even less out there against the idiot who hit Hank. So unless AV matches that line to get the pay back set up it is hard to get it done. We have a few more games against them this year, some in our barn, where line can be matched so if pay back is warranted it will come. I do admit that at the time I was screaming for someone, anyone, to drop the gloves and pound the shit out of the guy but at the end of the night I was very very satisfied with the win.

[Listercat]

The biggest "issue" to me in this game is the answer back for the hits on sammy and especially the one on Henrik. Not only did a message have to be sent to Methot but it needs to be known league wide that the Canucks will not tolerate cheap shots against their "stars". The message now being sent is that the Canucks players do not protect their top players.

Methot got a penalty, big deal. Whether or not he receives a suspension is immaterial. Henrik is now injured and this is the same injury that plagued him through the playoffs last season. He may be able to be in the lineup but his effectiveness will be reduced. That is the real cost to the Canucks. Someone, whether it be Bieksa, Wiese or Volpatti needed to step up. Power play be damned.

That said the game saw the Canucks start slow again and the Higgins who has played as well as anyone thus far was the goat. The second goal was Luongoesque and was Cory's only mistake in an otherwise great game for him. I really like how he tracks laterally and is square and balanced to the puck.

Cody showed the reason he was ddrafted where he was on his goal. Smart play, stick in position to recieve a good pass from Hammer.His confidence is building and he will get bigger and stronger.

Hamhuis has better offensive instincts than we saw most of last season and he will help make up for the loss of Erhoff's points.

Tanev had a bad game, however, in his defense, the forwards, especially early in the game were cheating early. One play saw Tanev blasting the puck around the boards from behind the net and there was not a Canuck jersey in sight.

[Potatoe1]

In the hearts and minds of canuck fans and media it seems that the first 2 games of this season are simply a continuation of the series against Boston.

Yesterday it was all about Luongo melting down and today its all about our top players getting pushed around.

For the most part its just a bunch of nonsense.

Luongo always starts slowly and this year will be no different.

Much more obvious however is the notion that Methot in the split second he had to make the decision, calculated his risk / reward on hitting hank and deduced that he could make that hit because some random Canucks would no beat him up for it.

Pure Nonsense.

On a play like that Methot or any other player should and is, far more worried about a long suspension then a few punches to the face.

It would have been nice if the Canucks went after him a little harder but the amount of hand wringing over this play is foolish.

The media and fans are going to create the narrative on this one, and everytime a canuck gets some sort of cheap shot it's going to be "OMG THIS IS WHAT DA BRUINS DID! We are being targeted". In reality however, being physical on the twins has always been a good strategy and just about every star player who isn't particularly tough gets a rough ride in this league.

As for the game.

-Biggest positive on the night was the play of Cody Hodgson. Not only did he make a nice play on the goal but he had several excellent shifts on the power play and carried his line defensively. It will be interesting to see what the team does when Kesler is back because right now Cody is helping the team a lot more then a number of our more established vets.

-Up front I also liked Lappy and Burrows, and though Malholtra has a better game. Weiss was a bit better and is certainly a better player then Volpatti who I though was terrible.

-Biggest negative had to be the play of Chris Tanev who after looking fantastic in the pre-season has struggled in both games. With Alberts waiting in the wings I would not be at all surprised to see Tanev on the bench against the Flyers.

-The rest of the blue line was fairly solid and probably the reason for the win given what was a fairly poor showing by our forwards. Bieksa made a mistake on the second goal but was steady and physical most of the night. Hamhuis was good in his own end and had one of his better offensive games. Ballard was good and only playing him 13 min is an absolute joke.

[dbr]

Anyone think Ballard's lack of ice time might be more due to Tanev's play than anything? Ie. The coaches didn't have a problem with KB4's play but weren't about to shuffle their pairings give him more ice time.

Still, an easy way to do that (and to make Clam happy) without changing the pairings would be to get Ballard onto the powerplay; he certainly would help the Canucks gain the zone and pressure the net immediately.

As for Cody Hodgson's play - and for that matter, the play of most of our wingers - I am hoping that the coaching staff takes a long hard look at moving one of our centers to the wing when Ryan Kesler returns. There are a lot of wingers I wouldn't mind being bumped out of the lineup but I've been reasonably happy with the play of all four centers.

[Uncle dans leg]

Howdy again Canucks fans!

What I noticed more than anything about last nights game, was how utterly boring it was. I think the players feel the same way. In fact, I think game 1 against the Pens was equally as boring. There is no flow or rhythm that we enjoyed in the playoffs, only ball hockey style stick fights on the walls. Watching Daniel and Henrik, I cant help but notice they don't seem to be having any fun.

I find it hard to evaluate much while they play this uninspired style of hockey.

I find Hodgson playing ok but seems to lack the puck protection skills still that he'll need to become a regular.

Hurry Kesler....I'm falling asleep!

[dhabums]

Luongo always starts slowly and this year will be no different.

You mean this year will also end in a goaltending meltdown? Great, thanks for ruining the year Carnac.

Much more obvious however is the notion that Methot in the split second he had to make the decision, calculated his risk / reward on hitting hank and deduced that he could make that hit because some random Canucks would no beat him up for it.

Pure Nonsense.

On a play like that Methot or any other player should and is, far more worried about a long suspension then a few punches to the face.

As you so often do Pot, you try to turn things into an either/or situation so you can have a strong opinion. I doubt anyone here thinks Methot would have hit the brakes in fear of hitting 33 if we were a team that did something. But when you, as a team, send a message that crap will be tolerated it makes it easier for any opponents to act as they want without fear.

I'll try a non-hockey example especially for you. Let's say you have a place in the Okanagan you go up to twice a month. You've grown tired of the 4.5+ hr drive. If you knew you could drive as fast as want without ever getting a ticket, would you? I would. So would lots of others. Some people do it anyway, despite the police. Those people get fined and suspended. But it sure is nice to stop everyone else from doing it to prevent people from getting injured.

You discount the effect that physical deterrent has in hockey because you've never played hockey in a league that allowed fighting. Either that or you are the toughest guy in the city and nobody on the ice scared you.

[dhabums]

What I noticed more than anything about last nights game, was how utterly boring it was.

I think it's become expected to be bored during a CBJ/Van game. 12,000 people in the stands, 4pm start against a team that most of us really don't care about.

You could be suffering from SC hangover. You just watched two months of games that mattered every night.

[dhabums]

-Biggest negative had to be the play of Chris Tanev who after looking fantastic in the pre-season has struggled in both games. With Alberts waiting in the wings I would not be at all surprised to see Tanev on the bench against the Flyers.

Maybe Tanev's new muscles are getting in the way?

[Uncle dans leg]

What I noticed more than anything about last nights game, was how utterly boring it was.

I think it's become expected to be bored during a CBJ/Van game. 12,000 people in the stands, 4pm start against a team that most of us really don't care about.

You could be suffering from SC hangover. You just watched two months of games that mattered every night.

I know I have that hangover, but do the players as well? It would appear they're really not all that interested.

[Potatoe1]

Anyone think Ballard's lack of ice time might be more due to Tanev's play than anything? Ie. The coaches didn't have a problem with KB4's play but weren't about to shuffle their pairings give him more ice time.

His even strength ice time isn't that bad, the main issue is his total lack of special teams ice time.

As for Cody Hodgson's play - and for that matter, the play of most of our wingers - I am hoping that the coaching staff takes a long hard look at moving one of our centres to the wing when Ryan Kesler returns. There are a lot of wingers I wouldn't mind being bumped out of the line-up but I've been reasonably happy with the play of all four centres.

No easy answer to this one. Moving a selke winner like Kesler to the wing seems foolish, and our 3rd line is used in such a defensive roll that moving Manny doesn't make much sense either.

As for Cody moving to the wing, over the long term that is probably the answer but it will be a challenge in the short term.

People consistently site his slow foot speed as his biggest weakness but right now it isn't. His biggest current weakness is his strength along the wall and the fact he wins very few board battles. Moving him to the wing will only exacerbate things.

He is finally starting to look comfortable at this level and putting him in a position that is less conducive to his success could undo the progress he has made.

Then again it could be perfectly fine.

Or then again management could just take the easy way out and send him down or stick him on the 4th line again.

[Hank]

HW's post

HW, that is exactly it. From game to game, every player makes mistakes and bad plays. Discussions get stale and bogged down when one thing is constantly mentioned. If you look for something you will always find it... in your own mind.

The top pairing had a couple of rough shifts against Pitts mainly because of getting stuck with the 4th unit and last night, there were some bad plays by Tanev, KB3 and Hammer... Dan with a outlet pass right on the tape of a CBJ. Mistakes during a game doesn't mean a player is terrible or is not quality. Shit happens man. You can't harp on every little thing and then be quiet as a church mouse when things are good.

I'll give AV the benefit of the doubt for the huge difference in minutes as to protect young Tanev but I wouldn't want to see him tire out certain players and risk injuries in this important long season of redemption because of pride or arrogance.

What I do like is, that there is so far a second PP unit looking fairly organized and dangerous. Any slip in the first should be countered by the second. Sammy needs to have a spot, but dear AV, not on the stinking point please!

[herb]

I think it's become expected to be bored during a CBJ/Van game. 12,000 people in the stands, 4pm start against a team that most of us really don't care about.

You could be suffering from SC hangover. You just watched two months of games that mattered every night.

TBH, I'm finding it kind of nice to not be stressed out every game day. It's kind of a nice change being able to leisurely watch Canucks hockey. I do agree that a half full Monday evening stadium in Columbus is hardly a recipe for an exciting atmosphere though. I think it will take until the first game against a WC rival before things start getting exciting.

As for the game, I thought that it would have been nice had somebody taken Methot to task for the boarding hit on Hank. That being said, I don't think it was a particulary bad hit in that it wasn't that hard or malicious.

Hodgson had by far his best game in the NHL, and it was nice to see him rewarded with the tying goal with what was a pretty slick goal. He is playing well despite his linemates, who have largely been ineffective. He still gets knocked off the puck too easily and falls down too much, but he is improving and has been one of our more effective forwards over two games now. As long as he keeps working hard, I'd like to see him in the lineup when Kesler returns. Maybe Manny gets bumped over to the wing and Higgins gets bumped back up to the second line to rekindle some of that Higgins/Kesler hard working, speedy, north-south chemistry from last season?

Ballard is looking more and more like the player we saw glimpses of last season. This player is most effective when he is skating with his head up and playing confidently. Ballard is playing very well despite Tanev's struggles in the first two games. He adds a different dynamic with zone entry and transition as he is far and away our best skating blueliner. I would like to see him play more. He played one shift with Edler right after a powerplay, and I'm looking for this player to get more opportunity in the top 4 before injuries happen.

The rest of the D, except for Tanev and Edler, was solid as ever. Edler looked soft and slow and Tanev looks like a rookie this year. He'll be sent down if he keeps this up.

I am still in denial about any potential impending goaltending controversy, but I am 100% ready for Schneider to play more. If management has any smidgen of doubt about the decision to go with Luongo long term, then we need to play the ginger more to see if there's any reason to doubt him. It is getting harder and harder to not be on this player's bandwagon...

Volpatti sucks - next please. At this point I would have rather gone with stainless steel face Fedoruk.