GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

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damonberryman
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by damonberryman »

Edler is a relatively young D man who is only going to get better. Comparing a mid-twenties guy to Lidstrom should go back to Nick in his twenties. When did he win his first Norris?
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Jovocop
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by Jovocop »

RoyalDude wrote:Looks like its another day as usual at the Canucks Corner Office. Now we are labelling Edler as Shite cause he ain't playing like Lidstrom. I don't like to agree with dhapoo that much but gotta agree with him on this one.

Again, people, ya need to understand. In Bieksa, Hamhius and Ballard we have 3 defenseman on the small side, 6 footers. The St. Louis Blues are a big team, can you believe that David Backes at 6'3" is the Blues smallest centerman? Not too mention that Baltard just ain't that good folks. But keep bringing up the AV conspiracy theory, it's at least entertaining read.
Backes is an idiot. He might be 6'3" but his brain is just as big as Joe Thornton's brain. Did you see what kind of penalty he took in the last minute of the game when the score was 2-2 tie?? Size matters when you use it the right way. Ballard might be small but he can skate and pass a lot better than Sulzer. If money is not a factor, you can argue all you want but I am sure the other 29 GMs would take Ballard over Sulzer any time any day.
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by mathonwy »

:lol:

I'm just asking the question whether Edler will ever be as great as Lidstrom.

And that translates to:

- holding him to an ridiculous standard (dhabums)
- labelling him as shite (RD)

Lidstrom is not a ridiculous standard, he's the platinum standard for non-monster European defensemen. I think it's fair to compare the best Swedish defensemen currently in the league to the greatest Swedish defensemen ever.

Anyways, I think Edler's going to get there as he's got all of the physical and mental tools to do so. With Salo going down, I expected Edler to really step up and fill the hole but it hasn't happened yet.
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by herb »

Todd Bersnoozi wrote:Boy, not a big fan of Baltard, but he should definitely play ahead of Shultzer. Wasn't too impressed with Shultzer tonite, we should only play that guy when we have to (ie - when all our other D-men are injured). Hopefully Baltard will be back in the lineup next game.
You know the Ballard situation is messed up when even this guy questions it!

The Canucks did not play a strong game, but Luongo was great an definitely stole this one for us. Luckily the boys got out of there with a couple of points and can go home and rest. The team needs it and deserves a break. First in the league, the Sedins are 1 & 2 in the scoring race, Luongo is rounding into form and we should be getting some injured players back soon. Not much to complain about today!

Hitchcock is an idiot. Backes is an idiot for cross checking Burrows and whining like a little bitch after the boarding call. It was a dirty play, and Burrows didn't dive like I suspect Backes was complaining about.

As this season goes on, the more I am on the Weber bandwagon. The only guys who play with any consistency on the back end are Hamhuis and Salo. Edler is racking up the points this year, but boy is he playing soft. Bieksa is Bieksa. Our defense looked particularly horrible in this game. Sitting Ballard in lieu of Sultzer and Alberts didn't look like a home run to me.

I've maintained that even though we have had more popular defensemen here over the past 10 years including Mitchell and Ohlund, Salo has been our best overall defenseman over the past decade hands down. The guy is just steady as can be and rarely makes a mistake or bad decision. Hopefully he is back soon, and *knocks on wood*, is able to stay healthy.
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by Jovocop »

herb wrote: Hitchcock is an idiot. Backes is an idiot for cross checking Burrows and whining like a little bitch after the boarding call. It was a dirty play, and Burrows didn't dive like I suspect Backes was complaining about.
Unfortunately, Andy Strickland feels the other way. Talk about rosy glasses...

http://www.truehockey.com/articles/Burr ... ean-Hebert

Burrows Fools Referee Jean Hebert?

Alex Burrows is an overachiever. He went undrafted out of the QMJHL and paid his dues in the ECHL before finding his way in the NHL.

For that I give him all the credit in the world. He’s found a nice home in Vancouver playing alongside two of the best players in the world and signing a nice long-term contract with the Canucks. Here’s a guy that has a couple of 20 goal seasons and a 35 goal season on his resume and you could probably make the case he’s underpaid at this stage of his career.

With that said he has some blemishes. Burrows is the poster boy for diving in the NHL. He does it all the time and most NHL referees are smart enough to catch on by now.

Except for Jean Hebert, a young referee who made his NHL debut in 2010. Hebert bit on Burrow’s antics with fewer than 20 seconds left in a beautiful hockey game played by two of the better teams in the Western Conference. Hebert nailed Blues Captain David Backes for boarding in what was a questionable call at best. Backes was surprised as anybody when the whistle blew and responded by pushing Burrows not once but twice after play was stopped. Burrows continued his act as he threw his body backwards in an effort to draw more attention.

The play was “a hockey play” as Blues Head Coach Ken Hitchcock called it. You had two good players battling for the puck late in the game before Burrows splattered his body against the wall. One player referred to the call as a bleeping joke.

The call changed the game.

We hear the term hockey sense all the time in terms of how it relates to players. It also should apply to referees who should know better than to make that call in a 2-2 game with 20 seconds left.

Vancouver has the league’s best power play unit and they’re too good to miss out on a 4-3 power play in overtime. They got some help when Blues D-man Roman Polak broke his stick. Forward T.J. Oshie handed him his stick before mistakenly leaving the ice. I say mistakenly only because the Blues discussed this exact scenario prior to the game in the PK meeting. It was understood that if this happens, the player without a stick should remain on the ice until he has an opportunity to get a clean change.

In defense of Oshie, hindsight is 20/20. He is relatively useless out there without a stick and the Blues bench was close to the defensive zone. I guess he could fill a passing lane but in this case it’s probably best not to have multiple people instructing Oshie from the bench.

I’ve heard some suggest Oshie should have stayed on the ice because he could have blocked the shot but it wasn’t his shot to block. If anyone was going to fill the shooting lane it was the Blues D-man.

This was certainly a time the team could have used Barret Jackman’s services who missed the game with a back injury.

Getting back to the Backes penalty, Jean Hebert’s explanation on the ice was that he caught Burrows in a vulnerable position. Burrows on the other hand is known for chirping officials throughout his career which is why I was surprised he was successful in drawing a call in that situation. He had a few exchanges with the refs in this game as well.

Considering B.J. Crombeen was whistled for diving earlier in the game you would think the officials would have been a tad bit smarter here.

I can’t put the loss on the refs. The Blues had chances including a full ice Oshie breakaway but he was unable to get a good shot off. The St. Louis power play lacked any urgency whatsoever getting up ice. Vancouver does a nice job of defending the blue line and the Blues looked unprepared in how to attack it.

There were some bright spots as Jason Arnott continues to produce offense. Here’s a perfect example of a player who has a knack for scoring goals.

I thought Ian Cole played a strong game in both ends as well. He moved the puck well with Kevin Shattenkirk and drew a penalty in the offensive end.

One thing I don’t like is the idea that the Blues should feel good about hanging in there with the “best” team in the West. I understand the Blues have had some down years but this organization shouldn’t be satisfied with just hanging in there with a good team. Personally I think it makes everyone look bad. Granted the players and Head Coach were responding to certain questions but I would have liked to hear some different answers. You would never hear players of the past being ok with losing to anybody.

More to come,
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herb
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by herb »

Jovocop, unfortunately Burrows has an unfavourable reputation around the league.

His reputation in Vancouver is that of a blue collar, hard working guy who, against all odds, made it to the top line of one of the best teams in the league by never taking a shift off and working hard to constantly improve his game. My first memory of Burrows was that this guy could barely skate, but boy does he work hard. He has worked at improving his game and the result is that he is one of the strongest two way players in the game.

In Vancouver we all know that he used to be a big trash talker (he has really toned this down - probably as a result of Gillis' "play between the whistles" mantra) and does dive on occasion (many players do). We all know about the hair pulling and finger biting incidents. They were embarrassing and I wish they didn't happen, but I'm willing to forgive him because as a Canucks fan the good outweighs the bad by a huge margin.

In the rest of the hockey world, the bad outweighs the good. Much of the league sees him as a yappy, diving, hair pulling, finger biting douche bag, but I bet you all of the other 29 GMs would take him on their team in a heartbeat. C'est la vie.
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by Jovocop »

herb wrote:Jovocop, unfortunately Burrows has an unfavourable reputation around the league.

His reputation in Vancouver is that of a blue collar, hard working guy who, against all odds, made it to the top line of one of the best teams in the league by never taking a shift off and working hard to constantly improve his game. My first memory of Burrows was that this guy could barely skate, but boy does he work hard. He has worked at improving his game and the result is that he is one of the strongest two way players in the game.

In Vancouver we all know that he used to be a big trash talker (he has really toned this down - probably as a result of Gillis' "play between the whistles" mantra) and does dive on occasion (many players do). We all know about the hair pulling and finger biting incidents. They were embarrassing and I wish they didn't happen, but I'm willing to forgive him because as a Canucks fan the good outweighs the bad by a huge margin.

In the rest of the hockey world, the bad outweighs the good. Much of the league sees him as a yappy, diving, hair pulling, finger biting douche bag, but I bet you all of the other 29 GMs would take him on their team in a heartbeat. C'est la vie.
To be honest, I am glad that the rest of the NHL hate Burrows. ;)

Ken Hitchcock - "if Vancouver wants to be liked, it's easy, start losing."

This pretty much sums it up. :lol:
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by tantalum »

Do I think Backes should have been called on the Burrows play? No not really. However, from where the ref was it looked like a complete push to the numbers and I can understand the call. I also don't think Burrows embellished or dove on the play. I think he simply got out muscled in a big way. Backes is a big guy.

I've heard Blues fans complaining all day about the call at work. Thing is they don't want to talk about the DIVE Backes took on the Sedin interference penalty. You know where Backes initiated contact on Henrik and then went down. Henrik did not come out of the lane he was in to intercept Backes. They also don't want to talk about the play earlier in that same sequence where Backes clearly grabbed hold of Burrows stick was Burrows was on the ground trying to get up and still win the puck battle (I have no problem with the pushes by backes on that play he wasn't using his stick he was just pushing and shoving which is fine IMO).

So yeah, maybe not the best call but then again he got away with a clear one earlier, dove to draw another penalty and in general the Blues interfered all night. They are to interference as the Bruins are to hacks and whacks.

the Blues also had a PP in the final 3 minutes of the game in a bid to get the lead. It was terrible. The canucks got the chance on a Backes brain cramp and scored on a Hitchcock policy. The Blues clearly beat themselves.
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by Hockey Widow »

I think it was called because he was hit into the boards as he was falling and his head hit the boards. Now he didn't go crashing into the boards but it was a careless hit into the boards that could have resulted in an injury. I don't think it was vicious nor do I think there was any intent to injure nor would I classify it as a dirty hit. But it was hitting a player into the boards and said players head made contact with the boards.

No way did Burrows dive. That part makes me crazy. He went down and got back up. I don't think he was expecting a penalty either. It was a reputation reaction. Whenever someone takes a penalty on Burrows they immediately react like he dove. Backes took a penalty at the wrong time of the game and Oshie made a horrible decision on the PK and those things resulted in a goal.

I get so tired of seeing players on the ice overreact every time they get called for an infraction against Burrows and Kesler. They want everyone to believe that those two never get legit penalty calls and it seems that the next day thats all you hear, about how they dove and that cost the other team.
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by coco_canuck »

Good teams find ways to win when they're not at their best.

It was the same story last season, and that's what's happening now. I read somewhere that the Canucks have played 21 games in 43 days, 12 on the road over three separate road trips with two trips to the East in that span.

Most recently, the Canucks have played 9 games in 16 nights, with 7 of them on the road.

This team is dog tired, yet they've been trucking along just fine. Many thought the Blues game would catch up with them, but they surprised with a gritty win. I think the game to be wary of is Sunday against Anaheim. Despite having 2 days between games, they'll be coming back to Pacific time zone after a week in the East, and with already low energy levels, it will be difficult to recharge in time for Sunday. Fortunately the Ducks are terrible, even though they've been better of late, so there's still a good chance the Canucks win, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they stumble on Sunday.
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by Tiger »

Agree with Coco.. got to cut the Canucks, especially the defensive players , a little slack.. They have played a lot of hockey against some very good teams with not much rest.. Agree Sulzer is not better than Ballard but giving him ice time instead of Ballard makes sense if we need him in the future to cover for injuries. I expect MG is trying to trade off Ballard before the deadline.. Kesler looks tired and definitely not at his best.. maybe a combination of coming off injury and tiredness catching up to him? The Canucks are always a better team with Salo.. so no surprise there.. Edler is not ready to take his place..
All in all a good ( and bit lucky ) road trip..
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by Nuckertuzzi »

Tiger wrote:Agree with Coco.. got to cut the Canucks, especially the defensive players , a little slack.. They have played a lot of hockey against some very good teams with not much rest

Gotta believe the team's brutal play of late (including the Boston game) is directly linked to fatigue. I don't remember seeing as many turnovers, brainfarts and odd-man rushes in a four game span as I have on this road trip...not in a very long time anyway.

In addition to what my old friend Coco laid out, not only did this team play more games than any other team in the past calendar year, and most of anybody so far this season, they're doing a lot of it in the midst of many lengthy and compact road trips. 26 of the 45 games they've played so far have been on the road and they've had to take four long journeys:

1. a 4-gamer (4 in 6 nights) with longest flight(s) out east
2. a 6-gamer (6 in 11 nights) with longest flight(s) out mid-east
3. a 5-gamer (5 in 10 nights) with longest flight(s) out east
4. a 4-gamer (4 in 6 nights) with longest flight(s) out east
(not to mention two other 3-gamers, both 3 in 4 nights)

In comparison, this is the extent of what our old (or should I say NEW) foes in Boston have had to deal with in way of travel so far in their 40 games, 16 of which were on the road:

1. a 3-gamer (3 in 5 nights) all in their time zone
2. a 3-gamer (3 in 8 nights, plus a 4-day break before) with longest flight(s) out mid-west


So it's nice to be at the top of the standings considering. But that said, the turnovers and defensive zone errors are not a new thing as they've been guilty of it pretty much throughout the year..and it's something that has to be corrected or it's going to catch up to them in a big way somewhere down the line. We've been lucky...we can't kid ourselves.
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by Cornuck »

Valid points - and welcome to the site! :D
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by wienerdog »

Hockey Widow wrote:No way did Burrows dive. That part makes me crazy. He went down and got back up. I don't think he was expecting a penalty either. It was a reputation reaction. Whenever someone takes a penalty on Burrows they immediately react like he dove. Backes took a penalty at the wrong time of the game and Oshie made a horrible decision on the PK and those things resulted in a goal.

I get so tired of seeing players on the ice overreact every time they get called for an infraction against Burrows and Kesler. They want everyone to believe that those two never get legit penalty calls and it seems that the next day thats all you hear, about how they dove and that cost the other team.
Agreed, it's 100% a reputation reaction. Anyone who is upset about it (*looks at Strickland*) should watch the replay closely. I also agree that even Burrows didn't think there was a penalty coming.

Strickland is taking a dumb line in that article, I challenge him to intentionally dive like Burrows allegedly did, head first 5 feet from the boards with a monster like Backes steaming into your numbers.

Who the fuck would do that? Try and draw a penalty through crippling themselves? A call is worth serious injury? I mean, hey, Burrows can dive with the best of them but pure common freaking sense tells you it's not a sell job. It's simply a big body pushing a tired smaller body.

Really, it's a poor decision by Backes, who should have just corralled and ridden AB into the boards to separate him from the puck, instead of lazily pushing him from behind.

This is a classic example of bitching about something that "cost the game" when in reality, they had plenty of chances to put it away. The Blues should instead be crying about not being able to score on two (!) back to back (!) shorthanded (!!) breakaways.

Nonetheless, they are a very good team, and I don't want to meet them in the playoffs.
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Re: GDT: Canucks @ Blues 5pm PST

Post by wienerdog »

coco_canuck wrote:This team is dog tired, yet they've been trucking along just fine.
Remember the good old days when a road trip like this meant .250 hockey (if we were lucky) and the media was explaining that we just had no chance on gruelling runs like that?

Good times.
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