GDT: Expansion cousins - Van vs Buf - 7pm - Taxpayer TV

[mathonwy]

One more Canuck goal in the next 10 minutes and it'll be an interesting finish.

[mathonwy]

Beautiful work by Hammer.

Nice finish by Kassian.

[mathonwy]

Sigh.. that's a horrible giveaway by Booth.

[cjc]

Sigh.. that's a horrible giveaway by Booth.

Exactly what I thought. Why didn't he put it into the corner?

Wow. First five minutes of the game were a disaster. Then the blanket thrown over the neutral zone smothered the rest of the game. This is the video that any team that wants to kill us in the playoffs will be watching. AV will have to devise a way to counter this style of play by the opposition. If not, we'll meet a team in the early rounds that will eliminate us through suffocation.

[Jovocop]

Sigh.. that's a horrible giveaway by Booth.

Well, at the least he scored two goals...

[mathonwy]

Sigh.. that's a horrible giveaway by Booth.

Exactly what I thought. Why didn't he put it into the corner?

Wow. First five minutes of the game were a disaster. Then the blanket thrown over the neutral zone smothered the rest of the game. This is the video that any team that wants to kill us in the playoffs will be watching. AV will have to devise a way to counter this style of play by the opposition. If not, we'll meet a team in the early rounds that will eliminate us through suffocation.

When I saw Booth do that, I didn't know ginger had vacated the net.

And then they replayed the giveaway from the Miller net cam perspective and it showed Booth giving it away and then turning his back to change.

So, it was just a bad fucking play altogether. He fucked his goaltender and he fucked his teammates. No fucking good.

Nah, I don't buy into the "blanket" the slugs put on us. How often does a team put a 3 doughnut lead on us in the first? Never. This is the first time all season (that I can recall).

The Sedins really need to figure it out though. I'm disappointed in Raymond's ineffectivenes but May Ray has been useless all season so nothing new. Our top line could get absolutely nothing going in the offensive end all game AT HOME. That's a bit worrisome.

[Jovocop]

Sigh.. that's a horrible giveaway by Booth.

Exactly what I thought. Why didn't he put it into the corner?

Wow. First five minutes of the game were a disaster. Then the blanket thrown over the neutral zone smothered the rest of the game. This is the video that any team that wants to kill us in the playoffs will be watching. AV will have to devise a way to counter this style of play by the opposition. If not, we'll meet a team in the early rounds that will eliminate us through suffocation.

When I saw Booth do that, I didn't know ginger had vacated the net.

And then they replayed the giveaway from the Miller net cam perspective and it showed Booth giving it away and then turning his back to change.

So, it was just a bad fucking play altogether. He fucked his goaltender and he fucked his teammates. No fucking good.

Nah, I don't buy into the "blanket" the slugs put on us. How often does a team put a 3 doughnut lead on us in the first? Never. This is the first time all season (that I can recall).

The Sedins really need to figure it out though. I'm disappointed in Raymond's ineffectivenes but May Ray has been useless all season so nothing new. Our top line could get absolutely nothing going in the offensive end all game AT HOME. That's a bit worrisome.

Our powerplay is just too predictable. I think it is time to move Kesler back to the second unit and put Kassian there. He would create enough traffic in front of the net for the point shots. Also, instead of passing around waiting for a perfect play, they should take some shots from the blueline and hope for some bounces. I think it should be time to sit Raymond and Rome for a game. They both looked terrible out there.

[Meds]

A flat Vancouver start, some quick plays by Buffalo, and the Sedin's all conspired to kill us tonight.

I'll elaborate on those thoughts tomorrow, i worked a double, so I've been on the go for 36 hours, for now I'm gonna crash.

However, I would like to leave this final thought for tonight...

Two Swedish twins go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside
Two Swedish twins go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside

[Tiger]

Meds said:

Two Swedish twins go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside
Two Swedish twins go round the outside, round the outside, round the outside

and our other star lets in 3 out of 7 shots with a lot of help from Rome ... Looked like a rerun of one of our worst playoff games.. Sedin's not contributing and Lou forgetting to stop pucks ..
Way too many giveaways..

On a positive note KASSIAN over Hodgson by a wide margin .. Booths offence ( yeah a brain fart giveaway too )..
Granini is not the second coming of Bobby Orr..too bad he needs 17 games to be a RFA .. A stint on the Wolves might help.
Looks like Ruff ( along with a lot of coaches and GM's ) watched last years playoffs and know how to shut down the Sedin's .. Not good news going forward..

Too bad about the lousy play in the first period.. Ginger and the Nucks made a game of it in period 2 and 3..

[dhabums]

Sigh.. that's a horrible giveaway by Booth.

Exactly what I thought. Why didn't he put it into the corner?

Wow. First five minutes of the game were a disaster. Then the blanket thrown over the neutral zone smothered the rest of the game. This is the video that any team that wants to kill us in the playoffs will be watching. AV will have to devise a way to counter this style of play by the opposition. If not, we'll meet a team in the early rounds that will eliminate us through suffocation.

The plan is to score 3 goals then protect the lead? Fuck dude, you should be coaching.

[CorranHorn]

Sigh.. that's a horrible giveaway by Booth.

Exactly what I thought. Why didn't he put it into the corner?

Wow. First five minutes of the game were a disaster. Then the blanket thrown over the neutral zone smothered the rest of the game. This is the video that any team that wants to kill us in the playoffs will be watching. AV will have to devise a way to counter this style of play by the opposition. If not, we'll meet a team in the early rounds that will eliminate us through suffocation.

The plan is to score 3 goals then protect the lead? Fuck dude, you should be coaching.

You have your moments bums.

[Hockey Widow]

That game was lost in 5 minutes. After that we pretty well out played the Sabres. Its been a long time, at least since I can recall, when we had as bad or worse first 5 minutes if a game. Move on right away and don't dwell on it.

The positives, Kassian, a goal and an assist. Good for him. Booth 2 well earned goals.

The third line played well again.

Time to sit Raymond. Keep Kassian with Booth and Kesler. Put Weiss on the 4th line. Leave the twins and Pahlsson's lines alone. Not saying sit MayRay permanently but lets find out if we can create some balance without him for now. He needs to regroup and watch a few games. We need to find out if Kass and Kess and Booth can make come magic. What a beast of a second line that could be. Depending upon the opponent we can switch Weiss and Raymond in and out of the line up.

On D wow it is a circus with Rome and MAG. This kid needs some work. I get my old heart aches back when he is on the ice especially with Rome. Get Tanev in the next game with Alberts.

A great 55 minute effort but the poor start is inexcusable from this team and this time of the season. Perhaps this was their first game back from a road trip game.

I expect a bounce back game next time up and I expect we win out on the rest of this home stand.

[tantalum]

I wouldn't say a poor start is unacceptable at this point in the year. I think a poor start was inevitable given the 20 point division lead and the lead they have on third place in the conference. They were also on a long trip and the To Do at home built up etc. Not excusing it but it was bound to happen.

The thing that concerns me the most is that if something happens to Luongo on game day like getting hit in the head during warm up he gets messed up. Poor start with poior defensive efforts but 2 stinker goals as well. They could have got away from the poor start being down 1-0 but the goaltenders for the first time in a couple of months decided to stink along with the team.

C'est la vie.

Congratulations to Zackian with the two points.

Raymond needs to sit for a few weeks and put on some muscle. Kid normally loses weight during the season and this year he had no off season to build up. It's really hurting him right now. Couple with his curious decisions with the puck it's the first time I can honestly say he's starting to hurt the team.

[Mr.Miyagi]

On D wow it is a circus with Rome and MAG. This kid needs some work. I get my old heart aches back when he is on the ice especially with Rome. Get Tanev in the next game with Alberts.

I couldn't agree more. Under any other circumstances this kid would be in the press box or more ideally, in Chicago.
I cringe every time they are on the ice. Rome can be steady when he is out there with a vet. MAG is an adventure at all times IMO. I can't wait to see Ballard back again. He is more valuable to the team than most of us (and AV) would like to believe.

As for Luongo, just a bad game. No excuses, just bury it and move on. He has some of the best #'s in the league this year and his play during the past couple months earns him a pass in this game. It's ok to have a bad game. I don't want to hear a word about his "mental fragility" or "what if it happens in the playoffs". Just bury it. I hope he does too.

TANT = I think a poor start was inevitable given the 20 point division lead and the lead they have on third place in the conference. They were also on a long trip and the To Do at home built up etc. Not excusing it but it was bound to happen.

Agreed. A non-rival, non-conference opponent won't bring out the best for any team. Looking down the stretch here I cant see too many games in the schedule that the team will be up for. (like the DET and STL games of late) There are a lot against bottom feeders and a lot against teams that will have more on the line than the Canucks. We play 8th place Dallas 3 times. You tell me who will want those wins more. The need them.

[Zamboni Driver]

That game was lost in 5 minutes. After that we pretty well out played the Sabres. Its been a long time, at least since I can recall, when we had as bad or worse first 5 minutes if a game. Move on right away and don't dwell on it.

The positives, Kassian, a goal and an assist. Good for him. Booth 2 well earned goals.

The third line played well again.

Time to sit Raymond. Keep Kassian with Booth and Kesler. Put Weiss on the 4th line. Leave the twins and Pahlsson's lines alone. Not saying sit MayRay permanently but lets find out if we can create some balance without him for now. He needs to regroup and watch a few games. We need to find out if Kass and Kess and Booth can make come magic. What a beast of a second line that could be. Depending upon the opponent we can switch Weiss and Raymond in and out of the line up.

On D wow it is a circus with Rome and MAG. This kid needs some work. I get my old heart aches back when he is on the ice especially with Rome. Get Tanev in the next game with Alberts.

A great 55 minute effort but the poor start is inexcusable from this team and this time of the season. Perhaps this was their first game back from a road trip game.

I expect a bounce back game next time up and I expect we win out on the rest of this home stand.

Good points. The Kesler/Booth/Kassian line looked good.
Rome & Gragnani looked awful together, I think AV needs to have a babysitter (Salo/Hamhuis) with them when they are on the ice. (or better yet, put the Rome/MAG pair in the pressbox)

Booth a +2, Rome a -3