Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Motor City Meltdown; Shippin' Up to Bahston Gah-den

The Vancouver Canucks had no jam against the Detroit Red Wings.  The returns of Captain Henrik Sedin and head coach John Tortorella did not reflect in any change of life for the slumping Canucks as they fell to the Red Wings 2-0.

This game was the definition of a snoozefest.  There was not much back and forth action as the game was played mainly in the neutral zone.  This was a grind it out game which the Canucks could not take advantage of a team who had played the day before.

The first goal of the game came in the second period a little over one minute in.  Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader found some open space above the top circle and shot a little wrist shot that deflected past Eddie Lack.  Lack had no chance on this puck due to failed block attempts by Daniel Sedin and Alex Burrows.  They provided the screen that Abdelkader needed to score the goal.

The second Red Wings goal was also scored by Justin Abdelkader at the end of the contest.  Alex Burrows took a late penalty which killed the Canucks 6 on 5 chance at the end of the game.  This goal was an empty netter on the powerplay which sealed the deal for the Red Wings victory.

Eddie Lack played another outstanding game for the Canucks stopping 28 of 29 Red Wings shots.  Jimmy Howard entered the game in relief of Jonas Gustavsson in the second period because Gustavsson was having some dizziness after the first period ended.  Gustavsson stopped 8 Canucks shots in the first, while Howard finished the game off and stopped 16 shots in the second and third periods.

Henrik Sedin played 21:22 in his return to the Canucks lineup.  He was 0-4 in the faceoff dot and looked only noticeable on the pathetic Canucks powerplay.

Alex Edler led all skaters with 25:25 of icetime.  Niklas Kronwall led all Detroit skaters with 24:46 of icetime.

Canucks/Bruins Game Preview   

There is no sugar coating it.  There is still hatred and rivalry between the Bruins and the Canucks.  Brad Marchand is at the center of it all.  Could this be a game where the Canucks play like world beaters and play motivated?  Could this game end disastrous and be the turning point for the Canucks organization?  Either scenario could happen.

Canucks Recall Pelletier 

It looks like the Vancouver Canucks may have more injured bodies that have not been officially reported yet.  Henrik Sedin did not look 100% in his return and did not look comfortable, so I would not be shocked if he missed some future games.  Chris Higgins played the whole game last night and did not leave with any kind of injury.  Higgins has looked the same on the ice while Henrik still does not look healthy.

Boston Bruins: 54 GP: 35-16-3; 73 pts
Vancouver Canucks: 57 GP: 27-21-9; 63 pts

Boston is coming off a 4-0 victory on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers.  Vancouver has lost four straight games.  The Bruins are ranked first in the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference.  The Canucks are ranked fourth in the Pacific Division and eighth in the Western Conference.  Boston has won seven of their last ten games, while the Canucks have only three wins in their last ten games.

This game can be viewed on Sportsnet Pacific or NESN at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT.

Here are the projected lineups:

Bruins (the bad guys)

Forwards:
Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly - Carl Soderberg - Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille - Gregory Campbell - Shawn Thornton

Defensemen:
Zdeno Chara - Johnny Boychuk
Matt Bartkowski - Kevan Miller
Torey Krug - Dougie Hamilton

Goaltenders:
Tuukka Rask (starter)
Chad Johnson

Canucks (the good guys)

Forwards:
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - David Booth
Alex Burrows - Ryan Kesler - Zack Kassian
Pascal Pelletier - Zac Dalpe - Jannik Hansen
Tom Sestito - Kellan Lain - Jordan Schroeder

Defensemen:
Jason Garrison - Alex Edler
Yann Sauve - Frank Corrado
Ryan Stanton - Raphael Diaz

Goaltenders:
Roberto Luongo (starter)
Eddie Lack

Things to watch for - Bruins:

David Krejci - one of the most underrated centres in the entire NHL.  The 27 year old Czech Republic native leads the Bruins with 46 points in 54 games.  He has 2 goals and 7 points in his last 5 games.  He is strong on the puck and pretty good in the faceoff dot.

Brad Marchand - I have to hand it to the guy.  He is good at what he does at providing agitation.  He actually has produced some highlight reel goals to back up his play.  The young 25 year old from Halifax, Nova Scotia was drafted in the third round back in 2006 by the Bruins.  He is a thorn in the Canucks side and always will be.

Things to watch for - Canucks:

Roberto Luongo - the Canadian starter for the Olympics and public harassment figure in the City of Boston.  Luongo is having another stellar season for the Canucks posting a 19-13-9 record.  He has a 2.30 GAA and .920 SV%.  The TD Garden in Boston has been a house of horrors for the Canucks netminder.  Canucks fans can only hope that this trend for their slumping team does not continue.

Raphael Diaz - the new acquisition from the Montreal Canadiens should be making his Canucks debut tonight on the blueline.  The 28 year old Swiss had 11 points this season with the Habs in 46 games and has a -4 plus/minus rating.  He is a right handed shot defenseman and will provide the Canucks with some point help on the powerplay.

Prediction:
5-0 Bruins (Marchand GWG)

Until next time, stay classy! -George     
Posted by at 12:33 PM

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