Canucks see measuring stick game
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - It's obvious the Canucks still remember what happened in the playoffs last spring when the Blackhawks knocked them out of the second round of the playoffs in six games.
Either that or they're sick and tired of hearing everyone in the hockey world praise the Hawks up and down as one of the best teams in the NHL along with San Jose.
"I feel we're up there with these teams," Canucks center Ryan Kesler said. "Chicago is obviously a good hockey club, but we're a good hockey club, too. I don't think we get enough respect around the league. So this is going to be a good statement game for us."
Added Canucks tough guy Darcy Hordichuk: "We want to send a message to them that we're a different team this year."
The Hawks and Canucks meet for the third time this season Saturday night at GM Place and the Canucks say they will be ready.
"It's been a while (November) since we played them and want to see where we stand," defenseman Shane O'Brien said.
"Our guys are really looking forward to this game," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said following Saturday's morning skate.
Vancouver will be without three of its top defensemen in Willie Mitchell, Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa.
"You're going to see a lot of mixing and matching on defense," Vigneault said. "We really need to stay on the defensive side when we don't have the puck to try to slow their speed and our forwards have to come back hard."
Banged-up Hawks defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Sopel skated Saturday morning and were expected to play.
Did you play 26 years in the french Norwegian womans league. A lot of guys here have been playing hockey for a long time. So what? If everyone has to spout of their resume before/after making a comment its going to get ridiculous.
I played baseball for 23 years, but I purposely leave that out of my responses on any baseball blogs I post on with numerous sites. Your knowledge of the game through words is quite enough. This isn't monster.com, no need to post your resume....
Hawks looked terrible against Vancouver defensively, yet they still launched 44 shots. Problem with Luongo is that if he sees it, it does not go in. Hawks upset the Canucks in the playoffs last year because there was ALWAYS someone in front of the net riling up Luongo or getting into his head. Our gameplan for this game, or at least the execution of it was not good. I don't see many of you guys ever question "Q" on here, but to be honest he needs to get on these guys butts about getting in front of the net.
Especially Buff, who is like a 13 yr old that you have to constantly be on top of to do his job.
Did you play 26 years in the french Norwegian womans league. A lot of guys here have been playing hockey for a long time. So what? If everyone has to spout of their resume before/after making a comment its going to get ridiculous.
anybody see dustin byfuglien anywheretonite in the building,do the hawks know are that they could go hard to the net instead of staying to the outside? not so fast on anti yet. are these guys ready, where is their intensity. !! kudo's to ladd but THAT is where a guy like georges laraque comes in!! i am sorry but get hossa a G D center will ya already stan!i'm riled how about you guys!
And I was of this opinion in the spring: Are the Canucks contenders? It seemed the Canadian papers *hoped* they were, but I never saw it. Not deep enough. I wouldn't disrespect the Sedins or Luongo, but I would be shocked if they won the Cup. Shocked. Teams that wouldn't shock me if they won:
Us
Red Wings
Jersey
Sharks
Pens
Caps
Buffalo
That's it. I don't see Colorado, Calgary, Vancouver, NYR, Philly, LA, or Phoenix really doing it. Call it hubris, and I do think Vancouver are tough, but not four rounds' worth. Maybe they should do some mortgaging for Kovalchuk, because their cap situation is just as dire as ours.
This is pretty much the same bitta boop bitta beep bitta bap that the kuncleheads and their promoters (P U McGuire et al) were mouthing last spring.
The Hawks respond with the real toughness....play their own game and win the hockey game.
Who were the enforcers on the Wings and Pens rosters last year?
For me, and I would think those who have played the game would agree with me (I've played for 26 years), I'm never worried about a guy beating me up. I'm more concerned about a guy hitting me with a crunching check. Personally for me, if a guy's a fighter, I'm actually more glad to see him on the ice. Because the vast majority of these guys can't touch me anyway because I'm infinitely faster and quicker.
If you want to intimidate a team, play with speed, skill, and lots of checking. The Hawks can do that. Brouwer can hit (and he can fight), Eager can hit (and he can fight), Burish can hit (and he can fight), Seabrook can hit (and he can fight). Byfuglien can hit, he just doesn't want to. And, they can all play regular shifts. And, I think they've got plenty of speed and skill, wouldn't you agree. And, they have enough guys that can show up and account for themselves. Nobody is scared to go on the ice because somebody's going to beat them up.
And, don't tell me that you need the tough guy to stop the other tough guy from hitting your star players. NOT TRUE! There are no heavyweights in this league who are scared somebody is going to come after them and drop their gloves because they threw a check. That's nonsense!
How many times does some tough guy come out on the ice and start beating on a star player. Never. They fight each other. Unless you're Daniel Carcillo...
THEY DON'T NEED AN ENFORCER!!!!
steve,you make good points,but if you are a little older, did you enjoy watching al secord and later bob probert, they were considered bonified fighters who could play a regular shift. and i think that is the type of player most fans would like to see added but they don't grow on trees. brouwer,seabrooke,are good players who play physical.eager i like if he could score 20 he would be gold. i worry about his concussion history. burrish, most league toughies laugh at him before they give him the ragdoll treatment, you got to love his desire and heart. buff is the big enigma. i am okay if he would blast people everynite and score30,but he takes alot of nights off.who knows, only the hawks brass know what they want to do, we can all speculate,we'll see tonite. the canucks talking in the paper,here is where you need that type of player ,if they come out starting crap,you have a guy to knock the pants off their tough guy and you take the team and their fans right out of it. that is what they lack.on carcillo, if you see the video, it was gaborik who wanted it, he also admitted it was stupid on his part. so now carcillo looks like the bad guy. hey glad to hear your still playing but there is no checking and you get suspended for fighting in beer league games.
I am one of the few guys here who thinks we need a heavie and I don't even want him. I might change my opinion if we actually got him. A guy like Carkner who can actually play D and go toe to toe with any of the cementheads would be ideal. Like I've said before though- I don't see the Hawks going that route. The saintly uncle McDohh can't afford to have kids in the audience witness violence on the ice. Bad PR move.
i think john knows what is part of the game, and besides all those so called purests,when 2 guys drop em',square off and set up,they are the first ones out of their seats standing,cheering and chanting the home players name,and the nhl people all know that .which is why it will always be part of the game.i am looking forward to seeing what aliu can do. there are some that compare him to shayne corson,which will be fine by me!
on your team, Canuck's Burrows or Bufuglien? Have you noticed Burrows exploits scoring wise this year?
Not really. Will they be kept under wrap? Will they shuffle between NHL/Rockford? How can they play on same roster as Eager, Buff, Ladd, Burrish, even Fraser? We should see some development(s) with Beech and Aliu. Grit and sandpaper they do possess. How much do we find ourselves in PK mode with them around? Does Beech ever win a fight?
Eager, Burish, Ladd, Fraser are all FA's...they won't all be back.
say we get in the ball gamme for kovy and it costs us buff,sharp and barker, now you gain kovy, bolland is back. do you take a flier on georges laraque since montreal bought him out, he probably costs the minimum. i don't know , you wont get the offense out of him but you would gain some size you lost with buff, but you will gain a huge bad ass to offset losing buff. probably neither will happen anyway, but just curious.do you think laraque could come in here with a renewed attitude and be positive and solid? as far as tonite, ben will do nothing other than play solid and try to score, i wish he was a top tier fighter with skill also.
Laraque is a pathetic excuse for a hockey player. He has one job when he's on the ice and it's to fight. Heading down the stretch and into the playoffs i'd much rather have a 4th line that can produce instead of having 2 productive players and a big stiff who doesn't play offense or defense.
19 i kind of feel the same, i just threw it out there if we were to loose buff, but on the other hand , with the canuckleheads flapping their jaws in the papers regarding tonites game, georges laraque is the kind of guy you want dressed for that crap. please don't tell me about burrish either, i love him for what he brings but no way in hell is he in laraques class when it comes to that aspect of the game. laraque is a top 5 fighter, let them start the crap and you put a guy like laraque out there to beat the snot out of who ever starts the crap and it takes the canucks and their home crowd right out of the game, that is very much still part of the game us older fans like.
I have a feeling Big Ben is going to be a busy man tonight. All the Hawks better keep their heads on a swivel tonight or it might get detached from their necks. Reading some of Vancouvers comments in their papers the last couple of days I'd say watch out.
Then again this game could be a relatively tame affair like the Flames game. We will have to see how it plays out but don't be shocked if it gets ugly and Hordichuck goes apes***.