Bravs Hockey Blog

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Dan Cloutier played his first game against the Canucks since being moved to Los Angeles, and played outstanding if you don’t take into account the multiple rebounds he left after each initial save. Lucky for him the Canucks couldnt seem to capitalize on any of them untill late in the third period when Kesler put the puck past Cloutier off of a rebound from a Burrows shot.

Vancouver dominated the Kings the entire game, but could not put a puck past the LA netminder. Only one ‘Nuck was able to beat Cloutier, and that was Ryan Kesler… twice, he scored the OT winner with a deflection off Willie Mitchells point shot. The final score was 2-1 for the Canucks.

Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows have been outstanding for the Canucks in this season, proving that even the checking line can contribute in more ways then just shutting down the opositions scoring line(s). Some of the doubters might need to reconsider their opinions about the Vancouver Canucks decision to match the offer sheet that the Flyers made to acquire Kesler. He has proven to be an important part of this team, both as a checker/shutdown man and a goal scorer. I look forward to seeing what kind of player he develops into longterm.

Recap | Game Summary
The Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild met for the fifth time this season in what turned out to be a hard-hitting, highly emotional game.

Despite the Canucks outplaying the opposition, The Wild opened up the scoring at 13:46 of the first period when S.Veilleux scored his 5th of the season assisted by P.Demitra(24) & T.Fedoruk(7).

Minnesota went up 2-0 in the second period when S.Veilleux scored his second of the game and 6th goal of the season at 12:45. It didnt take long for Vancouver to lower the defecit by one goal when B. Isbister scored his 4th goal of the season at 15:37 of the second. The game would go into the second intermission with the Wild leading the Canucks 2-1.

The ‘Nucks came out of the gates storming in the third, determined to get the victory they deserved for their effort. With two quick goals, R. Kesler from R. Shannon and A. Edler at 2:00 of the third period then A. Edler unassisted at 2:16 the Canucks found themselves in the lead for the first time of the night. Vancouver could taste the victory but were unable to hold onto the lead for very long. K. Foster potted his 6th goal of the season at 9:56, then M. Gaborik scored his 30th of the season at 12:21 of the third. The Canucks did not give up the fight however, and with 2:44 left to play in the third, Alex Edler scored his second goal of the game to pull his team even.

Overtime solved nothing.

Trevor Linden scored once again in the shootout, but it wasnt enough as Brent Burns and Mikko Koivu were able score on their chances.

Even though it was another loss for the club, Vancouver fans have a lot to be positive about. The Canucks put out another great effort, outplayed their opponents yet again, and showed a lot of heart and grit during the game. Every player seemed to be finishing their checks and back-checking very well. A couple of fights broke out during the game as well. Stay positive Vancouver, the Canucks will turn it around.

The Vancouver Canucks have had to deal with a lot of adversity this season. The latest threat to the Canucks lately seems to be luck… bad luck that is.

Just when Vancouver starts to get healthy again, with some of their key defense core returning from injuries, it appears that bad bounces, oversized goal posts and apparent ‘hot’ goalies are their next big challenge. The team needs to do something to change this, and soon, or they will be golfing early this year.

You might say “but Brav, every team has been dealing with injuries, and they are still finding ways to win”. True, I won’t deny that, but the Canucks have had to play without their entire defensive core, not just one or two key players missing from the lineup, but their ENTIRE defensive core. When you are a defense first team, you are in trouble.

So in light of this post I need to ask:

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Free Agent Michael Peca has agreed to a one year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Peca missed the last half of the season with a broken leg, Columbus spokesman Todd Sharrock said Wednesday that Michael must pass a team physical. A formal announcement is expected later this week.

Peca has 164 goals and 245 assists in 728 career games with Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It seems the Vancouver Canucks will be having a closed door viewing of what their new jerseys will look like for the up and coming 2007/2008 season.

Personally I hope they base this new jersey on the old Hockey Stick logo (displayed). Im really sick of the constipated whale logo, even though it has been the most popular one with the new fans.

Anyways, I say enough with this secrecy and hype B.S. Lets see the jersey, show the public. Show your fans!