Jason: I’ll be very disappointed if the Canucks can’t gut out game four, at least.
Chris: If they lose, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Craig MacTavish coaching next year.
Jason: If he can get Kesler to play to his potential, bring him on. I’m far more disappointed in Kes than I am in AV. I mean, is he still hurt? If so, he was selfish not to sit longer at the start of the year. Is he pissed at V? Then he’s being an unprofessional baby.
The 2012 playoffs are under way, and I’d like to congratulate officiating crews on and off the ice for kicking things off with a bang. Zebras in all three games on day one were awful, and Brendan Shanahan made complete his cold-water shrinkage from pre-season promises to trade in the NHL Wheel of Justice for consistent punishment across the league.
Before you think this is a partisan rant about the Vancouver Canucks getting jobbed of game one against the Los Angeles Kings, I’d like to proffer this: the Kings were by far the better team Wednesday night, and if not for the early heroics of Roberto Luongo, would have been in a 3-0 or 4-0 position long before calls became an issue. Also, the royal men from SoCal were flogged by a couple of questionable whistles too – I am under no delusions that Vancouver deserved that first game. Refs in Vancouver, Nashville and Pittsburgh were way too visible on the first night. Even the affable Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock commented on it during an in-game interview with Brian Engblom:
Continue reading 2012 Playoffs – Day One – Ref You Suck! edition
By Jim Chliboyko, Pucked in the Head’s official Winnipeg correspondent. Yes, he actually lives there. And yes, for our American readers, they have indoor plumbing and central heating. No, they don’t live in igloos. Well, not all of them anyway. Consider this a companion piece to our first round picks, posted yesterday.
I’m especially well-positioned to pre-judge the 16 teams geared up for the 2011-12 Stanley Cup Playoffs. I only really paid attention to the Winnipeg Jets this year, and all the live games I managed to see this season were with teams that, consequently, missed the playoffs. Which is sort of like cheering for all the red-headed and albino kids in The Hunger Games.
Finally. After 301 days, 1230 games and eleventy billion unfunny Vancouver riot jokes, Wednesday will bring the return of NHL playoff hockey. Having learned absolutely nothing from the annual debacle of our regular season predictions — Leafs sneaking in, bah. Sabres winning the East, HA! — Pucked in the Head presents 2012 NHL Playoff Predictions… because dammit, that’s what loudmouthed fans with self-published blogs do.
By Jim Chliboyko
Yeah, the double rainbow is an old meme, but for fans of the Winnipeg Jets this whole season has been like one big double rainbow (full-on, all the way), right from that May 2011 announcement at the Forks that let us know that Winnipeg was back in the hockey business, baby.
Continue reading This Year’s 7 Most Double Rainbow Jets Moments
On Saturday, I took advantage of a pretty rare opportunity: I got to see Vancouver play Montreal in two different sports on the same day. After an off-season that stretched seemingly forever, the Vancouver Whitecaps finally got to show off their revamped squad against the Montreal Impact at 3pm. Then, at 7pm, the Habs made their only visit of the year to Rogers Arena. I’ve been to my share of Canucks games in the past, and I was at all but one Whitecaps home game last season, but I’ve never been able to so directly compare the atmosphere in the two stadiums.
It couldn’t have worked out better, frankly. The Habs always inspire one of the liveliest affairs (off the ice) you’re likely to see at Rogers Arena, while the home opener in any sport is usually a noisy one. I even got to take in the games from a similar vantage point in each stadium. So how do the two events stack up? Read on to find out. Continue reading Rogers Arena, BC Place and the Canucks’ Culture Conundrum
The Montreal Canadiens haven’t had much luck against the Vancouver Canucks of late. Wait, let me rephrase that. The Habs haven’t had much luck of late. They sit dead last in the Eastern Conference – keeping the spot warm for the Ottawa Senators, whom everyone picked to be the Northeast bottom feeder this year, I guess – and they’ve been bitten by just about every bug you can think of: injury, illness, concussion, personal slumps, off years, a woeful power play, coaching controversies… When they do get a bounce their way this season, the skater in the right place at the right time fans on the puck or hits the post. If they don’t manage to catch the equally awful New York Islanders, this will be the first year the Habs finish last in the conference since 1939-40.
The Vancouver Canucks have in their hands one solid, blue chip player who may just be the key to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup win. It’s no surprise they’re in the hunt — they’ve got the last two Art Ross trophy winners in the lineup, for starters, as well as a perennial Selke finalist in Ryan Kesler and a legitimate Norris candidate in Alex Edler. Alex Burrows is no slouch, either, and Cody Hodgson is manufacturing a solid rookie campaign on a constantly rotating lineup of bangers and mashers.
With Roberto Luongo playing some of his best hockey in years – don’t let that annual slow start fool you, his numbers since December 1 are outstanding – it’s his protegé that holds the key to an extended Canuck playoff run. Continue reading Schneid he stay or Schneid he go now?
And neither should you. You probably won’t. After all, interest in this game from the over 8 demographic has been waning for years. Despite recent attempts to jazz things up with a fantasy draft, the NHL All-Star Game remains undoubtedly the least compelling event on the NHL’s calendar. Here are some issues I have with the game, in no particular order: Continue reading I’m not watching the NHL All-Star Game
As Boston Bruins resident spelling “champian” Brad Marchand prepares to return from his 5-game suspension for clipping Sami Salo, Chris Withers and Jason Kurylo gather a slew of four-letter words to dis #63. Chris probably sums it up best: “Hey Brad Marchand: Stop being such a f*cking douche.”
Continue reading Episode 43 – Brad Marchand is a douche
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