Oct 14, Vancouver @ Minnesota

[Iced Tea]

A lot better effort than Wednesday night's fiasco.

Good points:
1. Anson Carter continues to impress me. Glad to see one of the A S S line is scoring.
2. Richard Park got a goal and two assists. Have to like his signing.
3. Bryan Allen continues to be a physical force on defense and he isn't making any serious mistakes while paired with Jovo.
4. Kesler got a beauty of a goal.
5. Bertuzzi got a goal. It was an empty netter but hopefully it will take care of a psychological block he seems to have.
6. 40 shots on Roloson
7. Baumgartner and McCarthy are playing well with no big screwups.

Bad points:
1. The penaltykill continues to be lousy. Minny scored on 2 of 3 powerplays they had. Too many defensive end breakdowns.
2. The powerplay continues to be lousy. 1 for 6 is better than the 0 - 8 in the previous game but it can still improve.
3. Faceoffs percentage started out well for the Canucks but by the end, the Canucks won only 42% of them.
4. Only 13 shots on Cloutier and he lets in 3 goals. I know the defense screwed up on two of them but Cloutier seemed ineffective on all 3 and gave up many juicy rebounds. On the otherhand, Roloson faced 40 shots, gave up few rebounds and played a heck of a game.
5. Vancouver's top line hasn't found their groove yet. Individually or with other linemates, Naslund, and to some extent Bertuzzi, have shown signs of waking up/breaking out but Morrison is playing like a zombie so far this season. I'm glad Crawford has broke them up at times. Hopefully they start scoring as a unit soon.
6. Both Sedins need to shoot more. One of them had a perfect chance at a goal in the first period and he chose to pass and the Wild intercepted the puck.

The Rest:
1. The reffing wasn't too bad. The game was allowed to flow for the most part and all but two penalties were good. I question a hook on Matt Cooke behind the Canucks net. I didn't think the Wild player hooked Cooke, tapped on the side of Cooke's skate sure. The other call I question is Sami Salo going off for cross checking Boogaard, who is 6'7" and anywhere from 250 - 270 lbs according to different sources. Boogaard must be really top heavy because he sure falls over easily.
2. Anson Carter gives a good interview. He talked to Murph during the first intermission and Anson is well spoken and very articulate. Probably the best interview by a Canuck in years. No cookie cut regurgitated answers like "glad to be playing with so and so, the forwards are playing good, defense is good, and Cloutier is playing good". Actual answers were given.

Overall, the Canucks won and that's what matters but there are a lot of areas that need improvement. The season is still very young so I won't freak out and call for Cloutier to be traded for a least another few weeks.

[KB in Kelowna]

Well Wednesday put the fear of God into them because they came out and played. All skated well and played smarter except for Jovo who can be an adventure in his own end. Bert had his best game and first goal since Feb 04. Now it was an empty netter at the end of the game, but the fact Crow had the faith to play him that late in that situation given that he never kills penalties and usually serves bench minors and gaol tender penalties, means he was playing effectively. Hopefully the start of something good.

[Newfie John]

Tuzzi finally with his first goal of the year, all he needed was the lack of a goaltender..heh.

Seriously though, I hear Tuzzi was demoted to the second line. Appeared to be a good decision as the Canucks won. Anson Carter seems to be doing well, but is this just one of those October/November flashes he always has? Time will tell.

[KB in Kelowna]

Crawford is always mixing the lines, drives some of us nuts. Park saw action with Nazzy and Mo, Bert was with Kessler and Cooke. Carter was with the Sedins. I think it helped Bert in that he wasn't looking to make a pretty saucer pass to Naslund all the time. He skated better and had some better reads on the plays. He did miss an earlier chance on an open net, but as I said, usually he is not the guy you want out in odd man situations, other than the PP, the fact he was still out in a six on five situation in a 4-3 game tells me Crawford saw soemthing in Bert's play and had the condfidence that he would be effective out there. The goal was bonus and perhaps a harbinger of good things to come.

Now if Special Ed can get his brain in gear, we can all go back to ragging on Cloutier;)

[TimmyTabasco]

Now if Special Ed can get his brain in gear, we can all go back to ragging on Cloutier;)

You know what Mark..many people rag on both these guys. However, I feel its a team effort. :nod: :coffee:

[TimmyTabasco]

Good, solid game. The score didn't show how the game was played.

Canucks were firing on all cylinders, and Roloson kept the wild in the game.

Good:
-Park. This guy is fast, and works hard every game. A great pickup
-Allen. He is good in the new NHL. In the old, he was terrible. I must say I am impressed.
-Salo. Another solid game. He has really improved his game
-Kesler. He had speed all game, and forchecking was excellent

Average
-Cloutier. Didn't face many shots, and has to be better. You can't blame him on all goals..but he needs to start saving a few more clutch goals.

-Bertuzzi.This was his best game. He showed hustle, and looks to be improving

-Linden. Good game, but terrible turnover that created a goal

-Jovo. Average game, and has to be better.

Onto the next

[Newfie John]

You know what Marky Mark..many people rag on both these guys. However, I feel its a team effort. :nod: :coffee:

Uh oh..

:laughing: ;)