State Of The Canucks – Weekly Notebook | December 23

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The Vancouver Canucks closed a tough Eastern Conference road trip last week with a win against the much-loathed Toronto Maple Leafs, allowing the team to transition smoothly into two tough games against top Western Conference rivals.

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The Canucks dominated the Minnesota Wild in a 4-0 shutout victory Monday night at Rogers Arena, bringing Vancouver closer to the current Northwest Division leaders.

Following the impressive victory over their division rivals, the Canucks continued their success Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings in an epic Western Conference clash.

The Canucks and Red Wings treated fans at Rogers Arena to another thrilling game featuring sweet goals, big hits and bad blood between the two powerhouses.

Thanks to Niklas Kronwall’s crushing hit on Ryan Kesler Wednesday, this rare rivalry has taken another drastic turn.  CLICK HERE FOR CANUCKS TEAM STATS –>

Embracing the Hate

Controversy erupted Wednesday after Kronwall levelled Kesler with one of his signature body checks, causing Kesler to skate after Kronwall despite the presence of two referees between the two players. Less than two minutes later, the Canucks responded by driving hard to the net on a shorthanded chance, crashing through Jimmy Howard in the process.

State Of The Canucks - December 23rd

Despite receiving a phantom roughing penalty for chasing after Kronwall, Kesler was painted as the villain across the Twittersphere. Such is life for the Vancouver Canucks and their fans.

The great Steve Dangle summed up the feelings of fans around the league in regards to Kesler and the Canucks.

“Re: Kesler – Canucks fans, this is why other fans hate you.

Chippy teams that time & time again CANNOT back it up.

Please prove me wrong,” Dangle tweeted Wednesday.

To prove Dangle, or any other hateful fan wrong, is mission impossible. A Leafs fan will never like the Canucks, and a Canucks fan will never like the Leafs. Such is the nature of sports fans everywhere.

So as Canucks fans continue to embrace the hate, remember that fans of other teams aren’t supposed to like yours.

If anything, a little animosity only proves that your club is heading in the right direction.

Vancouver’s convincing win over the Red Wings on Wednesday provides further evidence that as the Canucks pile on the points, their approval rating around the NHL will continue to plummet.

Who knows, maybe Michael Buble’s presence in the Canucks’ camp can improve the team’s popularity around the league after Justin Bieber had Leafs fans loving the new addition to the team.

In The Infirmary

Alexander Edler – D Ques Fri – Back – 12/23/11 – Edler is dealing with back issues and remains questionable to play in Friday’s game against the Flames.

Keith Ballard – D Ques Fri – Back – 12/22/11 – Ballard has missed two games due to back spasms and is considered questionable for Friday’s game against the Flames.

Aaron Rome – D Mid Jan – Thumb – 12/19/11 – Rome suffered a broken thumb against the Maple Leafs on December 17th and is expected to miss the next three to four weeks as a result.

David Booth – LW Mid Jan – Knee – 12/8/11 – Booth suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee against the Avalanche on December 6th, after colliding knee-on-knee with forward Kevin Porter. He is expected to be out for the next four to six weeks as he recovers.

Canucks in the community

CFEC Holiday Dinner - On Dec 13th Aramark, the Canucks wives and girlfriends, and the Canucks for Kids Fund hosted 200 participants from the Canucks Family Education Centre to a traditional holiday meal at Rogers Arena to celebrate their learning accomplishments this year.

Kids were treated to festive face-painting, a holiday sing-along, a visit from Santa Fin, and Christmas gifts to take home

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