NorthWest Sports Blog brings you daily features on Oregon, Washington State, and BC amateur and pro sports teams.
Richard Hodges previews the Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks Feb 19 matchup. Richard points out the Canucks Andrew Ebbett is on waivers which means that he’ll be abandoned by his large family in Chicago quite like Kevin McAllister was in Home Alone. His demotion means that David Booth is back and that Jordan Schroeder is becoming a regular NHL player.
Vancouver Canucks blogger Richard Hodges Love Em Hate Em hockey blog. He recaps and rewinds the loss against the St. Louis Blues. Richard points out that since the return of Ryan Kessler, the Canucks have been looking great, but haven’t been able to turn the greatness into wins, having gained only 1 point in those games. Richard is also pushing for a trade of Roberto Luongo to the Blues for their rookie net-minder Jake Allen.
Vancouver Canucks blogger Richard Hodges Love Em Hate Em hockey blog. He recaps and rewinds the win on Saturday night over the Flames. Richard says right as the Canucks are hot, they have a lot of time off. They don’t play again until Tuesday against Minnesota and after that next is Friday against Dallas. Mason Raymond took a puck to the face in the first period.
Vancouver Canucks blogger Richard Hodges Love Em Hate Em hockey blog. He recaps and rewinds the win on Monday night over the Oilers. Richard says in this game for about 58 minutes, the Vancouver Canucks slogged through a muddled effort that looked like they had left their skateguards on. The Oilers were just flying. One big negative. When Ryan Kesler and David Booth get back, Chris Higgins will find himself squeezed out of the top six. Nice goal Chris Tanev.
Richard Hodges previews the Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers Feb 4 matchup. Richard points out Ryan Kesler took part in his first practice and has been cleared for contact. There’s still no certain return date. The extroverted Nail Yakupov is adjusting to the NHL fast, with three goals and an assist in his last four games. Richard picks the Canucks to win tonight and says let’s just assume Zack Kassian gets on the scoresheet somehow. Roberto Luongo starts.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger Mitch Dyck weighs in today on how rookie center Jordan Schroeder is doing after 4-5 games of 2013 NHL action. The Canucks and more importantly Alain Vigneault have really let Schroeder get his feet wet so far this season. The Return of Ryan Kesler and David Booth could change his icetime, but we have no idea when to expect those two back. The roster will be interesting moving forward.
Richard Hodges previews the Colorado Avalanche vs. Vancouver Canucks Jan. 30 matchup. The Canucks started their California swing well, but the effort levels were maddingly inconsistent in losses to the Sharks and Kings. In net tonight will be Roberto Luongo. Injured. Ryan Kesler and David Booth are still hunting popcorn in the pressbox. Richard predicts a nice cleansing home win. 4-2 Canucks. We all go home happy.
Richard Hodges previews the Vancouver Canucks vs. LA Kings Jan. 28 matchup. Most likely in net tonight will be Roberto Luongo. Lu has lost 4 of his last 6 regular-season starts in Los Angeles with a 3.68 GAA. Cory Schneider has started the last three games, making 30 saves in Friday’s 5-0 win at Anaheim to open this trip. The return of Manny Malhotra should also help with face-offs, where the Canucks were absolutely brutal last night.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger Mitch Dyck reports today on the news that we’ve learned Canucks winger David Booth will be out 4-6 weeks with a groin strain suffered at 2013 training camp. Coach Alain Vigneault also stated the injury wasn’t due to lack of training, but rather over training on Booth’s part. Now, either Mike Gillis rushes and makes a trade, or the more likely option is that there is some internal competition.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger Richard Hodges weighs in with some analysis of what he thinks Jordan Schroeder’s chances are for sticking with the big club come the 2013 regular season facing off. He points out initial reports out of camp have Jordan a bundle of nerves, gripping his stick tightly, making mistakes in drills and getting pushed around by Andrew Alberts.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger Kevin “the Flying V” Vanstone tells us the Nucks have less than a week to prepare for the beginning of the regular season and will be moving quickly through a compressed training camp to round out a roster suitable for Saturday night’s home opener. Ready to bet? Cory Schneider faces 10-1 odds of winning the Vezina according to Play Now, edging out Mike Smith, Carey Price, and Ryan Miller.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger Kevin “the Flying V” Vanstone weighs in with the first of many 2013 NHL regular season updates. With the new CBA going into effect on Monday, Kevin tells us how this effects the Vancouver Canucks. Namely, the ability to buy out some contracts, and the scrambling to get a full roster of players ready to go for the proposed season opener on January 19th.
