NorthWest Sports Blog brings you daily features on Oregon, Washington State, and BC amateur and pro sports teams.
Richard Hodges previews the St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks Feb 17 matchup. Richard points out the Canucks Ryan Kesler has been medically cleared to play hockey and could return to the lineup tonight. With Manny Malhotra gone, they’ll need Kesler’s faceoff prowess back fast. Meanwhile in goaltending, Cory Schneider will get between the pipes tonight. Roberto Luongo will sit on the bench. Wondering what if.
Richard Hodges previews the Dallas Stars vs. Vancouver Canucks Feb 15 matchup. Richard points out the Canucks Ryan Kesler has been medically cleared to play hockey and could return to the lineup tonight. With Manny Malhotra gone, they’ll need Kesler’s faceoff prowess back fast. Meanwhile in goaltending, Cory Schneider will get between the pipes tonight. Roberto Luongo will sit on the bench. Wondering what if.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger Mitch Dyck brings us up to speed on the storylines involving Ryan Kesler and his possible first game of the season this week vs. the Dallas Stars on Friday night. While he’s itching to get back into the lineup, you have to admire him for not rushing back like he did last season after only five games. Kesler wasn’t the same player that scored 41 goals and won the Selke award in 2011 during the 2011-12 season.
Vancouver Canucks blogger Richard Hodges Love Em Hate Em hockey blog. He recaps and rewinds the win on Tuesday night over the Wild. Richard says that there were actually four points on the line Tuesday night, two for the win, and two for Henrik Sedin to pass Markus Naslund for most points in Vancouver Canucks history. Well, the latter didn’t quite happen, but the Nucks did pull off the win, good enough for their sixth straight.
Richard Hodges previews the Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks Feb 12 matchup. Richard points out the Canucks Henrik Sedin will have a lot of eyes on him tonight as the captain is just one point behind Markus Naslund for all-time franchise leader in points. The Canucks have scored four goals in each of their last two games after doing so once in their first nine contests.
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 Thursday night over the Wild. Richard says for everyone using the most recent game to stir the goaltending pot, you should probably stop. The Canucks are in no hurry to solve this issue. Cory Schneider & Roberto Luongo are the real deal, and playing great.
NWSB Insider and Vancouver Canucks blogger Mitch Dyck brings us up to speed on the storylines he’s watching for and delivers his winning gameday tips for the Canucks vs. Wild game tonight. He says in order to win, the Canucks need to remember that the Minnesota are still an NHL team and should not be looked down upon just because they are considered to be not as good as some of the other teams Vancouver has faced.
Richard Hodges previews the Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild Feb 7 matchup. Richard points out the Canucks are stil without the ambiguously Americam duo of Ryan Kesler and David Booth. He also says Roberto Luongo’s record in Minnesota is not good. 3-9-1, 3.56 GAA, .873 save pct. He’s been pulled three times and hasn’t played in the building since 2010. Prediction. 3-2 Wild in a slogging heartbreaker.
Vancouver Canucks blogger Richard Hodges Love Em Hate Em hockey blog. He recaps and rewinds the win on Friday night over the Blackhawks. Richard says this game highlights what a coin toss joke they are. You take a close game with this rivalry and let it be decided by an individual competition. Aside from Duncan Keith, all eyes were on Roberto Luongo making his third straight start against the team that haunts him.
Our man Mitch D. one of our NWSB insiders and Canucks bloggers weighs in with his January 2013 edition of Nucks All Access..the plus & minus report. On the plus side. What a pleasant surprise Jordan Schroeder has been. He hasn’t been lighting it up, in fact he only has one point, but he’s been a solid player when called upon to play. Zack Kassian in seven games is leading the team in goals with five. Negative. Chris Higgins has been the biggest dud so far.
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.
