Canucks & Beyond
Category: playoff-hockey
Q&A Game Day Transcript: Vigneault, Raymond, Burrows, Edler
by Alanah McGinley on 05/15/11 at 01:35 PM ET
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From today’s media Q&A with Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, Mason Raymond, Alex Burrows and Alex Edler.
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Q. Mason, when you look at the games, highly entertaining in the regular season. Is that the type of hockey you’re expecting?
MASON RAYMOND: I think so. Regular season is regular season. Playoffs is a whole ‘nother level now. They’re going to be obviously heated battle games. We’ve had some good rivals with these guys. As a group, we’re looking forward to starting off Game 1.
Q. Alex, just a couple of emotional rollercoaster rides. How easy is that for you to put that behind you?
ALEX BURROWS: I think we’re a pretty mature group in that locker room. We’ve approached games the same way all year long, that’s one game at a time. Obviously I know it’s cliché, but that’s exactly how we approached things all year. I don’t think that’s going to change. Chicago series was great, Nashville, too. That’s behind us now.
Filed in: playoff hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: alain+vigneault, alex+burrows, axel+edler, mason+raymond,
Q & A Transcript: Mike Gillis and Alain Vigneault
by Alanah McGinley on 05/15/11 at 12:51 AM ET
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From Saturday’s media Q&A with Canucks coach Alain Vigneault and GM Mike Gillis. Below is the complete transcript.
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Q. Alain, your thoughts on Hank and Danny? Fresh start for them, but especially them because of the criticism and the fire they were under for not producing as much as everyone expects them to in the last round?
COACH VIGNEAULT: I think they got some unfair criticism there. They obviously are here to produce. With that being said, though, they played some solid games where they spent a lot of time on the other team’s end. They spent a lot of time generating some quality chances.
Filed in: playoff hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: alain+vigneault, mike+gillis,
Canucks / Sharks Predictions, Stat Sheets
by Alanah McGinley on 05/13/11 at 03:13 PM ET
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At the Sporting News site, Craig Custance looks ahead to the San Jose / Vancouver series. Video is linked directly here or click the image.
For the most part, Custance gives all the edges to the Sharks, but still predicts a Vancouver-in-7. For all the predictions from the Vancouver Sun, go here. And for one final optimistic prediction, the EA Sports computer likes the Canucks, too. (But the toy liked Detroit yesterday, too, so make of it what you will.)
Below is a statistical breakdown of the two teams.
Filed in: playoff hockey | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Canucks vs Sharks: Failure Meets Failure
by Alanah McGinley on 05/12/11 at 11:29 PM ET
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Elliott Pap at the Vancouver Sun:
The Canucks and Sharks, two teams with a history of playoff failure. are meeting in the Western Conference final so one has to win, right? The Canucks haven’t been this far since 1994 while the Sharks were here just a year ago and face-planted four straight to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Despite advancing to this stage in 2011, neither team has shown a killer instinct. The Canucks needed four chances to close out the Blackhawks in round one and two to dispatch the pesky Nashville Predators in the second round. The Sharks, meanwhile, required two swings to banish the L.A. Kings and four to take care of Detroit. Their combined ‘close-out’ record this spring is 4-8, hardly awesome.
With that backdrop, it’s difficult to imagine one team making short work of the other. The Canucks had the better regular season record, winning twice in regulation and once in a shootout, while the Sharks’ lone victory was via the shootout. Expect this one to go the distance — and maybe to overtime in a seventh game.
Pap goes on to evaluate how the two teams stack up here.
Filed in: playoff hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Hairy Problems in Vancouver
by Alanah McGinley on 05/12/11 at 02:19 PM ET
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Canucks center Ryan Kesler had a heck of a year, but his playoff beard isn’t so hot. Still, you really can’t blame Kesler. Accustomed to being eliminated in the second round, he had no idea what his beard would look like at this point.
Fair point. And yeah, this isn’t too pretty…
Filed in: dumb stuff, playoff hockey | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
New Canucks “History Will Be Made” Feature
by Alanah McGinley on 05/10/11 at 02:28 PM ET
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Filed in: playoff hockey | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: nashville+predators, ryan+kesler,
Tentative Conference Finals Schedule?
by Alanah McGinley on 05/10/11 at 11:59 AM ET
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From NBC (hat-tip to a few people for noting it on Twitter):
Update: From the NHL, all possible scheduling scenarios are available here.
Saturday, May 14
Game 1: Tampa Bay at Boston, 8 p.m. ET (Versus)Sunday, May 15
Game 1: San Jose or Detroit at Vancouver, 8 p.m. ET (Versus)
Filed in: playoff hockey | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Canucks Fandom: Life as a Hockey Optimist
by Alanah McGinley on 05/12/09 at 03:08 PM ET
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As the Blackhawks/Canucks series got under way almost two weeks ago, I settled my nerves down with this one thought: “May the best team win.”
And so they did.
Vancouver wilted in the face of everything Chicago had to offer, from the hockey staples of offense and defense, to the intangibles of simple willpower and grit. Unlike St. Louis who simply ran out of gas against the Canucks after a valiant few months of scratching and clawing their way into contention, Vancouver was just plain outmatched by a better team.
So it goes. So it always goes. So it goes endlessly and nauseatingly since 1970. I seriously wonder if there’s really any chance I’m going to live long enough to see this team make it to the promised land.
Filed in: playoff hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Playing For Their Lives
by Alanah McGinley on 05/07/09 at 03:00 PM ET
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Despite all optimism to the contrary, Sami Salo won’t be suiting up for tonight’s game 4 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Vancouver defenseman Sami Salo did not participate in the Canucks afternoon skate at United Center and was declared “out” by coach Alain Vigneault.
So, Ossi Vaananen returns. Incidentally, Salo’s explanation of his injury has been my favorite so far. Classic. (In related news, Vaananen is peeing just fine. Well, it doesn’t appear to be affecting his play, anyway.)
One more thing—assistant coach Ryan Walter provided this quote to Canadian Christianity.com today:
There is a “new intensity” in the playoffs, says Walter, “and it comes from an interesting place—a feeling that the end is near.” It would probably be very difficult to play at that level of intensity for a full 82-game season, he says. In that sense, hockey playoffs are like the last two minutes of a football game, when points are scored at four times the usual rate.
It’s a good comparison, though I wonder if I should worry when such a devoted Christian as Walter says things like “the end is near.” 
Filed in: playoff hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: ossi+vaananen, playoffs, ryan+walter, sami+salo,
Salo in Flight
by Alanah McGinley on 05/05/09 at 07:09 PM ET
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From Gordon McIntyre at The White Towel:
Sami Salo is on his way to Chicago, due to arrive tonight. He’s scheduled to skate tomorow and will be evaluated day-to-day.
The defenceman left Game 2 on Saturday after scoring the game’s opening goal. His injury has been described only as “lower body.”
Pavol Demitra is also day-to-day and won’t dress tonight, Canucks GM Mike Gillis told Tony Gallagher.
Taylor Pyatt, as expected, will be taking Demitra’s place, his first game in the month since his fiance died. I sincerely hope the distraction helps him, because I certainly think he can help the Canucks.
As for Salo… If he can play in game 4, well, that’s news good enough to make a girl find religion.
Update 5:02pm PT: According to Jason Botchford of The Province, via Twitter—
Demitra to be out at least a week, BUT Salo likely to play Gm 4. Gillis said Salo’s is not a groin or a shoulder problem. Guess away.
Filed in: playoff hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: sami+salo, taylor+pyatt,
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003 (with a notable gap in time through 2010, kicking it with new baby Lucy while living knee-deep in chaos while reading “parenting for complete idiots” during every spare minute) sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen.
In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah was one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast. She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
So that’s me. Who the hell are you?
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Alanah’s Twitter: [@alanah1]
