Canucks & Beyond
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Complications of February Scoreboard Watching
by Alanah McGinley on 02/11/09 at 03:50 PM ET
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From at Bernie Miklasz at St. Louis Today:
Vancouver’s Mats Sundin had his way in front of the net all night. Of Sundin’s 19 minutes of ice time, roughly 17 minutes were spent attached to goaltender Chris Mason’s hip. I embellish for effect, but still… did anyone knock Sundin down all evening? The Blues defensemen handled Sundin with such care, and were so deferential, I thought they were going to ask him for an autograph when he parked in front of Mason.
Having come down with something that feels not-unlike the bubonic plague, it was all I could do to stay conscious and watch last night’s Canucks/Blues tilt. But it proved to be worth the effort, and as a bonus, I’m feeling somewhat vindicated and self-congratulatory today.
While I’ve been as suicidal & irrational about the Canucks’ January performance as everybody else, I’ve also been resolute—in podcast, blog and drunken arguments with friends—that Mats Sundin was going to find his form by mid-February. And so he has, by all appearances.
For Mats, the pre-season is finally over. (And thank the good lord for that.)
Now, if Calgary and Edmonton can continue to embrace the culture of losing—as they’ve shown a sporadic talent for in recent games—February could prove to be a genuinely enjoyable month for Canucks fans. Here’s hoping.
Of course, there’s still the pesky problem of EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN’ TEAM IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE threatening for a playoff spot. Particularly galling, as they all seem to be playing against each other lately, neutralizing our scoreboard-watching strategy of “If they lose to these guys and we beat all those guys, Canucks might make the playoffs!”
Scoreboard watching with this many teams still in the mix is more like plotting a chess match. You’ve got to study the game closely and think 20 moves ahead, and then maybe you’ll have a clue who to root for any given night.
And even then, Bobby Fischer is probably going to crush you like a bug, 4 moves before you thought it was even possible.
Stupid hockey. It’s more complicated than bloody calculus lately.
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Sorry. Pavol-love-a-plenty is here. Honest…
The Canucks do have one guy that does—when he plays the way I like, that is—provide an annoying presence in front of the net. But he’s also someone that everyone likes to rag on—Taylor Pyatt. (Admittedly, he’s got a bit of a ‘consistency’ problem…)
I’ve got mixed feelings about Tkachuk. Even if St. Louis was on the kind of speaking terms with the Canucks head office that could enable such a deal, I think I’d find it hard to set aside old bitterness. A lot of hockey-hate history between KT and the Canucks. 
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 02/11/09 at 06:53 PM ET
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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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I see a distinct lack of Pavol love in this post.
On another note, the Canucks desparately needed that Holmstrom-like presence in front of opposing goaltenders. Too many Canucks’ forwards just refuse to go to the net (Sedins) and make it too easy for goalies to make the saves. I’d still like to see Tkachuk here, but I doubt the Canucks will worry about their offensive forward corps as much, especially if the PK continues to suck
Posted by Jes Golbez from In your pants on 02/11/09 at 05:54 PM ET