Canucks & Beyond
Next entry: Finally -- Hockey Day in Canada!
Previous entry: Canucks Ownership Saga Continues
Ohlund is Resurrected and the Thrashers are Going Down
by Alanah McGinley on 02/07/08 at 03:59 PM ET
Comments (14)
On Monday, Mattias Ohlund returned to Vancouver unexpectedly for undisclosed personal reasons and missed Tuesday night’s game in Dallas. Then on Wednesday, he suddenly went missing from the Canucks active roster, only to return to the list several hours later.
This unexpected development caused bazillions of CDC forum posters to nearly crash the message boards with dreams of Hossa coming to Vancouver, and other related fantasies. (I believe several were even debating matters like the value of trading Ohlund for Wade Belak. Seriously.)
The problem is that “personal reasons” instantly translates to “trade alert!” when February comes around. Despite the fact that the idea of trading Ohlund is patently stupid, and if Dave Nonis did have such a bizarre notion at this point, we should all question his mental health.
Not only does the guy sport a NTC in his contract, the team itself is talking about buying blueliners, not selling them. Making the playoffs with a half a dozen rookie defensemen—as good a job as they’ve generally done—is just not going to happen.
Anyway, fortunately Ohlund is back with the team and set to play tonight in Atlanta. In today’s Vancouver Sun:
“I slept pretty good on the plane, so I don’t feel too bad,” Ohlund said.
Ohlund’s return is a relief to the Canucks, who are already missing four injured defencemen in Willie Mitchell (back), Lukas Krajicek (shoulder), Aaron Miller (foot) and Kevin Bieksa (calf).
“The new guys came in and played extremely well for us in Dallas and it’s nice to be back here and hopefully we can start winning,” Ohlund said. “Obviously we need points and hopefully that can start tonight.”
Ohlund said his personal situation should not cost him any more games in the future.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “It was something I had to deal with and things are looking better now.”
As for tonight’s game against the Thrashers, I’m going to say something I never, ever, ever say (because, frankly, my track record with making hockey predictions and laying bets is tragically-bad). But this time I’m saying it: The Canucks will finally win tonight.
Sure, Atlanta is almost the perfect setup for Canucks disaster, but when I read the quote below on the Atlanta Thrashers official team blog today, I was suddenly certain of a happy ending. From Blueland Blog:
Salo is the only talented puck carrier on the blueline and the Thrashers should be able to win battles in the corners and pick up loose pucks in the neutral zone. As long as Luongo doesn’t stand on his head this should be a game the Thrashers can win. The Sedins and Marcus Naslund are dangerous but after that the scoring drops off pretty quickly. Vancouver works hard but doesn’t have a lot of skill up front right now. On paper the Thrashers have a decided edge up front, a good edge on defense and an edge in goal if Luongo plays like he’s been playing for the last month.
Perfect set up, in every way, to suggest that Atlanta rocks the Canucks. And that’s exactly the kind of certainty and cockiness that the hockey gods like to punish.
So Atlanta is going down, despite all odds.
Prediction: 3-1 Canucks. And Ohlund takes First Star of the game.
And now… time for cocktails. I think that concussion is still affecting me.
P.S. If I’m wrong about all this, well, just please don’t bring it up. K? Thx.
Filed in: dumb stuff, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: impending+alcoholism, mattias+ohlund, stupid+hockey+predictions, trade+rumors,
Comments
Bieksa is indeed back on skates as of last Friday… Reported the other day in The Province:
“It went pretty good, a little bit better than I had expected,” said Bieksa. “I felt pretty comfortable, especially toward the end of it. I was using my edges pretty well, skating at a quicker pace than I thought I would. I didn’t really go all out or do stops and starts, but I felt good.”
Following a warmup, Bieksa skated on his own and then joined Mitchell in some drills, skating in circles and through some cones. Bieksa also did some shooting near the end of the session.
“I was surprised by the way I felt out there,” he said. “I felt better than I thought I would. I thought it would be a lot slower process so I’m happy with today.”
It sure will be nice to see him back.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 02/07/08 at 04:18 PM ET
Just remember, Luongo doesn’t exactly have a good history against Atlanta. 8-11-1, 2.97 GAA, .909 SV% Lehtonen has only faced Vancouver once, and isn’t much better at 0-1-0, 3.03 GAA, .909 SV%… so I’m certainly not putting him on a pedestal.
And don’t let the Official Thrashers Blog speak for all of Atlanta. We may be Thrashers fans (and in my case, also a Wings fan - gotta represent the home town!), but we also tend to think realistically. With as inconsistent as Atlanta has been this year, who knows if Atlanta will climb out as victors with a 4-0 shutout, or become the victims of a 10-1 blowout.
Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 02/07/08 at 05:35 PM ET
I wish you were live-blogging this. Not least because I’m watching the game at work, sound off, and keep getting distracted.
Posted by Greg from Work on 02/07/08 at 08:17 PM ET
Alan -- You make a good point about the goaltending. Such an unpredictable position at the best of times—especially for us Vancouver fans. We have a slightly traumatic history when it comes to goalies… 
Greg -- The funny thing about playing in your building, Greg, is that the sound seems to be ‘off’ even when I’ve got the volume up. Quiet crowd! Though that goal gave them some life… Dammit.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 02/07/08 at 08:23 PM ET
You obviously weren’t watching during the Home Depot jumbotron game. Gets people WILD.
Posted by Greg from Atlanta on 02/07/08 at 08:37 PM ET
Don’t force me to start making jokes about you crazy southerners… because once I start, I won’t stop.
14 minutes left in the 3rd period, Canucks down 1-0, and my prediction is looking… troubled. Grrr.
Oh wait! And as I type that, Vancouver scores! Now, just two more… (or even one more. I’m easily pleased).
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 02/07/08 at 09:02 PM ET
“southerners”? I’m from Colorado, darlin’. Home of the awesome, or whatever.
I started to make a joke about the Canucks’ lack of scoring prowess, then Lehtonen fell down and they scored again. So sad.
Posted by Greg from Atlanta on 02/07/08 at 09:12 PM ET
Well, you’ve lived in the south long enough, so you qualify. Besides, my feelings about the state of Colorado are much, much darker, so count yourself lucky.
Don’t be sad. A 2-1 Canucks lead… it was merely fated by the hockey gods. Now, one more Canucks goal would be a cherry on the cake.
*knock on wood* Geez, I really should resist the urge to get cocky till the game is over…
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 02/07/08 at 09:19 PM ET
The Canucks’ last goal, captured by on-ice mike:
Lehtonen: “Guys! Guys: Impersonation time! Who am I?” (falls on ass)
Klee: “I got it! Cloutier! Dan Cloutier! Ha ha!”
Burrows: (scores)
Posted by Greg from Atlanta on 02/07/08 at 09:20 PM ET
Two questions:
* how is it this is your only post with the tag “impending alcoholism”?
* “impending”?
Posted by Greg from Atlanta on 02/07/08 at 09:27 PM ET
Making fun of Cloutier AND me on my own post?? Brave man.
Canucks win 2-1. I’m pretty sure Lehtonen accidentally fell on some other puck which was actually destined to reach the net. So let’s just say it was 3-1 and call it a day. Good? Good.
Finally I make an accurate prediction. (Now if only I’d made a bet with someone about that game...)
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 02/07/08 at 09:36 PM ET
A few hours after writing the post I thought I was reflecting on how often my bold predictions come true. The track record isn’t good.
When I wrote it I wasn’t aware Ohlund was back but other than I have no excuses. The Thrashers gave it away in the third.
Posted by Ben on 02/08/08 at 12:11 AM ET
Hiya Ben. Well, I give you full points for making the prediction, that’s for sure. I’m not usually so bold myself. And besides, you had sound reasons to expect a win.
But I figured that since the hockey gods were punishing my team so frequently lately, that someone else was going to have to suffer their wrath sooner or later.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 02/08/08 at 12:51 AM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Wellwood Returning to Vancouver
In Defense of Dany Heatley (sort of)
Sedin’s Agent Not Optimistic About a Vancouver Deal, but is Anyone?
Mike Keenan Joins the Canucks?
GM Place Keeps its Name; Disaster Averted
What’s Trevor Linden Been Up To?
About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, 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 is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
Email:
Alanah’s Twitter: Not really hockey-ish. [LINK]
Other Canucks Blogs
Wow - they really think that Salo is the only good puck-carrying defenseman on the Canucks? Did they miss Edler at the All-Star game (I guess he was a young star, but whatever, he’s pretty darn good). Ohlund’s not so bad himself, but he has his ups and downs. I heard Bieksa was back skating??
Posted by Karina on 02/07/08 at 04:10 PM ET