Here’s the situation: the Canucks barely showed up for Saturday’s game against the Avalanche. They were outshot 30-17 in the first 2 periods and were down 2-1. Yet, by some miracle, or because of their overwhelming skill, the Canucks forced overtime and won 3-2 in the shootout.

Here are our three quick notes from the game:

1. They need to earn their days off

There were some good reasons for fans to give the Canucks a free pass against the Avalanche: the early 12 o’clock start, playing a non-playoff team, the altitude adjustment in Denver… see, they’re all valid.

But the Canucks have not earned any freebies from their fans recently.

In the past week, they were flat in both the Blackhawks and Red Wings games, which makes no sense, considering how big those games were.

On Tuesday, they’re playing the Predators — yet another potential snore-fest. But it better not be another off-night. For their fans and for themselves, the Canucks better show up.

2. AV renders forwards impotent

Some Canucks forwards did show effort in the first two periods: Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, David Booth, Cody Hodgson. Now if you’re mixing up your lines to score a goal in the third period, what do you do?

Here’s what Alain Vigneault did:

Burrows-Kesler-Daniel
Booth-Hodgson-Bitz
Raymond-Henrik-Weise
Lapierre-Malhotra-Hansen

Yeah… that’s not what I would have done. It’s about as random as it gets and it makes no sense.

3. Thankfully, there is fighting

There was one memorable moment in the first 2 periods: Byron Bitz’ fight against Cody McLeod. If not for those rousing 30 seconds, Canucks fans may actually have fallen into a never-ending coma.

The two talked before the face off and dropped the gloves as soon as the puck was dropped. It was as “staged” as it gets. Yet everyone except for the anti-fighting lobbyists loved it.

But of course, the loudest people are the ones in the minority.

-written by Geoff Lowe

As Super Bowl 46 gets closer, talk of “the rematch” continues to grow. For many, it’s hard to ignore the fact that these two teams met nearly four years ago in what turned into the biggest upset in Super Bowl history.

It’s even harder not to look at the parallels.

This season, as was the case back then, the Giants have limped into the playoffs and won three postseason games on the road. The Patriots boast explosive offense and the AFC’s best record. Once again, the Patriots are the favourites.

But this isn’t 2008, and there are striking differences in this Super Bowl match-up.

The Giants:

The Giants won in 2008 on the back of their dominant running game. They had more touchdowns (4) and rushing attempts (118) than any other team in that year’s playoffs.

This season the Giants have depended on Eli Manning’s arm. He threw for almost 5000 yards during the regular season and leads the playoffs in touchdowns (8) and passing attempts (123). He has also thrown the fewest interceptions.

The Patriots:

The Patriots’ offense is just as dangerous as it was four years ago, but it works differently now. In 2008, the Pats predominantly used wide receivers and running backs in the passing game. Back then, it was all about Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and Kevin Faulk.

Now they rely on their two tight ends. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez rank sixth and thirteenth in playoff receiving yards and are the Patriots’ top players.

Covering both is a nightmare match-up for any defense. However, if Gronkowski’s high ankle sprain limits his ability to run routes, the Giants’ defense will find it easier.

Keys to winning:

The Giants’ defense needs to get to Tom Brady. When Brady is uncomfortable in the pocket, he makes mistakes. The Giants sacked Brady five times and hit him nine times in 2008. The offense was thrown off rhythm and wasn’t effective.

Pressure on Brady is also the key to the Pats winning, or at least stopping it. If their offensive line protects Brady they’ll be hard to stop.

The Prediction

Both teams will avoid taking unnecessary chances because any mistake could change the outcome. So don’t expect a ton of points.

Eli Manning will get the better of the Patriots’ 31st ranked defense, throwing for more than 300 yards and at least two touchdowns. Brady will have similar numbers but will feel the heat from the Giants’ defense and throw one or two costly interceptions.

The Giants will take it, but it’ll be close.

New York Giants – 24
New England Patriots – 21

Super Bowl MVP – Victor Cruz

-written by Shane Koka and Omar Rawji

The Canucks barely deserved one point on Thursday night yet they nearly stole two.

Through 2 periods, they were outshot 30-12, and those numbers are flattering. What exactly happened? Read our three notes on the game to find out.

Roberto Luongo turned into a wall

Roberto Luongo was terrific. He made 40 saves on the night — several of the standing on his head or brick wall variety. In the first period alone, Lu turned aside Todd Bertuzzi, Pavel Datsyuk, and Valtteri Filppula on clear cut chances.

Canucks fans haven’t seen their goalie perform this well since Cory Schneider did it on Tuesday.

Coach V deserves applause for his juggling act

The Canucks were dominated on every part of the ice in the first 40 minutes. In the defensive end, Dan Hamhuis froze, letting Dan Cleary walk around him for his goal. The neutral zone was like a minefield the Canucks didn’t want to venture into. And in the offensive end, everyone but David Booth was sequestered along the boards.

They needed a huge kick in the ass and coach Alain Vigneault sent his loudest message of the year by splitting up the Sedins for the third period. It worked.

The Canucks’ second goal was scored by a line of Burrows/Lapierre/Hansen and their third by H.Sedin/Hodgson/Raymond.

Everyone’s critical of AV when the Canucks lose. For this OT loss, those who don’t give Vigneault the credit are the milts.

Of course it went to OT

The Canucks have played extra time in 6 of their last 8 games, while Detroit has done the same in 3 of their last 6. We should have known this game would go past 60 minutes.

We should have also known the Red Wings would win the shootout. Detroit was 5-0 in shootouts coming into Thursday’s game, while Vancouver was 3-4. It played out that way — only 4 shooters were needed to decide it.

There are 14 games on the schedule. If you have a family or if someone is asking for (meaning demanding) more quality time, we help you prioritize.

First, some good news: there is no dreaded Valentines Day game this year. Yep, the list of restaurants you can take him/her to just expanded from places with TVs to places that charge 3 times as much for dinner. Also, when he/she asks halfway through dinner, “Are you watching the game or are you listening to me?!” you don’t have to make up any crap about how you’re good at multitasking.

(Hope you noticed the gender neutrality above. I’m trying my best here.)

Must see TV:

- Detroit Red Wings, Feb. 2
- Calgary Flames, Feb. 11 (7 p.m., CBC Hockey Day In Canada!)
- Toronto Maple Leafs, Feb. 18 (4 p.m. CBC!)
- Detroit Red Wings, Feb. 23
- New Jersey Devils, Feb. 24 (rare Eastern Conference sighting)

The jury’s out on these ones:

- Nashville Predators, Feb. 7 (5 p.m.)
- Nashville Predators, Feb. 21 (5 p.m.)
- Phoenix Coyotes, Feb. 13 (7 p.m.)
- Phoenix Coyotes, Feb. 28 (6 p.m.)

Another thing you might notice on the calendar this month is February 29. The last time one was sighted was 2008. Conclusion: Feb. 29s are pretty rare, and no one really knows for sure when we’ll see one again. My advice: enjoy and savour it.

Canucks Desktop Wallpaper: February 2012

download full-size wallpaper below

Click on the following thumbnail to enlarge and save it to your computer by right-clicking on the enlarged image.

Dave Lee-Son is a graphic designer and a big Canucks fan. He combines these two passions to bring you this desktop wallpaper.

For comments, feedback, or design inquiries, please email him at: dlee-son@shaw.ca

-written by Shane Koka and Omar Rawji

There’s hype and then there’s hype.

Canucks fans were looking forward to this game ever since David Bolland shot his mouth off, saying the “Sedin sisters” probably slept in bunk beds on Dec. 13. Also, the Canucks lost to the Blackhawks 5-1 in their previous meeting Nov. 16. To top it off, hometown favourite, Brendan Morrison, was making his debut with Chicago. In Vancouver.

Doesn’t get any better than that. Did the game live up to the hype? Read our three thoughts on the game to find out.

1. Not the usual Canucks-Blackhawks tone

To call the rivalry between Chicago and Vancouver heated is like calling Giselle merely attractive. These two clubs regularly share intense, violent, and dirty battles. It’s one of the best rivalries in the NHL.

Somehow, though, things didn’t boil over. It was a relatively clean game with only two penalties called. Why? Let’s look at the standings:

See, if the Canucks had lost they’d have 64 points and the Hawks would have had 66. Vancouver would still be in 2nd place because they lead the Northwest Division. San Jose would still be in 3rd because they dominate the crappy Pacific division. Chicago would be in 5th instead of 6th, but not 4th, because they still have fewer wins than the Predators…

Have I lost you yet? Basically, both the Hawks and Canucks were stuck trying to figure out the standings and didn’t have the energy to fight. Or maybe they just really wanted to win, given the importance of the points right now.

2. Alexander Edler is Storsjöodjuret

Alex Edler is what? It’s a mythical Swedish beast that lives in Lake Storsjön in Sweden — a monster, if you will. Get it?

For slow people: Edler was in beastmode.

Coming off his first all-star appearance, Edler was fantastic.

One play that flew under the radar: when Cory Schneider gave the puck to Brendan Morrison behind his net, Edler made a diving pokecheck, delaying BMO just enough for Schneider to get back and make the crazy save.

He also asserted himself physically, blowing up Patrick Kane in the first, leveling Andrew Shaw in the third, and crunching Jonathan Toews during overtime.

…beastmode

3. Schneider pulls moves from N64 Gretzky 3D Hockey

If any of you played Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey on Nintendo 64 back in the day, you might remember a few ludicrous animations where the goalie would transform into a brick wall or literally stand on his head.

Pretty sure Schneids did both of those against Chicago. He was the Canuck’s best player.

In his last 11 starts, Schneider is 9-1 with a GAA under 2.00. Of those 9 wins, two were the Canucks’ biggest of the season. Some will say his trade value is going up, others will say he’s proving to be a solid option for the playoffs.

Say whatever you want, Schneider is sick.

-written by Geoff Lowe

What a championship weekend: four great teams battling it out for a chance to play in the biggest game of their careers, and both came down to a kick.

So what’s the NFL going to do to build on that positive momentum? They’re going to kill it with the Pro Bowl.

Way to go Roger Goodell.

Honestly, the NFL’s version of the all-star game is a complete waste of time. Instead of ranting about my hatred for it in this post, I decided ranking the North America’s all-star games is a better way to channel my anger.

Below, I rank the best all-star games in the 5 biggest North American leagues from worst to first.

5. The NFL Pro Bowl

The Pro Bowl is a Hawaiian vacation for the NFL players that are good, but not good enough to go to the Superbowl.

A game with the league’s best all in one spot should obviously have fans everywhere watching. Here’s the reason they’re not: the players don’t try, there is no defense and the fear of getting injured practically eliminates hitting.

The beauty of the NFL is that every game matters. A game that doesn’t mean anything is depressing, even if the league’s best are playing together.

If I really wanted to watch high profile football that means nothing I’d watch a college bowl game.

Meaning – 0 / 5
Entertainment – 2 / 5
Total Score – 2 / 10

4. The MLS All-Star Game

How the hell did soccer rank higher than football?

It’s because the game isn’t the traditional West Conference all-stars vs. East Conference all-stars. Instead, the 11 MLS all-stars play against top international teams such as Manchester United or Celtic.

Fans get to see how North American soccer stacks up against some of the top clubs in the world. This makes the MLS All-Star Game both meaningful and entertaining.

Let’s be real, though. It’s still the MLS so we it’s not going any higher than fourth.

Meaning – 2 / 5
Entertainment – 2 / 5
Total Score – 4 / 10

3. The NBA All-Star Game

The NBA delivers its festivities over an entire weekend and the entertainment value of the whole event is high. The rookies vs. sophomores game on Friday is always high-scoring and the winner is never predictable.

The skills competition on Saturday is mildly entertaining, culminating in the over-hyped dunk competition that hasn’t lived up to expectations since Vince Carter won it in 2000.

The game itself can be entertaining but because there’s no defense, the quality is sacrificed too often. While some enjoy a massive dunk from Lebron, when the applause is coming from five players on the opposing bench, I lose interest.

Meaning – 1 / 5
Entertainment – 4 / 5
Total Score – 5 / 10

2. The NHL All-Star Game

Two years ago, the NHL wouldn’t be ranked so high, but the NHL has set the new standard with the introduction of the player-run fantasy draft.

Although it means nothing in the standings, this game is entertaining because you get to see how the draft plays out. If the NFL and NBA were to introduce a fantasy draft, interest in both games would be higher. Really, every league should move to this format.

The NHL All-Star weekend also offers a semi-entertaining skills competition leading up to the always fun hardest shot contest.

Meaning – 3 / 5
Entertainment – 4 / 5
Total Score – 7 / 10

1. The MLB All-Star Game

Out of all the sports in these rankings, baseball is my least favourite.

Major League Baseball decided in 2003 that the league winning the all-star game would secure home field advantage in the World Series. This advantage was a major factor in the St. Louis Cardinals’ World Series win last season.

Awarding home field advantage is brilliant. The biggest issue with all-star games is that they mean nothing to the players. By giving the game championship implications, Major League Baseball has a game more entertaining than any other all-star game.

Every all-star game should have something on the line so it’s not just over-payed athletes showing off for no reason. Showing off is much less annoying if there’s purpose.

Bonus: Although I don’t get it at all, many baseball fans love the home-run derby. It adds to baseball’s quality all-star product.

Meaning – 5 / 5
Entertainment – 3 / 5
Total Score – 8 / 10

As you all know by now, Alex Ovechkin pulled out of the All-Star Game to protest his suspension. He released a statement today, which the NHL put on its website… before realizing it wasn’t the best PR move and promptly taking it down.

Luckily HTTN captured a screenshot during the mere seconds it was up.

If you’re scratching your head wondering what this is all about, read Tim Thomas’s statement on skipping the Bruins’ trip to the White House.

-written by Shane Koka and Omar Rawji

The Canucks wanted to go into the All-Star break on a high note and the Oilers should have been just the tonic — Edmonton came in losing 8 of their last 10 games.

It turned out to be harder than that, as the Canucks were forced into a shootout. Surprisingly enough, they won this one. Here are our three thoughts on the game:

1. Ping!

On Tuesday, the Canucks hit more iron than Arnold Schwarzenegger when he looked like this.

The ghost of Nathan Lafayette must’ve been hanging around: Henrik Sedin, Jannik Hansen, Sami Salo, and David Booth all hit the frame. The Canucks also missed opportunities down low: either by mishandling the puck, or by getting muscled out of position.

Devan Dubnyk was stellar (at least in one sequence of action in the 3rd). The Canucks should have had more than just 2 goals and they’re lucky it didn’t cost them.

2. Luongo wins a shootout

Roberto Luongo’s shootout record was 1-4 so far this season before the Oilers game. Throughout overtime, several irrational Canucks fans wrote fatalistic tweets such as this one:

Hey #Canucks. #PLEASENOSHOOTOUT

(that was me, Omar)

And this one:

Is Schneider warming up?

(also me)

Why the hell are Canucks fans so irrational?

Anyway, Luongo actually looked incredible in the shootout, especially doing the splits to keep Jordan Eberle’s shot out of the net. He had a painful look on his face after the shot, but after the game said it was just his quad cramping a bit — not the dreaded groin injury.

3. Looking ahead

Sure, the All-Star Game might be fun but let’s look past the weekend for just a moment. Next week’s schedule is the real highlight.

Chicago comes to town on Tuesday. If your hatred for the team has subsided, let’s do some quick visualization exercises:

Patrick Kane

Dan Carcillo

That’s the feeling – you want to drop your laptop to the ground and punch a wall, right? Or am I just an angry person…?

Oh and on Thursday, Detroit is in town.

Welcome to the stretch run, fans. With a playoff position up for grabs in the too close to call Western Conference, anywhere from top seed to completely out of the playoffs could be a possible finish.

-written by Shane Koka and Omar Rawji

I’m slightly worried that PETA or some animal activists may fill my inbox with hate mail for the subheading above. But wait: it’s not as bad as it sounds!! They’re actually quite evenly matched.

See, at no point on Saturday were the Sharks or “Orcas” up by more than one. The battle was ended by Cody Hodgson’s late goal, which bounced in to give the home team a 4-3 victory, and a 3-0-1 season series record. OK, it is as bad as it sounds, PETA: Orcas love eating Sharks.

1. It’s spawning season for Coho

It wasn’t long ago (try 3 months) that Canuck Nation was wondering if the Cody Hodgson era would ever begin and justify his top ten selection.

Well we can put those concerns on the back burner now. Hodgson is awesome. Why?

1. He has one of the best nicknames in Vancouver sports history (not to mention he wears a fish — don’t bother me with your technicalities — on the front of his jersey)

2. With 2 huge goals against the Sharks, he has 9 points in his last 8 games.

3. He has 29 points on the season, 4th in the NHL rookie scoring race.

4. Consider that Henrik Sedin averaged 35 points in his first three seasons, while Daniel Sedin averaged 32 over that span.

Conclusion: Coho is awesome.

2. Depth charge

A few days ago, we at HTTN were lamenting the fact that the Canucks were 1-6-2 in games the Sedins have been held pointless.

Well, on Saturday they were held pointless… yet the Canucks were able to emerge with 2 points in hand! As some losers would say: “Kudos.” (I think it means good job or something, but it just makes me want to punch the person in the stomach)

How did they manage it? Mostly due to an excellent performance by the supporting cast: The American Express line (another great nickname) was outstanding, looking fast and dangerous throughout the game and accounting for 4 points between them.

And we already talked about Hodgson, though we at HTTN apparently never get tired of him.

You know who else deserves kudos? (I deserve a punch in the stomach for saying kudos again). The top line. After being invisible for nearly 2 weeks, they led the Canucks in shots with 8. (2nd line had 7, 3rd line had 6).

3. Luongo likes to be committed

Against the Sharks, Roberto Luongo made history by registering his 212th win and breaking Kirk McLean’s record. He was also the main reason the Canucks got a point in their game against the LA Kings.

However, he has a problem on shootouts and breakways: committing too early to the shooter. This happened in a big way on Logan Couture’s first goal. Couture faked one way, Luongo bit hard, Couture had an open net to shoot at.

Like OMG, check it out:

-written by Geoff Lowe

Last weekend’s divisional match-ups had it all: a blow out, a close game decided by defense and turnovers, and shocking upsets of the two teams most favoured to win it all.

Now it’s time for the championship games. Here’s who will move on to the Superbowl:

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots

The Ravens were unimpressive last weekend: if not for a muffed punt by the Texans’ Jacoby Jones that led to the Baltimore’s first touchdown, Houston would have won.

Baltimore’s “vaunted” defense allowed 131 yards on the ground, which is out of character as it ranked second in the league this season, allowing only 92 yards per game.

Also, they didn’t manage to sack Texans quarterback T.J. Yates! They’ll need to get to Tom Brady if they want to stop him.

On offense, the Ravens ran for 38 yards less than their season average after ranking in the top 10 in the league in rushing yards. With Joe Flacco’s inconsistent play (51.9 completion percentage vs. Houston and many balls in the turf), the Ravens will need their running game to be in full force.

Then there’s New England. The Broncos were done two minutes into the game when the Pats scored their first touchdown.

Tom Brady is playing arguably the best football of his career: he threw six touchdowns against Denver, tying a playoff record held by Steve Young.

If Baltimore’s offense continues to struggle and their defense can’t stay in Brady’s face, they won’t be in this game long.

I’m betting the the Patriots will head to the Superbowl for the fifth time since 2001 and they’ll cover the nine-point spread.

Baltimore – 20
New England – 34

New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers

All season long NFL experts predicted the NFC Championship would be played in New Orleans or Green Bay. Instead, San Francisco is being visited by the Giants, who finished their season 9-7.

In the 49ers, the Giants will face arguably the league’s best defense.

San Francisco’s defense stifles the run. Not only did it allow only three rushing scores this season, it held the Saints to just 37 yards. They also have 45 sacks on the season, including 3 last week against Drew Brees.

The Giants, who rank 7th in the playoffs with 267 rushing yards (172 in the first game), will need to establish a run game to keep the pressure off Eli Manning.

The 49ers face a similar problem against the Giants’ defense, which has improved vastly in the last month. Through the first 14 games of the season the Giants defense was allowing an average of 385.1 yards a game. In the last month (2 regular season games and 2 playoff games) the Giants have been giving up an average of only 316.5 yards a game.

The Giants defense will try to throw tons of pressure at 49ers’ QB Alex Smith, and San Fran will have to run the ball viciously. Not a problem: they ran for 143 yards against the Saints last weekend and averaged 127.8 during the regular season (8th in the NFL).

The team that runs the ball effectively and plays stellar defense will win this game.

San Francisco are favoured by three, and they’ll beat the Giants with the spread.

New York – 17
San Francisco – 24