i think id be interesting to predict which teams do make it looking @ the teams jockeying for the final 3 spots
i like cbj edm dal, not in any particular order
not sure what my exact reasons are cbj, like the balance in their lineup, & mason is outstanding edm, just b/c they are a cdn team dal, dont think they will keep fading like this down the stretch, turco's numbers havnt been outstanding but i have faith
And arguing the other side, improving talent doesnt mean theres going to be any chemistry between Jokinen/Leopold and their new teammates Also I'm sure you've heard this too, Jokinen is a cancer with characteristic problems
yea ive heard that but whats it founded on? he plays on bad teams that havent gone anywhere sure, but dont recall anything player specific and hard to imagine a room get corrupted when u have iggy leading the charge + iron mike at the helm
DaNoobie;49814 said:
Plus, one more point is that Vancouver wasnt healthy for a long long time and is still only 8 back (of Calgary). Now as it stands, the Canucks are as healthy as they've been in a long time while Calgary is dealing with their injury problems right now (Bourque, Giordano, and someone else?) - and if you look at Bourque's production this year compared to Jokinen's, you'll see they did not exactly get much of a boost for the latter part of the season. *note 2, I have no idea how long the injured Flamers are out for
agreed. i heard bert is out for a month following surgery im confident we can close the gap, but 8 might be too much
I think Dallas doesnt stand much of a chance without Richards. He had been really coming on before he got hurt (I know this because he was on my fantasy team) and he'll be out pretty much until April
Anaheim hasn't exactly been playing well and have the least number of games left of the bunch. So my guess is CBJ, EDM and MIN
CBJ has a great young goalie in Mason. EDM well... because they're like cockroaches that just never die Minnesota because they somehow manage to score just enough goals to get points. Although given the year/roster they have, I really dont think they'll be much of a factor in the post season.
The East has a nice little race brewing too with 5-10 all up for grabs. Of course the smart choice there is to give up on Buffalo given they're without Miller (seemingly for a long period considering they picked up Telleqvist as insurance) I'd pencil Pittsburgh in for the time being considering they're playing well. When Crosby returns, we'll see just how big of an impact that Whitney/Kunitz trade has. I also like Carolina too since they reunited Cole with Staal at deadline, that combined with NYR/MON's recent struggles, they might just sneak in too.
On Jokinen's bad rep, I think it was ex-teammates calling out his lackluster play and being a prima donna. Sure maybe Iron Mike sets him straight (considering his best years were under Keenan in Florida anyways) but maybe he corrupts the whole room and shows other players that he can get away with defying the coach. Just speculations. The injury one is the better point I think, I'll go with that one. That and their inability to keep the puck out of their own net.
btw, I was alluding to their lukewarm defence with the whole, did not address their problem statement They're 19th in the league in goals against, and they let the leagues 22nd (or 8th worst) offense run up 8 against them, at home, and their solution to this was to go out and get - a puck moving defenseman and a top 6 forward?
Yes, their team got better on paper, they have an even more prolific offense, yay. But do you remember what happened when the Canucks had a prolific offense and a not so consistent goalie ala the West Coast Express/Dan Cloutier days?
yeah the stats are wacky, fine line there, they found a way to win, hopefully that will catch up to them just keying in on kipper, he has taken 1700+ shots on goal, more than 100+ the next guy in the league, his gaa and sv% @ 2.76 906 are avg as well
and to draw comparisons of the old canucks, just have to look @ (playoff) goaltending even tho clouts had decent regular season #s, kipper's playoff performances has been better (despite being bounced last 3 yrs in first round, i dont think he was the reason they lost)
it would be hilarious if MON and NYR both stumble out
montreal im a lil bitter sweet on cause they are canadian, but if all the cup hope in canada was out west, thatd be nice plus mtl hasnt been playing that well (minus lang too) so it wouldnt shock me
The shots taken stat just means their backup goaltending sucked and they have to ride him like a horse (although I think they may have picked someone up earlier in the season, I'm not sure on this) (brackets 2: maybe their defense also sucked and gave up a bunch of shots a game) My point was just to show that offense doesn't necessarily makes them better overall considering their problem is on D
Calgary just got screwed with Bertuzzi's injury...losing their third highest scorer this late in the season sucks. They still have a solid spot in the first round but hopefully this doesn't ruin the chemistry they had going on...some of the other players are gonna have to step it up.
Can't believe how well the Canucks are playing though it's really nice to see the skill and dedication paying off.
Wooo! Believe in Blue! What A Great Win Tonight! It was a statement game and it shows we can compete with any team in the league. GO CANUCKS. Luongo is looking good too
Since acquiring Jokinen, Flames have scored 8 and allowed 12 (granted 6 was by the backup) Their schedule isn't any easier too with road games at New Jersey and Detroit coming up. Chicago also lost today (at home to Colorado lol freebie!)
Canucks dont play a team above them in the standings until March 29th at Chicago (in 11 games) and besides from the game against the Flames on April 7th, 16/18 are played against teams with worse records. Opportunity anyone?
LA has a pretty good young team although it seems unlikely they'll make the playoffs at this point. I had a bad feeling going into the game last night and sure enough they lost. It seems the Canucks always have issues on the California road trips.
And can Vigneault please take Wellwood off the power play. I think any other player on the team could be more productive than him.
about yesterday's game; team cant show up 10 mins into the 3rd and expect to win we were fortunate to get the 1st goal and it was pretty much an uphill battle after a slow start.. pretty poor effort for the most part
hopefully they'll rebound and come out with more urgency against ANA
oh well one loss now onto anaheim. We really need to win this one as anaheim is fighting for their lives for a playoff spot and i sorta want the canucks to lock up a playoff spot sooner than later. We've all seen what can happen with the canucks and late season collapses. GO CANUCKS GO :)
Comments
i like cbj edm dal, not in any particular order
not sure what my exact reasons are
cbj, like the balance in their lineup, & mason is outstanding
edm, just b/c they are a cdn team
dal, dont think they will keep fading like this down the stretch, turco's numbers havnt been outstanding but i have faith
and hard to imagine a room get corrupted when u have iggy leading the charge + iron mike at the helm agreed. i heard bert is out for a month following surgery
im confident we can close the gap, but 8 might be too much
Anaheim hasn't exactly been playing well and have the least number of games left of the bunch. So my guess is CBJ, EDM and MIN
CBJ has a great young goalie in Mason.
EDM well... because they're like cockroaches that just never die
Minnesota because they somehow manage to score just enough goals to get points. Although given the year/roster they have, I really dont think they'll be much of a factor in the post season.
The East has a nice little race brewing too with 5-10 all up for grabs. Of course the smart choice there is to give up on Buffalo given they're without Miller (seemingly for a long period considering they picked up Telleqvist as insurance)
I'd pencil Pittsburgh in for the time being considering they're playing well. When Crosby returns, we'll see just how big of an impact that Whitney/Kunitz trade has.
I also like Carolina too since they reunited Cole with Staal at deadline, that combined with NYR/MON's recent struggles, they might just sneak in too.
The injury one is the better point I think, I'll go with that one. That and their inability to keep the puck out of their own net.
just keying in on kipper, he has taken 1700+ shots on goal, more than 100+ the next guy in the league, his gaa and sv% @ 2.76 906 are avg as well
and to draw comparisons of the old canucks, just have to look @ (playoff) goaltending
even tho clouts had decent regular season #s, kipper's playoff performances has been better (despite being bounced last 3 yrs in first round, i dont think he was the reason they lost)
montreal im a lil bitter sweet on cause they are canadian, but if all the cup hope in canada was out west, thatd be nice
plus mtl hasnt been playing that well (minus lang too) so it wouldnt shock me
My point was just to show that offense doesn't necessarily makes them better overall considering their problem is on D
should be a good one since our team has gotten much better since our last encounter
Can't believe how well the Canucks are playing though it's really nice to see the skill and dedication paying off.
and by tonight I mean any night against the Sharks
sundin cant skate well enough at this pt to play wing, will get exposed
in other news, nashville is smoking hot right now, my predictions arent lookin so good lol
I took a bunch of nucks in the CBC pool lol
Chicago also lost today (at home to Colorado lol freebie!)
Canucks dont play a team above them in the standings until March 29th at Chicago (in 11 games) and besides from the game against the Flames on April 7th, 16/18 are played against teams with worse records. Opportunity anyone?
playing kings tomorrow night, note the start time @730
And can Vigneault please take Wellwood off the power play. I think any other player on the team could be more productive than him.
we were fortunate to get the 1st goal and it was pretty much an uphill battle after a slow start.. pretty poor effort for the most part
hopefully they'll rebound and come out with more urgency against ANA
I'll say 3-1 Canucks.
we havnt been playing horrible, just not well enough
cal 68gp 86pt
chi 66gp 83pt
van 67gp 77pt
cbj 68gp 76pt