Raycroft Leads Canucks to Shootout Win in L.A.

Andrew Raycroft was thrown to the wolves on Thursday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as the Vancouver Canucks (and partly the Manitoba Moose) came into face one of the NHL's highest scoring teams.

Without their best player and captain Roberto Luongo for an indefinite amount of time, it was Raycroft's opportunity to solidify himself as a legitimate NHL netminder and after last night's performance, he got off to a good start. The Kings came out flying and dominated the entire first period, Scott Parse scored his first ever NHL goal to put the Kings up 1 - 0 but they couldn't capitalize on some man advantage situations to double their lead. The Canucks got a goal from Mikael Samuelsson completely against the run of the play late in the first period to even things up.

The second period was a much more even period, the Canucks generated some chances but both goaltenders were playing well enough to close the door. Andrew Raycroft made timely saves and was able to weather the Los Angeles attack which came in waves throughout the game. The leagues leading point getter heading into last night, Anze Kopitar was held off the scoresheet.

In the third, it was much of the same, although the Canucks were not generating many shots on goal as they only managed a few in the period and the Kings had some glorious chances, the best one off a solo rush from Anze Kopitar but Raycroft got the better of him with a nice save.

Overtime solved nothing, so for the second straight game in as many nights the Kings found themselves in a shootout, Michael Handzus was unable to give the Kings the early lead, and Ryan Kesler went high glove on Jon Quick to give the Canucks the early advantage in the shootout. Jack Johnson evened the shootout at 1 until Mikael Samuelsson stepped up again and made a key play for this hockey team by scoring the shootout winner on a nifty backhand deke.


The Canucks travel to Orange County to take on the struggling Anaheim Ducks tonight at the Honda Center. Andrew Raycroft is expected to start again.

Luongo week to week with fractured rib

Just when you thought the Canucks injury woes couldn't get any worse, Roberto Luongo goes down with a hairline fracture on his rib, and will be out of action for at least a week. Luongo originally injured the rib in a win against the Leafs on Saturday, but was able to suck it up for their next game versus the Oilers. He re-injured it sometime during last night's loss to the Red Wings and an MRI this morning revealed the fracture.

Vancouver has called up Corey Schneider from the farm and Andrew Raycroft is expected to get the nod on Thursday in Los Angeles.

The Canucks have the most injuries in the NHL right now with Luongo joining Daniel Sedin, Sami Salo, Kyle Wellwood, Pavol Demitra, Ryan Johnson and Janik Hansen on the shelf.

Canucks unravel in 3rd, lose to Red Wings 5-4

The Vancouver Canucks allowed three goals in just under a 6 minute span in the third period to lose 5-4 to the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night. Jason Williams scored the winner on the powerplay with 5:03 left in the final frame to put the game away.

Henrik Sedin and Christian Ehrhoff scored softies in the first ten minutes to chase Wings starter Chris Osgood. Jimmy Howard entered the game and earned the win for Detroit who improved to 4-4-2 on the season. Henrik scored his 2nd of the game and Mathieu Schneider with his 1st as a Canuck, completed the scoring for Vancouver, while Pavel Datsyuk with his 1st and 2nd goal of the year, Tomas Holmstrom and Niklas Kronwall scored for the Red Wings.

Our take: Even though they struggled out of the gate, the Detroit Red Wings are still a dangerous team, and they proved that against a Canucks team that once again got outplayed for the majority of the game. You can get away with it against a team like the Leafs, but the Wings will (and did) exploit you if you bring a lackluster effort.

Vancouver were lucky to even be ahead off the bat as Chris Osgood let in two dirty, dirty goals to give the Canucks an early 2-0 lead. Roberto Luongo was solid in net, but it wasn't enough as they were outworked, outclassed and outplayed by a better Detroit Club.

Roberto Luongo, Canucks shut out Oilers 2-0

Roberto Luongo appears to have finally returned to form as he and the Vancouver Canucks shut out the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 on Sunday night. Michael Grabner, who continues to look comfortable alongside Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond on the 2nd line, scored the winner tipping a Christian Ehrhoff point shot past Jeff Deslauriers. Henrik Sedin, also with a deflection in front, scored the other Canucks goal.

Vancouver is over .500 for the first time all year, and look to improve on their 6-5 record Tuesday night as the struggling Detroit Red Wings are in town.

Our take: Although they shut out the flu-ravaged Oilers, the Canucks have a long way to go in order to turn their season around. Luongo is looking great and could be en route to another great year. The 2nd line of Raymond - Kesler - Grabner is extremely fast and affective and have been the team's best unit for the last couple weeks. With speed like that, they are always making things happen. Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Sedin continue to show good chemistry, and it would be hard pressed for Alain Vigneault to not keep Samuelsson with both Sedins once Daniel returns from injury. With all our injuries, if we can continue to put up wins like we have, fans will have to see it as positive.

Red flags however are still the play of Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler. Both guys are extremely prone to bad turnovers, and in Bieksa's case, he has completely forgotten how to play physical. What Bieksa needs is a good ole fashioned line brawl or something where he tunes on someone and remembers how much he loves hurting people. Hopefully this happens sooner than later because I can hardly take it any longer.

Canucks Down Leafs, Get Set for Oilers

The Vancouver Canucks host the Edmonton Oilers tonight at General Motors Place in the second half of a back to back for both teams. The Oilers are coming off a 5 - 2 loss at the hands of their Alberta rivals, the Calgary Flames. The Canucks were able to hold on for a 3 - 1 win over the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs last night, a game in which Roberto Luongo seemed to be in the zone.

Tonight, the Canucks looks for some revenge after a 2 - 1 loss in Edmonton last week, Sam Gagner scored the winner midway through the third and the Oilers held on for the two points despite a late charge from the Canucks. The puck drops at 7PM at the garage.

Vancouver:

Luongo

Willie Mitchell - Alex Edler
Kevin Bieksa - Shane O'Brien
Christian Ehrhoff - Mathieu Schneider

Mikael Samuelsson - Henrik Sedin - Alex Burrows
Mason Raymond - Ryan Kesler - Michael Grabner
Steve Bernier - Alexandre Bolduc - Sergei Shirokov
Darcy Hordichuk - Ryan Johnson - Tanner Glass

Edmonton:

Khabibulin

Ladislav Smid - Lubomir Visnovsky
Denis Grebeshkov - Tom Gilbert
Taylor Chorney - Theo Peckham

Dustin Penner - Sam Gagner - Ales Hemsky
Ethan Moreau - Shawn Horcoff - Patrick O'Sullivan
JF Jacques - Andrew Cogliano - Robert Nilsson
Steve MacIntyre - Zack Stortini - Jason Strudwick

The Oilers are coming off a 5 - 2 loss at the hands of their Alberta rivals, the Calgary Flames.

Key players to watch for tonight: Dustin Penner and Ales Hemsky have been on fire recently. Penner already has 15 points this season and has been a force for the Oilers heading to the front of the net and causing trouble for opposing defenders. Mason Raymond was the Canucks best skater last night and hopes to continue providing that critical secondary scoring the Canucks so desperately need right now.

Notes: Kyle Wellwood will not play tonight due to a broken toe, the Canucks have re-called youngster Sergei Shirokov who will be in the lineup.

Mathieu Schneider will make his Vancouver Canucks debut tonight, Aaron Rome is expected to be the odd man out on the blueline.

Canucks rake lowly Leafs; Improve record to .500

Although it wasn't the 60 minute effort the Canucks were looking for, the way this season has gone so far they will certainly take the win. Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond scored 1st period powerplay goals for Vancouver, while Niklas Hagman replied for the Leafs. Raymond would pot his second goal of the game into an empty net to lead the Canucks to a 3-1 victory. Toronto dominated the 3rd period, but couldn't beat Roberto Luongo who has seemed to turn it around after an extremely poor start.

Vancouver is right back at it tonight against the Oilers who are coming into town after a tough 5-2 loss to the Flames last night.

Our take: An effort like that against any other team and Vancouver most likely loses that game. Good to see Luongo is back in form, and he finally stole a game for the 'Nucks. The line of Grabner - Kesler - Raymond is looking unreal and could possibly be the fastest line in the NHL - it's very nice to see Grabner playing well after his awful pre-season, and he looks to be determined to stick with the big club. With news that Pavol Demitra is probably out for the whole season, Grabner will have a good chance at sticking with the Canucks all year.

Canucks Get Character Win in Chicago

Willie Mitchell and the Vancouver Canucks came into Chicago struggling to find their game on the road, but the bruising Canucks blue liner had no problem finding Jonathan Toews with his head down in the neutral zone. Toews got caught watching the puck on his stick as Willie Mitchell exited the penalty box and knocked Toews off of his feet. The Hawks youngster stumbled to the bench, left the game and did not return.



As for the Canucks, they fell behind on two occasions in this hockey game and battled back to get a victory, their first away from GM Place. Duncan Keith opened the scoring for Chicago and Steve Bernier scored his second goal in as many games to tie it up for the Canucks. Late in the second period Duncan Keith made a heads up play to find Troy Brouwer at the side of the Canucks net who was able to re-direct a shot past Roberto Luongo.

The Canucks captain played well in the third period, as the Canucks were forced to kill off a long 5 on 3 and Luongo wasn't overly busy, but made some timely saves to keep the deficit at 1. After Willie Mitchell's big hit, the Canucks seemed to get some life as Ryan Kesler took a hit of his own to make a nice pass to Michael Grabner who scored his first NHL goal on a rocket slap shot that beat Antti Niemi post and in.

3 minutes later, Brian Campbell turned the puck over in his own zone, Mikael Samuelsson came up with the puck and snapped a shot by the young Hawk goaltender to give the Canucks a 3 - 2 lead, the goal went on to be Samuelsson's second game winner of the early season.

The Canucks get set to face the winless (the only winless team in the NHL by the way) Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night at home. Note the 4PM faceoff at GM Place.

Canucks Back in Windy City to Face Hawks

The Vancouver Canucks are back in the hostile confines of the Madhouse on Madison. The United Center will play host to the Canucks and Blackhawks tonight as Vancouver tries to get their first road win of the season in one of the most difficult places to play in the National Hockey League.

The Blackhawks boast 3 deep lines that roll at their opposition in waves, all three lines can score as they are anchored by Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Dave Bolland and a host of other young foot soldiers. Despite their amazing depth up front, the biggest strength for the Blackhawks is their mobility, youth, and puck movement on the back end. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are among the top young puck movers in the league and can make a great first pass.

As for the Canucks, they'll need to come together quickly now to avoid a major dismantling tonight. The Hawks can skate, score, and are getting good goaltending from youngster Antti Niemi who is expected to start tonight. Roberto Luongo obviously has some demons at the United Center, and he's going to need to to conquer them tonight for the Canucks to have a chance to pick up 2 points.

The Canucks once again outshot their opposition in Edmonton but could not bear down and finish their chances. Kyle Wellwood came within half a second of sending the game to overtime, but even by the slightest margin, it was too little, too late.

That was the 4th time in this young season that the first star of the game has been the team's opposing goaltender. The Canucks should look to take the crowd out of it early if they have hopes of skating away with a win, but they'll need to play well and make good decisions in their own end tonight to avoid this:



I challenge any Canucks fan not to CRINGE when they hear that. Puck drop is at 5:30 PM PST.

Canucks lose 2-1 to Oilers; Remain winless on the road

The Vancouver Canucks were once again unable to put together back to back wins as they lost 2-1 to the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night. Steve Bernier got the Canucks on the board early in the 1st, banging in a rebound off a Kyle Wellwood shot. Patrick O'Sullivan tied the game up only 26 seconds into the 2nd period off a nice feed from Denis Grebeshkov then Sam Gagner scored midway through the third on a terrible Alex Edler turnover to put the Oilers up 2-1. Nikolai Khabibulin stood on his head throughout the whole game, stopping 39 of 40 shots. Kyle Wellwood actually put the puck in the net after a gorgeous end to end rush late in the third, unfortunately the time had just run out and the puck went into the net about a second too late.

Our take: Is it just me or have the Canucks run into a hot goalie in every game so far this year, except against the Canadiens? Khabibulin was miraculous tonight, but clearly Vancouver is also lacking finish and aren't capitalizing on their chances. They are however averaging close to 40 shots a game and have outchanced their opponent's in most of the games this year.

Alex Edler and Kevin Bieksa have been god awful so far this year with their terrible pinches and brutal turnovers. What happened to the Kevin Bieksa that used to smash everything in sight, and used to love to punch people in the face? The Kevin Bieksa that came out of nowehere to become a fan favorite, and a tough guy to play against? Apparently he thinks now that he has a big contract and is an everyday NHLer that he can coast through games and get away with it. It's time Alain Vigneault grows some balls and sends some messages to some of these guys before it gets too late - which is sooner than later.

Canucks in Oiltown Aiming for Back to Back Wins

The Canucks and Oilers face off tonight for their first matchup of the season. The Oilers are 4 - 2 - 1 and the Canucks are 3 - 4 -0 to start the year, with both teams coming off victories over the lowly Minnesota Wild.

The Canucks peppered Wild goaltender Nicklas Backstrom and were able to pull out a 2 - 1 win on home ice despite the Wild getting some incredible goaltending. Roberto Luongo wasn't extremely busy but he did look sharp when the Canucks needed him, especially on the Penalty Kill.

The Oilers have some young guns that are playing well right now, Gilbert Brule seems to have found his game as he has started the year with 4 goals and 3 assists in 7 games. Dustin Penner seems to be living up to his paycheque for the time being as he has gotten off to a solid start as well.

As for the Canucks, they'll need to get continuous production from Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows and Henrik Sedin in order to battle through this stretch of injuries. It's time for the Canucks young players to start making an impact as well, Michael Grabner will need to start converting on his chances and Mason Raymond will need to do the same. Raymond was flying on Saturday night, but he'll need to do more than just speed up and down the wing.

The Canucks look for their first points and first win on the road tonight at Rexall Place in Edmonton.

Canucks beat Wild; Improve to 3-4

The Vancouver Canucks got back on the winning track Saturday night with a 2-1 win against the Minnesota Wild. In familiar fashion, the Canucks got behind early on a Mikko Koivu shot that deflected off of Kyle Wellwood's skate and slipped past Roberto Luongo to make it 1-0 Minny. The score would remain that way until the 2nd when Ryan Kesler banked one in off a stickless Niklas Backstrom to tie the game 1-1. Early in the 3rd period, Mikael Samuelsson collected a rebound off of an Alex Burrows attempt, and quickly went backhand to forehand and roofed one passed a sprawling Backstrom.

Backstrom single-handedly kept the game close as the Canucks peppered him all game finishing with 39 shots. It was easily Vancouver's best performance of the year, playing a solid game for nearly all 60 minutes, something they haven't been able to say all year.

Our take: About time!! Good to see the boys finally put it all together and play a solid game. I don't think it's a fluke that for the first time all year we were the more physical team, and it resulted in a win. Roberto Luongo was sharp when he needed to be (which wasn't often), especially with a point blank save on Brent Burns with just over a minute remaining.

Another positive in this game was the play of Michael Grabner. He seemed to try and keep things simple, and he along with linemates Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond were buzzing all night. It will be interesting to see how this line can produce in the next couple games, and to see if Grabner can hold onto his spot in the lineup.

Next up for Vancouver is a date with the Oilers in Edmonton Monday night. The Oilers are coming off a 5-3 drilling of the Wild in their last game, and seem to be turning the corner themselves, so this could be a very interesting game.

Canucks visit Flames in huge Northwest matchup

The Vancouver Canucks finally get back on the ice tonight after a five day layoff which last saw them beat Dallas 4-3 on Sunday night in a shootout. After starting the season with three straight losses, the Canucks have reeled off two wins in a row, and are looking to move to .500 with a victory tonight in Calgary. Conversely, the Flames started the year with four straight wins, but have since lost three in a row.

Vancouver is already dealing with some serious injury issues. Daniel Sedin and Sami Salo are out for at least another month, while Pavol Demitra's rehab isn't going as well as planned. There is a possibility that he might miss the entire season, and at best won't be back until around Christmas. Mathieu Schneider is expected to be back in early November, but with his age, it might take him awhile to get back into game shape. Rookie Michael Grabner will finally play in his 1st NHL regular season game, and he is slotted on the top line with Alex Burrows and Henrik Sedin. Aaron Rome will play his 1st game with the Canucks, filling in for the oft-injured Salo.

Our take: Any time these two teams faceoff it's a big game, regardless of what time a year or standings or anything. Vancouver will be looking to avenge a 5-3 opening night loss to the Flamers. Michael Grabner will get 1st line minutes, and is looking to work off the early season success he has found in the AHL. Alain Vigneault has made a few more tweaks to the lineup, moving 4th line center Ryan Johnson to the wing on the 3rd line alongside Kyle Wellwood and Steve Bernier. Mason Raymond, Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson will remain together on the 2nd line while Tanner Glass will join Rick Rypien and Darcy Hordichuk on the 4th line. Guillame Desbiens has been sent back to the Moose.

Prediction: 4-3 Vancouver win. Goals by Ryan Kesler, Kyle Wellwood, Alex Edler and Henrik Sedin with the winner late in the 3rd.

Canucks recall Michael Grabner

The Vancouver Canucks have recalled former 1st round pick Michael Grabner from the Manitoba Moose. Grabner has been impressive thus far for the Moose, recording 4 goals and 2 assists in 5 games. He was disappointing in the pre-season, but the Canucks are willing to give him another shot Friday against the Flames.

Our Take: A little surprising that they called up Grabner instead of Sergei Shirokov considering Shirokov drastically outplayed Grabner in the pre-season and by all accounts Shirokov has been the most impressive player for Manitoba so far in the young season. Grabner has said that he felt extremely nervous in the pre-season, which makes you wonder how he will feel in an important division matchup and in hostile enemy territory in Calgary. Expect the Canucks brass to have a short leash with the young Austrian, so if he doesn't perform on Friday, he could be sent down instantly.

Canucks Injury Woes Grow, Salo Hurt

Most Canucks fans would pretty much say it was a matter of time, but blueliner Sami Salo is hurt yet again. Salo left in the second period of the Canucks 4 - 3 shootout victory over the Dallas Stars after he apparently tweaked his lower body in an awkward, but harmless looking play.

Salo has an extensive (and this is an understatement) injury history. This is classified as his 28th career injury and further solidifies him as one of the most fragile players in the league. Salo is expected to be out 4 - 6 weeks with a knee injury.

Our Take: Another blow to the Canucks, after losing their best goal scorer, they lose arguably their most consistent defenseman. When Salo is healthy and on his game, he is a huge asset to this team, his first pass is noticeably sharp and he has an absolute rocket from the point on the PowerPlay. The issue is, the words healthy and Sami Salo go together quite rarely. On the bright side, in about 5 weeks, the Canucks will get back two huge pieces to their success, in Salo and Daniel Sedin. They'll need to stay above water until then.

Canucks beat Stars 4-3 in shootout

It probably should have never gotten there, but Vancouver needed a shootout to sneak past Dallas 4-3 on Sunday night. Ryan Kesler and Kyle Wellwood scored shootout goals, and Roberto Luongo stopped all three Stars' shooters to earn the victory. Kesler and Alex Burrows with powerplay goals, and Willie Mitchell even strength scored for the Canucks, while Mike Ribeiro, Brad Richards and Jamie Benn (late in the 3rd period, tying the game) with his first career NHL goal netted the tallies for Dallas. Henrik Sedin - playing his first game of the season without his brother (read previous story) - recorded 2 assists in the win despite Dallas outshooting Vancouver 36-25 in the game.

Our take: As mentioned before, this game should not have gone to a shootout. Vancouver allowed a goal to Jamie Benn with 1:33 remaining to force overtime. In order to be successful, the Canucks cannot allow Conference opponents to earn points like that. Fans should be thankful to see Henrik Sedin have a good game without his brother and that Roberto Luongo didn't allow a weak goal. They should be thankful that despite pretty much playing with 2 fourth lines (mixed with Kyle Wellwood) and getting outshot drastically, that Vancouver still pulled off the win. And last but certainly not least, we should all be thankful for everything we have. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Daniel Sedin out 4-6 weeks with Broken Foot

The Canucks were dealt a huge blow this weekend after an x-ray revealed Daniel Sedin broke his foot. Sedin took an Alex Edler slapshot off the skate in Wednesday's 7-1 win over Montreal. He is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks, although Danny claims he is "shooting to be back in three weeks."

Our take: This is obviously a huge loss for the Canucks as they are losing their leading goal scorer for a significant period of time. This also begs the question, how will brother Henrik do without his twin on a line with him? The Canucks will undoubtedly need others to step up and fill the void in Daniel's absence. Vancouver called up grinder Guillaume Desbiens, who is clearly not the answer offensively, while Steve Bernier is expected to replace Daniel on the team's top line.

I am surprised they didn't call up Sergei Shirokov as this looked to be the chance the young Russian needed. If Desbiens fails as an everyday NHLer, expect to see Shirokov or perhaps Michael Grabner get the call to see what they can do in an offensive role for the Canucks.

Canucks Youngster Shirokov Sent Down to Moose

Sergei Shirokov has had a tough go of it lately. Coming off a stellar pre-season performance while leading the Canucks in exhibition scoring, he was vaulted to a top 6 role with Ryan Kesler and Mikael Samuelsson. Shirokov has shown some growing pains, as he has had trouble generating any offense and has looked lost at times.

The Canucks are not giving up hope that he can and will one day be a consistent contributer for them at the NHL level, but at this time they feel playing the pro game down in the AHL could add a lot to his development.

Our Take: The Canucks aren't going to mess with a winning lineup. So if he isn't going to play up here, it's the best thing for him to season his game in Manitoba and be a first or second offensive call up for this organization.

Leafs fined "undisclosed" amount for tampering with Canucks

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been fined an undisclosed amount after being found guily of tampering by the NHL. The undisclosed amount is rumoured to be $25,000, which to an NHL team is pocket change. As I discussed earlier, Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs can get away with murder, so this tiny fine is no surprise to anyone. Clearly, the NHL isn't taking this as seriously as they should. Tampering is a serious offense, and now the precedent has been set that a small fine will ensue any offense. Just another ridiculous call made by the NHL, one that will undoubtedly have undesired affects in the future.

Our take: Gary Bettman is a bonehead and so is Brian Burke. Enough said.

Canucks Break-Out, Rout Habs

You could feel the negativity in the air, you could sense the hand hovering a few inches over the panic button - until the Canucks came out and dominated the Montreal Canadiens at GM Place on Wednesday night. It was a slump-busting night as Mason Raymond, Ryan Kesler and Steve Bernier scored their first goals of the season.

Kesler opened the scoring on a beautiful breakaway feed from Alex Edler, as he slid in behind the Montreal defense and beat Carey Price with a nifty forehand deke. Mason Raymond blew by Hal Gill and cut to the net to increase the Canucks lead to 2 - 0, the Canucks capitalized on their first Power Play of the night to make it 3 - 0 with Steve Bernier netting a tap in off a feed from Daniel Sedin.

The Habs made it interesting - at least for a little while - until the Canucks big guns took the game over. Henrik Sedin scored back to back goals to give the Canucks a 5 - 1 lead, Mikael Samuelsson and Alex Burrows also both scored their second goals of the season to cap a 7 - 1 win for Vancouver.

All eyes were on Roberto Luongo heading into this matchup with Montreal, he made some key saves, especially on the Penalty Kill, and despite the 1 questionable goal he allowed to Andrei Kostitsyn off the half boards on the Power Play, Luongo seemed to start getting his game back on track.

On a lighter note, Rick Rypien stunned the GM Place crowd as he dropped the gloves with Canadiens giant Hal Gill. Rypien was landing some decent punches while holding his own against the much taller, heavier, and stronger Hal Gill. Check out the fight below:



Our Take: The Canucks needed this. They needed every second of this. Finally finishing their chances was critical for this group, and obviously having Roberto Luongo back on track was key as well. He'll need to cut down on the questionable goals, but he made some significant saves tonight at important times for this team. Vancouver has some time off now, as their next game is Sunday against Marc Crawford and the Dallas Stars, before they head out on the road to Calgary.

Canadiens in town to face winless Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are still looking for their first win of the season as the Montreal Canadiens pay a visit to GM place. Montreal is coming off a tough 4-3 loss to Calgary last night, while the Canucks last played in a lost to Columbus on Monday night.

Vancouver will have two changes in their lineup as they look to shake things up a bit. Defenseman Aaron Rome will see his first regular season action replacing Shane O'Brien, while Tanner Glass will enter the lineup for the struggling rookie Sergei Shirokov. The lines are expected to look like this:

Canucks

D.Sedin-H.Sedin-Burrows
Raymond-Kesler-Samuelsson
Glass-Wellwood-Bernier
Hordichuk-Johnson-Rypien

Mitchell-Salo
Edler-Ehrhoff
Rome-Bieksa

Roberto Luongo
Andrew Raycroft

Canadiens

Cammalleri-Gomez-Gionta
Pacioretty-Plekanec-A.Kostitsyn
Latendresse-Lapierre-Moen
Stewart-Chipchura-Laraque

Hamrlik-Spacek
Gill-Gorges
Mara-Weber

Carey Price
Jaroslav Halak

Our take: It's pretty much a must win for the Canucks tonight. If they don't win, and especially if they play poorly, expect a major backlash from fans and media alike. Roberto Luongo MUST be better, and I expect him to comeback with a vengeance. Kevin Bieksa has been god awful, as has Ryan Kesler and the whole 4th line. In order to get out of this early slump, all parties will have to step up their play.

Mike Gillis and the Canucks officially file tampering suit against Brian Burke and the Leafs

Mike Gillis announced on Monday that the Vancouver Canucks have officially filed tampering charges against the Toronto Maple Leafs after Toronto GM Brian Burke went public in saying that the Canucks offered Kevin Bieksa, Alex Burrows and their 1st round pick (22nd overall) to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for the 2nd overall pick (Victor Hedman) at this year' NHL entry draft. Gillis commented on the issue on the Team 1040 earlier this week.

"There are certainly some issues that the league needs to take control off when players' names are being thrown around. You're talking about lives and families and those things need to be kept confidential when you may be discussing a transaction of some type. There was a mention of player's names, which was very upsetting for them, and it doesn't make me feel very good."

Furthermore, earlier in the summer, Maple Leafs' head coach Ron Wilson made remarks that could possibly be interpreted as tampering on a Toronto radio station when he stated that the Leafs' would be interested in going after the Sedin twins during the free agency period.

Stay tuned to CanuckCity for the latest on this issue.

Our take: Brian Burke and Gary Bettman are tight and it seems like Burkie can get away with almost anything. With that said, the precedent will be set with the outcome of this case, so if the NHL doesn't dish out any punishment expect tampering to become a prevalent issue in the future. Clearly these things are considered illegal according to the CBA, especially Wilson's comments before July 1st about signing the Sedins (who were UFA's).

Wewould be naive to think that these kinds of things don't happen quite regularly, but they definitely shouldn't be done publicly. If found guilty, expect Toronto to owe Vancouver a draft pick and some cash.

Luongo & Canucks Slow Start Continues

Roberto Luongo is trying to erase the memories of that horrible night we all remember in the Windy City last summer. Some would say, he isn't quite on his way to doing that yet. Another poor outing from Roberto Luongo was enough to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a win last night as the Canucks played their home opener at GM Place.

Henrik Sedin scored first for the Canucks, but the Blue Jackets tied it at the end of a Canucks powerplay, a man advantage in which the Canucks had a 1:30 5 on 3 but couldn't finish, and in the end, that was the turning the point in the hockey game.

Columbus came out in the second period and scored 3 goals, on 3 consecutive shots on Roberto Luongo in under 3 minutes. A stunned crowd at General Motors Place was silenced, until Christian Ehrhoff was (finally) able to get a shot from the point through which found the back of the net. The Canucks went into the third in familiar territory, trailing by 2 or more goals.

Willie Mitchell made the game close, but a hooking penalty on Mikael Samuelsson with 5 minutes to go would prove to seal the deal, as Fedor Tyutin was able to get a seeing eye shot through traffic and past Andrew Raycroft, who was solid overall in relief of the Canucks Captain.

The slow starts are common with Roberto Luongo, but that doesn't mean he should be given a free pass. As the highest paid player and captain of this hockey team, he needs to be ready to play from October to April and beyond, not November to April and beyond. The points matter just as much now, as they do down the stretch.

Luongo needs a solid outing to shake off the comments that he can't focus in big game situations lately.

Line Combinations May Be Juggled

After an 0 - 2 start to the 2009-2010 season that not many people predicted, the Canucks and Alain Vigneault are looking to get their season on track Monday night in their home opener as they host the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Craig Anderson and the Avalanche stymied the Canucks and a shakeup in the top two lines could be exactly what the doctor ordered...or at least what the coach is pondering. Alain Vigneault is contemplating the idea of shuffling his top 6 forwards. Keep and eye out for the possibility of Mikeal Samuelsson (one of the few bright spots so far this season) to be promoted to top line duty with Daniel and Henrik, while Alex Burrows may rejoin his agitating partner in crime Ryan Kesler, with shifty youngster Sergei Shirokov.

Kyle Wellwood, Steve Bernier and Mason Raymond should continue to stay in tact for the time being, as they have generated chances and been the Canucks most hard working line so far this season. It remains to be seen if Vigneault will pull the trigger on these line changes for Monday night, or if he'll give his current lineup 1 more game to try and get things on track.

Our Take: I would leave the lines as is. I don't think it's a matter of line combinations that is causing the slow start for this group, it's simply just timing and work ethic. The Canucks simply just haven't looked in synch so far, you can attritbute that to never playing a pre-season game with their full squad, or just having trouble re-gaining chemistry they found with one another last season. Whatever the reason, the Canucks should be boosted by the home crowd at the garage, and should come out with some energy in their home opener. Hopefully that energy is enough to produce some fluidity to their game.

Avalanche blank Canucks 3-0

The Vancouver Canucks fell to 0-2 early in the 2009'10 season with a 3-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Once again, the Canucks came out flat, and got off to an early deficit as Wojtek Wolski finished off a beauty tic-tac-toe from linemates Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk. Stastny and Darcy Tucker, both on the powerplay, completed the scoring for the Avs who got a 35 save shutout from goalie Craig Anderson.

Vancouver resumes play on Monday night as they return home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Our Take: It's still mighty early but there wasn't too many positives to pull from the game in Colorado. No-one stuck out for the Canucks and there wasn't much emotion in the game until the third. The AVs looked to be the hungrier team and proved that they will not be an easy team to play against. Sure Vancouver hasn't been very good, but so far in 2 games they have come across 2 very good goaltender performances.

Bottomline is with 80 games remaining, alot can happen and there is certainly no need to panic as of yet. With that said, if the Cancucks continue to show little emotion and lose a few more early on, fans might start wondering what the heck is going on.

Flames burn Canucks on opening night

The Calgary Flames scored 3 goals early in the first period, then held off a 2nd half comeback from the Canucks to hang on to a 5-3 win. Mikka Kiprusoff was very strong in net for the Flames, making 39 saves for the win. Roberto Luongo made 19 saves in the loss.

Vancouver clawed back to make it 4-2 after two, and Alex Burrows scored early in the 3rd to make it 4-3, but Calgary weathered the storm and Dion Phaneuf scored an empty-netter to put the game out of reach.

Our take: A tale of two halves as the Canucks came out flat and got dominated in the 1st half resulting in a quick three goal deficit. About midway through the 2nd, Vancouver finally turned on the burners and had Calgary pinned in their own zone for much of the rest of the game. After a weak 1st, the Sedin's and Burrows were absolutely dominant come the 3rd period, and had complete puck possession every time on the ice.

A gross start, but some positives to pull out of it as we looked like the much better team for the last half of the game, and hopefully can build off that in Denver Saturday afternoon. After a slow start which saw Henrik Sedin take 2 bad penalties, the Sedins looked unreal in the third period. Roberto Luongo seemed poised and confident after his rough start.

One reason for concern would be the 4th line. Darcy Hordichuk, Ryan Johnson and Rick Rypien were outplayed, outworked and outmuscled by Calgary's 4th line all night, and looked just plain awful to be honest. They will have to be better in order to stay intact and get a regular shift this season. With that said, there's still 81 games to go, so Vancouver fans shouldn't be sweating just yet.

Man2Man's Season & Award Predictions

Wastern Conference: Anaheim over Vancouver in 7
Eastern Conference: Washington over Pittsburgh in 7

Stanley Cup Final : Washington over Anaheim in 6

Conn Smythe: Alexander Ovechkin
Art Ross: Evgeni Malkin
Rocket Richard: Alexander Ovechkin
Hart: Alexander Ovechkin
Vezina: Roberto Luongo
Norris: Mike Green
Calder: John Tavares
Jack Adams: Randy Carlyle

K-mode's Stanley Cup and Award predictions

Wastern Conference Final: Anaheim over Vancouver in 6
Eastern Conference Final: Pittsburgh over Boston in 6

Stanley Cup Final : Anaheim over Pittsburgh in 5

Conn Smythe: Ryan Getzlaf
Art Ross: Evgeni Malkin
Rocket Richard: Alexander Ovechkin
Hart: Roberto Luongo
Vezina: Roberto Luongo
Norris: Zdeno Chara
Calder: Semyon Varlamov
Jack Adams: Randy Carlysle