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Posts Tagged Vancouver Canucks

Fantasy Friday: Goalie Stats

Jan 6

Posted by Chris in Fantasy | No Comments

Today we are going to forgo The Hot List (although we still recommend looking into Daniel Alfredsson if you haven’t already) and will instead focus on more team-oriented stats and how they relate to goalies. Goalie stats are some of the hardest to predict in Fantasy Hockey. Now, the specifics may change from league to league, but overall goalies are usually rewarded for wins and punished for allowing goals. By looking at some of the overall team stats, managers may be able to better formulate a plan of attack and predict how their goalie may do on any given night.

Most leagues will punish goals allowed in some capacity. If you’re league does, then you may want to know which teams are more likely to score on any given night.

Eight teams in the league currently score, on average, three or more goals per game. If you’re goalie is facing one of those teams, you can pretty much expect at least three goals to slip through. Those eight teams are:

Boston (3.65)

Philadelphia (3.42)

Detroit (3.26)

Vancouver (3.24)

Chicago (3.20)

Toronto (3.15)

Pittsburgh (3.10)

Ottawa (3.0)

Leagues will also reward or punish goalies based on the number of shots faced. This may be a simple ‘shots faced’ stat, or represent itself in the form of save percentage or goals against average. These five teams lead the league in shots per game:

San Jose (34.8)

Pittsburgh (33.7)

Detroit (33.1)

Chicago (32.7)

Boston (32.5)

You’ll notice that three of the teams on the shots per game list are also on the goals scored per game list. Before starting your goalie against any of those teams, you may want to determine if you will gain more points by facing more shots or lose more points by letting in more goals.

One of the most popular goalie stats in Fantasy Hockey is wins. And, depending on how your league’s point system is set up, goalie wins can make or break your week in head-to-head matchups. So it’s important to know who your goalie is most likely to beat. These next five teams have the most losses in the NHL:

Columbus (24)

Anaheim (22)

Edmonton (21)

Carolina (21)

Calgary (19)

On the other side, these five teams lead the league in wins:

Boston (26)

NY Rangers (25)

Vancouver (25)

Detroit (25)

Chicago (24)

Taking all of these stats into consideration, the four teams that you will likely want to avoid playing your goalie against are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawk, Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings. Not only are they likely to beat you, but they are likely to score three or more goals on you as well.

All of these stats are available on NHL.com and can be useful tools when trying to decide whether to play your goalie against a given opponent. Goalie stats are some of the toughest to predict, but having knowledge of these stats can help you determine the best course of action when it comes to goalie plays.

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Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: Get Him While You Can

Oct 17

Posted by Eddie in Fantasy | 2 Comments

Only four months ago, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the first overall pick in the NHL draft. And just like fellow No. 1 pick and teammate Taylor Hall, Nugent-Hopkins has entered the NHL with a splash. He’s played four games this young season and he has four goals. Granted, three of those came in a hat trick performance came in a loss against the defending Western Conference champs Vancouver, but it quite impressive none the less.

Nugent-Hopkins is 18 years old and has already put three pucks past one of the best goalies in the world in Roberto Luongo. That’s something Team USA struggled with in the 2010 gold medal game. Standing at 6’1″ and 175 pounds (very similar build to yours truly) , Nugent-Hopkins entered the NHL via the CHL-Juniors route just like six of the previous seven No. 1 overall draft picks (Erik Johnson in 2006 is the only exception). He played the last two-plus seasons with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League. He is no stranger to lighting the lamp as he scored 31 goals and recorded 75 assists last season. He took a team that missed the playoffs in the two seasons before he arrived to two playoff appearances during his time there. Last season, the Rebels won the division title before losing in the second round of the playoffs.

Now that you have a little background information, check back at my season preview when I said he could be NHL ready at 18. I also said he would spend time on the second line and he’s doing just fine anchoring the young talent the Oilers possess. Only if they can get Ales Hemsky back because he suffered a shoulder injury Thursday night and will be out a couple weeks.

In your fantasy league, he could be available. According to some simple research, he is available in 75 percent of Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey leagues. He was still available in the Hockey World Blog fantasy league myself, Chris and EB participate in and I had a difficult decision to make. I was pretty set at the Center position as I have John Tavares, Ryan Getzlaf, Logan Couture and Steve Ott. I picked up Ott because Mike Fisher is on IR and I’m still hoping he can produce when he returns to the lineup. I might regret it, but I dropped Couture because he has not started off the way I thought he would be.

Check out this video of his hatty from the Vancouver game.

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Devils Strategically Name Parise Captain

Oct 6

Posted by EB in News, Soap Box | No Comments

Change that "A" to a "C" and what do we get? Still uncertainty on whether or not the New Jersey Devils can lock up Zach Parise at the end of his contract.

The New Jersey Devils have named Zach Parise their team Captain with Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias as Alternate Captains. Parise, who has played all 6 NHL seasons with the Devils, could be the face of the franchise for years to come. Or maybe not.

In the off-season Parise and the Devils had a shaky go at signing the young 27 year old to a multi-year deal. What looked like an inevitable arbitration hearing, the two sides finally agreed upon a 1-year, $6 million dollar contract. For Devil’s fans, this was a step in the right direction in keeping Parise long term. For all other hockey fans, it seemed likely Parise will become possible trade deadline bait in the upcoming NHL season and/or one of the top off-season free agents.  With the new Captaincy placed firmly on his chest, hockey fans are now left to wonder even more what the future holds for the star forward.

The Devils have named Parise Captain, for better or for worse, but in hopes of creating more of an emotional tie to the organization. In doing so, the team is hoping that they can avoid losing him to another team after his contract is up after this season. What surely is a ploy could very well come back and nip the Devils in the butt.

Not all players are cut out to be Captains, but that does not seem to be the case with Parise. Parise is a superstar and a genuinely good player with heart. When healthy, Parise can easily reach the 35+ goal mark, throw in about 45 assists, and you have yourself a perennial 80 point player. Like many sports, those who produce tend to be Captain.

Still though, the question of if Parise wants to play for the Devils has to come into play. Without a doubt Parise will give it his all as Captain for the Devils, but if he ends up moving to a new club, what are Devil’s fans supposed to think and feel? Are fans OK with that, or does it create a negative, hopelessness feeling inside?

The Devil’s organization are playing with fire by making Parise Captain. Maybe it will work out in their favor, they are the Devils after all. But maybe their decision will not. But hey, if the Vancouver Canucks can make a mistake naming goaltender Roberto Luongo Captain, the Devils can make one too.

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Vancouver Canucks

Sep 21

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | No Comments

Daniel Sedin, Ryan Kesler, and Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks

Daniel & Henrik Sedin, along with Ryan Kesler, will lead the way for the Canucks in 2011-12

Key Offseason Additions: Marco Sturm

Key Offseason Losses: Christian Ehrhoff, Raffi Torres, Tanner Glass

Last Season Ranking: 1st in the West

Offense: Up front, the Vancouver Canucks will not look much different than they did last season. They’re lead by a unit of forwards who left them on the brink of elimination in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, rebounded, and later pushed them to within a game of winning the Stanley Cup in June.

Leading the way on the top line will be Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Both are dominant offensively, and will hover in the range of 100 points once again this season. Also contributing heavily will be Ryan Kesler, who recorded a career-high in goals last season with 41. While putting up over 70 each of the past two seasons, Kesler has also been defensively responsible as well. Nothing showed off his accomplishments more than winning the Selke Trophy last season as the leagues best defensive forward. His strong play on both sides of the puck will continue to help the Canucks immensely.

When you think about secondary scoring for the Canucks, guys like Mikael Samuelsson, Alex Burrows, and Mason Raymond are going to come to mind. All three are going to continue to put pressure on opposing goaltenders, and will welcome the addition of Marco Sturm, who signed as a free agent over the summer. Sturm, when healthy, can be counted on to contribute at least 20 goals to an already prolific group of scorers.

Providing additional depth for the Canucks will be Jannik Hansen, Maxim Lapierre, Chris Higgins, and Manny Malhotra. Look for Hansen to continue his development and have a career year in only his fourth NHL season. Higgins will also look to rebound a bit after having sitting out several games last season due to injury.

Defense: On the blue line, the Canucks lost Christian Ehrhoff, one of their most talented defenseman from last season. To fill that void, they will rely on a core of Alexander Edler, Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieksa, and Sami Salo. Hamhuis and Edler will see their roles grow, and Canucks fans hope to see them stay in the line-up for 82 games this season. Both will be relied on for their contributions on the power-play, as well as even strength.

Bieksa, who played only 66 games last season, and 55 the year before, looks to rebound and retain his health as well. He had a fantastic post-season, picking up 10 points and playing around 24-25 minutes per game in the Stanley Cup finals. Salo, who has played less than 70 games every season since the lockout, needs to remain healthy as well. After only playing 27 games last season, the Canucks need him to rebound and be a presence on the blue line all season.

Goaltending: Roberto Luongo will be the man in net once again for Vancouver. Depending on who you ask, this could be a good or a bad thing. Luongo posted great numbers last season, and had good games in the post-season too, where he recorded four shutouts in only 25 games, which matched his season total for shutouts. On the downside, Luongo also had miserable outings including being pulled in favor of Cory Schneider on four separate occassions, and even being forced to play an entire 60 minutes as the Canucks got trounced 8-1 in game three of the finals. So the question still remains, does Roberto Luongo have what it takes to win a Stanley Cup?

Schneider will continue to see backup duty, as he is reliable in net and can be counted on to play the 20-25 games that will be asked of him. Canucks fans can be confident in his ability to step in and play, and being only 25, he will continue to develop and get better.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound. The Vancouver Canucks arguably have all of the pieces in place to not only return to the playoffs as a number one seed, but make a repeat run to the Stanley Cup finals as well.

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Rick Rypien found dead

Aug 15

Posted by Chris in News | 1 Comment

Several major media outlets have confirmed that Winnipeg Jets forward Rick Rypien was found dead at his home in Alberta, Canada, Monday evening. Rypien was 27 years old.

Rypien’s death has been ruled a non-suspicious death by police. The Vancouver Canucks, whom Rypien spent his entire professional career with, released a statement Monday night regarding the loss of Rypien:

“It is with tremendous sadness that the Vancouver Canucks confirm the passing of Rick Rypien. Rick has been a beloved member of the Canucks’ family for the past six years. Rick was a great teammate and friend to our players, coaches and staff. We send our deepest condolences to the Rypien family at this most difficult time.”

Rypien played 130 games with the Canucks over six seasons, working as mostly an enforcer for the club. He amassed 31 penalty minutes last season in nine games before asking for a leave of absence from the club. While the Canucks refused to comment on the nature of the leave, Canucks GM Mike Gillis stated in the Vancouver Sun, “When you come to know somebody and realize they’re a really good person, who has their heart in the right place and wants to do the right thing not only for themselves but for others, you have to support them.

“You don’t only support them when they’re at the top of their game and doing everything you want, you support them when they’re not feeling good about things or have other issues they have to deal with. These are young people that have a lot to offer, a lot to live for, and you support them in any way possible.”

In March of last season, Rypien looked to make a return to professional hockey and was assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Rypien remained with the Moose for the rest of the season. He signed as a free agent with the Winnipeg Jets this summer for $700,000.

In an interview with the Winnipeg Sun in March, Rypien stated he felt fine and was ready to return to what he loves doing with the Manitoba Moose.

“(The issues) are behind me and one thing I want to 100% clarify is that there’s no substance abuse at all — it’s the farthest thing from it,” said Rypien. “This is a personal matter. It’s kind of a rare issue and even though it’s taken me away from the game I love, doing the work I’ve done the last couple of months I’ve made a lot of gains as a person and as an individual.”

Rypien’s death comes only months after another NHL tough guy, Derek Boogaard, was found dead. The medical examiner ruled Boogaard’s cause of death came from a deadly mix of alcohol and drugs.

Our thoughts go out to Rick Rypien’s family and friends in the wake of this tragedy.

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Ehrhoff Carousel Stops at Buffalo

Jul 1

Posted by Eddie in News | No Comments

July 1 is the Black Friday of the hockey world, where teams line up in a frenzy to sign the newest crop of available free agents. This year’s pool isn’t as deep as it has been in previous years, where a lot of the Restricted Free Agents have signed tender offers with their current teams and will not be hitting the open market. One player whose rights have been traded multiple times this week before hitting the open market was defenseman Christian Ehrhoff.

His 10-year, $40 million deal is heavily front-loaded as Bob McKenzie from TSN reported Ehrhoff will receive a $2 million salary and $8 million signing bonus in Year 1; $3 million salary, $5 million signing bonus in Year 2; $4 million in Years 3, 4, 5, and 6; $3 million in Year 7; $1 million in Years 8, 9 and 10. The deal also features a modified no-trade clause.

Ehrhoff played this season for Vancouver, and was traded twice this week. First he was traded to New York Islanders Tuesday for a fourth-round pick in 2012. The following day, his rights was traded to Buffalo in exchange for a fourth-round pick. He was originally drafted by San Jose in 2001, and is a week away from turning 29. His career stats include 53 goals, 226 points, a plus-74 rating and 338 penalty minutes in 500 NHL games with the Sharks and Canucks. He also has 7 goals and 34 points in 73 postseason games, including 2 goals and 12 points this season with Vancouver.

He was ranked third by the Sporting News in their Top 25 Free Agents. The list of blue liners is thin to begin with, so it could benefit players such as Ed Jovanoski, Jonathan Ericsson, and Tomas Kaberle as teams will enter a bidding war with other clubs and could risk over-paying for someone.

Check the site later this evening for more news and happenings as NHL free agency begins.

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Team HockeyWorldBlog.com Takes Championship

Jun 30

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

What seems like an unlikely feat, after multiple season of a drought, team HockeyWorldBlog.com has taken the Championship.

The stage was set, team HockeyWorldBlog.com faced off against TRBL in the finals. HWB came into the contest as the favorite, taking first in the regular season with an impressive 8-2-0. TRBL, the underdog, finished third in the season not far behind with a 7-3-0 record.

As the teams warmed up, you could see the focus in their eyes. The music played, the horn sounded, goalies readied, and the puck dropped.

The first period got off to a quick start as 1 minute and 2 seconds into the period TRBL got on the board with a low blister to beat Eddie the goalie. The home crowd went silent, the tension grew. The goal seemed fluky, caught the defense off-guard. Play resumed and TRBL lit the lamp once more at the 5 minute and 17 second mark. HWB players started feeling hopeless.

“I thought about calling a timeout, to settle the guys down,” HWB Head Coach said. “But I did not want to waste it, I had faith in my boys, we’ve faced adversity before.”

To HWB’s relief, 59 seconds later, Evan put the puck behind the goal-line to put the game within one. The goal was assisted by a pretty pass from Koenig.

With the period nearing an end, and both teams playing hard, a TRBL turnover at center ice proved costly. EB picked up the puck on the right boards, sent it opposite side to Matt who took a few strides, ripped a shot from the top left circle, and put it past the goalie high.

“I’ve been practicing my form off-ice with some stuff from HockeyShot.com,” when asked about his Stamkos-esque wrister, “it seems to be paying off.”

The first period ended, both teams took a breather, both teams focused, both teams tied at two goals a piece.

“TRBL needed the break for sure. After going up two, then giving up two unanswered, you could really see the momentum starting to change.” a fan noted from the stands.

The second period got under way, with no penalties called and great up and down action, both goalies made incredible saves to keep their teams in it. At 9 minutes and 16 seconds in, HWB’s hard work paid off. On a shot that went wide on the left side, Evan picked it up from behind the net and tried to pick the low right corner. TRBL goalie made an incredible sliding save, kicked it out high opposite side and defenseman Chris pinched in for the slap-shot. The Shea Weber-esque shot found the back of the net, giving HWB a 3-2 lead.

“The play evolved so quickly. After the initial shot went wide, I saw Evan pick it from behind and take a shot. Next thing I know I’m trying to make myself as thin as a board as Chris ripped a shot between myself and the goalie for the goal. I could see the goalies eyes, he knew there was nothing he could do, the shot was just that hard. I’m just glad it didn’t hit me.” EB said later about the play.

The period ended with a spark as TRBL took a slashing call. HWB looked to capitalize on their first power-play, coming back from a 2-0 deficit, now leading 3-2.

Third period started with TRBL killing the penalty. Unable to score on the power-play, a determined Matt lined up for a face-off. The puck dropped, Evan kicked it forward, Matt reached around the defenseman and took a swing at the puck, putting it behind the unsuspecting goalie. The goal came at 4 minutes and 54 seconds into the third.

“It was just what we needed. Although it was blind luck, Matt’s arms raised in a “what happened” fashion after it went in. That was the dagger HWB needed.” General Manager Hank McCoy commented.

The fireworks started from there as both sides started getting chippy.

HWB big defender Curlew took a hooking penalty at 8 minutes and 54 seconds. With 46 second remaining in the penalty kill, the fans gasped as HWB defender Pargoff took an interference penalty, putting TRBL on a 4 on 2 power-play. HWB’s shut down defender Chris took to the rink to do what he does best.

“I think part of my success comes from playing with a great team. They make me look better,” Chris mentioned after the game when asked of his key penalty killing play this season. “I always try to work hard on the penalty kill. Sometimes we kill it off, sometimes we don’t, but I’m at least going to skate hard and battle for loose pucks and make the other team work for their goal. As for playing to a high caliber on the PK, I really just try to keep my composure and try not to get caught out of position and battle hard for the puck.”

The initial penalty was killed, leaving HWB still a man down. TRBL capitalized, feathering a pass from left to right of Eddie to a perfectly placed winger to tap in the one-timer. The score became 4-3 in favor of HWB, only 3 minutes and 37 seconds left.

As the clock winded down, HWB going into a defensive shell, Tuttle fought hard clearing the puck mutliple times, the intensity grew. With TRBL’s goalie pulled, an onslaught of shots were turned away by Eddie, the puck went to the corner. Defenseman Pargoff followed a TRBL player into the corner, went to angle him off of the puck, only to have the TRBL flop like a Vancouver Canuck.

“All hell broke loose. TRBL with the man advantage started jumping Pargoff. At one point Matt grabbed a guy and threw him up against the boards.” GM McCoy noted of his star player. “Matt took a few shots, I was worried about an injury, but unlike Crosby, Matt threw a few solid jabs that any boxer would have been proud of.”

As the refs broke up the skirmish, 3 TRBL players were assessed 10 minute unsportsmanlike misconducts. Pargoff took 2 minutes for interference while Matt also took a 10 minute unsportsmanlike misconduct.

“Not sure how they ended up with a power-play after all was said and done,” HWB Head Coach said with 9 seconds left on the clock. “But the true test was about to begin.”

With 9 seconds to go, TRBL goalie pulled to make it a 5 on 3, the face-off was to the left of goaltender Eddie. The puck dropped, HWB’s players scrambling to block shots, TRBL took one last shot, only to have Eddie shut the door.

“I think what helped me stay sharp and focused is the amount of close games we have. We did win 11 straight games but 9 of those were by two goals or less. And I was in goal for all nine of those games. That meant I had to stay sharp and make save after save and keep playing until the final buzzer sounded.” Eddie commented about his clutch play. “The championship game was no different. The last sequence of 9 seconds felt like the longest 9 seconds of my life, I was making a save keeping a rebound out of the net even as the buzzer sounded.”

Team HockeyWorldBlog.com took to the rink, cheers yelled loud, gloves thrown, their first Championship in over 2 years.

From left to right, upper then lower rowt: Jeff, Tuttle, Evan, Pargoff, Eddie, Curlew, Matt, Chris, Koenig, EB

HWB had heart, throughout the whole season. Losing two games right away, rallying to win the last 8 of the regular season, overcoming an overtime semi-final game and finally outlasting the opposition in the Championship game.

As the team partied the night away, a new day began, in preparation for the upcoming transition into an ice league in a few weeks. The team is faced with some difficult decisions, who to sign, who to let go, and how to sign some important free agents. Two key defensive players on free agency are that of restricted free agent Jeff and unrestricted free agent Chris.

HWB GM McCoy worries that the most improved player over the season, Jeff, may receive an offer sheet; but McCoy assures the team’s cap space should allow for a counter.

Media outlets are reporting that Chris may be testing the waters this July 1st. When asked, here’s what Chris had to say.

“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. I mean, right now I have to pay for my own post-game beers, so it would be great if I could get some sort of deal where someone else bought me a beer once in a while. But honestly, I love playing with the guys we have right now and I think this past season everyone really worked hard and we had a lot of fun. It’s a great group of guys and I look forward to playing with everyone for many more years to come.”

This season is a wrap, one with a happy ending. To all players of HWB, congrats on a great season and fans all around for following, we look forward to the next one.

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Stanley Cup Final- Game 7

Jun 16

Posted by Eddie in News | 4 Comments

America: Keeping Canada's pride and joy trophy since 1993.

The Boston Bruins are the 2011 Stanley Cup Champions. Just like fellow Eastern Conference member Pittsburgh Penguins, they were able to overcome a 3-2 series deficit and defeat the favored Western team in Game 7 on the road.

Tim Thomas- the Conn Smythe Award winner for Playoff MVP, did nothing but shine throughout the playoffs. He was the only goalie to make it past the first round to not get pulled during the course of the game. Just like Luongo, he had two shutouts in the Stanley Cup Final. Frank McCool (Toronto) and Harry Lumley (Detroit) in 1945 was the last time both goalies had more than one shutout in the championship series. The difference is that Luongo played like total crap in most of the other games as he was pulled twice during the series. Thomas is the second American to win the Conn Smythe, joining Brian Leech in 1994. Thomas also won three Game 7s during the playoffs: overtime against Montreal in the first round, the conference final against Tampa Bay and last night against Vancouver.

In the 4-0 victory, the Bruins were led by Patrice Bergeron who scored twice in the final game of the season. The first goal came at 14:27 of the first period when Bergeron manged to slap home a shot that went through what seemed like a tunnel of legs. Roberto Luongo didn’t get a chance to react to the puck as he wasn’t expecting a shot to go just to his right. Brad Marchand earned the assist.

The Bruins scored a pair of second period goals to put the game nearly out of reach. The B’s second goal came at 12:13 of the middle frame when Marchand caught Luongo out of position and was able to score a wrap-around goal. His goal was assisted by Mark Recchi and Dennis Sidenberg.

The final nail in the coffin came late in the second when Boston scored on a breakaway while shorthanded. Bergeron was being chased by Christian Ehrhoff and was brought down in front of Luongo. The official had his hand raised to signal a penalty but the momentum of the players crashing into Luongo was enough to knock the puck loose and into the net. The goal came with less than 2:30 remaining in the second period and the Bruins were 22+ minutes away from winning the Stanley Cup.

The final goal was an empty netter from Marchand at 17:16 of the third period. He finished the game with two goals, just like Bergeron. Thomas earned his fifth career playoff shutout and second of the series with 37 saves. Luongo allowed three goals on 20 shots. Thomas performed like a brick wall in this season’s playoffs. With 37 more saves in Game 7, Thomas now owns the NHL record for most saves in the postseason (798) and a Stanley Cup Final. He allowed only eight goals in the Final and became the first goalie in NHL history to win Game 7 with a shutout on the road. He is only the fourth goalie in history to post a shutout in Game 7.

The Bruins also avenged the way their season ended last year when they choked away a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 lead in Game 7 when losing to the Philadelphia Flyers. The 2011-12 NHL season is set to begin in 110 days. Keep checking the site during the off-season for the latest in coaching changes, player transactions, and news all around the world of hockey.

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Game 7 Breakdown: Canucks vs Bruins by the numbers

Jun 15

Posted by Chris in News, Soap Box | No Comments

The Stanley Cup was in attendance yesterday evening at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, but the Bruins were determined not to let the visiting team celebrate winning the trophy on their home ice. After chasing goaltender Roberto Luongo again with a four-goal barrage in the first period, the Bruins were able to keep the Canucks at bay with a 5-2 victory and will look to clinch the Stanley Cup during a Game 7 showdown in Vancouver on Wednesday night.

This series is so evenly matched that the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins have identical records throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs in terms of games played and wins and losses at home and on the road, which is an incredible feat. But the difference maker so far in this series has been home ice advantage. Each team has won every game on home ice throughout the Stanley Cup Finals, which will definitely be a factor in Game 7 and could bode well for the Canucks’ chances of winning the Stanley Cup.

Both teams have an incredible 77 percent winning percentage on home ice. Of the 13 home games that the Canucks have played throughout the playoffs, the team has won 10 and only lost three. Of those 10 games, nine of them have been one goal games in which Vancouver walked away victorious in seven of them.

The Bruins, however, have a 45 percent winning percentage on the road winning only five of their 11 away games throughout the playoffs.  Offense will be the key for the Bruins in Game 7. Boston is undefeated in this year’s playoffs in games where they score five or more goals. They have also won 10 of the 11 games in which they scored four or more goals.

Unfortunately, Boston’s offense has been much more potent at home this season as the Bruins have only scored four or more goals on the road four times and have tallied five or more in just two of those contests. The team’s one loss when scoring four or more goals came on the road when they lost to Tampa Bay by a score of 5-4.

Boston has been stymied in Vancouver throughout the series, losing every game by one goal and twice getting shut out by the Canucks by a score of 1-0. The Canucks have outscored Boston 5-2 on home ice. The team has four shutouts on home ice and has outscored opponents throughout the playoffs by a margin of 31-24. Only twice have the Canucks allowed four or more goals on home ice. In fact, the Canucks have limited their opposition to two goals or less in nine of their 13 home games.

The Canucks played hard throughout the regular season to get to this point – home ice advantage during Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. And home ice very well could be the key to victory for the Canucks. Vancouver has a great winning percentage at home while Boston has a subpar record on the road. Vancouver seems to tighten up defensively on home ice and keeps the opposition’s offense in check, which the Bruins will need to break through and score in bunches if they intend to win the Stanley Cup in Vancouver on Wednesday. Vancouver has the numbers on their side, but in a Game 7 anything can and will happen. If nothing else, it should be an incredibly exciting game to watch.

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Canucks’ GM Gillis Cries Foul

Jun 14

Posted by EB in News, Soap Box | 6 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis cries foul in the hit that injured Mason Raymond.

Raymond, a second line forward is out for three to four months after sustaining a vertebrae compression fracture. Most importantly, Raymond is out for game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The injury came on a routine play as Boston Bruin’s defenseman Johnny Boychuk tied up Raymond in the bruins defensive zone. As the puck went between the two entangled players, the two continued to the boards. As taught, Boychuk finished his hit.

After reviewing the play several times, the play is a normal hockey play. Boychuk directed Raymond to the boards and out of the play as any good defenseman would and should do. Unfortunately, Raymond was in an awkward position, resulting in hitting the boards wrong and an injury.

Canucks’ general manager Mike Gillis was reported storming out of the TD Garden after Game 6, questioning a lot of people as to whether or not anyone saw the puck near Raymond when he was hit by Boychuk. Most likely upset, perhaps planting a “biased officiating” seed, Gillis was upset. This still comes from a GM who asked for a ‘level playing field’ in the Chicago Blackhawks’ series.

Plain and simple, the hit from Boychuk on Raymond was not dirty and will not result in a suspension. Actually, you can watch the replay and see how Boychuk even let off on the hit, noticing Raymond’s vulnerability. It is sad really, the Canucks are a very talented team. If only they quit diving, biting, and complaining, the hockey world would have a little more respect for them.

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