Back... for real this time

Yes kiddies, despite the fact we had hoped to coincide our first episode with the start of the season, we are now finally (almost) ready to launch. To say I have been sick is a mild understatement. H1N1, infections and other nastiness have left me knocked on my kiester for more than 2 months now, and while I feel like crap again today, I am committed to getting a new episode recorded this weekend.

A big win for Raycroft and what the hell is NaBloPoMo?

So after the last game, the Canucks needed to not just get a better effort, they needed to take down the Colorado Avalanche, who have been pretty much the hottest team in the NHL so far this year behind the logic-defying goaltending of Craig Anderson, with a strong, statement kind of game. And boy, did they. It may not have been pretty, but let's face it, with 8 players out of the lineup, the Canucks have to do whatever it takes to win right now. And if that means playing grind them to a halt, boring, Lemaire-esque style hockey, so be it. It's November 1st, and we need to be able to get caught up to the Avs as best we can until Luongo gets back. So some will say the Canucks pulled off a shocker tonight. But if you really have looked at Colorado this season, you see a team that has been outshot, and outplayed a number of nights. It's been Anderson saving them night after night. Now, with back to back losses, perhaps we are seeing the Avalanche come back to earth. Anderson has played every game so far for the Avs, and you know they will likely go with Petr Budaj next game now that he has recovered from his bout of H1N1 (lucky bastard to have recovered so quickly). Thumbs up to Mason Raymond, who is starting to show he can finish, and is being rewarded for his hard work this season. Ryan Kesler has picked up the intensity in Daniel Sedin's absence, and has showed some incredible leadership, and congrats to Tanner Glass on his 1st as a Canuck. Raycroft was the real story tonight though, keeping the door shut and silencing some of the criticism after Friday night's disaster in Anaheim. The Rangers are in town on Tuesday, should be a hell of a game, the Rangers have started strong, but begun to show signs of faltering lately, though Henrik Lundqvist has been stellar so far for the Blueshirts.

Now... this NaNloPoMO business. It stands for National Blog Posting Month, and it's basically about bloggers committing to making a blog post a day for the entire month. So not only will I do a minimum of 30 posts on this blog, you will also see posts on the other blogs as well, and I will post the links when theyre ready.