Pretty Eyes Won't Get You Far In Life: Canucks 4 Coyotes 0

It's been a while since I woke up and was still all fired up about the Canucks game the night before. For the first time since Petri Skriko in 1986, the Canucks had a player go back to back hat tricks. Alex Burrows has really proven now he is by far the best fit with the Sedins (sure, he doesn't have the kickass dreads of Anson Carter, or Taylor Pyatt's dreamy eyes, or Trent Klatt's uh... hmm, I'll get back to you on that one), and they were huge last night. 9 points from the line who were basically shut down by the Coyotes last time around. The Desert Dogs really seemed like the 'Yotes of old in the 1st, as the Canucks came out strong, and walked out with a 1-0 lead. The second period was a little concerning. The Canucks have had an annoying habit of sleepwalking through 2nd periods this year, and though we hadn't seen it lately, they basically allowed Phoenix to run roughshod through their zone. Thank dog for Roberto Luongo, who was stellar, stopping all 16 shots in the 2nd. You know it had to kill Phoenix a little to give up a late one, as Mikeal "Swears like a drunken sailor" Samuelsson jammed one in after some nice hustle behind the net from Ryan Kesler to make it 2-0. Cue the Alex Burrows show. The 2nd goal was vintage Sedins: hard pressure on the forecheck from Daniel to cause the turnover, quick pass to Henrik and right over to Burrows who buries it past Bryzgalov and it's now 3-0. A carbon copy of his hat trick goal 2 nights earlier makes it 4 and that's basically your game.

Random thoughts on last night:
- Taylor Pyatt made an impression last night, unfortunately for Aaron Rome, it was on his forehead. I don't know what was more surprising: Pyatt hitting someone, or that Rome bleeds like a champion. If he's not concussed I will be amazed. Say hello to Brad Lukowich, everyone.

- What was scarier: Salo getting clipped by Willie's stick, or Kesler blocking a slapshot with his cup?

- I never really noticed it when he was playing here, but Ed Jovanovski has really turned into a grouchy old man. Was he always that much of a windbag?

- Canucks went 2-0 in the fight card last night, Darcy Hordichuk with a huge bomb on Paul Bissonnette, and Tanner Glass with a quick decision over former Kelowna Rocket Vern Fiddler. It looked like Fiddler called in the linesmen early in the scrap, so not sure if he was just outmatched by the deceptively tough Glass or he injured himself.

- A number of milestones last night: Luongo's 50th career shutout, Samuelsson's 100th career goal, and the 300th game from Bernier and Wellwood.

- Another day of rest before the huge matchup against Calgary Saturday night. This one was already big, but even if the Flames win tonight (they're using their game in hand) a Canucks win will give them 1st in the division by virtue of more wins. With the Flames playing their 4th game in 5 nights, the Canucks must seize the opportunity and pound what should be a tired Flames team into the dust.

- Henrik Sedin now leads the NHL scoring race by 3 points. Some of the prognosticators out there have a number of Eastern players pegged as the MVP favorite so far, but TSN, Sports Illustrated and a few others are getting hip to the Hank 4 Hart meme. I think it's up to all Canucks fans and bloggers to push this. Hell if we could make Rory Fitzpatrick a household name for a while, we can surely do it for someone deserving of the spotlight.

- Best comment from the postgame came from Coach Alain Vigneault: "We tried to tire them out in our own end in the second period, it worked real well." We have some funny guys on this team.

Will have some thoughts on other league goings on over at http://bloodontheiceblog.blogspot.com later today, as we talk about sign language with Daniel Carcillo, Ron Wilson's struggles with Bi-polar disorder, the Oilers breaking the concrete at Rexall to make a new rock bottom and more...

GAME DAY: Canucks vs. Coyotes

Game night at GM Place and this time the Canucks can expect an opponent that will put up a bit more fight than Columbus did Tuesday night. The Phoenix Coyotes are in town and with an OT loss still fresh in their memories, the Canucks will not only look for payback tonight, but to take advantage of the help they got on the scoreboard. The Flames and Avalanche both lost last night, and a Vancouver win will vault them past the Avs and into a points tie with the Flames, making Saturday night's HNIC match against the Flames even bigger. And while the Coyotes scraped out an OT victory in Edmonton after blowing a 2 goal lead, history definitely isn't on their side. The Coyotes have only won 5 games against the Canucks in Vancouver since moving from Winnipeg in 1996.

The key for the Coyotes this season has been their back end. Great goaltending from Ilya Bryzgalov, and a strong Dcore has allowed them to be in a lot of close games, getting clutch goals. But they don't score a lot, in a way they remind me of the Minnesota Wild a couple years back. Good in goal, defensively sound, and opportunistic. About as exciting as watching Ben Stein go over the fluctuations of the Rupee as compared to the US Dollar in 1986. So while we won't see a 7 goal outburst from the Canucks, another confidence building win, some good incentive in the standings and the knowledge that they need to stockpile points right now should make for a decent match.

I worry about that the Canucks might be looking ahead to Saturday and the Flames, but with a chance to move within 1 point of this conference rival as well, the Canucks should be able to close this one out. Henrik Sedin's play of late is beginning to get people talking. With a point he will take over sole possession of 1st in the NHL scoring race, and he has a 7 game point streak that has him going at a 2 ppg clip. Brother Daniel is also tearing it up with 13 points of his own in that time frame, as they combined for 9 points (along with linemate Alex Burrows) against the Blue Jackets.

It's amazing to see the Coyotes in the playoff hunt when you look back at all the turmoil, the sale fiasco, Gretzky leaving the team, etc. Dave Tippett has to be a shoe-in for the Jack Adams trophy if he can keep them in the top 8. The play of Ed Jovanovski as well has helped, as the one time Canucks Dman sees him him having his best season since leaving Vancouver.

Taylor Pyatt returns to GM Place for the first time with his new team, might be a little emotional for him. No word on whether Aaron Rome will be in the #6 slot again tonight, though a lot of Canucks fans are hoping this is the night we get to see Brad Lukowich in a Canucks uniform for the first time.

Canucks 2 Coyotes 3 (SO)

That was an odd game to say the least... Some positives out of that game, good compete level with a team that plays as tough at home as we do, the boys battled back in a close game and took it to OT, Samuelsson getting off the schnied, and Wellwood starting to get hot, another great game from Luongo. A lot of bounces that didn't go our way, some really bad discipline issues (burr and SOB, I'm looking at you two. WTF, dudes? Shake your heads.) and some of the most inconsistent officiating this season (how what Doan did isn't a penalty is more baffling than quantum physics to your average Oklahoma resident). The good thing is we kept pace with LA and the Flames and with a solid effort against the Blues Thursday night the Canucks can continue their march towards the division title.

Last night's game made me realize that I miss Jovocop more than Ohlund. The last 30 seconds of the game also made me realize that sometimes I don't think so clearly when I am sick. Talk about deja-vu, fortunately for the Coyotes the Canucks couldn't capitalize on the PP, as they did a hell of a job blocking the shot lanes and pressuring the Canucks shooters. They have what appears to be a hell of a team there in Phoenix right now. Shame that the whole drama of the last year seems to have soured the locals into not even caring they have a team that is winning for a change, as that was the reason we were told the support wasn't there. Pretty cool to see all those Canucks fans there, this is becoming a regular thing for a lot of these southern US road games, a healthy showing of the Blue & Green, too bad the boys couldn't reward them with two points.

Speaking of mind-boggling, what's stranger: The sheer number of high sticks Ryan Kesler takes to the face without getting the call, or Kevin Bieksa suffering another skate cut to the leg. Some say it's Kesler's yappiness and penchant for embellishing calls that keeps him from getting the benefit of the doubt, but this year especially the non-calls seem to be so much more blatant. I don't get it at all. As for Bieksa, his play hasn't been the same since he came back from the first injury a couple years ago. Does this mean he is gonna get worse, or better when he gets back. All of a sudden, putting Mathieu Schnieder on waivers doesn't seem too good an idea.