Bitz out for 2 games and Weber fined.

Alright so Bitz is out,  it was not a good hit and should not have happened and he will have to do the time, fine. However Weber purposefully rammed Zetterbergs head into the glass twice and gets a $2500 fine, um I am not so sure about that.  He should have had at least a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. Please note that I am not disputing that there should not have been a suspension I believe that it should possibly have been 3 games but in the playoffs the standard has been set.

So each of them had an interview today to discuss the hits,  Bitz apologized for the hit.  On the other hand Weber made some noise about it being the speed of the game. So what now? The more a player gets paid the different the treatment will become? A hit to the head should be equal no matter who does the hit. period.

Shanahan has done a good job so far since taking over, it is going to take a lot of work to get rid of the double standard that plagued Campbell.

Next up game 2.

Round 1 Game 1 Canucks vs. Kings 2012

Well tonight is the night that we have all been looking forward to since July of last year.  The real season begins tonight.

Louongo will start tonight which is great he has proven himself in the first round of the playoffs to be a tremendous goal tender.   The slate is clean and we will see what the team is really made of.

The whole team is ready for the challenge and we should see what the next level of play will be like this playoff series.  The kings are no pushover team with Quick in net and a good defensive core as well as some size up front.  With Richards possible for tonight's game this could be good or bad for the kings as he has not played in a while and could be a little off.

As for the Canucks with arguably the best defensive core in the league and the possibly the deepest and most balanced forward lines, this should be a great series.

I for one BELIEVE!!!

update:  with only 2 votes on the poll Louongo wins!!! 100% of the vote.

Review:
Well that was painful, with all the penalties in the first and second periods with all of them crossing over the line.  With two, five on threes the score could have easily been much worse.  This was only the first game of the series and there is a lot of hockey left to play.  I still believe.

2012 Playoffs

I always find it interesting that the teams are compared on past playoff experience even as far back as 1996or even 2001 as none of this has any bearing on what will happen in these playoffs so why do we talk or even read about it.  Well it is interesting and we hope that it has some bearing on this year.  So what is of note this year?

• 5 teams have one the Presidents Trophy two years in a row (since it was introduced in 1985/86)
• of those 5 teams 4 have gone on to win the Stanley cup in the second year.
• the Canucks have met the Kings 4 times in the playoffs
• out of the 4 times twice the winner has gone on the Stanley Cup Finals 

So what?  Well we will hope that both of these will be hold true the odds are on the side of the Canucks.

More to come...

Presidents Cup 2010/2011 achieved

Well the team has done it again, the first team to win the presidents cup two years in a row since the new CBA came in.  This is a true testament to the quality of the team that has been assembled.  The next step for Mike Gillis is the Stanley Cup, four year plan is now out the window I know that he has 1 season left now but it is time.  The fans of the Canucks have been waiting long enough and have been through enough, the team have proved themselves with winning the presidents cup twice and reaching the Stanley Cup finals (really only one win from the cup).  The team is ready and the stage is set, now for the Kings.

President's Cup?

With two games remaining it is still a possibility that the Canucks could win the Presidents Trophy two years in a row giving the western conference home ice advantage in the finals.  Well lets just hope that they can pull it out again.

The odds at the beginning of the year for the Canucks to win the presidents trophy again where quite good 4:1 if I remember correctly. The rangers on the other hand where 18 or 19 : 1 so.

The Canucks schedule for the last two games gives good credence to the possibility compared to the Rangers.  With the Flames tonight and the Oilers on Saturday they odds are in their favor as compared to the Rangers with both Pittsburgh tonight and the Captials on Saturday (especially since the Caps are fighting for a playoff spot.)

With the news yesterday that Cory Scheider will be starting between the pipes tonight will add fuel to the "Goalie controversy" which I do not believe that we have until July 1st.  Other bloggers and journalists will be saying that the poor play of Louongo of late will make Scheider an easy choice to start in the playoffs how ever if past performance dictates after getting pulled he plays even better.  The better reason is that AV is resting Louongo prior to the playoffs so that he is ready to go.

Well good luck...

Markus Naslund

A highlight reel goal from Naslund who has now signed with the New York Rangers. Thanks for the memories Markus and we wish you the best.

Cody Hodgson

Sorry to see you go, but this will be a great move for you no real depth at center for the Sabres = more ice time for you.  Good Luck