Post-Game Talk: Ryan Miller beats the Stanley Cup favorites 2-1

[tantalum]

Yeah, so far Bartkowski is making Sbisa look like a Norris trophy candidate.

But mobility! There is a reason he was scratched for half a season last year despite the Bruins blueline not being exceptionally strong. He's still pretty young when it comes to NHL experience at less than 150 games but he's also 27. Not sure how much growth we should expect to see.

I believe the good Reverend earlier in the thread mentioned that a good crisp pass is faster than skating the puck out and so it is. Mobility is great if you know when to use it....it has to be coupled with proper decision making or it isn't an advantage and can become a liability. I question that decision making so far with Bartkowski.

 

[Reign Nateo]

In a way have to be a little ambivalent about such wins. On the one hand you are wanting the team to win as you watch the game but on the other there is the realization that this team is probably not very good going ahead and needs the high end drafts.

No ambivalence at all from where I stand. I'm quite certain I'd rather see the Canucks win than lose whenever possible.

People need to let go of this 'scorched-Earth' rebuild fantasy, it's not happening any time soon and likely never happens on purpose with this ownership. Think more along what the Sharks are doing.

We currently have players 20 and under drafted 6th, 9th and 24th overall recently on the roster. How high of picks do we need? First overall guarantees nothing and you have to get pretty bad to be in that position anyway. I can remember when you couldn't give Canucks tickets away, pretty sure ownership is aware of this too. You might as well start cheering for this team to succeed, because for better or worse, they're not blowing it up.

 

[Scurr]

No ambivalence at all from where I stand. I'm quite certain I'd rather see the Canucks win than lose whenever possible.

People need to let go of this 'scorched-Earth' rebuild fantasy, it's not happening any time soon and likely never happens on purpose with this ownership. Think more along what the Sharks are doing.

We currently have players 20 and under drafted 6th, 9th and 24th overall recently on the roster. How high of picks do we need? First overall guarantees nothing and you have to get pretty bad to be in that position anyway. I can remember when you couldn't give Canucks tickets away, pretty sure ownership is aware of this too. You might as well start cheering for this team to succeed, because for better or worse, they're not blowing it up.

Yeah. I'm happy to cheer for wins and gaining good young players rather than draft pick fantasies.

 

[huntison]

Sedin - Sedin - Sutter
Bae - Horvat - Vrbata
Burrows - McCann - Dorsett
Virtanen - Cracknell - Hansen

 

[y2kcanucks]

Sedin - Sedin - Sutter
Bae - Horvat - Vrbata
Burrows - McCann - Dorsett
Virtanen - Cracknell - Hansen

Why put together a bad lineup like that when we could easily put out a decent lineup?

Sedin-Sedin-Vrbata
Baertschi-Horvat-Virtanen
Burrows-McCann-Hansen
Cracknell-Sutter-Dorsett

 

[Boose Brudreau]

Well, I wouldn't go that far. He got walked a few times, once was so hilariously bad I had to pause the game and watch it again. He was just skating backwards and the Anaheim player skated in a straight line right by him and was gone before Sbisa could turn.

Everyone makes a bad play from time to time, though. Sbisa hasn't looked as trash as he did for literally all of last season and the playoffs, but still doesn't look like a 3.6m player. I'm hoping he can get up to Andrew Alberts' level at this point.

Im guessing the play where you think he got walked so badly was the Horcoff breakaway, which was
100% on Hutton. Horcoff was Hutton's man and he blew coverage big time. The play is in the highlite package on NHL.com 2:55 into the clip

 

[ShouldveDraftedFiala]

Disagree. I lost count of the puck whiffs he made. He also seemed to fall a lot.

Canucks were pretty dominant in that OT at least, even during the penalty I didn't feel that worried.

Don't get how anyone can say Tanev had a bad game, he was dominant. I was watching the Ducks broadcast and even they commented that they thought he was by far the best player on the ice.

 

[Intangibos]

Im guessing the play where you think he got walked so badly was the Horcoff breakaway, which was
100% on Hutton. Horcoff was Hutton's man and he blew coverage big time. The play is in the highlite package on NHL.com 2:55 into the clip

I saw the play, I know it was Hutton's man, but Sbisa should have been able to come over after he was past Hutton.

 

[I am toxic]

Regarding Miller, it is good to see him playing to his strengths (instincts).

It looks to me like the work he has done in September is paying off. Also skipping the pre-camp scrimmages - along with more experience with shooters in the West, it is no surprise he is looking as good as he ever has in a Canucks uniform.

Looked like he got caught on the wrong foot on the Silfverberg SO goal, but that can happen to any goalie. More worrisome is seeing some VH creep back into his game.

 

[Cogburn]

Why put together a bad lineup like that when we could easily put out a decent lineup?

Sedin-Sedin-Vrbata
Baertschi-Horvat-Virtanen
Burrows-McCann-Hansen
Cracknell-Sutter-Dorsett

Because you know that fourth line will get 30+ minutes of ice time.

 

[arttk]

Because you know that fourth line will get 30+ minutes of ice time.

Honestly doubt that WD will put 2 rookies beside Horvat. Just not realistic.

 

[B-rock]

enjoyed watching the game and no matter what happens results-wise this season it's clear that the canucks are going to be a hard working team which is nice to see

miller and tanev are playing like absolute studs at the moment and any team that receives .940-like goaltending and shutdown dominance from their top d-man is going to have a chance to win every night

bit worried about offence as sutter isn't adding anything to the sedins and horvat is stuck with a demotivated vrbata and baertschi

despite cracknell's goal, still don't see much beyond hustle in the 4th line...pretty much hemmed in their own zone most of the night (absolutely ugly corsi numbers) and weren't helped at all by desjardins again refusing to line match and letting the getzlaf line go up against vancouver's worst forwards

We're punching above our weight right now.

The Sedins are playing well despite Sutter, who as mentioned is adding little to that line.

Bo is saddled with a couple of non performers right now with Vrbata taking shots from the strangest angles and Baertschi not really adding much yet.

McCann line isn't generating too much - though they seem to be the 2nd best after the twins.

And the 4th line alternates between getting hemmed in their zone for minutes at a time and a good shift here and there in the offensive zone.

Our defence after the top pairing is an adventure at best. Despite all the love for Hutton who is playing as good as one could hope for an inexperienced first year player, he is often out of position in his zone, and has no support playing with Sbisa who isn't like Hamhuis, Tanev, or Edler all of who can cover up and help their partner out of a jam. Throwing Hutton out there with Sbisa is stupidity at its finest. Pretty soon Miller is going to come back to earth and a lot of goals are going to start going in, weakening Hutton's confidence.

I think once we get to the 10 game mark we're going to see the tide turn, and not for the better.

 

[Jay Cee]

No one has said anything about Eddie Lack for awhile?

Like said above, he is our MVP after 3 games.

It's a little early for that yet but I do find it kind of weird he hasn't played a game yet since the HFBoards brain trust determined Lack was signed to be the starter in Carolina.

 

[tantalum]

No ambivalence at all from where I stand. I'm quite certain I'd rather see the Canucks win than lose whenever possible.

People need to let go of this 'scorched-Earth' rebuild fantasy, it's not happening any time soon and likely never happens on purpose with this ownership. Think more along what the Sharks are doing.

We currently have players 20 and under drafted 6th, 9th and 24th overall recently on the roster. How high of picks do we need? First overall guarantees nothing and you have to get pretty bad to be in that position anyway. I can remember when you couldn't give Canucks tickets away, pretty sure ownership is aware of this too. You might as well start cheering for this team to succeed, because for better or worse, they're not blowing it up.

I agree. No matter what I think about the job Benning has done and its long term implications if the same road continues to be traveled, I will always cheer for the win. Always.

If the standings aren't kind to the team in February I may want tradeable pieces moved for a good return but I will still cheer for the win.

 

[Boose Brudreau]

I saw the play, I know it was Hutton's man, but Sbisa should have been able to come over after he was past Hutton.

****ing please. Are we really here.....where other players' **** ups are Sbisa's fault too?! If ever we were looking for a sign that Sbisa hate was becoming damn near religion on this board.......this has to be it.

 

[arttk]

It's a little early for that yet but I do find it kind of weird he hasn't played a game yet since the HFBoards brain trust determined Lack was signed to be the starter in Carolina.

Well Ward is making a strong case for why he shouldn't be a starter right now.

 

[rune74]

****ing please. Are we really here.....where other players' **** ups are Sbisa's fault too?! If ever we were looking for a sign that Sbisa hate was becoming damn near religion on this board.......this has to be it.

New canucks fan? Everyone knows once you are on the radar of the hate bandwagon it is all your fault.

Reading this thread you would think we lost. Come on guys enjoy the games!

 

[tantalum]

It's a little early for that yet but I do find it kind of weird he hasn't played a game yet since the HFBoards brain trust determined Lack was signed to be the starter in Carolina.

Might have something to do with a decade long starter being shown a little respect and being allowed to show he can still be the guy....not unlike the situation Schneider went into. Obviously though Ward is not Brodeur. I would suggest that the deal Lack signed with the Canes indicates they potentially see him as more than a backup.

 

[tantalum]

New canucks fan? Everyone knows once you are on the radar of the hate bandwagon it is all your fault.

Reading this thread you would think we lost. Come on guys enjoy the games!

2 points is nice but one also has to be honest and evaluate what is happening on the ice to see if the points will continue coming if they continue to play at that level. As I said I never watched the game. The radio crew during the second intermission, the third and after the game very much indicated they felt the canucks got lucky to escape with a win. They were not impressed by the performance outside of Miller and a couple other. This is on top of a less than inspired effort the back half of the second Flames game. Basically yes they have 5 of 6 points but arguably they could only have 2 with lesser goaltending during the game.

It's early, very early, but it still seems to be the team that ended last regular season where they needed absolutely top notch goaltending to get points and much of the rest of the team outside the twins, Lack, Horvat, Edler and Tanev were a mess. Interestingly, it's the same group of people (Miller in place of Lack) that have started this season well and there are huge question marks most everywhere else. But as I said, it's early. Very early but concerns certainly exist and I don't think one should gloss over them solely because 2 pts.

 

[Scurr]

I thought the Ducks got away with a ton of interference last night and both teams got away with a lot of stick work. If this is the standard now… it's going to be a rodeo by the time the playoffs come.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

2 points is nice but one also has to be honest and evaluate what is happening on the ice to see if the points will continue coming if they continue to play at that level. As I said I never watched the game. The radio crew during the second intermission, the third and after the game very much indicated they felt the canucks got lucky to escape with a win. They were not impressed by the performance outside of Miller and a couple other. This is on top of a less than inspired effort the back half of the second Flames game. Basically yes they have 5 of 6 points but arguably they could only have 2 with lesser goaltending during the game.

Ducks carried the play for one or two significant stretches, but otherwise the game was a dead heat. It was never out of reach, and the Canucks were not in any way meaningfully outclassed despite the wide gulf between the teams on paper.

You can read that as encouraging for the Canucks or discouraging for the Ducks. Canucks look like a team somewhere between 10-20 this year, and another first round and out playoff appearance is quite possible.

Naturally it could all unravel spectacularly if player X starts playing terribly or player Y gets injured, but outside of a small handful of elite teams that is true for everyone.

End of the day until the Sedins have significantly regressed this team will likely remain annoyingly competitive and not picking anywhere near the top five, unless we hire another Tortorella to run it off a cliff.

 

[MS]

Good win to get, albeit a lucky one. Significantly outplayed, but Miller had probably his 2nd best game as a Canuck.

- after the blip in the first game, Sedins-Sutter have really leveled off, and Sutter looked pretty out-of-sync in this game. Line did well defensively, but very little offensively until OT.

- 2nd line wasn't great. Horvat had his weakest game of the season so far. Baertschi actually showed the most defensive battle I've ever seen from him .... and was rewarded with a demotion. Vrbata had a brutal, uninvolved game ... but then scored maybe the nicest shootout goal in franchise history.

- McCann looked overmatched at times ... although that shouldn't be surprising for a center in his 3rd game going against some of the matchups he faced. Burrows and Hansen did a lot of defensive work to manage the pressure against them.

- actually thought Prust had a good game and looked a bit more capable. Easily his best effort. Cracknell scored a lucky goal and did OK. Dorsett struggled and was running around too much.

- Tanev-Edler were absolutely terrific. Tanev was the best player on the ice for either team except maybe Miller. I'll say it - the only thing between this player and Norris consideration is playing on the #1 PP and scoring 20 points there. Just sublime tonight against Anaheim's top guys. Barely put a foot wrong.

- Hamhuis was having to do a lot of covering for Bartkowski. Bartkowski just seems to have no idea what to do in contained situations, ends up being a scramble. Unable to win puck battles. Skates it well out of his zone but does little else.

- Sbisa had a decent first period ... and then was his usual self again. Lucky not to be burned more, although the first goal was the result of softly losing a puck battle of the sort he should be expected to win. Hutton wasn't great although not terrible ... continue to absolutely hate seeing this promising player saddled with a complete donkey in Sbisa.

- Miller was outstanding. Probably his best game aside from the SJ game early last year. Perhaps seeing a trend that he can start seasons well but not sustain it over the long haul at his age - 3rd straight season he's come out of the blocks well, but nosedived later in the previous two.

Liked our battle level against a top team. Didn't like how Willie ran his bench particularly.

 

[GPNuck]

I don't make GTD's but someone else should

 

[tantalum]

Ducks carried the play for one or two significant stretches, but otherwise the game was a dead heat. It was never out of reach, and the Canucks were not in any way meaningfully outclassed despite the wide gulf between the teams on paper. etc

Again, I never saw the game so was going by the radio. The 1040 crew seemed very underwhelmed by the effort of the canucks.

Not sure they are a 10-20 place team. Maybe if they remain healthy but I do not think they can withstand any long term injury to Tanev, Edler or Henrik or injuries to several others. Really, just like under Torts they are a Henrik injury or coach conflict away from a very good draft pick.

 

[Jarko2004]

No ambivalence at all from where I stand. I'm quite certain I'd rather see the Canucks win than lose whenever possible.

People need to let go of this 'scorched-Earth' rebuild fantasy, it's not happening any time soon and likely never happens on purpose with this ownership. Think more along what the Sharks are doing.

We currently have players 20 and under drafted 6th, 9th and 24th overall recently on the roster. How high of picks do we need? First overall guarantees nothing and you have to get pretty bad to be in that position anyway. I can remember when you couldn't give Canucks tickets away, pretty sure ownership is aware of this too. You might as well start cheering for this team to succeed, because for better or worse, they're not blowing it up.

Well here's hoping the number one reason for ownership wanting to remain competitive on the ice at all costs is to keep the value up and sell the team.