Pre-Game Talk: Season Opener - Vancouver Canucks @ San Jose Sharks - October 3, 2013, 7:00PM PST

[PhilMick]

I think that Torts may use Weber more when he has the last change at home, so he can spot him.
Stanton has nowhere near Weber's offensive skill, but he is much safer in his own zone. And when the Sharks can put out Thornton, Couture, Pavelski, Marleau, Boyle, et al, when they see Weber out there...well, that could get ugly very quickly.
While we all know Torts is going to give his top lines much more icetime (relative to AV), I think the top players will get even more of the ice on the road.

Something tells me if Weber got a stick Thornton he'd end up sprawled on the ice...

 

[crazyforhockey]

Sedin,Sedin,Burr
Hansen,Kesler,Hansen
Booth,Richardson,Santorelli
Sestito,Dalphe,Weise

Garrison,Edler
Hamhuis,Bieksa
Stanton,Tanev
Luongo


Sedin,Sedin,burrows
Higgins,Lapierre,Hansen
Raymond,Ebbett,Kassian
Volpatti,Malholtra,Weise

Garrison,Edler
Hamhuis,Bieksa
Ballard,Tanev
Cory

no kesler...cory had a bad game then played much better after that......defence was attrocious all over as theyhardly played togehter preseason/practice

7-3 loss tied 2-2 after 1 period then Anh steam rolled us with 4 in 2nd period

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Sedin,Sedin,Burr
Hansen,Kesler,Hansen
Booth,Richardson,Santorelli
Sestito,Dalphe,Weise

Garrison,Edler
Hamhuis,Bieksa
Stanton,Tanev
Luongo


Sedin,Sedin,burrows
Higgins,Lapierre,Hansen
Raymond,Ebbett,Kassian
Volpatti,Malholtra,Weise

Garrison,Edler
Hamhuis,Bieksa
Ballard,Tanev
Cory

no kesler...cory had a bad game then played much better after that......defence was attrocious all over as theyhardly played togehter preseason/practice

7-3 loss tied 2-2 after 1 period then Anh steam rolled us with 4 in 2nd period

Thanks for posting that.
Comparing the two rosters I would say the first line since it is the same is a wash. Second is a big upgrade this year with Kesler there and the Hansen brothers on both wings . I think the third and fourth lines are pretty much a wash with Booth as a potential wildcard this year. If he plays well the third would be better. I know people will say that Ebbett and Volpatti were plugs but until we see what Richardson, Santorelli and Dalpe bring it's too soon to say that they are any better, IMO. Defence is pretty much a wash but hopefully plays better.

 

[crazyforhockey]

Thanks for posting that.
Comparing the two rosters I would say the first line since it is the same is a wash. Second is a big upgrade this year with Kesler there. I think the third and fourth lines are pretty much a wash with Booth as a potential wildcard this year. If he plays well the third would be better. Defence is pretty much a wash but hopefully plays better.

other than last year no real practice for the dmen ...hardly played preseason and usually only 2-3 vets paired with rookies.....also garrison was unsure of himself for a week or two...ie fitting in

so in that reguard they look more solid now


Cory had a very bad game for him.....but again he did make some solid game with the defence pairings making deadly miscues with guys wide open

 

[Nuckles]

https://twitter.com/FarhanLaljiTSN/status/385128867268005889

Torts says he still hasn't decided on asst captains. #canucks

Kesler and Bieksa will probably get the A's IMO (if they're only going with two this year).

 

[WetcoastOrca]

other than last year no real practice for the dmen ...hardly played preseason and usually only 2-3 vets paired with rookies.....also garrison was unsure of himself for a week or two...ie fitting in
so in that reguard they look more solid now


Cory had a very bad game for him.....but again he did make some solid game with the defence pairings making deadly miscues with guys wide open

Good point. Garrisson should be a lot more solid this year from the start.
I'm interested to see how we start off. The one criticism I had of AV was the fact that he never went with our starting lineup in pre-season despite the fact that we always had dreadful starts to the season. The Sharks in SJ will be a tough opening night test for us.

 

[PhilMick]

https://twitter.com/FarhanLaljiTSN/status/385128867268005889


Kesler and Bieksa will probably get the A's IMO (if they're only going with two this year).

Just my opinion, but I consider those two a bit immature for letters (even though they have obviously been alternate captains many times over). I'd rather see guys like Higgy and Hamhuis get them. Who knows who really does the leading behind the scenes though? That's not necessarily rhetorical, if someone has an anecdote, I'd love to hear it.

 

[crazyforhockey]

also forward lines played about 13 mins evstr across the board even 4th liners


most players finishe between 14-17 mins


dmen about 20 for top two pairings and 18 for ballard and tanev


would expect torts will lean more heavily on his top dogs (esp the ones going )

so you might not see alot of thrid pairing or 4th line unless they are playing well

 

[Wetcoaster]

other than last year no real practice for the dmen ...hardly played preseason and usually only 2-3 vets paired with rookies.....also garrison was unsure of himself for a week or two...ie fitting in

Garrison was also suffering from a recurring groin problem for the first half of the season that hampered not only his mobility but also his shot. As he recovered his play improved significantly and he was IMHO the Canucks best D-man from that point on.

 

[Ernie]

https://twitter.com/FarhanLaljiTSN/status/385128867268005889


Kesler and Bieksa will probably get the A's IMO (if they're only going with two this year).

It would be a travesty to give an A to Bieksa over Hamhuis. Also, an A to Kesler over Daniel would make things uncomfortable.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Garrison was also suffering from a recurring groin problem for the first half of the season that hampered not only his mobility but also his shot. As he recovered his play improved significantly and he was IMHO the Canucks best D-man from that point on.

As an aside, I was listening to a TSN panel on hockey the other night and one of them mentioned that Garrison had disappointing goal totals last season. I checked and he had 8 goals in 47 games which translates to 14 over a whole season. His high with Florida the year before was 16. It's strange how so-called experts have this idea that he was not that good last year just because he suffered at the beginning and also had an injury.

 

[PhilMick]

It would be a travesty to give an A to Bieksa over Hamhuis. Also, an A to Kesler over Daniel would make things uncomfortable.

I feel like it's redundant for both twins to have a letter. Not like they're ever on the ice at different times. As long as they make it clear to Daniel that it's nothing personal

 

[Wetcoaster]

As an aside, I was listening to a TSN panel on hockey the other night and one of them mentioned that Garrison had disappointing goal totals last season. I checked and he had 8 goals in 47 games which translates to 14 over a whole season. His high with Florida the year before was 16. It's strange how so-called experts have this idea that he was not that good last year just because he suffered at the beginning and also had an injury.

Are you sure that was not SportsNet because John Shannon has been continually peddling that BS about Garrison? See the season preview show:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/can-tortorella-turn-on-canucks/

Garrison had an excellent first season considering he was partially hobbled with groin problem for the first half of the season.

 

[luongo321]

I'd rather have Santorelli get the A over Bieksa (unless he continues to beat people up).

 

[Ernie]

I believe that Vigneault's system wasn't that easy for defencemen to learn. Hamhuis didn't really start to shine until he'd played a good handful of games.

 

[crazyforhockey]

Good point. Garrisson should be a lot more solid this year from the start.
I'm interested to see how we start off. The one criticism I had of AV was the fact that he never went with our starting lineup in pre-season despite the fact that we always had dreadful starts to the season. The Sharks in SJ will be a tough opening night test for us.

agree they look solid


more faster team and size throughout their lineup..great FO team

going to rely heavily on their top two lines for scoring plus Pavelski

 

[crazyforhockey]

Are you sure that was not SportsNet because John Shannon has been continually peddling that BS about Garrison? See the season preview show:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/can-tortorella-turn-on-canucks/

Garrison had an excellent first season considering he was partially hobbled with groin problem for the first half of the season.

there was duffy?? on tsn that brought that up....too

sportsnet there have been about three guys mentioned how disappointing his totals were

 

[ItsAllPartOfThePlan]

It would be a travesty to give an A to Bieksa over Hamhuis. Also, an A to Kesler over Daniel would make things uncomfortable.

Yup. I'd say Kesler and Hamhuis as well.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

there was duffy?? on tsn that brought that up....too

sportsnet there have been about three guys mentioned how disappointing his totals were

Yes, it was Duthie. Thanks for that.

 

[Spamhuis]

Are you sure that was not SportsNet because John Shannon has been continually peddling that BS about Garrison? See the season preview show:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/can-tortorella-turn-on-canucks/

Garrison had an excellent first season considering he was partially hobbled with groin problem for the first half of the season.

Aaron Ward on the TSN panel specifically mentioned that Garrison's goal total was disappoint "only 7 goals".

Not sure if he realized it was a shortened season or not, and that was good enough for 7th amongst defensemen. I guess it was a disappointment because he didn't score 20 in 47 games?

 

[crazyforhockey]

well all we know is that we f@@3### with SJ the ybeat us 3-2 and 5-0...

and of those 8 goals either or both weber ,alberts were on for 6 of those 8 goals 7/8 if you count alberts in the box


and if neither play

 

[Eddy Punch Clock]

I feel like it's redundant for both twins to have a letter. Not like they're ever on the ice at different times. As long as they make it clear to Daniel that it's nothing personal

Like Hansen had to explain to Henrik after he named his twins.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

Are you sure that was not SportsNet because John Shannon has been continually peddling that BS about Garrison? See the season preview show:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/can-tortorella-turn-on-canucks/

Garrison had an excellent first season considering he was partially hobbled with groin problem for the first half of the season.

No, it was Ward on their Season Preview special. He claimed the 8 goals was a disappointment and Garrison has to improve.

Aaron Ward on the TSN panel specifically mentioned that Garrison's goal total was disappoint "only 7 goals".

Not sure if he realized it was a shortened season or not, and that was good enough for 7th amongst defensemen. I guess it was a disappointment because he didn't score 20 in 47 games?

That was what I wondered. Garrison was on pace for 14 goals, which is two less than his career high. I suppose Ward just forgot about the lockout.

 

[deadinthewater]

They're re-assigning the A's? That's weird.

 

[Superpest]

Kesler is a Torts type player. Torts gave Callahan the C, so I imagine Kesler gets the A