Cory Schneider Puts in a Signature Performance, Flummoxes the Red Wings
Thomas Drance
April 21 2013 12:33PM
Cory Schneider: the man of the hour.
Photo Credit: Jeff Vinnick NHLI/via Getty
The Canucks clinched a playoff spot on Saturday, in a shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings, thanks almost entirely to Cory Schneider. It was a superhuman performance for the young netminder, who by himself is enough of a reason why opposing teams might prefer to avoid the Canucks in the first round.
Unfortunately for the Canucks, and their fans, the list of reasons to want to avoid a playoff series against the Canucks is otherwise diminishing. The back-end is banged up, the even-strength play has been mostly subpar since the trade deadline, and the middle of Vancouver's lineup - and the third line in particular - has offered the opposition only token resistance over the past ten or so days.
Yep it was an ugly win on Hockey Night in Canada for the Canucks. Read past the jump.
Game #45 Preview: Red Wings @ Canucks
Thomas Drance
April 20 2013 03:51PM
Cory Schneider will try to prevent scene like this one on Saturday night.
Photograph by: Dave Sandford/Getty Images
The Canucks suffered a third period debacle to close off a mostly uninspiring five game road trip on Thursday night in Dallas, and will look to bounce back against the Red Wings. Vancouver's club will clinch a playoff spot with a point, and they could clinch the division with a win and a Minnesota loss. That's a symbolic milestone mostly, this team isn't in any real danger of falling out of a playoff spot, what's more important is that they get their game back on track and do it against a Red Wings team that has positively feasted upon them in two previous meetings this season.
Read past the jump for more!
The Respectful Rivalry: Vancouver and Detroit
Jeff Angus
April 20 2013 09:55AM
The Canucks and Red Wings have had a very good (and understated) rivalry over the past decade or so. For so long, the Canucks were the little brother to Western Conference juggernauts from Colorado and Detroit, teams that would routinely feast on the Canucks and their subpar goaltending.
NHL Waters Down It's High Profile Product
Graphic Comments
April 19 2013 01:47PM
Sure, I get that the NHL wants to milk the golden cash cow...no, wait.
That can't be right, because as we learned during the lockout, it's the players that are cattle. So maybe the the more appropriate phrase might be that they want to fleece the golden sheep? Whatever. I won't even make the obvious joke about killing the golden goose. The point is they can hold as many of these games as they want, but why hold one of them in Vancouver?
Seriously. I mean, it's one thing to figuratively water down the NHL's annual outdoor showcase by staging six of them next year, but holding one of them in Vancouver in March will literally water down the product.
The Canucks Week in Quips for April 19
Jordan_Clarke
April 19 2013 11:25AM
Point rockets in flight, that's Blackbeard's Delight! Woop!
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
This is a regular Friday feature combining a healthy mixture of observation, analysis, and foresight on the Vancouver Canucks. If you'd like to get at me about anything covered in this column, follow me on Twitter at @yyjordan and let's start a textual relationship (wink).
