Afternoon Headshots: March 21st

With the Canucks having a couple days off between games (they don’t play again until Sunday afternoon v. Buffalo, and I’m not totally convinced that should actually even count), I figured I’d use this as an opportunity to dust off and bring back the ol’ Afternoon Headshots. 

I’ve gone ahead and compiled a list of some of the more interesting nuggets of goodness I’ve come across on the interwebs recently, in the hopes that it’ll spark some conversation and maybe even shed some light on a thing or two that you haven’t come across yourself already. 

·As of right now, there’s some uncertainty regarding the lineup we’ll see iced on Sunday. After the team sent Darren Archibald down to Utica (which was a wise move; he wasn’t playing here, and the Comets are actually making a legitimate late-season run for a playoff spot), not-so-positive news re: Alex Burrows’ thumb injury sustained against the Predators came out. The preliminary word sure isn’t good, which is a total bummer for Burrows who had finally started to personally salvage what has been a season to forget for him. So who’s going to draw in if he is in fact out?

Hey now! Ryan Kesler is also practising with the team now as he tries to work his way back himself. If Daniel does in fact make his return on Sunday, it’ll be exactly 3 weeks since he sustained the hamstring injury in the Heritage Classic (which was his diagnosis). These sorts of soft tissue injuries are often super dicey, particularly for players getting up there in age, but if he’s anywhere near 100% it’ll certainly be awfully intriguing to see Nicklas Jensen get some run with the Twins. 

·Speaking of Jensen, here’s a fun little replay of his wicked wrister on Wednesday. The kid can shoot:

·How’s Roberto Luongo doing these days? Well, Daniel Wagner of Pass it to Bulis caught up with him yesterday in Phoenix, getting his thoughts on the tweet that lit a fuse under Don Cherry and whether Eddie Lack is ready for this. I’d imagine he has enjoyed the change of scenery, even if he has been playing on a mediocre team. He has a .926 save percentage in his 7 starts in a Panthers uniform so far, including an outstanding 52 save performance in San Jose the other night. 

·The playoffs are just around the corner in the Major Junior circuit. Tyson Giuriato went ahead and compiled a list of the 7 Canucks prospects that are “on the quest for the Memorial Cup”. Josh Weissbock had more on this for us with his Weekly Prospect Report yesterday. He’s one of the lesser names on there, but Anton Cederholm on the Portland Winterhawks is someone you’ll be able to see up close and personal if you so choose to. 

They’re playing the Vancouver Giants in the WHL playoffs, with their series starting tonight. The games will move to the Coliseum for Tuesday/Wednesday next week, and with tickets being more than affordable, I’d recommend trying to make it out for one of those tilts. WHL hockey can be a pretty fun experience.

·This doesn’t have anything to do with the Vancouver Canucks, per se – or does it? – but Thomas Drance’s bit on how the Philadelphia Flyers have been turning young man into “bearded, toothless pirates” is something I wholeheartedly recommend reading. 

·Neither does this, but everyone should be familiar with “Cory_Conacher_Wears_John_Scotts_Helmet.gif”[via @BonksMullet]. Here’s the backstory: Conacher, who’s listed at 5’8”, 180lbs, lost his lid during a scrum and was sent off for 2 minutes. For some reason they gave him John Scott’s helmet – who is listed at 6’8”, 259lbs himself. This is the end result:

·And finally, before I let you get back to wasting the final little bit of your workday before the weekend starts, let me just remind you that our viewing party is fast approaching. It’s on April 1st – no, it’s not an April Fool’s Day joke, I swear on Jensen’s balls – which is only 10 days or so away now. You can buy your ticket online, and come join in on the fun while contributing a couple bucks to a good cause. Hope to see you all there. First round is on me!