Many things have gone down over the past little while since the last update, so here’s a summary of what has happened lately with the Vancouver Canucks and Manitoba Moose.
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Veteran defenceman Mathieu Schneider was placed on waivers by the Canucks yesterday, and cleared them today. What this means for Schneider and the Canucks is up in the air.

Defenceman Kevin Bieksa suffered a cut on his leg during the second period of last night’s game versus the Phoenix Coyotes, so hypothetically, Schneider could end up back in the Canucks lineup. From all appearances though, it doesn’t look like that will happen.

Vancouver could also elect to send him down to the Manitoba Moose or to another AHL squad, much like they did with Brad Lukowich, who the Canucks sent to the Texas Stars at the beginning of the season. Unlike with Lukowich, there’s no guarantee Schneider will report to Manitoba and play for them, even though he would get tons of ice time and instantly become Manitoba’s #1 defenceman.

Considering Schneider’s age, there’s also a chance that he’ll decide to hang up the blades and call it a day. Schneider’s no spring chicken at 40-years-old, so his clearing waivers could spell the end of his playing career.

Schneider has five points (2-3-5) in 17 games for the Canucks this season.
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The day before Mathieu Schneider was placed on waivers, the Canucks called up forward Alexandre Bolduc from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Bolduc was called up by Vancouver to replace Ryan Johnson, who was put on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury.

Bolduc went pointless in seven games with the Canucks earlier this season, and has picked up three points (2-1-3) in 13 games with the Moose so far in 2009-10.
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So far, six members of the Vancouver Canucks have been named to their respective country’s Olympic squads.

Goaltender Roberto Luongo (Canada), defencemen Sami Salo (Finland) and Christian Ehrhoff (Germany), as well as forwards Pavol Demitra (Slovakia) and Daniel and Henrik Sedin (Sweden) have so far been named to play in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The United States hockey team will announce its roster immediately after the NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston on January 1, 2010. It’s expected that forward Ryan Kesler will make it a lucky seven for the Canucks by getting named to that squad.

The most notable absence, if just for what he said when he wasn’t named to his country’s Olympic squad, is Mikael Samuelsson. As most people have heard by now, when the Swedish Olympic hockey team did not name Samuelsson as one of their 23 players that will suit up in Vancouver, the Canuck forward said in an interview afterward that those who picked the team should perform an act of self-fornication. No word on whether those who made the Swedish roster followed suit, but it’s highly unlikely they took Samuelsson’s advice.
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The American Hockey League announced today that Manitoba Moose forward Sergei Shirokov has been named to the PlanetUSA All-Star Team for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic, which takes place next month at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. Teammate Nolan Baumgartner will suit up as captain and play as one of the starters for the Canadian All-Star Team.

Shirokov has picked up 23 points (11-12-23) in 34 games for the Moose this season, while Baumgartner has seven points (1-6-7) in 24 games for Manitoba. Baumgartner’s currently out of the Moose lineup with a broken finger, but should return to on-ice action within the next week or two.

A notable absence from the All-Star Game lineups is Moose goaltender Cory Schneider, who started for the PlanetUSA All-Stars last season. So far in 2009-10, Schneider has registered a 16-6-2 record, with a 2.25 goals-against average, a 0.923 save percentage, and two shutouts.

No word on whether Schneider told the AHL All-Star selection committee to fornicate with themselves after not getting picked for the team. We’ll assume he didn’t.

Steve Yzerman

Steve Yzerman has the toughest job in Canada. Yzerman is in charge of the selection of the Canadian Men’s hockey team that will represent the country in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The highly anticipated announcement will be made tomorrow. It seems every major Canadian sports network has made their picks on who should represent Team Canada, so I guess it won’t hurt to put our two cents in as well.

Without further adieu, here are my thoughts on who should be a part of Team Canada in their quest for Olympic gold!

Goalies: Martin Brodeur (starter), Roberto Luongo (back-up), Marc- Andre Fleury (pressbox)

Note: Brodeur is the starter because of his great play so far this season and because he is the most experienced (Brodeur has won a gold medal before). However, any Curtis Joseph-like slip ups and I have all the confidence that Luongo will be up for the challenge.

Defence: Shea Weber, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Dan Boyle, Jay Bouwmeester, Duncan Keith, Mike Green (darkhorse)

Note: There is no way Mike Green should not be on this team. He has the most points amongst NHL defencemen and he will certainly provide a boost on the powerplay.  The knock on Green is that he is a liability in his own end; however, he could be used in a specialist role.

Forwards: Rick Nash, Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton, Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Corey Perry, Brad Richards, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau, Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, Martin St. Louis, Mike Fisher (darkhorse)

Note: Mike Fisher brings intensity up front that was clearly lacking in Turin. He can score, play on the penalty kill, and rarely makes mental mistakes.

Honorable Mention: Drew Doughty, Brenden Morrow, Eric Staal

Note: Drew Doughty is the toughest call because of his outstanding play this season. However, I believe there should be a solid veteran presence on the blue line and Mike Green is more effective on the powerplay.

This is a typical Canadian powerhouse team comprised of speed, skill, and grit. The only difference from this team and the 2006 Olympic team is they will be younger.  They should be more determined than ever after a poor performance in Turin. Will this be the team that takes home the gold medal? I guess we will have to stay tuned.

What picks would you make differently?

Here are some of the postgame quotes after Wednesday’s 5-2 Devils loss to the Canucks:

Zach Parise:

Their second goal did you get a piece of it with your stick?

“Yeah, it was a little miscommunication down low, and I got to the guy late. I was just trying to block it and I ended up tipping it; I don’t know if went right in off of that or what.”

After the last game you said the slow start was due to lack of intensity, was that the same case again today?

“Yeah, tonight might have been even worse. Tonight it was too big of a hole to climb out of, too good of a team to spot three goals and we just couldn’t come back tonight.”

Rob Niedermayer:
How did you feel in your first game back, obviously not the result you wanted?

“Yeah it was frustrating for sure, but it was nice to be back playing. Definitely not the result we wanted.”

You felt okay physically though?

“Yeah, I felt fine. It’s good to be back playing.”

On the fourth Canucks goal, did you get a piece of that with your stick?

“No, I think that might have nicked my shin pad.”

Martin Brodeur:
Was any extra pressure tonight for you and Luongo because everyone in Canada was watching this game?

“Not really, it’s about one game that people see (us) matched up. It is what it is; we can’t really do anything about it. For us, it’s just a disappointing loss; we played a healthy team – they showed the depth they have. It was a different challenge for us, when we meet teams all around the league that are healthy, it gets a little tougher.”

You don’t see the Canucks too often; does that have any bearing on how you guys started off?

“It’s about our game and what we do, I think we looked at some tapes in between periods, you could tell what they were doing; it was what we didn’t do.”

Did the team lose intensity or let up because you got one of your injured players back?

“No. We’re happy to see people coming back, we need that. For only so long you’re going to get away with playing with kids coming up and down from the minor leagues. Today was just an aberration, just because Nieder returned, it has no bearing on the way we play – it should be the same regardless of the players we have.”

You don’t get to see the Sedins too often, how impressed were you with them tonight?

“Well I’ve played against them a lot through the years even though they don’t play in our conference. They’re skilled players; that’s why they were paid so much this past summer. They’re skilled — and really patient with the puck — they’re twins, they know where each other is at, at all times (laughing).”

Roberto Luongo:
After they got back into the game, did it then turn into a good road game for you guys?

“Yeah, it was a tight second period and there were chances both ways. In the third period we kind of just sat back and tried to protect the lead, but we played our game and we scored some big goals.”
All of the talk leading up to this game, you said it was just another game and you needed a win…

“Yeah of course, its the first game of a (four-game) road trip, an important road trip for our team. We wanted to come here and establish something good going forward.”

Have you ever had a police escort to a game?

“Yes I have, not with the Canucks, but with Team Canada, World Cup, World Championships.”

Are you going to start tomorrow in Philly?

“I’m not sure yet.”

How were you feeling after Travis Zajac’s goal made it 3-2 going into intermission?

“Well not great obviously, we used the 15 minute intermission to regroup. It was a bit of a bad break that went off of our d-man’s skate — I was going to make the save there and it redirected. It was a bad break, but sometimes that happens in a game and its just a matter of staying with the process and making sure you don’t want to give up any freebies to the other team.”

You approached this whole day with a very lose attitude, is that something that you set out to do?

“Yeah, of course; it’s (just) a game and I want to have fun playing it. When things are going well, it’s a bit easier to enjoy it and have a good time out there. We’re doing something that we love so there’s no reason to be angry or mad or tense.”

After your team scored three goals did you let two in because you felt bad for Brodeur?

“Yeah after we scored three I had to let two in because I felt bad for him (smiles).”

Jacques Lemaire:

After it was 3-2 what went wrong?

“I think it’s what went wrong before that. I think the way we started — again — it’s not a good start for us; we were lucky to get two goals back and make it a game at that moment. The second period I felt that our guys would play better; we did play better, but not good enough. It’s just one night that nothing was working, our guys were, they didn’t have the legs that they’ve had in other games. You look at our top players; they’ve been responsible for pretty much every win that we’ve got since the start of the season. But today our top players were not as good.”

Did you see this coming?

“Well, to see it coming, it’s always easier after. Every little doubt that you have — then okay, it’s that, because you know the result.”

Law of averages, were you due for a bad one?

“Let’s try to say yes – we were due for a bad one. It starts from the defenseman all the way up; our best players tonight were the kids — Matt Halischuk, Vladimir Zharkov. Dean McAmmond played well; Nieder for his first game (after missing 11) played well, I liked what he did. Niclas Bergfors, he was fine.”

What went wrong on the two-man advantage?

“Well again, the top players, they have to find the guy that is open for the shot. I was asking if Zach was open, if Jamie (Langenbrunner) was open and they were saying ‘yeah I was open at different times.’ But you have to make the pass at that moment, which we didn’t do.”

Were either of the goalies much of a factor in this game at all?

“I don’t think so; I think it’s more the way we played. If you look at the start, it looks like they were easy goals at the start from both sides. And then they started to get more quality shots than we did. It wasn’t one mistake that we made, it was from the first minute to pretty much the last minute. It was mistakes on the forecheck, no support; mistakes on turnovers, mistakes on passing, mistakes on seeing guys open, making the right pass, breakouts, you name it. Decisions in our end, you look at our second goal against — my Lord — seeing (our) guys going around in circles in our end.”

How about the opposition and their forecheck?

“The opposition, to me, they just walked to a win; very easily walked to a win. I’ve seen them play a lot like this, they’re solid defensively, they wait for their chances; they have a chance to forecheck, they go hard. They are having success the way they are playing, playing with confidence.”

What do you tell your team?

“Well, we’ll start with a practice tomorrow, a good practice; I think they need a good practice. We’ve been going easy (on them) feeling that they might be a little tired and this and that, and you know Christmas coming, everyone, their mind is going somewhere else — so we’ll try to put their mind back on the game.”

NEWARK, N.J -Whether or not the game on Wednesday night would have any impact on the choice for Canada’s goaltender in the Winter Olympics, the Vancouver Canucks lit up the New Jersey Devils and Martin Brodeur for 5 goals, in a game that the Canucks needed to start their current 5 game road trip.

After a very slow first few minutes to start the game,  which felt like it would be a typical trap style, low scoring affair, the Vancouver Canucks took a mid 1st period surge all the way to bank.

Heading into the game, the spotlight was on the two front runners for the #1 goaltending spot for team Canada in the upcoming Olympics,  Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur, but after the first period, I’m sure many Canadian hockey fans were jumping on the Marc-Andre Fleury bandwagon. Brodeur, the NHL’s all time wins leader, let in 3 goals in his first 8 shots, and Luongo 2 goals in his first 5. The two goalies combined for a .667 save % after the first period.

Luongo and Brodeur earlier this year at Canada's evaluation camp in Calgary

“I’m sure there were a couple of goals that (both goalies) would like to have back … but, in our case we did what we wanted to do,” Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. “We wanted to come out skating and moving the puck and getting as many shots as we could on their net. We buckled down in the second and in the third got on them early. We’ll take the two points and go to Philly.”

Buckled down the Canucks did.  After a shaky 1st,  they denied any goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods. In fact, in the 2nd period it felt like both of Canada’s top netminders had shown up. Both goalies made key saves in the period, but none bigger than the two Luongo made on Zach Parise right on the door step.

Canucks Roberto Luongo makes a sprawling save on Zach Parise

Coming into the game, Parise had several streaks going. He was riding a 10 game point streak, and hadn’t been on the ice for an opposition goal since way back on Nov. 4th. With those key saves from Luongo, Parise’s point streak came to an end, and his league leading plus/minus took a huge hit, as he was on the ice for 3 Canuck goals.

After the game Brodeur was more upset with the loss, rather than who he lost to.

“I’m just disappointed to lose,” Brodeur said. “I could care less about who I was playing. You don’t like to lose certain ways. You’ll take some good losses, but losses like that — it was just parts of the game. It was six minutes (in the first period) and three minutes (in the third) that we allowed five goals. That’s not a way to be successful.”

Whether or not Mr. Yzerman was was watching these two gladiators tonight, Luongo and his Canucks will take the 2 points and look for the same result tomorrow against the slumping Flyers in Philadelphia.

Red Wings: 9 Blue Jackets:1

It’s hard to explain what coming home to a score like last night’s is like. Bob from Detroit4lyfe put it best on his Twitter last night. I checked ESPN.com during class half-expecting Columbus to be up 1-0, and saw that the Wings hung 4 goals on Steve Mason in the first period. By the time I got home, it was already 6-1.

Regardless, this type of game was long overdue as far as the Red Wings’ fanbase is concerned. Seeing the Wings come out and firing on all cylinders after losing Jason Williams to a broken fibula (among the other injuries) is, for lack of a better word, a relief. Most of the Red Wings bloggers I read barely remember the last time the Wings didn’t make the playoffs. There have only been two Red Wings captains in my lifetime. The Detroit Red Wings are synonymous with the word “success” in my book.

I think the best way to describe the first month of the season would be “puzzling.” Most Wings fans didn’t know why the team was starting slow with the burn of last year’s Cup Finals still smoldering in the minds of the Detroit faithful. We wondered why the team fell flat on its face in the homecoming games in Sweden. Then there was disbelief with the injuries to both Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula. The Wings stars weren’t performing either.

I don’t want to reflect on it too much, because it looks like the Wings have turned the corner (knocks on wood). Via The Chief:

Subtract the Toronto game for just a moment. Take it away. Forget that Voox and JJ jinxed us. Forget that the Wings continued a trend of going prison skinny guy at the ACC and just erase that for the very brief time being.

Because if you do? Jeez. We’re looking at a Wing team that’s allowed no more than one goal in four games. We’re looking at a Wing team that, suddenly, has outscored their opponents (Boston and San Jose, ahem, being two of them) 14-3.

My D4L colleague Jessie has a similar take at Bingo Bango:

Sure they are still THE organization, THE example to all other 29 teams in the league, but a 9-1 victory was a pleasant and unexpected treat.

They bent the BJs, Nash, and Mason over and had their way nine different times, 7 different guys. Sure that sounds like a cheesy porn, but tonight it best describes the ass kicking that took place in Columbus.

The guys at The Triple Deke are a bit perplexed, but excited all the same:

I did not see that coming. Not at all. I did think that by some strange form of reverse-reverse logic that the Wings would win (you know, as opposed to a legitimate reason such as “talent”), but not this way. There is nothing to complain about. In other words, this game was Drew Sharp’s worst nightmare.

Unfortunately, the Wings don’t get to revel in this big win for long. The Vancouver Luongos Canucks are in town and hoping that the Wings forgot to leave some goals in the tank for tonight. The Detroit News [via A2Y] is reporting that Chris Osgood and Kirk Maltby are out tonight. Jimmy Howard will be in goal while Maltby will be replaced by the newest Wing and former MSU standout Drew Miller.

To keep busy until game time, make sure to check out Kyle’s interview with Canucks blog Dan Cloutier for Vezina over at Babcock’s Death Stare. Also, one of today’s hot trends on Twitter is #unpublishedNHLbooks. I’ve helped contribute to that “discussion.” There are some really funny ones being posted.

More to come later, including highlights, Tigers coverage, and a midseason Lions review.

The Wild play tonight for the first time since Saturday!! It feels like I haven’t seen a hockey game in forever! I hope we win tonight or I’m gonna be kinda sad. I kinda like this though because Vancouver is missing some of there really super awesome players. Ie. Roberto Luongo, Pavol Demitra and BOTH of the Sedin Twins. I hate the Sedin Twins. And the Wild are coming off their second win in a row and their first road win against the Stanley Cup Champs.Oh Im excited just talking about it I don’t think I can wait till 7.

I’m excited for Saturday because I get to go to the game and I get a new program! (I only get one program a month because they don’t change the info.)  Alright still not much to talk about, So I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow!

After a short stint with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, the parent Vancouver Canucks have signed left winger Matt Pettinger to a contract. The details of Pettinger’s contract have not been released, as per team policy.

The move to bring Pettinger in was brought about by the injury bug that has hit the Canucks hard this season. Currently, there are at least seven players (Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin, Pavol Demitra, Ryan Johnson, Jannik Hansen, Alexandre Bolduc, and now Michael Grabner) out with various types of injuries, leaving the team with 11 healthy forwards. In total, the Canucks have lost 75 man-games due to injury and have not had less than three players on their injured list, yet somehow have an 8-7 record.

Pettinger, 29, has played in seven games for the Moose this season, picking up four points (2-2-4) and eight penalty minutes. Last season, he split time with the Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL, as well as a two-game stint with the Moose. In 20 games with the Canucks, the Edmonton, Alberta native had six points (2-4-6), while picking up 15 points (8-7-15) in 59 games with the Lightning. In 413 career NHL games with the Lightning, Canucks, and Washington Capitals, Pettinger has accumulated 120 points (64-56-120).

Pettinger was a 2nd round (43rd overall) pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

The injury front hasn’t been much better for the Manitoba Moose, which has led to the team signing forward Olivier Latendresse to a pro-tryout contract. Latendresse played one game earlier this season for the Moose, picking up two penalty minutes.

With the addition of Pettinger to the Canucks and news that forward Guillaume Desbiens suffered a foot injury in last Friday’s game against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, the Moose now have five players on recall to Vancouver (two of those players are now injured), and at least three others out due to injury. On the plus side, forward Eric Walsky, who has missed the past couple of games due to the flu, could return to the Moose lineup as soon as tonight against the Norfolk Admirals.

It’s been a bit of a rough week at the GHHT headquarters. Between exams and sickness, I haven’t had the energy to write much about the Wings’ time in western Canada.

Obviously, the biggest impact of this road trip was the loss of Valtteri Filppula for 6-8 weeks with a wrist injury. As I’ve mentioned in nearly ever Wings recap I’ve done this season, Filppula has been the Wings’ most-improved player in the early part of the year. He wasn’t exactly lighting up the box score, but he and Leino seemed to click well on that 2nd/3rd line no matter who the other winger was. This, coupled with the loss of Johan Franzen, is a big-time setback for the Wings. I’m still skeptical about Franzen’s ability to come back this season and be the same “I shoot, I score” Johan Franzen we know and love. Everyone needs to step up for the Wings now. There’s no more room for error. They need to bring their best effort on both ends of the ice for the entire game if they hope to get back to the top of the Western Conference. This year is becoming a test for the entire Wings organization, to see if they can fight through all the adversity they’ve seen so far and still be an elite team.

I don’t want to say that I’m “happy” with how Jimmy Howard played during the Vancouver and Edmonton games (specifically vs. Edmonton), but I definitely don’t think many of the goals in either of those games were his fault. I think it’s correct to say that he is a big part of why they beat the Canucks. Coming in stone-cold after Chris Osgood let in two soft goals and playing as well as he did was huge. The goalie change seemed to spark the Wings and they pulled out a huge win. Howard let in 5 goals against the Oilers, but many of those were not his fault. Kyle at Babcock’s Death Stare analyzed each of the five goals and broke each situation down, pointing out who was at fault in each scenario. Great stuff over at BDS.

Taking the Filppula loss out of the equation, I would actually consider this road trip a success for the Wings. They earned 6 out of a possible 10 points, including 5 of the last 6. Those first two games were against two of the hottest goaltenders in the business right now. Many fans went into this trip saying that the Wings needed it for “bonding time” yet expected 8 points (or more) out of the trip. If the Wings were in such dire need of time to gel as a team, there was no way they were going to get 8 points out of the trip. Were the points they got pretty? Absolutely not. But when they’re gearing up for the playoffs at the end of the season, nobody will remember how the Wings got those points. Honestly, I’m most impressed with the Edmonton game. It would have been easy for the Wings to treat it a lot like the Buffalo debacle and give up, but the team fought back and earned a point instead. Yes, both Datsyuk and Zetterberg put forth pathetic efforts in the shootout. Yes, Howard looked ugly at points. But they earned a point after being down 4 goals. If that’s not the definition of “stealing a point,” I don’t know what is.

Look at the lineup this year. Here are the healthy forwards that are coming back from last year’s regular season squad: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Cleary, Draper, and Maltby (based on the lineup vs. Calgary). Right now, the Wings are throwing out 6 new forwards while shuffling lines to deal with injuries and ineffective play. The Wings’ top goal scorer right now? Tomas Holmstrom. Why? Because he knows his role with this team. The rest of the Wings? Not so much. Mixing in so many new guys without having much consistency among the lines hasn’t given them a chance to figure out their role for this team, much less get into a rhythm offensively.

I wish I could explain what is wrong with the defense. Most of the guys are the same from last year, with the obvious exception being Jonathan Ericsson in Andreas Lilja’s place. The top two pairings have again been ineffective in the early going. Could it be due to age? I’d say so for Brian Rafalski and possibly Lidstrom. Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart don’t really have an excuse. The defense should definitely be better, though looking at various recaps from last night’s game in Calgary shows me that the D came to play.

Contrary to popular belief, the goaltending is a non-issue. We’ve all seen how anemic Osgood can be during the regular season, but as Captain Norris explains (via the Chief), “I’d bench a full boat of Martin Brodeurs over Roberto Luongos before I’d have Ozzie riding the pine [in the playoffs].” Brilliant stuff over there. A bit outdated (10/23), but awesome nonetheless. I’ve already said my bit about Jimmy Howard. Keep this in mind: he’s a rookie. Find me a rookie goaltender not named Steve Mason who had a great rookie season in the last 20 years. I can’t find one. We’re not expecting the kid to carry us, just to keep Ozzie fresh until he flips the switch.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This team is going to be fine. They got out of western Canada without the swine flu and seem to have found a bit of a groove. I trust that the best organization in sports can fight through the adversity thrown their way and come out ready to wreak havoc in April.

I have added a new Edward Cullen/Twilight Wallpaper to the Photoshop Projects section.

Also included in the update is a wallpaper of former UFC fighter Rampage Jackson, Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, and Canucks forward Alex Burrows.

Email: bevans23@my.bcit.ca

3,920 donkeys can’t be wrong, can they?

That’s how many voters chose Roberto Luongo in TSN’s Best NHL Goalie Mask poll. You don’t suppose there’s any fanboy homerism involved there, do you? Any poll stuffing?

Take a look and you tell me.

Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks

Can you say “boring“. You should be able to after you stop yawning. Maybe it’s the vast stretches of off white that have me scratching my head. Maybe it’s the miserable old logo that looks like an illustration of cell division or something. Maybe it’s the prancing cartoon character on the side that makes me want to sing “I’m a Lumberjack and I’m okay…”, I don’t know. It just doesn’t do a lot for me.

I’m sorry, Vancouver because I generally have nothing against you guys and, considering you gave us Cam Neely and Milan Lucic and have, by all accounts, have a beautiful city up there, I don’t want to kill your buzz. That said

The next three top vote getters were, in order, Mike Smith, Mikka Kiprusoff and Carey Price. Um, yeah. Three out of the top four were the No. 1’s for Canadian teams? I see how it is, my friends and neighbors. I see how it works.

Perhaps if we put our blind man-boy loyalties aside for a few minutes we can enjoy some of the more interesting and creative masks some of the league’s netminders have been sporting lately. Taketh a gander.

Vesa Toskala, Toronto Maple Leafs

Toskala’s mask isn’t a new idea but it is extremely well done. Spooky, mean, three dimensional. Sam Raimi might appreciate this because it reminds one of both Venom and elements of Evil Dead. This one would eat Luongo’s for an appetizer.

Ray Emery, Philadelphia Flyers

Now this gentleman has style, folks. I guess Emery has always had a thing for putting boxers on his mask and his move to Philly allows him to honor a couple of greats, one real, one fictional. That’s Smokin’ Joe Frazier pictured above and if you flip it around you get to see none other than Rocky Balboa. What better for the Broadstreet Bullies than a tip of the cap to a couple of fellow brawlers.

Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes

Cam Ward’s is another that puts not only great artwork on display but great spirit. It features Blackbeard the Pitrate, a sharp looking looking corsair flying a Canadian flag, the Stanley Cup and the name of his deceased grandfather. All very stylishly done. You know if I’m complimenting a ‘Cane about anything, it’s a special occasion, right?

Of course, most modern masks are pretty flashy and spectacular. They are the product of long hours of hard work by the best artists in that field. The NHL, after all is big business and Goalie Masks are it’s version of Bling, I suppose.

That said.

Not one of them. Not one.

Compares to this.

Gerry Cheevers, Boston Bruins

‘Nuff said.

Canucks G Roberto Luongo is only expected to miss one week.

1. Canucks G Roberto Luongo (ribs) is expected to only miss one week.

2. Thrashers LW Ilya Kovalchuk (broken bone right foot) is out four weeks.

3. Rangers RW Marian Gaborik (right knee) missed last night’s game at the Islanders, a 3-1 loss for the Manhattoes. He has not been ruled out of tomorrow night’s game at Minnesota. If he misses that game, don’t sweat it. Start to sweat if he misses Sunday afternoon’s game when the Bruins hit the Big Apple.

4. No need to think about Canucks LW Daniel Sedin (foot) until November 6 or thereabouts.

5. No need to think about Bruins C Marc Savard (broken left foot) until November 14 or thereabouts.

6. Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews (concussion) did not practice yesterday and is not expected to play tonight at Nashville. He may also miss Friday night’s game vs. Montreal. You need not worry unless he misses the Nov. 5 game at Phoenix.

7. Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa (right shoulder) is practicing. Based on all we have read, the Genius projects the Nov. 15 game vs. the Sharks as his return date.

8. Devils C/LW Patrick Elias (groin) has not yet practiced with the team. He may start doing so next week. Until then, keep him in your IR slot.

9. Sharks RW Devin Setoguchi (leg) has missed the last two games. The Sharks host the Avalanche tomorrow night, and he may be back — check the San Jose Mercury News to see if he returns to practice.

10. Sharks C Joe Pavelski (left foot) has returned to practice. He could return to real games any day now.

11. No need to think about Panthers LW David Booth (concussion) until November 10 or thereabouts.

12. Kings RW Justin Williams (lower body) has missed four straight games. He could return tonight vs. Vancouver. He has practiced this week.

13. Oilers D Sheldon Souray (concussion) still is not skating. No need to think about him until Nov. 5 or thereabouts.

photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

As the old saying goes, if it wasn’t for bad luck, they would have no luck at all. According to the Vancouver Province, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo will miss an undetermined number of games with an undisclosed injury. This happens on the heels of forward Ryan Johnson getting injured last night after sliding hard (and awkwardly) into the end boards. It’s still unknown how severe his injuries are, but he was able to move all his extremities afterward, so it appears it’s not as bad as it could have been.

The Canucks have already lost 55 man-games between seven players this season. Pavol Demitra and Jannik Hansen have both missed all 12 games this season, while Mathieu Schneider was out for the first ten games before coming back on October 25th. Others who are currently on the injured list include Daniel Sedin (eight games), Sami Salo (seven games), Rick Rypien (four games), and Kyle Wellwood (two games).

With the as-yet unknown injury to Luongo, it looks like backup netminder Andrew Raycroft will assume the starter’s role for the time being, with Cory Schneider likely to get called up from Manitoba to back him up. If Ryan Johnson ends up missing some games, it looks like Rick Rypien will take his place.

Edit: Just as quickly as this story was written, TSN reports that Luongo will miss at least a week with a hairlne fracture in his ribs.

Before Detroit could blink, they were down 1-0 when Henrik Sedin scored 30 seconds into the game. Christian Ehrhoff added to the deficit seven minutes later.

Things weren’t looking good for Detroit on Tuesday night against Vancouver, as Chris Osgood was pulled after giving up two goals on four shots faced.

But then, something strange happened: The Red Wings were on the opposite end of a blown lead.

Rallying back from two goals down, Detroit got a first-period goal from Tomas Holmstrom and then four goals in the third period to win 5-4.

A comeback. A victory. On the road. How about that?

In what wound up being a thrilling contest for those few who stayed up to watch on the east coast, perhaps the most promising sign of the night was the two goals from Pavel Datsyuk.

The Russian is one of the two most important players on the team as far as offense is concerned (Henrik Zetterberg being the other), and he had been without a goal this season before Tuesday night. Datsyuk picked up his first two goals of the season in a three-minute span to give Detroit a brief 4-3 lead.

He also tallied an assist and ended the game with three points.

Jason Williams tapped in the game winner on a power play, and the Wings managed to hold the 5-4 lead for the last four minutes.

Jimmy Howard played very well in relief of Osgood, and that’s a good thing for the future. Osgood had an incredibly off night, but Howard was able to come in and bend just little enough for Detroit’s offense to salvage two full points from the game.

Tuesday was an uncharacteristically bad night from Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo as he let in five goals on 42 shots. To be fair, two of those goals were on Detroit power plays, but this is the man who had given up six goals in his last five games combined.

All in all, a very exciting game for both sides, though Detroit made Vancouver’s fans leave the arena unhappy. Could this be a sign of things turning around in Hockeytown, or was this just a one-game thing for Detroit’s offense?

Five more observations:

1. Ryan Johnson took a nasty slide into the boards in the second period and had to be carted off the ice on a stretcher. Let’s hope he’s alright, as his shoulder slammed into the boards very hard.
2. Filppula draws key penalty. Valtteri Filppula should be credited with drawing the penalty that turned into Datsyuk’s second goal. He burst through three Canucks and would have gotten a shot off on Luongo if not for Kevin Beiksa hooking him. That penalty set up Datsyuk’s second goal of the period. Filppula also got the primary assist on the game-winner from Williams.
3. Schneider says hello. Former Wing Mathieu Schneider scorched home Vancouver’s third goal of the night on a play very familiar to Detroit fans of the past. He was making those slap shots from near the blue line plenty during his four seasons in Hockeytown.
4. Homer right at home. Holmstrom scored Detroit’s first goal and was instrumental on their third and fourth goal, pestering Luongo with his presence in front of the net. There’s no one better in the NHL at that.
5. Road relief. Not only was the victory Detroit’s first in four games, but they also notched their first road victory of the season. They needed to get out of that funk bad.

Best of the Wings: Datsyuk. His first two goals of the season and an assist make him the best Wing on the ice, though it was close between him and Holmstrom.

Worst of the Wings: Osgood. The veteran faced four shots and allowed two goals before being removed. Another simple call tonight.

Word of the game: Relief. The first road win and first win overall in nearly two weeks. This must be a huge weight off the players’ shoulders.

Up next: Thursday, at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.