3 SAMUCKS CSOlMEr Are the Canucks Hungover? 8

By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

s I sit here and write this

article, I can’t help but notice

the pulsating headache and
nauseating feeling that lingers in my
body after that superb Halloween
party at the DSU last night...and I’m
beginning to think that perhaps the
Canucks are feeling the same way to
start out their season after a very long,
gruelling, and emotional nine months
of hockey.

Last Wednesday night, the
Vancouver Canucks were shutout for
the third time in just 10 games this
season against the St. Louis Blues.
That statement alone pretty much
dictates how well this team is playing
at the moment with their defence,
offense, and goaltending categories
not performing up to snuff like they
should be. And it also raises the
question: are the Canucks feeling
the effects of a fatigue factor after a
particularly lengthy and emotional
post-season where they partook and
lost in game seven of the Stanley Cup
Finals? A hangover perhaps? A topic
of discussion that can easily be shared
with the Stanley Cup Champions, the
Boston Bruins.

 

As of last Wednesday night, the
Bruins are sitting at 13th spot in the
Eastern Conference with a 3-5-0
record and only six points through
eight games. Not exactly a team that
you would have thought had just
won the Holy Grail four months ago.
Even their General Manager, Peter
Chiarelli, publicly addressed the
situation, “You’ve heard me talking
about us addressing and dealing with

- this hangover, and whether it’s been

self-fulfilling or not, I believe that it’s
here in some form... The expectations

.&

Sats.

 

Sturm. The plan that seems to be on
the Canucks’ agenda is for Booth to
ease smoothly into the second line
alongside fellow American linemates
Ryan Kesler and Chris Higgins.
They’re already calling them the
American Express line, and if Booth
can find his game like he did in the
2008-09 season, where he scored 31
goals and 60 points with the Panthers,
then General Manager Mike Gillis will
look like a genius in getting a top six
forward for a pair of third line wingers.
So far, with two games in, he

“Sure you can blame the on-going Roberto Luongo goaltending
- issue—which seems to be the main topic of discussion in
Vancouver— but look at the offense, they haven’t been all beans and
gravy either. In 10 games so far this season, they have scored just
24 goals.”

are high, but we also expected this
sort of thing and as we’re finding out
there’s no easy answer to it.”

Chiarelli is definitely right—
there is no easy answer to it. And
the Canucks —like the Bruins—are
starting to find out the hard way.

The Canucks recently acquired
left winger David Booth and Steve
Reinprecht from the Florida Panthers
in an exchange for former snipe-
show, Mikael Samuelsson and Marco

=== + SESS T Ea

hasn’t disappointed. Against the Blues
last Wednesday night, the American
Express was arguably the best line on
the ice for the Canucks with scoring
chances coming left, right and centre.
Booth was especially fast and had

a beautiful scoring chance to get

his first helper as a Canuck late in

the third period where he just put it
wide— glove side—on a pass from
behind the net right into the slot.

 

So is this David Booth guy from
Florida going to be the answer for the
Canucks’ woes? Only time will tell.
But it seems as though it’s not going
to be just one guy that flips this team
around and onto the right track. No.
It’s going to have to be a group effort
from everyone in the organization
involved.

You can’t win games if you don’t
score, and you can’t win games if
you don’t make a save. Sure you can
blame the on-going Roberto Luongo
goaltending issue— which seems to
be the main topic of discussion in
Vancouver— but look at the offense,
they haven’t been all beans and gravy
either. In 10 games so far this season,
they have scored just 24 goals. That’s
a meek 2.4 goals a game average.
Last year the Canucks led the league
in the same category after 82 games
with a 3.19 goals a game average.
Now I know it’s only 10 games in,
but these kind of lack-of-scoring and
goaltending issues are beginning to
add up. And everyone knows no team
can afford to lose games at anytime
in the season, especially come spring
time when only eight teams make the
playoffs in each conference.

 

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