Foggy Days and Nights in Canuckland

The sky has been falling (literally as we've been fogged in the past few days) as well as the Canucks free falling in the standings.

The weird part is from Nov. 20 through Jan. 1 (the period when Roberto Luongo was injured), the Canucks managed to tread water with 10 wins and 10 losses. It's been this latest stretch of 1 win and 8 losses that coincided with the arrival of Mats Sundin (and you may agree with this assessment of the chance of Mats leading the Nux to the Promised Land) and the return of Roberto Luongo that has fans and media panicked.

Now, the hopeful part is Luongo played San Jose tough (sorry, but being outshot 29-14, the rest of the Canucks were MIA) last night (Jan. 20), but blew the game when yet again they could not tame Joe Thornton (the Canuck killer--13 GP 5G 21A as a Shark vs. the Nux) from setting up the tying goal with 40 seconds left and winning goal in OT.

The best plan of action is the Nux have to clone Joel Otto and then they'll have a chance in shutting down Mr. Thornton.

The truth is all playoff teams bar the elite go through these rough stretches every season. A good indicator as to whether any team is just plain lousy or if they are still working hard is the shot totals. In this nine-game stretch, the Canucks have been outshot (and none too badly other than the Sharks' game) in 5 of the 9 games with the Phoenix Coyotes game (Jan. 15) being a dead heat at 32-32 on shots.

The main problem during this stretch has been goaltending. I know Jason LaBarbera came in and was almost lights out but the first four games of this stretch is pretty indicative of his abilities with a save pct. of .903. That is not going to get you into the playoffs unless you have Nicklas Lidstrom leading a D that allows you to win Cups with a midget in net.

After LaBarbera's mini-meltdown giving up 6 goals vs. St. Louis, he was hideous vs. the NJ Devils being pulled after just 3:29 of the first period after giving up 2 goals on 6 shots including one where he got a great assist on a gola by Zach "don't call me J.P." Parise. Curtis Sanford relieves and pretty much copies the same blunder but settles down somewhat after that.

Then the captain returns and not a moment too soon...or maybe it was too soon. His save pct. in the three games he's played since is a less than stellar .853.

Give him his due, he's been out awhile but if the Canucks have to wait a month really until Mats Sundin is in game shape, Roberto Luongo better be ready to rock 'n' roll post-All-Star Game break.

View Mats' Home Debut From The Snob Seats

Today, I get in the e-mail from the Canucks Insider, the following:

"SPECIAL GAME DAY TICKET OFFER

Tonight is your first opportunity to see Mats Sundin make his home debut in a Canucks sweater, and we have a great offer for you to watch the game from the Sports Action Lounge! This hospitality suite features comfortable seats, flat-screen TV monitors, cash bar and private washrooms making it one of the most popular premium seating areas in General Motors Place. Don’t miss this great opportunity to watch the Canucks from a suite without having to book the entire room. Only 16 pairs remaining!

DETAILS
Vancouver Canucks vs. St. Louis Blues
Friday, January 9 @ 7:00pm
2 tickets in the Sports Action Lounge
$100.00 per ticket, plus applicable service charge

Purchase online at ticketmaster.ca/canucks, Charge-by-Phone 604.280.4400 or at the General Motors Place Box Office."

Now, to the average Yaletownie, this might be a great deal but to those of us who like our fan experience to be less living room amentities and more "get me upclose and personal," how is $100 (plus the usual tixmonster fees) a deal when single tickets for this same game are going at half-price?

Let's review:

• Comfortable seats? Is this saying the seats pretty much in the rest of the arena aren't comfortable? Are we talking La-Z Boy recliner rockers in the Sports Action Lounge? Ergonomic bean bag chairs?
  
• Flat-screen TV monitors? Well, there's a giant HD TV screen above the rink so unless these monitors in the lounge allow you to tune in other games or change channels if the game gets dull, are they saying I'm supposed to help the NHL out with video review or some such?
  
• Cash bar? Oh, great, not only can I spend more dough on overpriced alcohol but by "cash" does that mean they don't accept credit cards?
  
• Private washrooms? Yeah, that's my "major" complaint at GM Place--no privacy to pee.
  

To sum it up, basically I can fork out $100+ for what I get at home watching the game on TV for free. Sign me up!

Cody, Mats and La-LaBarbera

These are heady times in Canuckland as we all are desperate for some news other than about the weather.

GM Mike Gillis, after realizing Cory Schneider is most definitely not as advertised (now, don't you wish Nonehead had traded him last year when he had a shot at the deadline?), snagged Jason LaBarbera off the LA Kings for a measly 7th round pick to cover for an injured Curtis Sanford. LaBarbera in his short three-game stint has shown he can do the job with an outstanding .943 save pct. in a Canuck jersey. That and hailing from Burnaby can't hurt the local pride.

Then 2008 first round draft pick and now a Hockey Canada gold medalist Cody Hodgson led all scorers at the recent World Junior Hockey Championships held in Kanata (sorry, folks, the final was not really in Ottawa as that would be like saying the New York Islanders play in New York City). This could be both good and bad news. The big question is whether Hodgson is the next Nigel Dawes, Jeff Farkas or Pavel Brendl? Or is Hodgson more of a Phil Kessel, Peter Forsberg or Jarome Iginla? Yes, all of these players led the WJC in scoring over various tournaments. So grain of salt on Hodgson's future as of yet.

Lastly, tonight marks the end of the Mats Sundin: Hostage Off Ice saga(fjord) as he apparently will debut vs. the Oil in Edmonton. I think fans are most curious mainly as to who his linemates will be. It's looking like Kyle Wellwood will play on one wing but the other seems open to all takers. If we're talking skill alone coach Alain Vigneault might be thinking Pavol Demitra, health permitting. If he's thinking a Dave Semenko to a Wayner, they might want to slot Darcy Hordichuk in there. Stay tuned.