Canucks Wing It In Overtime

The Canucks have sold out the Garage for six zillion straight games...or have they? So far this season there have been single seat sales for all but two games (the first Detroit visit Nov. 2 and, of course, the Make Beliefs' visit Nov. 15). Mainly this Coca-Cola half-price single seat policy that started, I believe, three years ago and would show up maybe six times a year has been expanded for '08/09.

Some kid rockin' a Wings tee

This, of course, meant Johnny Canucklehead and Franz Klammer (part-time ski hero and transplanted hockey fan) could snag a couple of ducats to see the Stanley Cup champions take on the Curtis Sanford. All of this for the price of $59.75 (including ticketmonster and Mats Sundin escrow account fees) is decent...not something I'd pay to watch Columbus or Minnesota but for the Cup champs, I'm there! So here's the view from the last row of the upper bowl right on the blueline (in case the NHL need me to do booth reviews on offside calls).

Starting off, there sure were a lot of GM employees at the game. I thought the company was in dire straits or maybe all the Steve Yzermans, Brendan Shanahans and Nick Libetts took advantage of the half-price sale to show up in their Wings jerseys. The Nux have finally dropped the dated U2 intro music but now opt for what sounds suspiciously like Vangelis's Chariots of Fire theme. Oh well guess we'll be hearing music from 2008 in all probability by 2038.

All of the trees and electricity that have been wasted on what a good game this was, don't believe the hype. Yes, this Canuck team looks like more of a "team" and kudos to Ryan Kesler and Kyle Wellwood for driving the net and creating chances but Pavol Demitra hit the net, please, and Willie Mitchell get rid of that stupid Martin St. Louis long stick you use.

The Wings looked so smooth and in control especially breaking out of their own end. So how did they lose? One intrepid reporter (Tony Gallagher) pointed out they missed Tomas Holmstrom sticking his big butt in the opposing goalie's face. That's probably it as Johan Franzen is more Holmstrom Lite. Given the Wings outshot Vancouver 34-16 through 60 minutes, a good screen or two and it'd have been game over.

Luckily, Daniel Sedin got a bit of a flukey bad hop goal over third base late and the locals woke up. The Nux owned the OT outshooting the Wings 8-0 and Sami Salo scored a beauty on a powerplay to win it. End of story.

Now I'm not sure if the fans razzing Detroit goalie Chris Osgood throughout the game helped but it can't have hurt. Even so, last I looked, Osgood was the starter on two Cup teams so . . . until Roberto Luongo brings the silver chalice home, I'll say Ozzie is not as bad as those long drifters from the past he's let in.

Finally, let's get to my fave timeworn topic--the fans. I thought moving up two price ranges I'd escape the yahoos but let's review. The wannabe gangsta (of course, a white boy with a cheesy Wendy Clark attempt at a 'stache) in front of me started the game off telling us in the row behind him to "get up." Then he attempted to start a "Let's Go Canucks" chant which as the game wore on became a "Let's Go Detroit" chant. I figure the two Detroit babes (and I use that term loosely) next to him convinced Mr. "One Beer And I'm Jello" to switch sides mid-game. Either that or he fell in love with Henrik Zetterberg's sweet Viking beard thinking he'd have a shot at a honey like Henrik's wife, Emma Andersson.

The older couple in Luongo jerseys in my row said nary a peep all game mistaking the Garage for the old days of the Pacific Mausoleum. Glad you could join us.

Then the piece de resistance, an in-game interview with former Nux captain (and recipient of a broken jaw in the '70s courtesy Keith Magnuson) Chris Oddleifson was interviewed on the big screen. This prompted the neighborly stock broker (see, the economic crisis is real if he is sitting in the last row of the upper bowl) next to me to pipe up and say that Chrissy Boy was his fave Canuck. I guess Bryan McSheffrey was taken. He also thought Oddleifson was #6. Dennis Kearns to that, says #14!

Those, my friends, are your Canuck fans. Unless the scoreboard tells them to "Make Some Noise," many of them do become confused by my yelling and screaming at the Sedins to shoot the freakin' puck and enough with the Tour de France. Then again here's comes the Wave--woooo!

How To Get Things Almost Right

The Canucks revealed their new third jersey this week to be worn fashionably early (4:oo p.m. local start time) tonight as the Make Belief fans invade the Garage for the lone visit of the Leafs this season. So, our beloved Johnny Canuck finally makes it onto the jersey but just as a shoulder patch. This J-Canuck logo has been around a bit and already has shown up on some Canuck souvenirs prior to this season.

The stick-in-rink logo has been revived ever since the Vintage third jersey made an appearance...but the logo has been "rebranded" (translation: it's now features a Kyle Wellwood length stick done at a Cubist angle). There has never really been any love affair with any of the NHL Canucks various logos (except for this crazy Canuck) and although now the stick-in-rink logo has some retro cool cachet, why are the Canucks still so reluctant to go whole hog and bring back the full Johnny Canuck logo? Guess we should not be so surprised as the current "regular" jersey was a lame attempt to ape the WHL era "Canucks" look across the chest.

Mr. Bathgate lookin' good

Is Mo Gone?

So, with the Nux picking up Kyle Wellwood off the Make Beliefs on waivers, you have to figure there will be zero attempts to re-sign 32-year-old UFA Brendan Morrison now? Can you see Mo taking Linden's slot as the fourth line center? It's not going to be Wellwood as why bring in a 25-year-old with little defensive or faceoff skills to be a fourth line center?

You know Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler are locks at center for '08/09. Wellwood is just 25, scored a bunch in junior and in the AHL so give him more than the 12+ minutes he was getting in T.O. and let's see what he can do.

Given he seems fast and has shown signs of being a bit of a Steve Sullivan with the puck, well worth the waiver claim put in. Anyway, Luongo and the Nux D can make most any forward look a better defensively. So goalsuck away, Kyle!

Now if the Canucks snag Darcy Tucker then who knows? Tapping into that Laff talent pool and snagging Jerry Butler and Tiger Williams did not hurt the '82 squad, although Rick Vaive did go on to pot a ton o' goals with the sadsack Laffs of the '80s.