Lucic!!!!!

Getting hyped up for my first live game this year, I bring you Milan Lucic... the next Cam Neely. This will be one of those non-Canuck exceptions and the colour guy has a sweet New England/Boston accent. Trust me, you'll see Anze Kopitar next when the Kings show up in GM Place!

October 26, 2008 Canuck record: 4-4

Prepare to laugh! Apparently the Canuck coach's can act and coach!

Canucks Vs. Flames. 6-0 Final-Canucks Win

Game 1: Opening Night. October 9th, 2008

Opening night. Damn pumped for it.... And what do I get? 30 minutes of a Def Leppard concert... Sponsored by the NHL. Seriously, nothing is more synonymous with hockey then Def Leppard. To top it off...nothing felt better then to see the lead singer put the Cup upside-fucking-down. Another A+ for the NHL brass. I mean did they tell the band anything about it? or did some genius just hand it to him 5 minutes before the show started? And seriously, how stupid do you have be to put it upside down? IT'S CALLED A FUCKING CUP FOR A REASON. I don't know what kind of drugs are available that could fuck you up that much... but you put a cup down with the open end facing up. The Stanley cup also has a nice little perk of having it's base bigger then it's top making it painfully obvious how it should stand. The lead singer's house must be upside and he must have tables with legs facing up. Honestly, just spit on all the people that would give up their left nut to win that thing. The only way I realized it was an NHL thing (besides the obvious title of the concert... something like Celebrate the puck or something) was the people in the front row wearing Red wing jersey's.

And Alanis Moressette... what the hell were you doing there? I know Ryan Reynolds totally upgraded with Scarlett Johansson, but that doesn't mean you do any gig out there. And seriously, she still sings? Ever since she got less angry, her music is pretty much non-existent. I remember when she was naked in that video and people we're really upset about it. I think they were more upset that she was naked and not the fact that there was a naked women on tv.

ANYWAYS, Finally onto the game.

Rundown (not in any order):

- Luc Bourdon RIP. I had to stop watching the video... or it would have made me cry. So sad. It's even sadder to remember he was only 21 years old. First stop when I see a game live is to see the wall the team made in his honour. Hard to watch Burrows and Luongo almost break down too. The NHL might not know what the hell they're doing...but at least the people running the teams are some of the best.

- This team feels different... and man... it's true! Speed! Grit! People standing up for other teammates!! Hansen fighting? Yes please!

- Some things don't change. Early penalties and Roberto basically saving the team. But man... who's this number 10 (bure???) that keeps blocking shots? Ryan Johnson = nice pick up.

- I'm starting to get a huge mancrush on Bernier. Nice move to the net. And standing up for a Sedin is nice... but fighting Phaneuf will win my heart any day. Move over Anze! There might be another person in my life! Especially when you signed that huge 7 year deal and decided to NOT play for the Canucks.

- Burrows with 2 goals = Awesome and appropriate.

- I'm glad people are booing Bertuzzi. Can't stand that guy and the way he plays like he doesn't care.

- Ohlund looks like a force out there. He's throwing his weight around. I liked the commentary from Crow (Yes, that's Marc Crawford doing colour... oh the irony of sports) saying Ohlund never played as physical because he had nobody backing him up. But now that he does, he'll throw his weight around.

- Man the Flames look slow... look at all the odd man rushes. Speaking of slow, Taylor Pyatt looks terrible playing with Raymond and Demitra. He just can't keep up. I wouldn't mind seeing Wellwood with those 2. I mean he's not the fastest guy, but at least he can set up and be in the right spots.

- Wow... what a joke the Calgary Flames are. 6-0 final. Kipper looked slow and the flames D looked bad. They missed Regehr that much? Oh and where was "The greatest captain ever?" Sleeping until Ohlund pasted him to the boards in the 3rd period(albeit a total interference missed by the refs). And he still did nothing. I think Kesler's got his number.

- Speaking of Kesler... he got hit with a stick to the face AND a skate to the face. I'd suggest wearing a cage. Don't think his grill can take that much abuse for 81 more games.

Final notes:
If anything, Gilles has delivered on what he wanted. He wanted the team to be faster and play more entertaining hockey. Check. He wanted them to be more gritty and harder to play. Check. I can see this team always showing up and playing with the effort to win. Something to look forward to and build on.

WWRD Lesson 1: If things are flying at you, don't be afraid of using your head to block them. You can always just catch them after they bounce off your face. (Wearing a mask might help though... Roberto's got like 7 of them lying around)

Just a quick explanation.

Rob (different rob then Roberto) always told me that I should start a blog. I've always thought it was a good way to practice my writing, and I'm told by many people (Actually, it's just me) that I'm a somewhat entertaining fellow. My main dilemma was that I never had anything to write about on a constant basis.

Then... it hit me. In the shower. Where I seem to do my best thinking/ideas for writing...

A Hockey blog.

That's right. A hockey blog. Generic I know.

Now don't get me wrong. I've always liked hockey. Playing it in any form, watching it in most forms, and all that nice stuff, but I think I've always enjoyed talking about it more then anything else. I love nearly all sports, and I think I have a general understanding and ability to talk about any of the major sports out there... but nothing's as good as talking about hockey.

As you can see from the title, I'm an unabashed Canucks fan. Roberto + Luongo = The best goalie in the world today. This year has me really pumped more then any other in awhile. I really feel... and here's a biggy:

The Canucks WILL WIN the Stanley cup this year. (2008-2009 so people can't claim I changed the year when it DOES happen) That's it. I've done it. You've read it here first. (I hope somebody's reading this! Please!)

Now, I wonder what format I'll try and do. Most likely I'll just talk about the Canucks after every game. I highly doubt I'll keep that up. 82 games is a lot, and I probably won't say anything about the games I miss or don't watch.(I.e. PPV games and other circumstances.) But anyways, nobody's going to be reading this anyways, so it'll be for my enjoyment anyways.