The Fifth Liners

The Vancouver Canucks capped an emotional night at the Rogers Arena that saw the Number 10 jersey of Pavel Bure retired to the rafters with a great 4-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs ! James Reimer made a flurry of good stops in a row after 3 minutes to deny both Mike Santorelli and Chris Higgins from putting Vancouver in front, but then captain Henrik Sedin scored off an assist from Dan Hamhuis to put the Canucks ahead after 06:03 of the first period played. Early in the second period, Zack Kassian made it two when he scored a rebound off Reimer after only two minutes played before Chris Higgins put the Canucks firmly in the driving seat when his quick shot made it 3-0 after only five minutes played. Toronto offered little in offense but came close briefly when Phil Kessel had his stop stopped by Roberto Luongo, but they would get no closer than that before Hamhuis scored to complete the perfect night in British Columbia. But the score wasnt the real celebration as the Vanco...

The Vancouver Canucks season is finally underway and John Tortorella's first home game at the Rogers Arena couldnt have gone any better as the Canucks brushed aside the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 with the Sedin Brothers proving the standout! After being torn apart by San Jose on friday night, this win sees their season getting back on the right tracks. But many Canucks fans must have thought they were in for another frustrating night when Jeff Petry gave the Oilers the lead after less than two minutes played! But there was to be a silver lining for the Canucks soon after as Brad Richardson seized on a breakaway chance to bury a shot underneath Oilers keeper Devan Dubnyk and then with only 90 seconds left in the first, Dan Hamhuis buried a spectular slap shot from distance before Jannik Hansen scored to push the Canucks into a 3-1 lead! The second period saw Vancouver truly take control as Daniel Sedin scored on a powerplay off an assist from his brother Henrik after only 7 minutes be...

Yesterday while deep in enjoyment watching robots fighting gigantic beasts in Pacific Rim, my phone buzzed and when opening it I was asked a question by Mike which struck close to home as the question read, "What's it gonna take for the Canucks to take home the Stanley Cup this season?" being a Vancouver fan this one that needs some serious analysis, so to work I go. The short answer to this question would be 'a hell of a lot!' and after reaching the 2011 Stanley Cup final, the last two season have been a massive disappointment under Alain Vigneault which lead to his dismissal this May. John Tortorella has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the Franchise and I'm certain that journalists up and down North America are thrilled about more imminent explosions! Previously I have expressed both my delight and upmost fear about this appointment because although JT brings with him a Stanley Cup win, he has also failed to raise his game when need while coach o...

The Vancouver Canucks gave new hope to making their mark in the playoffs with an impressive 5-2 win against Calgary Flames at the Rogers Arena last night led by an outstanding display by the Sedin Brothers who were directly involved in almost every goal! Dan Hamhuis gave the Canucks fans the perfect start with a goal inside 34 seconds! Soon Dale Weise would deflect a Jason Garrison shot to put them 2-0 up before the periods end. But Flames winger Dennis Wideman would score to reduce the score to 2-1. The second period however, the Canucks would firmly take charge and Alexandre Burrows and a spectacular slapshot from Alex Edler would push them forward. But the scorelines didnt reflect the match and the Flames continiously pressed forward and finally midway through the 3rd period, Alex Tanguay gave Calgary hope and a tight finish looked likely. But the Flames would find themselves continually frustrated by the excellent goaltending of Cory Schneider who made several im...