The Fifth Liners

Yesterday in a press conference, Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis was asked regarding the future of head coach John Tortorella. In typical fashion, Gillis was elusive on giving a direct answer as whether JT would remain next season saying "I'm not sure I'll be back next season!" Although we are still unclear as to whether Tortorella's so far unsuccessful reign in British Columbia will be winding up soon- it does pose an interesting question, does JT deserve a second season at the Rogers Arena? Rather than shooting my mouth and calling for his head (which has become my trademark this year!) I thought I would prepare a constructive for/against argument to see if he deserves his place. Reasons For Tortorella Staying  Proven winner in Hockey with a Stanley Cup win in 2004 with Tampa Bay He finally solved Luongo-gate by trading him to the Florida Panthers, which Alain Vigneault failed to do on numerous occasions. Brought us on a winning streak of seven straigh...

Mike's question this week again focuses on my team the Vancouver Canucks and our currently shocking run of form, the question reads "The Vancouver Canucks have lost their last three games. Is this an Olympic hangover or are there deeper problems in BC?" This will be a tricky one for me to answer, particularly as I don't wish to incur the wrath of my fellow fans! But anyway, away we go! So far the Canucks are currently on a run that makes last season's 3rd place finish in the Western Conference seem like a beautiful dream, and currently our winning record stands at just one win from a possible 12 games! But the biggest question is what exactly causing this slump? In December we recorded an impressive 7 consecutive wins and after a slow start things appeared to be picking themselves up. The Olympic Hangover hasn't helped us, but I wouldn't point the blame squarely at this because there seems to have been a far worse problems  growing within the...

Today has finally seen an end to one of the longest and frankly most tedious sagas in the hockey world. The Vancouver Canucks have officially traded Roberto Luongo to his former side the Florida Panthers in exchange for goalie Jakob Markstrom and centre Shawn Matthias! Luongo has been a source of continuing speculation since the beginning of last season when he continually jostled for the number one spot with Cory Schneider. But when Schneider was traded to the New Jersey Devils earlier this season, it appeared the long time starter had at last reclaimed his place. However the emergence of young Swedish goalie Eddie Lack once again hindered his chances as the rookie has made a strong impression so far. The tipping point seems to have been since Luongo returned from warming the bench at the Sochi Olympics for Canada, Lack has been placed in net for every since then by coach John Tortorella. Tensions escalated further when after the 4-2 loss to Ottawa Senators in the Tim Horton...

Once again it seems an age old tale has reared its head again in British Columbia, the Vancouver Canucks goalie crisis! This year has been far from excellent at the Rogers Arena and under the vastly decreasing effect of John Tortorella's leadership (though his attempt to fight the entire Calgary Flames team was just hysterical!), our play off hopes now hang by a thread! Roberto Luongo was once again restored to starting status in net this year after the bizarre trade of future star Cory Schneider to New Jersey and so far this year he has put up some reasonable numbers including 22 wins, but again he has looked vulnerable shot stopping and his confidence will no doubt have been affected by the emergence of his new backup, Eddie Lack and after the young Swede's star performance in our 2-0 defeat to the Detroit Red Wings, it appears that we might have a problem on our hands as both goalies are of equal quality. So far in his 22 games in net, Lack has managed 8 wins, inclludin...

Today the Olympic Ice Hockey rosters for the upcoming Sochi 2014 games have been officially confirmed, after much speculation surrounding them there has been some interesting selections made and no doubt this will spark furious debate among hockey fans, let's take a look at the main contenders. Canada  The 25 man Canadian squad certainly isn't lacking in depth, and this year they will be the team to beat and 11 of 2010 Gold Medal team will make a return journey! The defensive selection is one I highly commend as they have mixed youth of players like PK Subban along with defensive quality like Jay Bouwmeester. The St Louis pairing of JB along with Pietrangelo could well be a wise selection! Offensively the star count is ridiculously high with Crosby, Toews, Perry, Stamkos and Kunitz among others being featured and Canada will rely on this goal power to see them through! There are few surprise selections with Marc-Andre Fleury missing out in favour of Roberto Luongo and the ...

As the 2013/14 season rumbles on, one of the biggest surprises so far is how impressed we've been with some of the back up goaltenders. Usually only rolled out for the easier games, or when the superstar goalie gets injured, the back up usually spends most of his time sat on the bench. Patiently waiting, but never hoping, for something to go wrong. Scrivens, standing guard. Before moving to the LA Kings from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the start of the season, Ben Scrivens had spent most of his professional career so far in the lower leagues. When Jonathan Quick picked up an injury in November, a huge amount of pressure was then shifted to Scrivens' shoulders. He had to step into Quick's Stanley Cup winning skates. Just like The Beatles with Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever, it turned out that the LA Kings had a double a-side between the sticks. Right now both goalies have played 16 games each and despite playing less minutes than Quick; Scrivens has faced m...

The Vancouver Canucks after nine straight defeats finally beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 at the SAP Center last night to condemn the Sharks to a fourth straight defeat. But when Roberto Luongo knocked Joe Thornton's shot into his own net after only 1.17 of the first, all Canucks fans must of had that sinking feeling that this was going to be yet another wasted trip! But for once, Vancouver didnt fade away and only 3 minutes later Brad Richardson levelled the scores! This paved the way for an action packed rest of the period and Mike Santorelli put the Canucks ahead after 09.25 when he slotted past Niemi! Mike Brown latched onto a great assist to level the scores after 10.45 and once more we were at a tie game! San Jose then kept Luongo busy with several testing shots before Chris Higgins nudged the Canucks in front again with less than a minute left in the first! After 5 minutes of the second played, Zack Kassian redirected Kevin Bieksa's long range shot to give Vancouver...

Some games are pretty, some are boring, and some are just tight. This was definitely the latter. The past few weeks have been tough for Detroit. Since defeating the Colorado Avalanche way back on the 17th, the team has lost at the hands (gloves?) of the Coyotes, Sharks, Senators and Rangers. Taking two overtime points from a possible eight. The Vancouver Canucks on the other hand have won four of their last five games, and despite a close loss to Washington are performing well under new coach John Tortorella.  Detroit's Luke Glendening is fast becoming a regular in the Wings' squad, what with the team's inability to remain injury free. Meanwhile Johan Franzen and Mikael Samuelsson were scratched for the game. The tight first period brought more penalties than goals, Vancouver's Dan Hamhuis was given a minor for holding Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall returned the favour five minutes later and was boxed for slashing Hamhuis. Vancouver was the first team to break...

The Vancouver Canucks won a closely fought battle against the Washington Capitals last night win a 3-2 win at the Rogers Arena to make it four wins straight under John Tortorella! The home side were given a lucky break after Alex Ovechkin was given a penalty shot for the Capitals after less an a minute played, but Roberto Luongo was on hand to save it and save Vancouver from going behind! Zack Kassian then put the home side in front after 11.31 played but the Canucks were quickly pegged back when Jason Chimera made things a tie game after 14.36. In the second period there were no more goals, but both Luongo and Capitals goalie, Michal Neuvrith were kept busy making several excellent stops- Ovechkins bad luck in front of goal in this game continued when he hit a post! After only 1.52 of the third period played, Mikhail Grabovski scored to edge Washington in front, but Vancouver had no desire to the fans going home disappointed and Ryan Kesler hit home a rebound to make things a ...

The Vancover Canucks came out smiling from the epic battle waged at the Nassau Coliseum last night as they claimed a 5-4 win over the New York Islanders - they provides the perfect bounce back after being beaten by Columbus on Saturday. From the very get go this game was action packed and in the first period the Islanders took an early advantage when rookie Brock Nelson scored his first NHL goal after less than 02.26 played and Matt Moulson then pushed them further in front as he scored a rebound off Roberto Luongo for a powerplay goal after 4.41. But Vancouver were not going down without a fight and only 16 seconds later, Ryan Kesler scored a rebound off Evgeni Narbarkov to put the Canucks back in contention. But incredibly after just 9 minutes played we were given a tie game when Daniel Sedin scored to bring things to 2-2! Second period started similar to the first when Matt Moulson scored his second again off the powerplay after 4.48 of the period. Zack Kassian had a goal waive...

The Pittsburgh Penguin s won a closely won 4-3 contest over the Vancouver Canucks last night at the Consol Energy Center which was only decided by a shootout! Vancouver got a somewhat fortunate start as Alex Edler's spectacular centre ice slap shot on 13.49 minutes bounced off the mask of Marc-Andre Fleury and crept into the goal but Pittsburgh didnt waste time and captain Sidney Crosby made things a tie game after 15.44 played. On the powerplay, Chris Kunitz pushed the Penguins in front after 7.56 of the second period following good work behind net by Malkin. But Vancouver weren't going down without a fight and Brad Richardson levelled things at 2-2 following some good drop passes. Into the third and Zach Kassian deflected Kevin Bieksa's shot past Fleury to put the Canucks ahead 3-2 after 12.50 played! But cruely only 22 seconds later Olli Maata scored a rebound off Luongo to claim his first ever NHL goal and tie the game at 3-3. But there was to be late drama as Bra...

The Canucks had a bit of a shocker last night, things were not helped by this. You can't really blame Luongo for this but seriously? Bit of talking guys? 

All eyes were on Cory Schneider last night as he made his hotly anticipated return to the Rogers Arena with his new side the New Jersey Devils against the team that traded him the Vancouver Canucks . But it was the British Columbia side who got the last laugh as the secured a 3-2 overtime win to push their current purple patch under John Tortorella to 3 wins in a row! NHL veteran Jaromir Jagr got the ball rolling for the visitors with just over a minute remaining in the first period with a shot which deflected past Roberto Luongo to put the Devils 1-0 up. Patrick Elias then doubled their advantage seven minutes into the second before Daniel Sedin scored past old team mate Schneider to give Vancouver a lifeline at 2-1. But Alex Edler then capped a remarkable comeback as be brought the scores to a tie game at 2-2 after 14 minutes played. After a scoreless third period, things were pushed to overtime- Canucks fans didnt have to wait long for the result they desired as Mike Santorell...

The Vancouver Canucks once again fell victim to the San Jose Sharks as the lost 4-1 at the newly named SAP Center in John Tortorella's first game in charge. After being elimated here last season the playoffs- defeat here is officially making the California team the Canucks bogey side! Jason Garrison gave the Canucks the lead on a powerplay mid way through the first and for once it seemed that things might go Vancouver's way in this arena. But any hopes of victory were dashed when Brent Burns levelled the scores 5 minutes into the second period before Justin Braun edged them in front with only minutes left in the period. Late in the third period the Sharks took control when Patrick Marleau scored off an assist from 1st star Logan Couture and Tommy Wingels made sure of the result with 5 minutes left to play. In net Roberto Luongo had a busier night with 35 saves compared to Sharks goalie Anitti Niemi with 22, but the defence and offense were sorely lacking both department...

You can rarely judge a team on its pre-season performances, but it's fair to say that things at the Rogers Arena are looking shaky. The Canucks are currently 1/4 on their pre-season games, not a great start for new coach John Tortorella . Former coach  Alain Vigneault was fired after the team failed to progress past the the first round of the last two playoffs, along with two assistants. Since joining the NHL in 1970, the Canucks have failed to lift the Stanley Cup. It's a regular occurrence than coaches are fired long before the GMs who brought them in. You can't browse the internet without tripping over people questioning  Mike Gillis ' decision. This season past has included plenty of questionable moments, including Vigneault's firing, Tortorella's hiring, Luongo-Gate  and Cory Schneider's trade to the New Jersey Devils.  Vigneault's firing was an odd move, to fire the coach who'd won more games at the Canucks than any other coach s...

Roberto Luongo will officially be the Vancouver Canucks starting goalie for the 2013/14 NHL season- after the dubious decision to trade away Cory Schneider for 1st round draft prospect Bo Horvat at this years NHL draft has been seen by many as either clever bargaining or outright insanity by GM Mike Gillis! Now I've beaten up on Bobby a few times in this year I have no doubts if I ever return to British Columbia- he will be on the look out for me! So he will be staying for the foreseable future, it would be nice to see what backup options could aid him this season since the only other goalies on our roster come in the form of Swede Eddie Lack who has yet to make an NHL appearence and equally unexperienced Joe Cannata . So who would make good back up in net this to rest our worrying minds? Here are the best UFA goalies currently on offer, Tim Thomas: The 39 year old is now officially a free agent after his release from the New York Islanders this year. Thomas is a Stanle...

San Jose Sharks took another giant step towards advancing to the Western Conference semi-final as they beat the Vancouver Canucks in overtime at the Rogers Arena! This win seems to give further evidence to the fact that they cannot be ruled out for a run to the final! Joe Thornton got San Jose started with a goal in the first period, but the Canucks swooped into the lead early in the third period thanks to an impressive double salvo by Ryan Kesler. But just as the home fans were beginning to celebrate a well deserved win, Patrick Marleau levelled the scores with 55.1 second left to push the game to overtime! Five minutes into overtime, the Sharks made a bold call to pull their goalie Antti Niemi in favour of the extra skater and it was a move that paid off as former Canuck Rafi Torres roofed a shot past Luongo to give San Jose the win! With the series now moving to the HP Pavilion for the next two games, it will be no easy task to get a result away from home for Van...

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...

Today at the trade deadline, once again Roberto Luongo was the talk of the town as speculation grew as to whether he could be on the move from the Vancouver Canucks. Well it seems there has been another sting in the tale as it appears that Bobby yet again will not be on the move and will remain as back up to Cory Schneider for at least the remainder of this year. As he met the media, his body language suggested he was perhaps disappointed that things hadn't gone the other way and once more the Canucks goalie situation in appears to be as complex as before. But things arent all bad for Canucks fans because lets face it- who wouldnt want this man to on stand by in case things go wrong! The Canucks are more than likely to feature in the Western Conference playoffs this season and this period is always a time where goalies can sink or swim and it will raise confidence having Luongo to turn to in the event Schneider isn't up to the task! I have no doubts that c...

By Alex Watson During this Friday’s team practice, Vancouver Canucks keepers Roberto Luongo and Corey Schneider playfully mocked each other before their 7-4 win over Nashville Predators at the Rogers Arena. In a moment of solidarity Schneider wore a ‘Thing 2’ t-shirt while Luongo wore ‘Thing 1’ and the two played up to the media’s image of their supposed rivalry. Behind the scenes however, matters aren’t nearly so peaceful and the Canucks seem to have a goal tender situation that is frankly challenging and doesn’t appear to be working itself out quickly and after Saturday’s 5-2 defeat by Detroit, matters it seems will complicate further! Roberto Luongo has long been the main man between the sticks for the Canucks and his superb goaltending famously led Team Canada to Gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics in on home soil in Vancouver and guided the Canucks to their famed Stanley Cup final appearance in 2011. But his patchy form last season prompted many to wonder if his number o...