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[GDT] Vancouver Canucks @ Montreal Canadiens, Bell Centre, Nov 12 - 4PM PST (7PM EST), the Well Frack, 2 outta 3 ain't bad game

Rocket-68

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Rocket-68

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A Random Hockey Story

Ranking the 10 greatest years in hockey history - the final edition

 

3. 1994

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The Rangers' Stanley Cup victory was the first for the franchise in more than 50 years. B Bennett/Getty Images

This year featured two of the all-time greatest moments in hockey history, bolstered by what was an outstanding year all around.

 

The Rangers' Stanley Cup win broke a 54-year drought and captured the imagination of the sports world beyond hockey. Mark Messier became a Derek Jeter-level New York sports icon thanks to his "guarantee." Their Eastern Conference and Stanley Cup Final wins over the Devils and Canucks -- both in seven games -- were classic.

 

But then again, Game 7s were the thing in 1994. There were seven of them, for the first time in NHL history. (The mark has been tied twice since then.) That included two double-overtime series-deciding games: Pavel Bure's game-winning goal that capped the Canucks' rally from a 3-1 series deficit against the Flames (Vancouver won each of the last three games in OT); and that one that Stephane Matteau (Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!) scored for the Rangers.

 

The regular season saw the rise of Dominik Hasek, winning his first Vezina and finishing second for the Hart Trophy for the Sabres; a 60-goal season from Bure; a Calder-winning season from Martin Brodeur; and a race for the Art Ross between Gretzky (130) and Sergei Federov (120, including 56 goals).

 

But it was a star not yet in the NHL who also made 1994 memorable: Peter Forsberg.

 

The 20-year-old Swedish phenom scored the shootout-deciding goal against Canada's Corey Hirsch to win Olympic men's hockey goal in a thrilling finale, earning him international fame and a place on a Swedish postage stamp.

 

Oh, yeah, 1994 was also memorable for another reason: Not having any hockey for the rest of the year after the Rangers' win, thanks to the lockout. Ugh.

2. 1993

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Teemu Selanne's 76 goals in the 1992-93 season set an NHL rookie record that stands to this day. Denis Brodeur/NHLI via Getty Images

Yeah, it was a pretty good two-year stretch for the NHL. In fact, it could be argued that 1992-93 was the NHL's last great season. A few of the highlights:

 

  • There were 7,311 goals scored, which is the second most all time behind the freakish 2005-06 season (7,443). However, there were 444 fewer games and six fewer teams in 1992-93 than 2005-06.

  • There were 21 players who scored 100 points, and 14 players scored 50 goals. There have been 21 instances of 100-point seasons over the last 11 seasons combined.

  • You had Teemu Selanne's all-time rookie record of 76 goals. And it wasn't even enough to outright win the scoring race, as Alexander Mogilny had 76 as well.

  • The playoffs were bonkers. There were five teams that had a regular-season points percentage below .500 that won a series against a team that had a percentage above .600. That included the "May Day!" goal by Brad May in overtime to complete a Sabres sweep of the Bruins and that classic Islanders upset of the two-time Stanley Cup champion Penguins in overtime of Game 7 thanks to David Volek.

  • There was also that Game 7 between the Leafs and Kings that featured a Gretzky hat trick -- which followed the Gretzky high stick on Doug Gilmour in Game 6 that wasn't called.

  • The Stanley Cup Final featured the Marty McSorley illegal stick challenge in Game 2 that changed the series, and a Montreal Canadiens victory -- the last team from Canada to win the Cup.

  • Off the ice, it was the last year of the Adams, Patrick, Norris and Smythe divisions; the first year of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Florida Panthers; and the NHL had the wackiness of neutral-site games in places like Peoria, Cleveland and Sacramento.

  • Oh, and depending on how you feel about this, it could be a plus or a minus: Gary Bettman was named NHL commissioner in 1993.

 

It's a little humbling to think about what we consider to be outstanding individual achievement or playoff drama in today's game when compared to the unbelievable run the NHL had in 1993 and 1994.

 

But neither rank as the best year in hockey of the past century ...

1. 1987

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The 1987 Canada Cup tournament has been called "the best hockey ever played," with rosters chock full of future Hall of Famers such as Dale Hawerhcuk, left, and Mark Messier. Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images

Nothing compares to 1987 in the history of hockey.

 

"I suppose you can make a case for other years, but 1987 is it for me," said Michael Farber, Hall of Fame hockey writer for Sports Illustrated.

Just four days into the year, there was a legendary "Punch-Up In Piestany:" The massive 20-minute benches-clearing brawl between Canada and the USSR at the World Junior Championship that ended up getting both teams ejected from the rest of the tournament, and potentially costing Canada a gold medal. It featured future stars like Brendan Shanahan, Theo Fleury, Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov.

 

"As you know, the fighting continued under the cover of darkness because organizers simultaneously threw up their hands and threw their light switch in an effort to restore order," recalled Farber.

 

The 1986-87 NHL season was epic as well, in one case literally: "The Easter Epic," in which Pat LaFontaine scored in the fourth overtime to eliminate the Washington Capitals in Game 7. Three of the four division finals went seven games, as did the Stanley Cup Final, which is considered by many to be the greatest in NHL history: Gretzky's Oilers against the Philadelphia Flyers, for the second time in three years. But these Flyers had Ron Hextall in goal, the slash-happy rookie who would win the Conn Smythe in a losing effort, as Edmonton outlasted the Flyers in seven games -- the first time since 1971 a Final went the distance.

 

All of this would put 1987 in the conversation for best year ever, but we're not even close to done here. There was Rendez-vous '87, a two-game exhibition between a team of NHL All-Stars and the Soviet men's national team played in Quebec City (and in lieu of the NHL All-Star Game that season). The NHL won Game 1; the Soviets won Game 2.

But the mic-drop moment for 1987 was the Canada Cup, which has been called "the best hockey ever played" by The Hockey News.

It was a round-robin tournament held at the end of the summer, and culminated in the anticipated finale: Team Canada vs. the Soviet Union in a best-of-three series. Those three games: 6-5 for the USSR in overtime; 6-5 for Canada in double-overtime; and 6-5 for Canada in the final game, played on Sept. 15 in Hamilton. In that epic final, the Soviets scored three times in the first eight minutes. Canada rallied for a 5-4 lead. Russia tied it in the third. But then Gretzky and Lemieux combined for the most memorable goals in hockey history with 1:26 left for the win.

 

An epic brawl. An epic season. An epic moment involving two of the game's greatest legends. An actual Easter Epic.

 

Thanks for playing, 99 other hockey years ...

Source: https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/21778530/nhl-ranking-top-10-greatest-hockey-years-100

 

************Now for the Game Day Thread**********

Overview

Well Frack, Fudge and Fiddlesticks! I managed to sit through the game yesterday without drinking myself into oblivion. I would have rather lost to the Sharks 10-1 and pounded the Laffs 3-2 in a squeaker rather than have Ron M gush himself moist over how well the Maple Leafs handled the Canucks. Oh well, we weren't going to go 79-2-1 this season but still ...

 

While the lineups below are from what is currently know, there has to be some tweaks Tocchet is contemplating given 2 sub-par performances in a row even though the 'Nucks beat the Senators 5-2 to start this road swing. Pundits around the networks are jumping off the Canucks bandwagon stating the recent success for the 'Nucks is rooted in unsustainable metrics and that more losses are on the horizon. The latter is stellar journalism, that is, real scoop-worthy stuff ... In other equally earth-shattering news, the sun should rise tomorrow.

 

However, the metrics seem to point a bit to a decline but that is what good teams do, beat the odds and I would wager a case of beer the Canucks will do just that and beat the Habs like a rented mule this game. If not, they can look forward to a bag skate all the way back to Vancouver tonight.

 

For the second time in the last couple of weeks, the Canadiens are playing a conference-leader and put in a solid 60-minute effort in beating the Rat 3-2 in OT. Will they put in the same effort tonight, I would hazard another case of beer that yes they would. It was the first time this season the Bruins were kept to less than 3 goals, albeit two were overturned by the Zebras for breathing on the goaltender too hard. As an aside, you have to know that if the Canucks were playing against the Bruins last night, the 4 blind mice would have overlooked Marchand performing snow angels on top of Demko, but I digress.

 

Beating the NHL's top defence - the stingy Bruins, the Habs welcome the second stingiest defence although the Canucks goals against went from 2.00 to 2.21 on the strength of last night's effort against the FRACKING LAFFS of all teams - ARRRGGGGGGGGGHHH. *** initiating breathing exercises ***

 

In goal should be (almost certainly) DeSmith vs Allen. The Canadiens top line of Pearson / Monahan / Gallagher are playing really well (good for Pearson) while DeSmith is playing very well for the Canucks. The nod should go to DeSmith over Pearson tonight as long as the Chaos Giraffe doesn't bat one into our own cage tonight - a bit unfair but someone has to take the blame for letting the air out of the Canucks balloon yesterday.

 

The last 5 games versus the Canadiens went:

 

Dec. 5/22: VAN 7 vs MTL 6 (OT)
Nov. 9/22: VAN 2 at MTL 5
Mar. 9/22: VAN 5 vs MTL 3
Nov. 29/21: VAN 2 at MTL 1
Mar. 20/21: VAN 4 at MTL 5 (SO)

 

Prediction (since I am so good at it): Canucks will avoid the Montreal-back-to-Vancouver bag skate and beat the Habs 5 - 2 with an empty net goal by JT.

 

Quote of the day:

"82 games. You learn from these. There's some stinkers. Sometimes you learn from a stinker." — Head coach Rick Tocchet

 

 

 

By the Numbers

Canucks vs. Canadiens Odds

We have sourced the best betting odds in America for this game, which are listed here:

  • Puck Line: Canadiens +1.5 (-162), Canucks -1.5 (+140)
  • Moneyline: Canadiens +140, Canucks -165
  • Total: Over/Under 6.5 (-124/+115)

Odds are correct at the time of publication and subject to change.

The Canadiens are currently +1.5 underdogs against the Canucks, with -162 at DraftKings Sportsbook the best odds currently available.

For the favored Canucks (-1.5) to cover the puck line, BetMGM has the best odds currently on offer at +140.

 

  • Elias Pettersson has 25 points (7-18-25) in his last 14 games and is currently on an eight-game point streak (5-10-15). He ranks 1st in the league for points.
  • Quinn Hughes has registered 22 points (5-17-22) in his last 14 games. He ranks 1st for points amongst defencemen and t-3rd amongst all skaters. Hughes is also on a three-game point streak (1-5-6).
  • J.T. Miller has 21 points (9-12-21) in his last 14 games. He ranks t-4th in the league for points.
  • Brock Boeser has posted 16 points (11-5-16) in his last 14 games, he ranks t-2nd for most goals in the NHL.
  • Filip Hronek has recorded 15 points (0-15-15) in his last 14 games and is currently on a nine-game point streak (0-12-12). He ranks 2nd for most assists amongst defencemen and t-3rd amongst all skaters.
  • Pius Suter (4-0-4) has posted four goals in his past five games.
  • Thatcher Demko (7-3-0) posted a .935 SV% and has a 1.96 GAA in his last 10 games, including two shutouts.

 

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Media

You know the drill, GO BUY A TICKET AND throw random objects at the opposing team - just kidding, no violence please, just your best one-liners hurled at the Ranger bench, and the zebras as needed. Otherwise go to your local watering hole and support your team and swill some beer.

 

TV: Sportnet Pacific, TSN2, RDS

Radio: SportsNet 650

Streaming: lots on various Reddit threads 

 

Matchup Info

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Da Zebras

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Player Spotlight

  • Filip Hronek extended his point and assist streak to nine games (0-12-12) with his lone assist on Nov. 11/23 at TOR. He is the fifth Canucks defenseman in franchise history with a point streak of nine-games. Hronek is also the second Canuck defenseman with an assist streak of nine-games following Dennis Kearns with an 11-game assist streak in 1976.77.
  • Quinn Hughes (17) currently ranks 2nd in the league for most assists this season, behind only Elias Pettersson (18).
  • By collecting four points (1-3-4) on Nov. 6/23 vs EDM, Hughes owns the record for most 3+ assist efforts by a defenceman within their first 300 games all-time (16, 295 GP). Notable names on the list include Bobby Orr (15) and Paul Coffey (13). He is also the sixth defensemen all-time with four three-point games in the first 12 games of a season.
  • After posting three assists on Nov. 6/23 vs EDM, Hughes (21) ranks 2nd in Canucks franchise history for most career regular season or playoff 3+ assist efforts. He trails only Henrik Sedin (38) for most in franchise history.
  • Hughes currently leads all defenceman in assists since the 2019.20 regular season (229).

 

Now for some fun stuff

Never Give Up - Canucks tally 5 straight to win

 

Canucks Epic Run to the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals - Every Goal They Scored

 

All Goals Canucks Scored in the 1982 Playoffs

 

Edited by Rocket-68
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Googlie All-Star

Googlie

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So, Blueger playing.  Will Tocchet inject more fresh legs and put Studnika and Juulsen in?  Juuls was drafted by Montreal and had a couple of decent seasons with them as a rookie/sophomore. And unlike many posters here, Tocchet likes Juulsen with Hughes

 

Hughes - Juulsen

Cole - Hronek

Soucey - Myers

 

 

 

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DownUndaCanuck Top 6

DownUndaCanuck

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This could be a real turning point in the season if we lose it, whereas if we win, we can keep our momentum going, so it kind of is one of the early "must-wins" of the season. We've played badly the last couple of games and have gotten some bad habits creeping in so really need to use the Leafs loss as an opportunity to right the ship a bit.

 

We'll probably be tired and sloppy and DeSmith is going to have to stand on his head, but we need our depth to contribute so hopefully Bleuger coming in will make an impact, as Suter's been good lately.

 

3-2 Canucks in a desperate shoot out

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Bob Long All-Star

Bob Long

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1 minute ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

This could be a real turning point in the season if we lose it, whereas if we win, we can keep our momentum going, so it kind of is one of the early "must-wins" of the season. We've played badly the last couple of games and have gotten some bad habits creeping in so really need to use the Leafs loss as an opportunity to right the ship a bit.

 

We'll probably be tired and sloppy and DeSmith is going to have to stand on his head, but we need our depth to contribute so hopefully Bleuger coming in will make an impact, as Suter's been good lately.

 

3-2 Canucks in a desperate shoot out

 

not sure I'd call game 15 a must win when we have 10 wins in 14...

 

We've seen what this group can do, now they need to figure out consistency. I have a lot more confidence in the current coaching group to build that, vs. what we've grown accustomed to pre-Tocc. 

 

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  • Rocket-68 changed the title to [GDT] Vancouver Canucks @ Montreal Canadiens, Bell Centre, Nov 12 - 4PM PST (7PM EST), the Well Frack, 2 outta 3 ain't bad game
D.B Cooper Franchise Star

D.B Cooper

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14 minutes ago, Googlie said:

So, Blueger playing.  Will Tocchet inject more fresh legs and put Studnika and Juulsen in?  Juuls was drafted by Montreal and had a couple of decent seasons with them as a rookie/sophomore. And unlike many posters here, Tocchet likes Juulsen with Hughes

 

Hughes - Juulsen

Cole - Hronek

Soucey - Myers

 

 

 

Juulsen stinks. 
He is an AHLer.  No need to put him in. 
Id rather have a tired Myers. 

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Jaimito All-Star

Jaimito

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22 minutes ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

This could be a real turning point in the season if we lose it, whereas if we win, we can keep our momentum going, so it kind of is one of the early "must-wins" of the season. We've played badly the last couple of games and have gotten some bad habits creeping in so really need to use the Leafs loss as an opportunity to right the ship a bit.

 

We'll probably be tired and sloppy and DeSmith is going to have to stand on his head, but we need our depth to contribute so hopefully Bleuger coming in will make an impact, as Suter's been good lately.

 

3-2 Canucks in a desperate shoot out

Way too early to judge.  Only game #15. 

 

They have been stressing being even keel, and so far has done it.  That accounts for the pt streak despite not playing every game super well.  

 

 

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Googlie All-Star

Googlie

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6 minutes ago, John.Tallhouse said:

Happy Birthday King 🥳🎉

IMG_0042.jpeg

 

With Kucherov and Nylander nipping at his heels,  birthday boy is going to get some separation with a 5 point game this evening.  2 goals and 3 assists

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Rocket-68 All-Star

Rocket-68

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5 hours ago, Nucker67 said:

I think the Canucks will lose this game. Good thing they won those early 10.  

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