[GDT] Vancouver Canucks vs San Jose Minnows at Rogers Arena, Nov 20, 7PM PST

[Rocket-68]

A Random Hockey Story

It was a sports fan’s dream — meeting legends from every sport imaginable. It was February 1995. I was a junior in college and had just driven six hours south to the Super Show in Atlanta, a sporting goods expo for thousands of retail store managers, buyers, companies, and their celebrity athlete spokespeople.

So there we were, a friend and I, two college kids trying to fit in with thousands of corporate bigwigs from Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Champion, and just about every sporting goods company conceivable. They each had a huge display that featured visits from their spokes-people. The purpose of the show was for retailers to make purchases and hold corporate meetings, but we planned our days around the “stars” we wanted to meet — boxers Evander Holyfield and Muhammad Ali, little-known rookie baseball player Carlos Delgado, Hall of Fame footballer Paul Warfield, boxing promoter Don King, tennis star Chris Evert, Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton, baseball strikeout master Nolan Ryan, and many more. One interaction had a lasting impact on us.

After waiting in by far the longest line of the weekend, it was time to meet one of the best hockey players of all time, Mario Lemieux. I had grown up resenting this guy — not personally, of course, but as a fan. I’d get so frustrated because no matter how little or how much he did during a game, he found a way to beat my beloved Washington Capitals. He was the Lebron James of hockey — you hated to play against him, but you’d love him on your team. To say I was going through the motions just to get another autograph from an overpaid celebrity was an understatement. Sure, he was good, but I was still bitter at the suffering he caused Capitals fans.

But then I remembered that Lemieux was taking a leave of absence from the 1994-95 National Hockey League season after receiving radiation to treat Hodgkin’s disease, a form of cancer. He was also recovering from his second back surgery in three years, so the time away served multiple purposes. Nobody in line for his autograph seemed to care about his personal struggles though.

Mario was like a robot — shaking hands, posing for pictures, signing posters . . . shake, smile, sign . . . shake, smile, sign . . . . People weren’t taking time to carry on a conversation — either because others were rushing them or because they were in a hurry to meet other athletes. As I got closer, I noticed he was hardly saying a word as he continuously did whatever was demanded by fans — sign this, sign that, pose with this person, etc., never once showing an ounce of frustration.

As I approached one of the greatest players of all time, he began signing a poster without being prompted. I quietly asked him, “How ya feelin’?” He paused in mid-signature, looked up at me, nodded his head in what seemed like disbelief, and replied, “Good . . . thank you for asking.” Those five words changed the way I viewed him. He had a grateful look in his eyes and genuinely appreciated me asking. I took the poster, shook his hand, thanked him and wished him well with his recovery, and walked away with nothing but shame.

Here was a guy who was battling much more than I could imagine. He eventually returned to action and played several more years, yet all we, as fans, were interested in was getting another autograph or saying we met someone famous. He stood on a pedestal, as many celebrities do, with his life sprawled in newspapers and magazines and the Internet. We often forget that our idols are human, too.

He retired in 2006 with a heart ailment after seventeen seasons, all with the Pittsburgh Penguins. During his career he won rookie of the year, six scoring titles, three league MVP awards, and two Stanley Cups — both times winning the playoff MVP. He played in thirteen All-Star games, earning All-Star Game MVP three times. He led Team Canada to gold medals at the 1987 Canada Cup and in the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2004 World Cup of Hockey where he served as team captain. So you can see how he earned the nickname Super Mario on the ice.

 

To me, though, he’s Super Mario for what he accomplished off the ice.

 

Author: Jim Bove

 

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

 

Overview

The Canucks have played below their potential the last two games with troubling signs showing up starting in the Toronto game on Nov 11th. Canucks are on a two game losing streak which normally wouldn't be a big deal, however losing structure and playing undisciplined is - and I am pretty sure Tocchet / Foote / Gonchar / Sedins / Yeo are letting the team know. 

 

If this was Torts coaching the Canucks, there would have been a bag skate last night and again this morning - thank god he isn't. Tocchet instead chose to have a meeting and working a film projector to get the message across. Did I mention it is a good thing that Tocchet is the coach as he seems to be the right coach at the right time for this particular assembly of players wearing the Orca. Tocchet is drilling the structure into the collective noggins hard enough that even the Chaos Giraffe chimed in, "“It’s five guys. It’s the winger position in the defensive zone in how we defend and that’s an example of something we’ve got away from." ... will wonders never cease - something something ... old dogs ... new tricks ... something something. 

 

Canucks are playing 4 games in the next 6 days so kudos to Tocchet for a measured hand, time will tell if he is right in the approach. But with Sharks / Avalanche / Kraken (REVENGE GAME) / Sharks up on the docket this week, probably the right way to go. However, unlike Tocchet I am not paid the big bucks to bring a Cup to Vancouver so what do I know. 

 

Why should we watch this game: (1) the Canucks are playing, (2) they will be snapping back to attention, (3) the Big Three will be reverting to form with Boeser / Beauv / Garland all up-ticking as well. 

 

Sharks are coming off a big 5-1 win over the Blue Notes so are flying as high as possible - exactly the team Canucks CANNOT TAKE for granted even though having spanked them 10 - 1 in San Jose many moons ago. Sharks are still missing Logan Couture (*ouch*), Oskar Lindblom, Jacob MacDonald, Matt Benning, Alexander Barabanov and Nico Sturm. However, they are starting to wake up and prove they belong in the NHL so again, WATCH OUT CANUCKS!

 

For the Canucks, there have been some pleasant surprises with Hogz starting to contribute and Garland motor starting to rev at a higher rpm. This bodes well for the Canucks regaining their winning form.

 

Ethan Bear was seen working out along in Kelowna wearing Canuck gear, I could have sworn I seen him walking the streets here yesterday. Will be be a Canuck come December - Magic 8-Ball says yes, at at 1 year contract paying about $1M annually. 

 

 

Quote of the day:

“We had a good meeting today and our leadership has done a great job this year of resetting — good or bad,” said Tocchet. “That’s something we keep growing. And sometimes, you have to be careful. We’ve played a lot of hockey and you have to pick and choose.

 

By the Numbers

San Jose is averaging 1.53 goals per game. They scored five goals on 35 shots in their last game.

San Jose has struggled defensively, giving up 4.24 goals per game. 

 

Now for the Good Guys:

Vancouver is averaging 4.17 goals per game. They scored three goals on 24 shots in their last game.

Vancouver has played well defensively, giving up 2.50 goals per game.

Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks Odds and Betting Lines

Favorite: Canucks (-371)

Underdog: Sharks (+289)

Over/under: 6.5

Canucks Stats and Trends

Vancouver has gone 6-2 as the oddsmakers’ choice this season.

The Canucks have not played a game with their moneyline odds lower than -371 this season.

The moneyline odds say Vancouver has a 78.8% chance of winning this game.

Vancouver and its opponent have gone over the current 6.5-goal total in 14 of 18 games this season.

Take the OVER and put $500 on Canucks to win.

 

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 Sharks bench, and the zebras as needed. Otherwise go to your local watering hole and support your team and swill some beer.

 

TV: Sportnet Pacific, TVA Sports

Radio: SportsNet 650

Streaming: lots on various Reddit threads 

 

Matchup Info

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Da Zebras

 

Player Spotlight

 

Now for some fun stuff

Trevor Linden Career Highlights

 

Daniel and Henrik Mic-ed up for their Final Home Game ever

 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Rocket-68

[John.Tallhouse]

[Roger Neilsons Towel]

[robr1can2]

"hurled at the Rangers bench"? Good GDT!

[Bounce000]

Looks like a FREE win and FREE shutout game!

[AlwaysACanuckFan]

A good opportunity for the Canucks to end their losing streak

[Wing]

It's the chance to bounce back after a couple of subpar games. But Sharks have been playing better lately and Blackwood can steal wins so we can't take them lightly. I'd say put Demko in and get him back on the winning column. 

[NoHeart]

I call first crash of new forum if we lose. 

[DSVII]

Let's get a clean win, reset and get back on the right track. Doesn't matter the competition, the 2 points is the focus.

 

Hope Demko gets another chance to redeem himself, we want to get him on a hot streak.

 

 

 

 

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

Thanks for the story.  Akito Hirose's number is the vaunted #41, first worn by the legendary Robin Bawa, most recently worn by waiver-wire loss Lane Pederson, and shared with other famous names such as netminders Curtis Sanford and Jaroslav Halak, as well as undrafted Latvian trailblazer Ronalds Kenins and another waiver-wire loss, Jonah Gadjovich.  

[AlwaysACanuckFan]

Canucks should bounce back 

vs the Sharks

 

 

[PeteyBoeser]

Wow don’t be cocky… they beat the oilers! I think Sharks will win and fans will riot.

[Falcons]

Canucks need to work together better has a unit on the breakout . They actually need to  be closer together and make shorter passes . They were doing that earlier but it has stopped . 
Guys are trying do to much out there on there own. 

[Hairy Kneel]

Well it's home cooking and sleeping in their own beds.  Hopefully they find their second wind and come back full of vim an vigor. Lots of vigor. 

[Mando27]

1 hour ago, Bounce000 said:

Looks like a FREE win and FREE shutout game!

[OldFaithfulcap]

[Ghostsof1915]

1 hour ago, Bounce000 said:

Looks like a FREE win and FREE shutout game!

Stop it.

There's no free or easy wins.

St. Louis lost to the Sharks.

Let's hope the guys round back into form and have Shark Fin Soup.

[Devron]

I’m not worried. We haven’t played our best but far from some of the shit we’ve seen in last years. 
 

5-1 Nucks 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Devron

[Captain Kirk]

[Bure10Kuzmenko96]

2 hours ago, Bounce000 said:

Looks like a FREE win and FREE shutout game!

Not a gimme. Never take your opponents lightly

[-dlc-]

Had the option between going to this game or the Ducks....chose the Ducks. 

 

Hope we clobber them. Both of them.

 

Go Canucks....chase the doubters out.

[The Brock Star]

1 hour ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

Thanks for the story.  Akito Hirose's number is the vaunted #41, first worn by the legendary Robin Bawa, most recently worn by waiver-wire loss Lane Pederson, and shared with other famous names such as netminders Curtis Sanford and Jaroslav Halak, as well as undrafted Latvian trailblazer Ronalds Kenins and another waiver-wire loss, Jonah Gadjovich.  

You forgot the GOAT, Andrew Alberts

[gwarrior]

Ok. Again, let's get up, and....... ah, fuck it, let's curb stomp these tool bags!!!!!

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

5 minutes ago, TheBrockStar said:

You forgot the GOAT, Andrew Alberts

 

OMG, you're RIGHT!  How could I have forgotten the truly incomparable and irreplacable AA41!  

[Barn Burner]

Hopefully, they'll be better prepared tomorrow night. 

 

You could see in the Calgary game at the end of the 2nd, they were exhausted. 

 

That's a lot of travel and time zone changes. 

 

Now that they've been back for a few days, they should have more jump.