11:07 AM: Morning optimism leads me to think the Canucks may have a good season in store. This gets me even more pumped for tonight’s games.
Tonight, CBC, Hockey Night in Canada! Are you ready?
(And remember… no Hockey Anthem! Don’t faint when something comes on out of the blue!)
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3:49 PM: The blood gets flowing. I think it’s time for my first liveblog. Hence, the background to the game.
Four games on tonight, two of which involve Canadian teams. Toronto vs. Detroit should be a washout for the Wings, and just so happens to be the only 7 PM EST game on. Next to start is Boston vs. Colorado, which could be a decent battle, for the wrong reason: both teams are pretty mediocre. The two late games are going to be much more intriguing. The Ducks slam up against the Sharks in a battle that should involve lots of physical play and highlight-reel action. And alongside them, out in western Canada, the Canucks host the Flames for the first of six battles between the rivals.
Canucks.com gives a rundown of the changes made to both rosters, with lots of focus going to the imminent return of Bertuzzi, who will clearly become one of the Canucks’ most hated enemies or most laughable foes over the course of this year.
“Obviously I’m well aware I wasn’t the most popular pickup in Calgary Flame history, but at the same time I think you’ve got to give it a little time and give me a chance,” the 33-year-old forward said. “I can’t lie to you, it’s not the jersey I thought I was going to wear, but at the same time I played enough games here to know what kind of fan base and what kind of team they are.”
If he has a shot of rejuvenating his career, Calgary would be a suitably ironic location. Just so long as it doesn’t cost us a playoff spot!
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3:54: I just can’t keep the hockey away! Mike has his prediction for tonight up!
I’m thinking we have a definite mental edge due to the 6-1 pre-season shelling we handed the Flames. I’ll go with 4-1 Canucks, with a couple of goals on powerplays thanks to Todd Bertuzzi, since he’s going to be a trainwreck tonight!
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8:17 PM: Leafs and Wings are going strong! (Only liveblogging later game!)
The Leafs, who should have rolled over and died, are winning thanks to a pretty bad giveaway by Chris Osgoode. The Wings are certainly outplaying Toronto, but the Leafs seem to have bought into Ron Wilson’s system. They’re playing a tight trap and forcing the Wings to work for their shots — something that they never did last year!
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8:55 PM: The Great Finalist Unveiling. We get to figure out which two rip-offs have the opportunity to replace the original hockey anthem on CBC.
8:56 PM: Re-listen. We get to listen to all five over again initially. I still like the fifth the best. It sounds different than the others.
8:57 PM: The “Bell” Vote. Same as before, you can pay for a phone or text vote, or you can go online. Forget the fact that Bell already paid big money to sponsor the vote.
8:58 PM: The finalists are… “Canadian Gold”, and “Sticks to the Ice.” After listening to them both to footage of hockey players creaming themselves, I still prefer Canadian Gold! Voting now!
9:03: Intermission wears on. Here’s the anthem that you should vote for at this link:
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9:42 PM: Banner-Raising Bust. The Leafs actually held on to win 3-2, with some stingy defense and some weak play by the Red Wings. Get ready for everyone to start speculating about the Wings collapsing because of fatigue. Course, 10 games from now, when the Wings are 10-1, and the Leafs are 1-10, no one will care anymore. But for now, the Cup is coming to Toronto and the Wings are missing the playoffs!
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10:33 PM. The National. Guess what: The stock market has continued crashing! Woot! Dow bombed over 600 points, and the “stable” Toronto market down over 400! Now let’s go back to watching hockey, so we can ignore the problems we’re in! 
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10:45 PM. Keys to the game. Vancouver needs to be tough. Team defense needs to be present for Calgary. Guess we can’t expect anything really detailed considering this is the first game of the season!
10:46 PM. Luc. We knew this was coming. But I still don’t quite know why it’s as much of a deal as it is. Young adult gets killed in motorcycle accident. In any other case, people would be skeptical and suggest the kid was reckless. In this case, it’s a tragedy. Ah well… It’s not that I think the gesture is terrible. Just weird.
10:55 PM. The Puck Drops! Have at ‘em!!!
11:01 PM. Some gloves almost drop. Already. First period, not 10 minutes in, and Bernier almost takes on one of the Flames after a bit of a hit on a Sedin. This could be a bloody rivalry this year. Penalty for the offending Flame.
11:03 PM. Pyatt runs some interference. Canucks off the powerplay because of a dump Pyatt penalty. Canucks didn’t have much of a chance to score. 2 minutes to the big guy.
11:16 PM. Kesler uses his wood. Called for a pretty minor crosscheck that happened to be right in front of the ref. As the announcer says, rough period for Kes, who went off to get some stitches earlier due to a puck to the face. Calgary Powerplay.
11:17 PM. Rypien plays the shepherd. Goes off for hooking. Doesn’t look good. Full minute of 2-man advantage for the Flames.
11:19. We’re still tied. Even strength play resumes, no thanks to the Canuck penalty killers.
11:25. The lesser of two twins. Henrik Sedin gets a sweet pass from Daniel from behind the net to bury it. Ironic that he scores the first goal. Maybe it’s a sign that he’ll finally start contributing more than assists. Vancouver up 1-0!
11:33 PM. Alive after one. Bert’s been a presence, although still not his old self. Bernier looks like he’ll do well alongside the Sedins, and is playing the body pretty well. 1-0 remains the score.
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11:50 PM. Speak of the Devil. Bernier gets his first goal as a Canuck only 23 seconds into the first period. 2-0 Canucks!
11:52 PM. Another Devil. This time Burrows steps up and gets another bounce off the rush. Assist to Kesler for the first shot. Another assist to Aucoin for not even touching Burrows. 1:57 into the period. 3-0 Canucks!
11:59 PM. An almost-Devil. Kesler misses a shot on a gaping net because he’s off-balance, then goes in to run over Kiprusoff. Phaneuf proceeds to bite the head off of… Burrows? Phaneuf penalized for roughing!
12:14 AM. The real Devil. Bertuzzi ends up in the box for a play almost not worth mentioning! 2 minutes for interference!
12:25 AM. Iggy’s turn. Not much happening, but a penalty comes around finally. Roughing, on Ohlund. 2 minutes!
12:28 AM. Bed time. This game isn’t going anywhere fast, and barring unforeseen circumstances, the Canucks should take this, despite being outshot. Night!
1 Comment
October 12, 2008 at 5:00 pm
It sounds like an entertaining game. You must be getting old, going to bed part way through!