The Crumbling Canucks

Last night, the struggling Vancouver Canucks travelled to Minnesota to go head to head with the Wild. It looked promising for the Canadian team in the first few minutes of the game when Daniel Sedin fired a puck right past Minnesota's Cory Schneider. But Vancouver's lead lasted less than 5 minutes, when during a Minnesota powerplay, Wild defenceman Marek Zidlicky pushed the puck past Roberto Luongo. The remainder of the period saw the Wild score twice more, bringing the scoreboard to 3-1.

And it just got worse for the Canucks. Luongo allowed another 3 goals in the second, all less than 5 minutes apart from each other. And halfway into the second, Rick Rypien created the biggest buzz of the night.
Frustrated after earning himself a 10-minute game misconduct for fighting with Brad Staubitz, Rypien stormed off ice, shoving an official in the process. As he made his way down the tunnel, an overzealous Wild fan leaned over the barrier, clapping and cheering. Rypien would have none of it, and responded by grabbing the fan by the collar of his jersey and roughing him up for a few seconds before a Canucks teammate pulled him away.

Needless to say, Rypien did not return for the remainder of the game.

In a last-ditch effort, Daniel Sedin scored a powerplay goal in the third, to bring the final score to 6-2 Minnesota.

As for Rypien, he is suspended indefinately until his hearing on Friday, Oct. 22. It is speculated that he will receive a minimum 5, maximum 10 game suspension for his actions. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to appear at the hearing.

The Vancouver Canucks have only won 2 of their 6 regular season games so far, and are sitting at 10th in the Western Conference, a far cry from their projected standing of 1st in the West, as predicted by TSN prior to the start of the regular season.

Vancouver Canucks vs Minnesota Wild, Tuesday Oct. 19 2010

Click HERE to see a video of the altercation between Rick Rypien and the Minnesota fan

Week 2 Report Card - Calgary Flames

Teacher's Notes:

-Team started the week off on a bad note; defense just wasn't there and players were not keeping traffic up in front of the opponent's net.
-Mikka Kiprusoff was not at his best during the first game but improved his goaltending during the second, making 27 crucial saves.
-Brendan Morrison and Alex Tanguay once again were playing to prove their worth to the team, both contributing goals and assists in the game against Edmonton.
-Captain Jarome Iginla needs to lessen the pressure he is putting on himself and allow himself to just play. Too much thinking is affecting his positive impact on the game.

Banishing The Devils

In every matchup the Pittsburgh Penguins faced against the New Jersey Devils last season, the defending Stanley Cup champions couldn't seem to win one.
And though they had played two games already at the start of the new season, the Penguins were held winless against the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers.
It was time to turn things around this Monday, Oct. 11 when the Pens travelled to New Jersey to once again attempt to take down Martin Brodeur and his Devils.
The majority of the first period went by uneventfully, with no scoring on either end of the ice. But just over a minute left in the period, Alex Goligoski managed to slap the puck past Brodeur, giving the Pens the first lead of the game.
As a result of a penalty on New Jersey, Mark Letetsu (who was a key player in the previous game against the Habs) scored on the power play to increase the lead to 2. Kris Letang and former Devil Paul Martin assisted in the goal.
Halfway through the third, Devils' left winger Patrik Elias cut the lead in half with a snapshot that whizzed right by the Penguins' backup goalie Brent Johnson.
With less than 2 minutes remaining in the game, the Devils pulled Brodeur to heighten the chances of tieing up the scoreboard. But in the last few seconds remaining, Paul Martin managed to take the puck and bury it into the empty net, taking the final score to 3-1 Pittsburgh.
It was a much-needed win for the Penguins, who lacked the momentum to start strong in the season. Their first 2 games played in the brand-new Consol Energy Center resulted in tough losses to their cross-state rivals and to the team who bounced them out of the playoffs last season.
Part of the reason for Pittsburgh's shaky start may be the fact that veteran players Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko and Sergei Gonchar have all left to play for other teams, and defenceman Jordan Staal is still out with a foot injury.
Pittsburgh will have their next chance at climbing higher in the standings on Wednesday, Oct. 13 when they face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs.





Pittsburgh Penguins vs New Jersey Devils, October 11 2010

Week 1 Report Card - Calgary Flames

Teacher's Notes:

-Team started off the season with lackluster playing, need to improve in the areas of speed and aggresiveness
-Goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff appeared to be shaky in the first game, though his goaltending is not expected to be a problem for the remainder of the season, as he often demonstrates saves that make him one of the number one players in the team
-Second game proved to be better but the team still did not play as fast and hard as they should at the beginning of the season
-Newly signed Brendan Morrison is working hard to show that he is a good addition to the team and is on his way to achieving this with 2 assists in his first game as a Flame

Preseason Report Card - Calgary Flames

Teacher's Notes:

-Much improvement over the summer.
-The team has noticeably put more effort into their playing and are obviously working hard to build chemistry between linemates.
-The (re)acquisition of Alex Tanguay proved to be a smart decision on Darryl Sutter's end, as he has been a big difference maker in the preseason.
-Rookie Mikael Backlund is showing great promise as he is geared to replace Matt Stajan on the permanent roster. Would like to see him work on his stamina on the ice.
-Backup goalie Henrik Karlsson needs to quicken his movements and stay more alert when in net.

Young Flames Fired Up

Just weeks before the start of the NHL regular season, rookies vying for a spot on the Calgary Flames roster decided to show the club just exactly why they were ready to make it in the big league.
Unlike some of the Edmonton Oilers youngsters who are participating in the Young Stars rookie camp tournament, the players on the Calgary team remain relatively unknown. But during yesterday's game against the Anaheim Ducks' rookie team, you would have guessed the roster was packed full of seasoned all-stars.
Playing their first game of the tournament, the Flames got off to a great start, dominating the Ducks with a final score of 8-4.
It was an action-packed game from the beginning, with the first half seeing equal effort put in by both teams. The Ducks' Jon Kurtz set the score in the first 5 minutes, burying a fast one right past Flames' goalie Matt Keetley. It wasn't until 15 minutes later that the Flames' Jon Rheault was able to tie up the scoreboard, with an assist from Mikael Backlund.
Bryan Cameron followed up the late goal with another one of his own, but with only a few seconds left in the first period, the Ducks rallied to tie it once again.
The second period was a little more one-sided than the first. Jon Rheault, quickly making a name for himself as a potential NHL Flame, shot an unassisted goal past Ducks goalie Marco Cousineau but seconds later was answered by the Ducks' Devante Smith-Pelly.
With the period half over, Mikael Backlund and Carter Bancks furthered the lead to 5-3 for the Flames.
It was all fire for the Flames in the third, as Rheault managed to pull off a hat trick, the first in the entire tournament, accompanied by goals from Josh Meyers and Keith Seabrook. Sitting comfortably with 8 goals, the Canadian rookies didn't sweat too much when, in the final seconds of the game, the Ducks' Jack Carrick put in a last-ditch effort, sliding the puck past an unexpecting Keetley.
The end result was a scoreboard that read 8-4 in favour of the Flames, and riding high on the win, the team is set to face the likes of much talked-about Edmonton Oilers draft picks Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall.
With limited cap space remaining in Calgary, no doubt the young Flames will put on a show just as impressive, to show Sutter and the gang who really deserves to be skating with the big boys in this upcoming season.




Mikael Backlund was one of the breakout rookies from the Abbotsford Heat who was called up to the Flames several times last season. Backlund reeled in one goal and one assist during last night's game.

QUICKLINES September 1 - September 7

Jordan Staal will miss the first half of the Penguins' training camp due to a foot infection resulting from the laceration he received early in the 2009-2010 postseason playoff round against the Montreal Canadiens. Despite this, the team expects Staal to be fully recovered in time for the upcoming regular season.


Newlywed Mike Comrie has signed a one-year, $500, 000 deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 29-year old left wing center joins a roster that has just recently lost veteran player Bill Guerin, and will be a strong addition to the team, considering that defenceman Jordan Staal is also out for the time being.


Marc Savard's lawyer is threatening legal action against the NHL if the board goes through with the intention of looking into Savard's 7-year deal with the Boston Bruins. Savard's lawyer states that considering that the severe injury he sustained late last season has decreased his value as a player, making Savard a free agent would drastically hurt his playing career. No word has been released as to whether the NHL will continue with the intended examination of the contract.