01/27 Road Music: @ Vancouver Canucks

It's always gratifying to see popular opinion falling in line with how you already feel. I hate Vancouver, and the rest of the world is starting to, also.

First, on Jan 11th, Alexandre Burrows got his panties in a bunch because of an alleged bias by NHL referee Stephane Auger. Rather than complain through normal channels, Burrows threw a hissy fit in front of the post game media. While there may be something to his accusation, the manner in which he vented exposed him for the bitch that he truly is.

A minor step in the same parade came after the Jan 13th game against Minnesota, The Wild's chief enforcer Derek Boogard claimed that Canuck cement-head Darcy Hordichuk invited him to fight with the statement  "The coach is making us fight you guys." Yeah, the League doesn't like that. Of course, coach Alain Vigneault denies telling his team any such thing.

Before anything new could come along and steal their limelight, the Canucks, as a team, decided to avoid the usual Hockey Night In Canada interviews after their Jan 23rd blowout of Chicago. It seems they were in a huff over HNIC's coverage of the Burrows/Auger affair, and especially former ref's Ron MacLean's slant on the side of Auger. They felt that they'd withhold the privilege of talking to the Vancouver Divas Canucks from HNIC.

That same night, Canuck Ryan Kesler, almost, kinda sorta, got into a fight with Chicago's Andrew Ladd. Ladd popped him one, busted Kesler open ... and all of a sudden, Kesler lost interest in scrapping. So, Kesler grabbed Ladd's leg, lifted, and did a classic single-leg takedown, ending the scrap without connecting a single punch.  After the game, Kesler called Ladd "a coward". Huh ... Because in Kesler's world, when the going gets tough, the tough bail and run to the locker room to pout for the local press. I guess the only dancing that Kesler is interested in involves wearing a sequined dress.

In summary, the Canucks are a bunch of pussies. All of a sudden they seem to be on a constant...

Crying Jag / Tilt

Oh sure, the Canucks have talent. When they can be bothered to put down their purses, they play winning hockey. Over the last 10 games, they've gone 7-2-1, and have won 5 games straight. Not only that, but those wins have been against good teams - including Buffalo, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. Man, against a team like that, we must really have a hard time with them ... Oh, would you look at that - the Blues are 2-0-1 against them. Huh.

No words of advice, Blues ... just go out there and get it done. You know how. The first player to make a Canuck cry gets the Panger award for the week. Not much of a prize, but, gee, not much of a challenge, either.

Further Reading:

Blues vs Canucks coverage

Nucks Misconduct

This is also your pregame pre-party. The puck drops at 9 PM St Louis time, with the GDT starting shortly beforehand. Until then, compare drinking strategy, bitch about late starts, and enjoy this sneak preview of tonight's Vancouver post-game interviews:

See you then! LGB!

-CrossCheckRaise