A showcase for Bieksa

Transcription

1 A showcase for Bieksa Defenceman wants to shine for first trip to Garden By Ben Kuzma, The Province January 13, 2011 There's not a better time for Kevin Bieksa to strut his stuff in Madison Square Garden. Arguably playing his best hockey of the season, the Vancouver Canucks defenceman was asked how excited he's going to be skating tonight on one of the game's biggest stages. After all, Bieksa has nine points (4-5) in his past nine games and a plus-12 rating in that run. A long way from starting the season pointless in 10 games, he has been sound in all zones, is an unrestricted free agent and will be on display for those who seldom see the league's top-ranked team. "You tell me," responded Bieksa. "I've never played there. It looks nice from the outside and it should be good, I guess. It's one of the three buildings I've never played in. The first year I was called up just after the trip to New York and I had two years when I was injured with lacerations." Bieksa could ask Manny Malhotra for a guided tour of the famous landmark. The Canucks centre was selected seventh overall by the New York Rangers in 1998 and spent four seasons in the Big Apple, his best being when he had 16 pins (8-8) in 73 games. Bieksa scored the tying goal on Tuesday on Long Island because he was smart enough to shoot the puck from a wide angle and hope for a deflection, rather than a pad save that would have sent the puck the other way and caught the blueliner deep in the New York Islanders zone. That's the way he's been playing -- better and smarter -- even if the Canucks didn't display their total game for long enough stretches before prevailing 4-3 in a shootout. "We didn't play as well as we wanted and we didn't execute at times," said Bieksa, who was a plus-2 and had five shots on net in 24:12 of ice time. "We had a lot of turnovers which isn't characteristic of us, but we had to stay with it and grind one out." The Canucks face back-to-back games as they play Friday night in Washington. Cory Schneider, who's won his last five starts and is with a 2.31 GAA, gets the nod against the Rangers. The Canucks Game Day lowdown By Gordon McIntyre, The Province January 13, :24 AM

2 CANUCKS (28-8-6) at RANGERS ( ), 4 p.m., MADISON SQUARE GARDEN TV: SNET, Radio: TEAM 1040 THE SETUP Canucks: Both the team and Cory Schneider have to lose again in regulation time at some point, don't they? For the Canucks the last regulation loss was Dec. 5; Schneider's last NHL regulation loss was Nov. 6, Rangers: Expect a tight-checking affair. In the New Year the Rangers are 3-2-1; every game but a 3-0 loss was a one-goal decision (four 2-1 outcomes, one 3-2); of those games, one finished in overtime and two via shootout. THREE THINGS TO WATCH 1. The Rangers aren't a great home-ice team, going just at Madison Square Garden. And the Canucks have become marauding invaders, looting and plundering as they see fit, going on the road since a hiccup to start the season. 2. Does Glen Sather have photos? Wojtek Wolski adds another $3.8 million/year (one year to go) to a payroll that includes Marian Gaborik ($7.5 million, three more years, in 30 games), Alex Frolov ($3 million, in 43 games), Chris Drury ($7.05 million, one more year, in 13 games), Derek Boogaard ($1.625 million through ) and Henrik Lundqvist ($6.875 through '13-14). 3. The Canucks are the stingiest first-period team in the NHL, allowing just 20 goals against in the opening 20 minutes, but the Rangers are second-best record with 24. In fact, there's not much to choose between the teams, period-by-period, in goals-against. The big difference is in goals scored, with the Canucks scoring 10 more in the first period and a league-leading 56 third-period goals, nine more than New York. BY THE NUMBERS 15: Since Tampa Bay tied the game 1-1 at 14:05 of the first period on Dec. 11, the Canucks have given up just one first-period goal in the following 15 games (at Detroit on Dec. 22, in an OT loss). LEADERBOARD Canucks: Goals: 25, D. Sedin Assists: 46, H. Sedin

3 Points: 55, D./H. Sedin PIM: 46, Bieksa In net: Schneider, 8-0-2, 2.31 GAA,.925 SV% Rangers: Goals: 17, Dubinsky Assists: 20, Dubinsky Points: 37, Dubinsky PIM: 127, Avery In net: Lundquist, , 2.32 GAA,.924 SV% INJURIES Canucks: D Sami Salo (Achilles) injured reserve; RW Rick Rypien (personal), indefinite leave of absence; LW Raffi Torres (flu), probably. Rangers: LW Alex Frolov (knee surgery), out for season; C Vinny Prospal (knee surgery), injured reserve; LW Derek Boogaard (shoulder), indefinite; RW Ryan Callahan (broken hand), 6-8 weeks; C Erik Christensen (sprained knee), 4-6 weeks Glass takes nothing for granted Fourth line free agent knows he can't afford the luxury of self-satisfaction By Ed Willes, The Province January 13, 2011 Tanner Glass didn't need his Ivy League education to understand that nothing, absolutely nothing, was going to come easy for him. When he was taken in the ninth round of the 2003 draft, Florida Panthers general manager Rick Dudley welcomed him to the organization with the following inspirational message: "I saw you three times. The first time you were OK. The second time you were sick. And the third time you played like s--t. But we're still going to take you."

4 Glass played in the BCHL with Penticton and Nanaimo, then moved on to Dartmouth where he spent four years pursuing a higher education and a dream. A number of his teammates -- most notably future NHLers Lee Stempniak, T.J. Gallardi and David Jonas and first-rounder Hugh Jessiman -- were considered top prospects. Glass, for his part, was not. Still, after four years at Dartmouth, he earned a spot in Rochester before graduating to the Panthers. There, he impressed so mightily that the Panthers -- remember, these are the Panthers -- let him go and he was signed as a free agent by the Vancouver Canucks where, at last, he seems to have found some security on the team's fourth line. That, at least, would be the happy ending to this story. But Glass understands his reality and he understands he can't afford the luxury of self-satisfaction. That's why he fights guys who are 40 pounds heavier and four inches taller. That's why he takes the body as consistently as any Canuck. That's why he's thrilled over his six to eight minutes of ice time a night. Right now Glass has a job and tonight, when the Canucks meet the Rangers, he'll be in the lineup. He also knows those are his only guarantees which at least explains a few things about the 27-year-old from Regina. "I've never been the best player or the best at anything," he says. "I just keep working at it and try to improve. "It's not in my nature to take things for granted. When I come to the rink, I think this is a great job and I'm going to work hard to keep it. I think that comes from my parents." We will get to Glass's parents in a minute. In the meantime, their offspring is off to the best start of his NHL career which means he's on pace to top last season's career highs of four goals and seven assists. Did we mention he isn't exactly a scoring machine? Tuesday night also featured one of his more notable moments as a Canuck when he flattened the Islanders' Matt Martin with a wicked right hand. But if that's the first time you've noticed Glass this season, you haven't been paying attention. Granted, his job description isn't as demanding as the Sedins or Ryan Kesler but, night-in, nightout, Glass plays within his narrow parameters as well as any Canuck. He is relentless on the forecheck and he skates well enough to be effective in that role. He's also been the one constant on a fourth line that changes cast members more often than The Producers. Is he irreplaceable? Don't be daft. His greatest asset is he does this all for $625,000. But a number of players tried to hold down Glass's job over the last two years and Glass, who's set to become an unrestricted free agent, is still here. So where does he get his sense of perspective?

5 Well, Glass is a proud son of Saskatchewan and there's a belief there that the Prairies breeds toughness and resiliency of spirit and an uncompromising work ethic. Glass was mostly raised on an acreage in the Qu'Appelle Valley -- "You turn right at Craven on a gravel road and that's where we live," he says -- and he watched his parents, Fred and Cathy start their own officecleaning business. The Glasses began with a couple of vacuum cleaners, two employees and three contracts. They now employ 260 people and own the largest cleaning company in Regina. "They taught me if you're going to do something, do it right, whether it's school or hockey," says Glass. And that was a more valuable lesson than anything he learned in the Ivy League. Kesler showing star power on PP Red-hot Ryan merits rave reviews for adapting to new role with Sedins By Ben Kuzma, The Province January 13, 2011 It's been said that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. For the red-hot Ryan Kesler, making the right impression on the Vancouver Canucks' first powerplay alignment wasn't as easy as it looks. A gifted centre at even strength, Kesler was much like an understudy on Broadway and a work in progress when asked to accept the promotion. He had to learn his role with Henrik and Daniel Sedin and has earned rave reviews. He's gone from getting in the way of the talented twins to helping them become the NHL's premier powerplay unit that is either ranked first or second on a given day. On Wednesday, the power play was given second billing overall at 24.7 per cent, with Chicago at The Canucks dominate the category on the road at 28.4 per cent. Individually, Daniel is second in league power-play goals with 11 and Kesler sixth with eight goals. Henrik has 15 power-play assists that ranks seventh.

6 "I just think we're unpredictable," said Kesler. "We don't fall into a pattern and you don't see us going on one play over and over again. There are a lot of different plays and with shooting the puck and that's what we're good at." Kesler has always been good at skating and is much better with a heavy and accurate wrist shot. But playing with the Sedins means understanding where to go and how to get there. Like the ballet, Kesler had to learn to work with the artistic flow of the twins' talented and telepathic game and become part of the cycle game, not just a bystander. And he had to learn to take up a position in front or at the side of the net and facing the shooter to either deflect pucks or have the option of slipping passes across the crease to a wide-open Sedin. Again, easier said than done. "I wasn't hesitant, but I needed to get better at it and I wasn't at first," said Kesler. "I felt like I was doing nothing in front of the net. As you learn the game from that perspective, I've gotten better at it. It's been a big learning curve for me. I've been working on my deflections a lot and that's a big thing and a big part of it. I have to be there to deflect pucks and get those greasy rebounds. "That's just learning a little bit from Hank and Danny. Their creativity is kind of rubbing off on me a little bit." The challenge to mesh with the Sedins has obviously made Kesler a better player. He's long removed from a one-dimensional forward who will just go to the net because there's an art form in learning to pick your position and when to spin off for a pass or make a play. "It forced me to learn how to play down low," said Kesler. "My cycle game has got a lot better just playing with them and watching them, learning how they hold on to the puck and protect it. That's definitely another element of their game." Kesler has also helped the twins enter the offensive zone more easily with his speed and improved passing skills and it causes all kinds of angst for the opposition. Unlike the revolving second power-play unit that usually dumps pucks in much more and had Manny Malhotra between Jeff Tambellini and Michael Samuelsson on Tuesday in a 4-3 shootout victory on Long Island, the first unit comes at you in a hurry. Part of that is a collection of speedy and skilled forwards and the other is defencemen who can move the puck quickly and aren't afraid to go to the net and create match-up problems. But make no mistake. The Sedins still stir the drink. Kesler is a good ingredient. "They're the type of players who

7 use each other and get in that way with passes back and forth and they still do that," added Kesler. "But when I'm coming up from behind with a lot of speed, they've got to choose somebody to cover. They can either cover me or they can cover Hank or Danny. That's something that we've been really good at all year with the break-ins. "When Hank comes up the ice with the puck, it makes other teams make decisions. Usually nine or 10 we're getting into the zone without dumping it in. " The trio has always been good at even strength in their respective roles on the top two lines. Daniel and Henrik are ranked second and third with 55 points each, Daniel with 25 goals that ranks third and Henrik with 46 assists that top the league and Kesler is 15th overall with 41 points, including 24 goals. And as much as Kesler has helped the twins, he knows who has helped him the most. "I was a guy who always controlled the puck a lot," he said. "They're two really skilled players and all I have to do is get open and they're going to find me. They're pretty special players." So is that first power play. With 'window' to win open, Salo's return spells curtains Cap space likely to be created by releasing a contributing Canuck By Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun January 13, 2011 Among third-line forwards Raffi Torres and Mikael Samuelsson, only one made it to practice Wednesday in Manhattan. Chances are only one will still be on the Vancouver Canucks if Sami Salo returns from injury. The Canucks' stunning surge to the top of the National Hockey League during the last eight weeks has changed a lot of things, including the idea that Vancouver couldn't risk losing both Kevin Bieksa and Christian Ehrhoff to unrestricted free agency this summer. Now, with a Canuck Stanley Cup seeming more plausible than any time since June of the Canucks are back in New York to face the Rangers this afternoon -- the team can't afford to lose either defenceman before the playoffs. So if Salo finally returns from his Achilles injury, be it this month or next, there's a strong possibility Samuelsson will be the player jettisoned to make room under the salary cap for the

8 Finnish defenceman. Or it could be Torres, who missed practice Wednesday due to illness, as part of a combination of expendable depth players. Neither Ehrhoff nor Bieksa is going anywhere. "If Sami returns," Canuck general manager Mike Gillis cautioned, confirming he has no plans to part with a key defenceman, "we have a lot of options, but they're all based on Sami getting healthy. There's an assumption out there that Sami's going to be back soon and be 100 per cent, but we have to wait and see." Even before this run, the Canucks knew they were in their "window" for winning a Stanley Cup, as coach Alain Vigneault told us in November: "I know you get a certain window as a coach to win, and I know I'm in that window. The core group has been with me five years. It's our time." Between now and the playoffs, the Canucks need to do everything possible to get stronger. They can't do that by trading Bieksa or Ehrhoff, unsigned beyond this season, even though that's the easiest way financially and positionally to make room for Salo. Bieksa never would have made it to the regular season in Vancouver had Salo not ruptured his Achilles in July. Given Bieksa's salary ($3.75 million), his contractual status, record of injury and inconsistent play the last couple of years, he was always the first option to go after Gillis added big-money defencemen Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis last summer. Even when Salo went on the off-season long-term-injured list, Bieksa was supposed to get only a temporary reprieve. But the last two months have been probably his best as a professional, and the 28-year-old appears to have finally figured out how to play within himself and manage risk. The Canucks are still trying to re-sign Ehrhoff, whose puck-carrying ability and offensive skills make him especially valuable. If you ranked all Canuck players by importance, regardless of position, salary or age, Ehrhoff and Bieksa would squeeze into the top 10. Although they're good players, the same can't be said for Samuelsson or Torres. Each has struggled to score despite the Canucks' hot streak and their salaries, especially Samuelsson's $2.5 million, make them vulnerable. Torres makes $1 million. Even if Salo returns, the Canucks want to keep both Andrew Alberts and Aaron Rome for defensive depth, which is why Gillis will almost certainly cleave salary from his bottom two forward lines to get Salo on the active roster and under the cap. No one wants to trade Samuelsson, who won a Stanley Cup in Detroit, possesses excellent size and character and elevates at playoff time. He had 15 points in 12 playoff games his first season with the Canucks.

9 But right now, would you choose Samuelsson over Bieksa or Ehrhoff? "Me? You can't think about that," Samuelsson said Saturday when asked about roster scenarios. "If it happens it happens; it's like that for everybody. It's a good problem to have. I don't think they want to get rid of anybody." For all its offensive flare and scoring depth, Vancouver's key is its defensive play. Captain Henrik Sedin has said numerous times if the Canucks take care of their zone, their skill will take care of the rest. Salo's return would give the Canucks a blue-line makeup of Dan Hamhuis-Bieksa, Ehrhoff-Alex Edler, Keith Ballard-Salo. Alberts and Rome would be important extras. Management's job is made easier by the Canucks' ability to spend the savings they've accrued due to in-season LTIs to Alex Burrows, Alex Bolduc and Rick Rypien. Although the Canucks have operated at the $59.4-million salary-cap ceiling, they don't have to clear Salo's full $3.5-million to get him on the roster. Gillis won't say what the home-free figure is, but the website, capgeek.com,estimates the Canucks have to jettison about $1.8 million. One option the Canucks don't have is to simply let Salo sit on the injured list until the playoffs. He has been fully skating and practising with the team for two weeks. Vigneault suggested it might take the 36-year-old a month or longer to get game-ready. The NHL, however, may not give the Canucks that much time. The league closely monitors injured lists to ensure teams don't abuse them to stash players and circumvent the cap. The LTI police routinely ask for documentation on injuries, and in extraordinary cases can even order an independent medical examination of a player. Salo's practice schedule won't run indefinitely. Barring a setback, the Canucks have to make a decision. "He's probably our best defenceman," winger Daniel Sedin said. "We'll see what happens." Bieksa's defensive act premieres on Broadway By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun January 13, 2011

10 It is one of the ultimate stages in sports, or at least that is what Vancouver Canuck defenceman Kevin Bieksa has heard. Tonight, he'll finally get to experience it himself. "I have never been in the building," Bieksa said of Madison Square Garden. "It looks nice from the outside." Bad timing and injuries have combined to keep Bieksa out of MSG. "My first year I got called up right after the New York trip and the two years I had my lacerations were the two years we went there." Bieksa seems to be on top of his game as he makes his Broadway debut. Solid defensively all season, Bieksa has rekindled his considerable offensive game of late. He has four goals and five assists in his last nine games and was a plus-12 in that stretch. For the season, Bieksa is plus-18, tying him with Henrik Sedin for the team lead. SCHNEIDER TO START: Cory Schneider gets Gotham. Roberto Luongo gets Ovechkin. Schneider will be in goal later this afternoon when the Canucks meet the Rangers. That means Luongo is all but certain to play Friday in Washington when the Canucks meet Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. The Canucks practised Wednesday in New York City after beating the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday. Winger Raffi Torres did not practise. The team said he was feeling ill, but is expected to play today. Schneider has yet to lose in regulation time this season and takes a record of into Madison Square Garden. MANNY IN THE MIDDLE: With Ryan Kesler battling a bad thumb, the Canucks are leaning even more heavily on Manny Malhotra in the faceoff circle. Malhotra won 15 of 24 draws in Tuesday's 4-3 win on Long Island and is second in the NHL in that department with a winning percentage of Washington's David Steckel leads at Malhotra is struggling a bit offensively. He has no points in six games and just one goal in his last 15 games. BLUE NOTES: Although he gave up a soft goal in Tuesday's 2-1 loss in Montreal, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is with a 1.81 goals against average and.938 save percentage since the U.S. Thanksgiving. Lundqvist became the first Ranger goalie to record assists in three straight games on Tuesday... The Rangers are hoping newly acquired Wojtek Wolski can ignite

11 the slumping Marian Gaborik, who is in the midst of a five-game goal drought and has just three goals in his last 16 games. shiroko v AN ALL-STAR: The Manitoba Moose didn't fare as well as the Canucks when it came to players being given all-star recognition. Forward Sergei Shirokov was the lone Moose player selected for the AHL All-Star Game, which goes Jan. 30 in Hershey, Pa. After a slow start to his season, Shirokov has been Manitoba's best player of late. He has scored in five straight games and leads the Moose with 15 goals and 30 points in 37 games. He carries a 10-game points streak into tonight's game against Milwaukee. "He deserves to go," Moose coach Claude Noel told the Winnipeg Free Press. "He's been real good. He's played real well. He's been hot lately. I think he's invested in his career, trying to adapt to the changes and trying to do some things differently." Shirokov lone Moose in all-star game By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun January 13, 2011 The Manitoba Moose didn't fare as well as the Canucks when it came to players being given allstar recognition. Forward Sergei Shirokov was the lone Moose player selected for the AHL All- Star Game, which goes Jan. 30 in Hershey, Pa. After a slow start to his season, Shirokov has been Manitoba's best player of late. He has scored in five straight games and leads the Moose with 15 goals and 30 points in 37 games. "He deserves to go," Moose coach Claude Noel told the Winnipeg Free Press. "He's been real good. He's played real well. He's been hot lately. I think he's invested in his career, trying to adapt to the changes and trying to do some things differently." Kesler takes a shining to star-power play Forward embraces gritty net presence role on first unit alongside Sedin twins By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun January 13, 2011 Ryan Kesler really didn't know what to expect when he was asked before the season began to accept a new role on the Vancouver Canucks power play. But when he heard it involved playing alongside Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Kesler knew it couldn't be all bad. To borrow a Big Apple line, Kesler quickly decided he wanted to be a part of it. And he has been a very big part of the unit's success. Kesler's net presence is one of the major reasons why Vancouver's power play has been among the NHL's best this season.

12 But the move to the first unit from the second, where he played last season, has been an adjustment. He's had to step outside his comfort zone and play an entirely different role from what he was accustomed to. Kesler embraced the challenge. "I have never really played in front of the net or anything like that," Kesler said. "I had a lot of success the year before on the half-wall. It was definitely a big change. It was a little tough at first because I was the guy who always controlled the puck a lot." Kesler doesn't see as much of the puck these days on the power play, but like everyone else who has played with the twins, he's learned that when he does get it from Daniel or Henrik, he'll often be in an excellent position to score. "It's fun playing with them," he said. "They are two really skilled players and all I have to do is get open for them and they are going to find me. They are pretty special players." Think about it. How many teams are able to throw out three all-star forwards together on their power play? It was new Canuck assistant coach Newell Brown who convinced the team to "load up" the first unit. That meant adding Kesler to the first unit and putting defencemen Christian Ehrhoff and Alex Edler on the points. "Newell is the one who came up to me at the beginning of the year and wanted to load up," said Canuck coach Alain Vigneault. "I asked him why and he said, 'I think Kes would be good in front of the net. I was watching your power plays last year and Christian and Eddie were your two best Ds and the twins were your two best offensive players.'... We talked to him [Kesler] about it, more Newell than I did, and he just loved the opportunity." Kesler admitted he had a lot to learn as he attempted to turn himself into a Tomas Holmstrom clone on the power play, but he has embraced the challenge. "It has been a big learning curve for me," he said. "I have been working on my deflections a lot and that is a big part of it. If I am going to be there I have to be able to deflect pucks and get those greasy rebounds." The first unit has scored 27 of Vancouver's 42 power-play goals this season and Kesler has eight of those. "That is such an important component of a power play, that net presence," Vigneault said. "You just see Detroit with Holmstrom, it sort of makes the power play threatening all the time, whether through a pass, or in front of the net he takes the pass and tries to stuff it or for any shot he is right there in front of the goaltender. He's got good size and good hand-eye co-ordination so he can tip pucks, and there's the faceoff component, too.

13 "With him on the right side and Hank on the left side, theoretically we have got a pretty good chance of winning faceoffs and instead of wasting 30 seconds to go back to our end, we are in there already with the puck and are trying to make a play." And on the occasion that the Canucks do have to bring the puck up the ice, Kesler helps there as well. "He's good in front, but on the breakout he can make plays and he's strong on the puck," said Henrik Sedin. "It makes it easy for us. Before, we were the ones carrying the puck on the breakouts and people could maybe cover us more than they do now." "They can either cover me or they can cover Hank or Danny," Kesler added. "That is something we have been really good at all year is our break-ins.... Nine times out of 10 we are getting into the zone without dumping it in." Kesler is convinced that his new power-play role has helped him develop as a player. It shows in his stats. Through 42 games, Kesler has 24 goals and 41 points. "It has definitely forced me to learn how to play down low a little bit. "I think my cycle game has got a lot better just from playing with [the Sedins], just watching them and learning how they hold onto the puck and how to protect it. That has definitely added another element to my game." Kesler thinks it is the first unit's unpredictability that makes it so successful. It can beat the opposition a number of different ways. "We don't fall into a pattern of predictability," he said. "You don't see us scoring on one play over and over. It's a lot of different plays, a lot of shooting the puck and traffic. That is what we are good at." Empire state of mind January 13, sportsnet Vancouver has won four straight against the Rangers. The Vancouver Canucks have earned at least one point in 17 straight games. Given their recent history against the New York Rangers, that streak may continue. Looking for their fifth straight victory over New York, the league-leading Canucks continue a five-game road trip Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

14 Vancouver (28-8-6) improved to since its last regulation loss on Dec. 5 after a 4-3 shootout win Tuesday against the New York Islanders. The three losses in that span have come in overtime against Southeast Division leader Tampa Bay and Central-leading Detroit. The Canucks also fell in a shootout at home to the Red Wings on Saturday before going on the road. Vancouver had a season-high 51 shots on goal against the Islanders, scoring at least three goals for the 14th time in 16 games. After being named to the All-Star team for the first time, Ryan Kesler scored a goal and added one in the shootout for the Canucks "It was a really nice ending, win the game and get the two points and it was a pretty good day for me today," he told the team's official website. Kesler has 24 goals in 42 games after totaling 25 in 82 contests last season. He also has a goal and four assists in his last three games versus the Rangers with three assists coming in a 4-1 win on Nov. 3, Alexander Edler has 14 points in 21 road games so far and has points in five of his past 10 overall. Wojtek Wolski made his debut with the Rangers in the last game and created several chances with linemates Marian Gaborik and Artem Anisimov. Follow Chris Nichols on Twitter Roberto Luongo made 38 saves against the Islanders - the team that originally drafted him fourth overall in to improve to with a 1.94 goals-against average during Vancouver's run. Luongo, who will likely start against the Rangers, is with a 3.33 GAA in his career at MSG, but won in his only appearance there since joining Vancouver in Luongo stopped 39 shots in a 6-3 victory on Nov. 19, The Rangers' three-game winning streak ended Tuesday with a 2-1 home loss to Montreal, spoiling the debut of forward Wojtek Wolski. Acquired Monday from Phoenix for defenseman Michal Rozsival, Wolski hit the post on one shot and nearly scored on a one-timer early in the game. "He certainly was around the puck and had a number of opportunities to score," coach John Tortorella said. "You can see his talent level." Wolski had a career-high four points with a goal and three assists for Colorado in a 4-1 win over Vancouver on Nov. 25, New York ( ) has been outscored 16-6 in four losses to Vancouver since a victory at MSG nearly seven years ago. Henrik Lundqvist, also headed to the All-Star game later this month in North Carolina, is with a 4.59 GAA in three career starts versus the Canucks.

15 He was pulled early in the second period after stopping 12 of 17 shots in the most recent home loss to Vancouver in Besides trying to slow down Kesler, Lundqvist will also try to keep high-scoring twins and fellow Swedes Henrik and Daniel Sedin off the scoresheet. Both are tied for third with 55 points, however Daniel has 25 goals while Henrik has an NHLbest 46 assists. Daniel has one goal in each of the last three meetings, and Henrik has a goal and three assists in a four-game points streak against the Rangers. Old-time player, winning coach By Tony Gallagher, The Province Jack McIlhargey coached nearly 2,000 professional hockey games in his career and played just 167 for the Canucks, but somehow, in most people s, minds he s going into the B.C. Hockey Hall of fame as a player in Vancouver. No matter how you think of Bucky, as he was called by all his teammates, whether it was Vancouver or Philadelphia, he was definitely an outstanding choice last week along with referee Rob Shick and some guy named Joe Sakic. They had a great 20th anniversary. His coaching record really speaks for itself given that he seemed to make more stops than SkyTrain, culminating in last year s final, behind the Flyers bench alongside Peter Laviolette as one of his assistants. But who are we kidding here; Jack played old time hockey and most every fan over a certain age remembers his fights which were many in an era when this was an extremely valued skill. I guess you could say I basically fought my way up from the Eastern League to the AHL and that s where I was coached by Larry Wilson, (Leafs coach) Ron s dad and he really helped me, says McIlhargey, who stepped down from 24 years of coaching, but is still with the Flyers as a scout based out of Vancouver and working both pro and amateur games. It s been a lot of fun and there were some great experiences. When I played junior it was quite an experience as well. Patty Ginnell was the coach and in those days we used to work in the mine from 8 in the morning until noon and then practise in the afternoon. I can tell you that made working hard in hockey look pretty good. Ginnell had some of the toughest teams in the history of the Western League and McIlhargey was one of the tougher guys to come around the bend. He says his most memorable fight was with Nick Fotiu, but the strangest thing was his feud with Dave (Tiger) Williams. These two could not look at each other without dropping the gloves. If you knew Jack, he was maybe the quickest in the history of the game at getting rid of his gloves and going on the attack with a flurry of blows.

16 I guess I fought (Tiger) four or five times, maybe more, he says. Not surprisingly they re perfectly good friends here in Vancouver these days. When he finished playing in Hartford Larry Pleau got him into coaching and it s here he essentially became something of a tapestry upon which is woven much of the history of this franchise. He came to the Vancouver organization to coach in and worked with a series of head guys including Harry Neale, Tom Watt, Bob McCammon and Pat Quinn and mentored both Canuck legends Stan Smyl and Harold Snepsts after playing with both in the bargain. He went to Milwaukee, Hamilton and Syracuse as the head coach of Vancouver s farm team and then came back as a Canuck assistant under Marc Crawford and, like all people involved with those West Coast Express teams, has all kinds of mixed emotions about the era. I had a long run with Crow (Marc Crawford) and it was tough because we all thought we were right there, he says of those teams. There was the one year Clouts (Dan Cloutier) was hurt and Alex Auld was our goalie and he really wasn t ready for that kind of pressure yet, the (Todd) Bertuzzi year, the lockout didn t help. We were a good team but the breaks just didn t fall our way. Crow is an emotional guy and that s part of his makeup and you certainly don t want him changing his personality, that was one of his strengths. He s a good coach, he s learned a lot along the way and he s showing again this year what kind of coach he can be. McIlhargey went back to the Flyers at the onset of the Alain Vigneault coaching term and he obviously had some success there even if the big prize got away last year in Game 6 against Chicago. It was a tough decision to leave Vancouver but I wanted to keep coaching and the Flyers made me an offer and I enjoyed my time in that role, he says. It s been a lot of fun... it still is.

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