Metro - Vancouver : Columnist - The Hockey News by Rory Boylen

the hockey news by rory boylen

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Canucks need to make top pick count

June 23, 2011

The Vancouver Canucks don’t draft until the 29th selection of the first round — barring a trade — but when their turn at the podium comes up, GM Mike Gillis has to make the right call.

Canucks must live or die by Luongo

June 10, 2011

Goalie controversy? What goalie controversy? OK, so Roberto Luongo’s 16-save effort in a little more than two periods of play in Game 4 wasn’t his best showing, and Boston’s Tim Thomas has clearly been the better and more consistent goalie in the Stanley Cup final so far, but any notion Cory Schneider should start Game 5, 6 or 7 should be smothered and eliminated like the production of the Sedin twins in Massachusetts.

Rome burned by lack of recognition

June 08, 2011

So Aaron Rome will miss the rest of the Stanley Cup final after he was suspended four games for his interference hit on Nathan Horton early in Game 3.

When it comes to who’s top goalie, all bets are off

June 03, 2011

Skilled forwards and power shots from the point will be a main storyline in the Stanley Cup final, but when you have two Vezina finalists looking down the ice at each other, the goalies will ultimately make or break this seven-game set.

Advantages of finishing in 5

May 26, 2011

Good thing the Canucks were able to work some regulation magic in the dying seconds of Game 5 of the Western Conference final and get a favourable bounce in overtime to end the series then and there.

Low-profile pickups making their mark

May 20, 2011

Remember how boring the 2011 NHL trade deadline was?

Did twins miss playoff memo?

May 03, 2011

Can someone please tell the Sedins the hockey season is still going on?

Gotta lose some to win

April 28, 2011

Well that was close, wasn’t it? The Canucks came back from the brink of what would have been the most disappointing season in team history and turned Game 7 into a rallying point to begin Round 2.

Canucks improved depth comes into focus

April 20, 2011

When the Vancouver Canucks ripped through the Los Angeles Kings and put up a fight against the Chicago Blackhawks last season, one player who really established himself as a difference-maker to the mainstream was Alex Edler.

Division not what it used to be

March 30, 2011

After facing Los Angeles tomorrow night, the Canucks will enter April with four games left on the schedule and all four will be against divisional rivals. They’ll face the Oilers and Wild at home and will travel to Edmonton and Calgary for a couple of road games four nights apart.

Malhotra is much more than just a third-line centre

March 23, 2011

Usually you wouldn’t think losing a third-line centre for the season would significantly affect the playoff expectations of an all-world team. But this is different, this is Manny Malhotra.

Canucks tweaks spot-on at deadline

March 02, 2011

When you’re the best team in the NHL with an offence and defence that ranks in the top two in the league, you really don’t need to make any changes at the trade deadline.

Few stars in Canucks’ pipeline

February 23, 2011

OK, so the Vancouver Canucks aren’t loaded in the prospect department, but that’s OK: They are a contender for now and probably the next few years, so the distant future isn’t a pressing issue.

Luongo not getting the credit he deserves

February 16, 2011

Somehow Roberto Luongo is actually flying under the radar.

Henrik and Kesler lead Canucks charge down the middle

February 10, 2011

The best team in the NHL over the past three-plus seasons has either been the Detroit Red Wings of the Pittsburgh Penguins -- take your pick.

Maturing Kesler packs a punch

January 26, 2011

In the most recent edition of The Hockey News, Ryan Kesler graces the cover next to the caption “The making of a monster.”

Shirokov built up confidence in the AHL

January 19, 2011

It was clear Sergei Shirokov was going to be a project player when the Vancouver Canucks selected him in the sixth round (163rd overall) of the 2006 NHL draft.

Kesler’s steady rise to the top of the class

January 12, 2011

It’s hard to believe that, after five full NHL seasons, Ryan Kesler started the 2010-11 campaign without a hat trick in his career.

Streaking Canucks can leave mark on history

January 05, 2011

What a month of December it was for the Vancouver Canucks. Record breaking, actually.

Canucks not well represented at world juniors

December 22, 2010

If you’re planning on watching the world junior championship simply to catch up with Vancouver Canucks prospects, you’re not going to be seeing much hockey this holiday season.

Weak division an advantage

December 08, 2010

The NHL’s Southeast Division used to be stuck with the moniker the “Southleast Division” and rightfully so.

Penalty killer is key in ’nucks cup chase

December 01, 2010

The importance of a good special teams unit cannot be understated in the post-lockout NHL world.

Goalie Schneider climbing the ladder to NHL status

November 17, 2010

Cory Schneider’s transition to professional life wasn’t smooth.

Canucks don’t fail to surprise

November 10, 2010

With the Vancouver Canucks hitting their stride and looking like the forceful team they were supposed to be, there are still a few elements that have been surprising. Here are a few early-season notes we didn’t see coming.

Burrows needs time to hit stride

November 04, 2010

He’s back, baby. Alexandre Burrows returned to the Vancouver lineup for Tuesday night’s narrow victory over the Edmonton Oilers and was reunited with last year’s linemates Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

Some reasons for hope

October 27, 2010

The Vancouver Canucks have nearly a week off to examine what’s been going right and wrong for the club after a mediocre start to the season.

Third line vital to cup hopes

October 20, 2010

With a Hart Trophy winner, his identical twin, a Selke finalist and a perennial Vezina candidate already in the lineup, the Vancouver Canucks’ main goal in the off-season was to bulk up a third line that on many nights was outworked and overmatched in 2009-10 — especially when they met the post-season Chicago Blackhawks.