It’s too early to put the Canucks’ second line completely under the microscope, but the situation will be an interesting one to watch over the next few games. Pavol Demitra campaigned publicly to play with Mason Raymond and Taylor Pyatt, but the chemistry has been slow to develop.
The Midas touch that Raymond exhibited in the pre-season has fallen by the wayside, perhaps temporarily, and Pyatt, not nearly as fleet of foot as his linemates, has laboured to keep up at times.
Demitra has admitted that he’s not a fan of changing linemates on a frequent basis, and one has to wonder if the line is getting more leeway because of his résumé.
Head coach Alain Vigneault says he’s seeing the progress he wants from the line if not the results, but anyone who’s watched Vigneault’s tendencies over the past two seasons is anticipating some juggling sometime soon.
Although Mike Gillis talked to Vigneault about changing the coaching style in some respects this year, old habits die hard. If the line fails to produce tonight in Detroit and tomorrow in Buffalo and the trio still remains intact, then Vigneault has, in fact, altered his philosophy. Based on recent history, I wouldn’t bet on it.
- Contrary to popular belief, the most alarming development in the Lions’ latest loss was not the complete and utter lack of B.C. offense. In fact, after six straight weeks of quality quarterbacking, Buck Pierce’s poor performance is understandable given his relative lack of inexperience as a starter in the CFL.The more worrisome trend was the Lions’ inability to stop the Eskimos’ offense in second-and-long situations throughout the course of the game. Yes, the offense will need to be better than it was last Friday, but if the Lions have any designs on hoisting the Grey Cup, the defense will need to be the dominant unit. Even when Dave Dickenson and Casey Printers were putting up gaudy passing numbers and point totals, it wasn’t until the BC defense began snuffing out opposing offenses in 2006 that the Lions captured the CFL’s ultimate prize.
- As the Vancouver Whitecaps throw their hat in the ring along with six other North American cities vying for a Major League Soccer franchise, Francesco Aquilini’s decision to step aside is the right one.The Canucks’ owner was planning to submit an alternate bid to the one Caps’ owner Greg Kerfoot is putting forth in conjunction with Steve Nash, but Aquilini has reconsidered.Kerfoot and company are in tough enough with the likes of Montreal, Portland and Miami (backed by FC Barcelona) submitting proposals without internal competition within Vancouver.
