Sedin magic back in Rogers Arena

Henrik and Daniel Sedin, it seems, are back to being the offensive threats that hockey fans had grown accustomed to watching.
From 2006-07 through 2012-13, the Vancouver Canucks had been under head coach Alain Vigneault.
During his tenure, questions constantly were being asked about why he didn't use the Sedins, who were his top players, in more defensive roles, like killing penalties.
Well, when Vigneault was fired on May 22, 2013, those who were asking those questions finally got their wish.
A month later, the Canucks replaced Vigneault with John Tortorella, who was known for his defensive, hard-nosed system, one that stressed the importance of shot-blocking.
Right from his introductory press conference, Tortorella was asked if he expected the Sedins to block shots. He simply replied: “Yes.”
But by doing so, the risk of injury is increased, which is exactly what ended up happening. Henrik and Daniel had been consistently in the lineup game after game for their entire careers. Not under Tortorella.
Henrik and Daniel were out  of the lineup for 12 and nine games, respectively, due to injuries,
If that wasn't enough,  Henrik finished with 50 points and Daniel 47, career lows for both. Despite that, they were still Nos. 1 and 2 in points on the team.
It was apparent that Tortorella's system didn't work with the players he was given; he was relieved of his duties after just one season.
And now the bigger concern for many observers had to do with the age of the Sedins, as they were then 33. Was their inability to produce offensively signalling the beginning of a decline?
Vancouver’s new management group of president of hockey operations Trevor Linden, general manager Jim Benning and head coach Willie Desjardins would have none of it.
Well, the early returns are in and it appears that they were right.
The Canucks signed unrestricted free-agent forward Radim Vrbata on July 3 to a two-year deal worth US$10 million, specifically to play with the Sedins. The trio showed instant chemistry.
They combined for four points, including an empty-net goal and an assist from Henrik, during a 4-2 season-opening victory over the Flames in Calgary.
Could they do it again in their Saturday home-opener against the Edmonton Oilers? After all, teams have been known to have slow starts due to pre-game festivities that would lead to a loss.
“I think that there's a lot going on at home during the opener,” Desjardins said prior to Saturday’s puck drop. “The thing that counts is for us to find a way to get points. Every team is so hungry on the road that you've got more pressure at home, but that's the place that you have to find a way to win. So, we have to stay focused, we have to know what we have to do and we have to be prepared to play hard.”
The Canucks did have a slow start, falling behind 2-1 after the first period. However, they were able to crawl back and notch a 5-4 shootout victory.
“I thought the first five to 10 minutes were OK,” Daniel said. “Then, we took a few penalties and then they got going. But I think in the second and third, we took over and played real well.”
The play of the Sedins and Vrbata had a large part to do with the comeback, as they combined for six points, including three assists from Daniel.
“You've got to like that,” Desjardins told reporters. “They're pretty magical at times, like, it's unbelievable. Even for our (players who) have seen them for a long time, they still can't believe the things they do.”
Especially on the power play, where the Canucks went 2-for-7.
“Even if we didn't score, we had the puck,” Daniel said. “We retrieved pucks, we worked hard, and it gave us momentum, and that's key in today's game.”
A victory at home on opening night was critical.
Not to say that in previous seasons it wasn't, but this was their opportunity to leave a positive first impression in an attempt to redeem themselves with the fans after a lacklustre 2013-14. The Canucks' faithful weren't happy, and some showed it by not attending the games.
Not anymore.
The Canucks played a run-and-gun, puck possession-style of game, which most fans find entertaining.
“If you win, for sure,” Daniel said when he asked if he enjoys playing that style. “If we had lost this game, we would have been standing here talking about the run-and-gun. I mean, (that wouldn't) be a nice feeling. But we won tonight's game and we'll build on this one. I think offensively we did a lot of good things (and) defensively, obviously, we can be a little bit better.”
Unlike much of last season, Canucks fans were all smiles as they left Rogers Arena.
The free drink that the Canucks provided to each fan in attendance -- including beer for those over the age of 19 -- didn‘t hurt, either.
NOTES: Canucks G Ryan Miller made 25 saves, and also was 3-for-3 in the shootout. . . . Vancouver D Chris Tanev, who suffered an undisclosed injury in Calgary on Wednesday was scratched. . . . Edmonton D Brad Hunt, who is from Maple Ridge, B.C, scored his first NHL goal. . . . The Canucks don't play again until Friday night, when they visit Edmonton.

(Dickson Liong is Taking Note’s Vancouver correspondent. Follow him on Twitter at @DLLiong.)

So far, so good for Vrbata and Sedins

The pre-season is experiment-time for Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
No matter who is coaching the Canucks, one of the tasks on the list is to decide who will play with the Sedin twins.
When Alain Vigneault was the head coach, he was able to do that successfully by putting Alex Burrows, then 27, in that role in 2008-09.
It has hardly changed since, and understandably so.
After all, while he was on that line, the Sedins were able to do things they had never done. In 2009-10, Henrik finished with 112 points, including 83 assists. By doing so, he won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer and the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player.
Meanwhile, Burrows led the Canucks with 35 goals as he finished with 67 points.
The next season, it was Daniel's turn to do the same as his brother. He led the NHL with 104 points and won the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player as voted by the NHLPA.
However, the trio started to break down last season.
The Sedins, who had been consistently healthy throughout their careers, suffered injuries that were longer than just day-to-day. The injuries resulted in Henrik and Daniel being out of the lineup for 12 and nine games, respectively.
But even when they were in the lineup, Henrik  finished with only 50 points and Daniel with 47, career lows for both.
It doesn't stop there, though.
The injury bug hit Burrows, too, as he dressed for just 49 games and scored only five goals.
It was time for the newly hired brass of Trevor Linden, the president of hockey operations, and general manager Jim Benning to attempt to find a solution.
Two days after the July 1 opening of free-agent season, they believe they were able to find one when they signed unrestricted free-agent forward Radim Vrbata to a two-year deal worth US$10 million.
Prior to joining the Canucks, he had played for the Phoenix Coyotes for the past five seasons. The best of those was 2011-12, when he scored 35 goals.
Vancouver not only added a player who can score, but he is a right-hand shot, something that Burrows isn't.
The Canucks have stated openly that they want Vrbata to play on the first line with the Sedins. But the thing is, nobody had seen them play together in a competitive game.
That changed on Tuesday, as the Canucks played host to the San Jose Sharks in one of two split-squad pre-season games.
“Well, I think every time you start the pre-season anywhere, it's important to get into game situations and get used to hitting again,” Vrbata said prior to the game. "I don't think it matters too much if you are on a new team or an old team.
"It was a long summer without real hockey and as I said, you want to prepare yourself for the regular season. So that's why the pre-season is important. That's where it all shows. It's all good that you feel good in a practice or scrimmages or power-play practices, but I'm looking forward to playing the game to see we are at.”
How did Henrik feel?    
“It's going to be a lot of fun,” he said. “It's been a good feeling from the get-go, on and off the ice. Mostly on the power play, he's going to be a big help for us. So we'll see. It's going to be a work in progress and we're going to take it day-by-day and try to get better. I'm sure there is a lot of things we need to talk about after the game, but that's the way it should be.”
Of course, it remains to be seen if Vrbata will have chemistry with the Sedins, something that is necessary for any winger playing with the twins.
"I think just chemistry,” Henrik said. “To see how we read each other and so far in practice it's been nothing but good. We're excited, I hope he is and, like I said, we'll take it day-by-day here.”
The Canucks defeated the Sharks 3-2, and Henrik was impressed with the new trio.
“I thought it felt good,” Henrik stated. “There are things that we can work on but I mean, for the first game together, right from the get-go, we had some good chemistry. He was close to scoring some goals. In the second period, we didn't have a lot of shifts five-on-five, but in the third, we had a good third period as well.”
Doug Lidster, one of the Canucks' assistant coaches, also was impressed.
“They had a shift I recall in the third period where they showed quite a bit of zone time and control and stuff like that,” he said “I thought that kind of fed the rest of our guys and I thought that was kind of a momentum changer for us, so they did real well.”
Despite that, it remains a learning process for Vrbata.
“It's always good to get a win and start the season right,” he stated. “It was the first pre-season game so I think it was tough for everybody to kind of get into it after a long summer. I think it was a good start and we can build from here. We had some good shifts and some good looks. Unfortunately, nothing went in. But we can learn from this game and look at the shifts we had and try to see what should have been differently.
“First game we learn, and we'll be better next game.”

(Dickson Liong is Taking Note's Vancouver correspondent)

Ducks take bite out of Canucks

By DICKSON LIONG
Special to Taking Note

VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Canucks’ hopes of making the NHL playoffs continue to fade.
For most of the season, Vancouver has struggled to score goals. But ever since a 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on March 23, Vancouver’s offence had started to show some life.
Vancouver forward Zack Kassian, who has had difficulties providing consistent offence since donning a Canucks' sweater, finished with four assists while playing on a line with David Booth and Brad Richardson that night.
“You know what, I know that everyone is going to focus on the four points that he gets,” John Tortorella, the Canucks' head coach, said. “But, for me, there were some other things.
“I thought that there were times that he dumped the puck at the right time, instead of trying to make something happen.
“I thought he changed up, and you guys might think it's small things but those are the things that we're looking for. He changed up at the right time, and you can see the concentration in his game. You see it, and want to see it more.”
The Canucks then headed out on a two-game road trip that had them visit Colorado and Minnesota. Vancouver defeated the Wild 5-2, but lost 3-2 in overtime against the Avalanche.
The 22-year-old Kassian continued to click on a line with Richardson and Booth, as they continued to appear on the scoresheet on the road trip, combining for six points, including two goals from Kassian.
As well, Canucks' sniper Daniel Sedin scored his first goal in 24 games, as he got one against the Wild.
“It was probably my worst game out of (those 24 games), but I was able to tip one in,” he said. “It's nice, but hopefully it can get me going, and in the right direction.”
But, quite frankly, all of that doesn't matter.
Vancouver is desperate for anything that will lead to victories if it wants even a slight chance of making the playoffs. The Canucks, who have 79 points in the Western Conference, and are the No. 10 seed.
Anaheim, Calif., the home of Disneyland, is considered by many to the happiest place of Earth. It also is the home of the Ducks, who have been one of the best teams in the league this season.
As a result, many of the their opponents haven't left the city with smiles on their faces. That’s the way it was for the Canucks on Jan. 14 when they lost 9-1, leaving the Ducks with a Ducks a 20-0-2 record when playing in their home arena, the Honda Center.
“It's never a great feeling to be on the wrong side of a 9-1 game,” said Canucks' defenceman Dan Hamhuis, who finished with a minus-1 on the night. “We played a pretty solid first period, and played in a way that gave us a chance to win. Their power play (was really good) and the game kind of got away from us from there.”
Vancouver wasn't scheduled to play the Ducks at the Honda Center on Saturday night; the game was at Rogers Arena. However, the Canucks needed to find a way to get on the winning side as they were winless in each of the three times they had faced Anaheim this season.
“It's a must win,” Kassian said prior to the game. “We feel we played well on the road but with the situation we're in, we still have a hill to climb and this is a must-win game. We don't want to look to far down. We need to win this one tonight and it's against a very good team, but we feel that the way we have been playing, we can beat these guys.”
Kassian finished with an assist, extending his point streak to four games. But the goal on which he assisted, which came from Richardson at 11:12 of the first period, was the only one the Canucks were able to put up as they dropped a 6-1 decision.
“It's definitely frustrating right now,” Kassian explained. “There's no ifs, ands or buts about it, we're on the outside looking in and to lose a game like this tonight, it's very frustrating. But we have to be professionals and go about our business. Like I said earlier, like I said 100 times in the past week, we're competitors and we want to play for each other. That's what we're going to do.”
And so Vancouver doesn't move anywhere in the standings. It remains on the outside looking in, continuing to battle Phoenix and Dallas for the final playoff spot. The Coyotes and Stars are Nos. 8 and 9 in the Western Conference, with have 84 and 83 points, respectively.
Like the Canucks, Dallas and Phoenix played on Saturday. The Stars defeated the St. Louis Blues, but the Coyotes lost to Minnesota. Both teams have games in hand on Vancouver.
“We try to look for some help but I don't know if we really deserve it, to be honest,” Richardson confessed. “It sucks to be in a position where you have to rely on teams to lose, and we're not winning all our games. So, you know, what do you expect? We'll see what happens.”
Time is clearly starting to run out, with the Canucks having only six games left in the season.
“Every loss now is tough,” Sedin said. “We need wins, we need points. Yeah, it's tough, but we have to stay positive and keep going. That's all we can do.”
NOTES: Vancouver D Kevin Bieksa (leg) took the team's morning skate and dressed against the Ducks. . . . Canucks' D Andrew Alberts (concussion) skated, but is likely done for the season. . . . Vancouver F Henrik Sedin remains day-to-day. . . . Vancouver G Eddie Lack made his 16th consecutive start. . . . Canucks' head coach John Tortorella confirmed that the team has re-assigned D Frank Corrado to the AHL's Utica Comets. . . . Vancouver took Sunday off, then will return to practice on Monday as it prepares to play host to the New York Rangers on Tuesday.

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