Who would have thought that a few days into 2009 the Vancouver Canucks would be leaning on Jason LaBarbera for wins? What is going on? Ever since Roberto Luongo went down the goaltending situation has been dicey for the Canucks, yet Curtis Sanford and Cory Schneider seemed to be filling the void nicely. That is until Schneider's youthful inexperience began to shine through and Sanford decided to join his buddy Louie on the IR. In comes LaBarbera. In two games he's faired quite well - he won...

After the first few minutes, this game looked like it was going to be a long one for the Germans. But one thing the Germans have an abundance of is size. I think Kazakhstan had one guy over 6 feet, where the Germans are pretty much all over 6 feet, or at least it seemed that way. Losing 9-0 to a team who was just shellcked 8-2 by the Americans is definitely not a confidence booster. I kept trying to get a picture at exactly the same time the puck was going into the net, but it never happened. Next...

Mats Sundin is a member of the Vancouver Canucks . It's going to be really weird seeing him wear a different jersey. I just felt like he'd be a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs forever, but things change. However, I am glad that he chose the Canucks over the Rangers, and chose to remain in Canada. His motivation for staying in Canada is not the hockey however, it's the money. Mats said all along that he wanted to play for a contender if he came back, ending any chance of a return to...

On the eve of the Trevor Linden jersey retirement at GM Place, all anyone in Vancouver can talk about is #16. It's tough to really describe the type of player Linden was and what exactly he meant to the Canucks and Vancouver. He was everything to this team when he was here and despite not delivering a cup to Vancouver, his legacy will live on forever within the organization. Everyone has their favorite Linden memory and I remember mine like it was yesterday: Tuesday, June 14, 1994 - I was only...

Well it's no surprise that the Canucks are struggling without Roberto Luongo in net, I think everyone on the planet predicted they would spiral a bit when he went down on Nov. 22 in Pittsburgh. In stepped Curtis Sanford and it appeared as though all would be well, he won two straight as the Canucks surged up the division. Cory Schneider, an NHL rookie, was called up to play backup and in his second start he got his first win in the bigs. The problem has been that while there have been nice highs...

As the world's most famous groin injury heels, the Vancouver Canucks are leaning on Curtis Sanford and Cory Schneider to get the job done in net. So far, so good. Sandman, who has started two of Vancouver's last three games, is currently on a three game winning streak; his most impressive being a 32-save performance in a monumental win this past Monday night against the Detroit Red Wings. His last three wins have come against teams that won their respected divisions last season, so obviously...

Are the Ottawa Senators finally giving up on Vermette? After Ottawa's shootout loss to the Rangers on Monday night, Vancouver scouts were supposedly in New York to take in the game. The Ohlund to Ottawa rumour has resurfaced and apparently Antoine Vermette is the bait. I'm in the camp that likes Vermette, but I'm tired of waiting for this future star to emerge. Tons of speed and no finish. Ohlund has a no movement clause and would have to approve a move to Ottawa. If I was him I wouldn't...

A month and a half into the season and we now have a pretty good perception of all six Canadian teams' identities. Here is how the Six Pack stacks up as of November 16: 1. Montreal (9-4-2) It's hard to keep the Habs in the no.1 spot after a couple of poor weeks that have seen them lose four of five. Their only win this week was against the listless bottom-dwellers of this list, but the fact remains that if all six Canadian teams battled it out, Les Canadiens would emerge victorious. 2. Vancouver...