Canucks Skate: Puck Classic, Pucks for Cancer, Demise of a Dynasty

Sit around and wait and enjoy the Christmas holiday break. That’s really all the Vancouver Canucks can do, while hoping that no more positive Covid tests arise between them and their forthcoming opponents, thus further screwing up the NHL schedule. The Seattle Kraken and the Canucks are slated to see one another twice in a six day period, at Rogers Arena on Monday, December 27th and then again in the ’emerald city’ on New Years Day.

Between those games the Vancouver Canucks have the Anaheim Ducks and the LA Kings on the schedule in SoCal. Hopefully the matches are played, although VHN has cancelled taking part in the Cali’ portion of the road trip as a precaution. In the meantime …

Let’s Skate! …

A Classic Occurrence

Fourteen games are on the NHL schedule for Monday, December 27th including that Kraken-Canucks tilt.

There’s a gimmick wager for you, one that could be posted by some of the many flourishing online betting services that have popped up recently; the over/under on just how many of those games will be played. Hey, if you can bet on how many face-offs a player will win in a particular period, why can’t you bet on the effects of Covid.

One game that apparently won’t be touched is the NHL’s Winter Classic in Minnesota on New Years Day. Full steam ahead says league officials. The St. Louis Blues plan to play the Wild at the home of the Minnesota Twins baseball team on the afternoon of January 1st.

Tis the Season

I’ve been privileged to have interviewed New York Islanders captain Anders Lee on more than one occasion regarding his annual “Jam Kancer in the Kan” charitable endeavour. Since Lee began holding fundraising events in February of 2018, four other NHL teams have jumped on board with events of their own. Read about the efforts on New York Hockey Now.

By the way, the Islanders are on the Vancouver Canucks upcoming schedule for Wednesday, January 5th at Rogers Arena.

A Dying Dynasy?

Despite the ugliness of December 4th, 2021 at Rogers Arena, when the Vancouver Canucks lost 4-1 to the PIttsburgh Penguins marking the end of the Jim Benning/Travis Green era, Canucks fans generally feel pretty darn good when they get a chance to watch Sidney Crosby play hockey. More than his image as a good Canadian lad or his fun coffee commercials with fellow Nova Scotian Nathan MacKinnon, none will forget his Golden Goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics on Vancouver ice. Plus, when you’re watching him, you’re watching one of the generational greats.

That said, the long, fruitful run of he and his core in Pittsburgh is finally waning. It happens to all of the great franchises eventually as the time-space continuum inevitably marches on. Pittsburgh Hockey Now tries to look ahead.

In case you missed it, it’s international tournament time; here’s a couple of very recent VHN stories about the WJC and the Olympics.

Enjoy the Hockey Action!!