The Canucks kick-off the 2013-14 season in hopes of moving past the first round in the play-offs.
One if not the most significant change was the addition of new head Coach John Tortorella who takes over behind the bench from Alain Vigneault.
Interesting enough it was like a trade of Coaches and if you ask anyone, they have never seen or heard of Coaches trading teams.
First Tortorella was fired or released from the Rangers following the elimination of the club from the play-offs, and then the Canucks seemed to take forever to figure out what was happening with Alain.
Eventually it was made official and the wheels were in place to head in a new direction for the quest for Lord Stanley’s grail.
The Canucks did dress both Sedin’s for the game, in addition to putting Luongo between the pipes in his first pre-season game.
While the pre-game was all “hype” about the upcoming season, with special attention given to Luongo, with a “montage” featuring spectacular saves off super-star players, it was more about promoting the upcoming season.
Local linesman Kiel Murchison was lining the game, working with NHL veteran Referee Don Van Masssenhoven, which is more of teaching today’s youth about the game.
While the game had all the makings of a good contest seeing the future stars of the league, the first period for Canuck fan’s was a let down.
The Oilers got on the board at 4:49 on a goal from Eberle and put three more in with the fourth coming at 12:24.
The Canucks got on the board less than a minute later as rookie Brendan Guance took a centering pass from Santorelli at13:06, which rounded off the period for a 4-1 score. The Canucks came out with more urgency in the second getting more traffic near the blue paint and did everything to create havoc for Oiler’s starter Devan Dubnyk.
Try as they might, they failed to capitalize on any shots in the second, so it was prepare for the third. Luongo was replaced for the third by Joacim Eriksson who plays in Skelleftea Sweden. He stands 6’1” and is pound for pound solid and has a lower crouch style than most tenders.
For him it’s easier for his mobility when he covers the post, with the pad stashed inside the post. Both Ericsson and Lack are from Sweden, but Lack is three years older being born in 1988. Lack stands 6’5” and underwent hip surgery this past spring.
In conversation with Joacim after the game, he say’s his style is featured after no particular goalie. He has learned from watching different one’s at home and in the NHL, and it’s apparent it worked.
The forth netminder that Canucks have at camp is Joe Cannata from Wakefield MA who also stands 6’1” and is more of a stand-up tender than others.
While the Canucks played strong, the “young-guns” were just not enough for the Oilers. The talk after the game was more about playing systems, rather than the overall loss.
While tomorrow is a day off for the club, there could be some cut’s prior to the next home game on Monday as they square off against Phoenix.
Tort’s as he is known to the players has a unique style, which over the next while will be more on systems and break-out patterns for the guy’s.
While they dropped this game, we have to remember it’s early and pre-season hockey for all teams.
The day’s of the “country club” Canucks has come to an end and if Tort’s can deliver his style of aggressive style of play, this will be an interesting year!
