German Atlantis Forum » id, You played your best,

VANCOUVER, BC – Theyre not quite at the midway mark of their season – that will come Tuesday night in Nashville – but the Vancouver Canucks have lurched to the 40-game mark which offers a nice round number with which to work when assessing their season so far. And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand. Professional sport is a what have you done for me lately business and unfortunately, there are too many Canucks who havent done much in recent weeks. With just one goal in their past seven periods – on 71 shots in that span, I might add – the Canucks have to start asking themselves where the offence has gone and where its going to come from when teams get into lockdown mode as the battles heighten for playoff spots down the stretch. The Canucks opened the season with 13 wins and a shootout loss in their first 20 games (13-6-1 for 27 points). They scored 59 goals and allowed 59, spreading the offence and finding ways to win the close games while a few blowout losses accounted for the higher than desired goals against. As theyve done for the better part of a decade now, Henrik Sedin (5+15=20) and Daniel Sedin (4+16=20) led the Canucks offence and produced at a point-a-game clip over the first 20 outings and new linemate Radim Vrbata came out firing with nine goals in his first 20 games. Vrbata was followed closely in the goal-scoring derby by fellow newbie Nick Bonino (7+8=15) while another newcomer Linden Vey (4+5=9) chipped in capably in the teams first 20 contests. The second 20-game portion of the schedule started with three straight victories over Chicago, New Jersey and with a 5-0 win in Columbus on November 30th, the Canucks slept on the NHL lead with a record of 16-6-1 and 33 points in their first 23 games. However since that night in mid-Ohio, the Canucks have been spinning their wheels with seven wins in their past 17 outings (7-8-2). All told, the team went 10-8-2 (22 pts) in its second 20-game stretch of the season with the offence dropping to 52 goals while the Canucks managed to tighten up defensively -- even without Dan Hamhuis, who was injured in Game 20 and hasnt played since -- surrendering 44 goals. As they did in the first 20-game segment, the Sedins paced the Canucks offensively with Daniel (4+12=16) leading the way and Henrik (3+12=15) just a point back. Linemate Vrbata was again the Canucks leading goal-scorer in the second 20-game stretch, registering seven goals during the span. So across the board, there was slippage in scoring from the Canucks top trio, but not significantly enough to sound the alarm. No, the alarm is needed for the next six forwards, particularly the second liners. While Nick Bonino settled in nicely in his new surroundings in the first six weeks of the season, he has gone into hiding offensively in the past month. After recording 15 points in his first 20 games, Boninos contributions were cut in half in the second segment with just seven points while Chris Higgins, who had opened the season with 12 points in his first 20 games, dried up in the next 20 with five. Alex Burrows, who has shuttled up and down the lineup in recent weeks, has held steady from segment to segment with nine points in the first 20 games and eight in the past 20. Brad Richardson and Shawn Matthias were both strong in a 10-game stretch (Games 21-30), but have seen their offensive contributions all but vanish in the past 10 games. Segment over segment, Richardson started the year with seven points and Matthias had five in the first 20 games. Richardson upped his output to 12 and Matthias chipped in with seven in the most recent 20-game stretch. Zack Kassian missed most of the second 20-game stretch of the season with an injury and only recently returned, but he has just five points on the season and has just one goal since opening night so he gets lumped in with the rest of the struggling scorers. Fourth liners Jannik Hansen (5+1=6/4+5=9) and Derek Dorsett (2+4=6/2+5=7) have remained fairly consistent in their production and have chipped in with timely scoring – although like many others on the team, the goals have dried up in recent weeks. The concern for the Canucks is the past 10-game segment was played primarily on home ice and did not include any back-to-back games. The team went 5-4-1 scoring 24 goals while giving up 18. However, seven of the 24 goals came in one game against Arizona and the stretch also included two empty net goals against Detroit and an own-goal versus Calgary. Take those scoring plays out of the mix and that leaves 14 goals over nine games. Overall, the Canucks have 18 goals from their forward group in the past 10 games led by Radim Vrbata with four, Alex Burrows three, Daniel Sedin has two and Henrik Sedin scored both of his goals in that stretch into an empty net against the Red Wings. Seven other forwards have netted a single goal over the past 10 games. And on too many nights of late, this years Canucks resemble the team of a year ago that struggled so mightily to put the puck in the net. Willie Desjardins and his coaching staff have to figure out how to get this group scoring again or it will be a monumental challenge in the second half of the season to stay with the pack in the Pacific Division and in the Western Conference wild card race. The Canucks have received sensational goaltending since Christmas and have had one of the leagues top penalty kills all season long and those elements have helped them pick up points over the past two weeks. But that can only take a team so far. They could certainly use a few more chances on the power play in the next segment of the schedule – they had 67 power plays in the first 20 games but just 52 in the past 20 as their power play goals dropped slightly from 13 to 11. So the power play percentage rose segment over segment, even though the number of goals declined. On Saturday against Calgary, the Canucks didnt have the chance to work with the man-advantage – the second time that has happened in the past six games. That was the latest example of the Canucks struggles to score. They outplayed their Alberta rivals – and held a wide 36-23 edge in shots. But at the end of the night, none of that mattered. The bottom line was the Flames found a way to put a puck in the net while the Canucks were left to wonder where the offence that was there for them early in the season has gone. And it has some observers wondering whether they can get it back or if changes will have to be made to keep the Canucks competitive as they begin the third 20-game segment of their season. Air Jordan 11 Retro Canada . The 49ers announced the deal Thursday. San Francisco selected Kilgore in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of Appalachian State. He has played in 33 regular-season games, plus all six playoff games the last two seasons. Discount Air Jordan 11 .twitter.com/TeZD3KOvlA — Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) September 24, 2014 Sorry for the delay, we just got back from lunch at Papa Vons #NBAFastFood pic. http://www.airjordan11canada.com/ . -- The Washington Redskins coaching staff distanced itself from other coaches Thursday by siding with ownership -- and not the players -- in the NFLs labour dispute. Cheap Jordan 11 Canada . -- Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes Thursday for a 7-under 63 to take the lead after one round of the Honda Classic. Cheap Jordan 11 Online . They find themselves trying to knock each other out in the Western Conference finals for the second straight year. The Blackhawks prevailed last year on their way to the Stanley Cup, and they have the early lead this time after taking the opener, 3-1.GLENEAGLES -- Europe added another layer of Ryder Cup dominance on Sunday behind Rory McIlroy big start, two big rallies and a rookie who hit the shot of his life to give this performance a finish it deserved. Jamie Donaldson, unaware he already had done enough to retain the Ryder Cup, hit a 9-iron that settled 2 feet from the cup on the 15th hole. Keegan Bradley walked onto the green, saw Donaldsons ball next to the hole, removed his cap and conceded the birdie. And the celebration was on. The result in the record book was Europe 16 1/2, United States 11 1/2. Its an old story for the Americans. Europe won for third straight time, and now has won eight of the last 10. It came down to me to close it out, but its all about the team, Donaldson said. Everyone played their heart out to retain the Ryder Cup. And thats what its all about. McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose made sure the Americans would not get their redemption from the meltdown at Medinah two years ago as the first team to blow a four-point lead at home. McIlroy was 6-under par on his first six holes and trounced Rickie Fowler to set the tone. The Americans put plenty of red on the board early, just not for long. McDowell was 3-down after five holes and Rose was four behind after six holes. McDowell rallied to beat Jordan Spieth, while Rose earned a halve against Hunter Mahan. Martin Kaymer, who holed the winning point at Medinah, put Europe on the cusp of victory when he chipped in for eagle on the 16th to beat Bubba Watson. That set the stage for Donaldson. The shot of my life, he called it. Europe captain Paul McGinley, who spoke all week about a template for success, stood by the 15th green with the rest of the players who had finished their matches. Donnaldson was mobbed by his teammates, another happy occasion for Europe.dddddddddddd. Asked for the highlight of the week, McGinley turned to Donaldson and said, When you look at a face like that. He put both hands on Donaldsons face and hugged him. The Americans still cant figure out this exhibition of team play. They even brought back Tom Watson, at 65 the oldest captain in Ryder Cup history and the last American captain to win on European soil. Watson made a series of questionable moves during team play and the Americans didnt have much hope on Sunday. Watson attributed the loss to foursomes -- Europe was unbeaten in both sessions and collected seven of the eight points -- though McGinley wrote that off as a fluke. Asked what he would tell his team in a final meeting, Watson said, You played your best, but it wasnt enough. Youve got to find out what it takes a little better. Watson sure didnt find it. Except for a victory at Valhalla behind captain Paul Azinger in 2008, the Americans havent solved this Ryder Cup puzzle. Phil Mickelson, on the bench for both sessions Saturday, finished off a 2-1 week by beating Stephen Gallacher. Asked about the future of the Ryder Cup, Mickelson went back to that last U.S. victory. We had a great formula in 08, and I dont know why we strayed from it, Mickelson said. What Zinger did was really a good format. Maybe we should relive that. Azinger has said that Watson never asked him about his pod system in which the U.S. team was broken into three groups of four players and stuck together the entire week. No team embodies togetherness quite like Europe. The Americans now have to wait two more years -- Hazeltine outside Minneapolis is the next Ryder Cup -- to figure that out. ' ' '