2023-24 Vancouver Canucks/NHL Season Thread

[Robbie]

certainly started off the season on the right foot with a dominating 8-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers - led by a 4-goal game by Brock Boeser.

[Robbie]

led by a 4-goal game by Brock Boeser.

It's still rather amazing that in this day and age in which hats are so expensive, fans are still willing to depart with their hats these days as seen after Brock Boeser's hat trick.

[Robbie]

It's still rather amazing that in this day and age in which hats are so expensive, fans are still willing to depart with their hats these days as seen after Brock Boeser's hat trick.

Apparently at Rogers Arena, you can call the lost and found department and they will help you in retrieving your hat. I wonder how many fans actually did that.

-------------------

Good job by the to beat Connor McDavid and the Oilers again albeit a much closer game in which they had to deal with an early deficit and were completely outshot but Casey DeSmith was excellent in goal.

[Toppy Vann]

It's still rather amazing that in this day and age in which hats are so expensive, fans are still willing to depart with their hats these days as seen after Brock Boeser's hat trick.

Apparently at Rogers Arena, you can call the lost and found department and they will help you in retrieving your hat. I wonder how many fans actually did that.

-------------------

Good job by the to beat Connor McDavid and the Oilers again albeit a much closer game in which they had to deal with an early deficit and were completely outshot but Casey DeSmith was excellent in goal.

LOL. Come on down and go through the 18000 hats we've go here from all games in the arena.

Now with most of their 82 games left to play is it too early for the Stanley Cup parade route? LOL

[Robbie]

The Canucks are coming off of a 10-1 romp in San Jose.

Anybody intending to attend a double feature by going next door to Rogers Arena to see them take on the Dallas Stars right after the WDSF? Unlike the WDF, there's no post-game trophy presentation so there's no need to hang around after the game.

[Robbie]

So did anybody go next door after the WSF to see a double win for the city as the Canucks blanked the Stars 2-0?

It was a near shutout for Demko in the 9-1 win in San Jose, but this time Demko shut the door and the Canucks are on a 7-game points streak and are now second in the Western Conference.

The Canucks certainly had its share of historical draft pick boom and busts. And it's great that Elias Pettersson has been a huge boom by winning the Calder trophy and now is in the NHL scoring lead.

May the Whitecaps win tomorrow as well against the defending champions LAFC for a triple win for the city this weekend.

[Robbie]

After a 5-2 loss in Toronto, good to see the Canucks rebound and get a 5-2 win of their own in Montreal.

With the huge improvement from last season, Rick Tocchet is certainly an early candidate for the Jack Adams trophy.

[Robbie]

It's always very emotional when a long-time player returns to the city as a member of the opposing team and there's mixed feelings as to whether to cheer or jeer his return and I'm the circumstances behind him leaving has a lot to do with it.

Such an example will be tonight when long-time Canuck and captain Bo Horvat will be visiting Rogers Arena as a New York Islander. Will the audience be cheering or jeering him?

[KnowItAll]

It's always very emotional when a long-time player returns to the city as a member of the opposing team and there's mixed feelings as to whether to cheer or jeer his return and I'm the circumstances behind him leaving has a lot to do with it.

Such an example will be tonight when long-time Canuck and captain Bo Horvat will be visiting Rogers Arena as a New York Islander. Will the audience be cheering or jeering him?

how about neither

[Robbie]

While the Canucks prevailed 4-3 in OT after trailing 2-0 and 3-1 and are now first in the Western Conference, we now know the reaction with regards to Bo Horvat - a love-hate relationship.

Seven minutes into the first period in a scoreless game, a tribute to Bo Horvat was displayed on the replay screen and that brought on a certain amount of cheers:



But then after Horvat scored the third Islanders goa, there was no cheering the least bit, but not exactly jeering either as Rogers Arena became completely silent. I guess silence is the euphemism for jeering.

[Toppy Vann]

Bo Horvat was a casualty of incompetence leadership at the top that seems to be heading in the right direction now.

Cheer a guy at the tribute then boo (if they did) when he gets the puck.

No one was likely to cheer his goal as the crowd no doubt believed a come back win was still feasible.

I just saw the last 3 min and OT ... a nice OT goal there.

This team despite playing 16 games ( just less than 20% of the 82 games) looks for real.
Comparing that to 20% of 18 CFL regular season games is not sensible but in football you'd have been burying the Alouettes for dead at this point of the 2023 season.

[Sir Purrcival]

I liked Bo Horvat. Seemed like a stand up guy. Good Captain etc. but I don't think he has been missed that much by this team. You can't say that he has done that much for the Islanders overall record either. They still seem to be about the same as they were when they got him, maybe even have regressed a bit but the Canucks on the other hand, seemed to have found that right chemistry and maybe that right coach as well. It is always tough to let go of a good player but in the end, I didn't get the impression he was all that happy here. The crowd certainly didn't seem to be all that emotional about his return either which tells me they don't miss him much either. Nice for the Canucks to give him a tribute however.

[Robbie]

After a two game losing streak, good to see the Canucks end the streak with a win over San Jose.

And I believe this is the first time that three Canucks are leading in the individual scoring race with Pettersson, Hughes, and Miller all at 28 points.

While it's always good to score goals, I wonder if it's a little cliched to hear this tune after every goal:


That's Don't You (Forget About Me) from the 1985 film The Breakfast Club. That film and song was popular when it came out in 1985, but don't know if that's the best celebratory song for a hockey team.

------------------
It was also a pleasant surprise to see Harry and Meghan make an appearance and do a pre-game ceremonial face-off.

[Robbie]

Fan video of Brock Boeser’s natural hat trick:



Fans sure are still willing to risk departing their expensive hats these days.

[Robbie]

Canucks are on a 8-game points streak at 6-0-2 and despite the recent OT loss to Dallas, they are now at the top of the league with 47 points which is tied with Las Vegas but ahead in the standings with one more win and also lead in GF at 135 and DIFF at +43.

With the huge improvement from last year, Rick Tocchet will most certainly get a nomination for the Jack Adams Award and several Canuck forwards have a good chance in winning the Art Ross and Hart trophies.

May this hot streak continue into 2024.