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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Many Topics Including The Oldest Dinar Community. Copyright © 2006-2020


    Alex Edler back at practice, Vancouver Canucks look to re-set after break

    jedi17
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    Alex Edler back at practice, Vancouver Canucks look to re-set after break Empty Alex Edler back at practice, Vancouver Canucks look to re-set after break

    Post by jedi17 Tue 27 Dec 2016, 8:10 pm

    Alex Edler back at practice, Vancouver Canucks look to re-set after break

     Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
    The Vancouver Canucks are back at Rogers Arena this morning, with a full practice ahead of their return to game action against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.



    Now that Christmas has come and gone, questions about Willie Desjardins' future behind the bench are bound to start swirling again. 

    If Canucks' ownership and management truly believes they have assembled a team that should be challenging for a playoff position, it would make sense to make a change behind the bench. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild both had good success by installing their AHL bench bosses at mid-season last year.

    But if Willie gets replaced and the team continues to struggle, the bullseye will move over to Jim Benning and/or Trevor Linden. Look at Colorado—where new coach Jared Bednar has failed to reverse the downward slide of the Avalanche, so to speak. Now, the thinking is that the organization needs to start making some major player moves—and that Joe Sakic's job could be in jeopardy.

    The Canucks sit seven points out of the Western Conference wild-card spots currently occupied by Los Angeles and Calgary. With Dallas and Nashville still struggling to find their footing this year, Pacific Division teams currently occupy five of the eight playoff spots in the Western Conference.

    With a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games coming out of the holiday break, the Canucks lost momentum after flirting with the .500 mark in early December. 

    Some good news—it sounds like Vancouver's defensive depth will get a boost on Wednesday. Alex Edler is skating with the regular group at today's practice.


    Edler has been out of action for a month since breaking his finger in Denver on November 26, so he's back right on schedule.

    Still no word on a timeline for Erik Gudbranson after his wrist surgery, but this picture makes it look like he'll be on the shelf for awhile.



    As I mentioned before the holidays, the Canucks are currently dead last in the NHL with 109 goals against. Remember early in the season, when the plan was to trap like crazy and try to win low-scoring games? That didn't exactly come to pass. 

    A healthier defense should make a difference, though—and I like the idea of splitting up Edler and Tanev for the foreseeable future in an effort to create a bit more blue-line depth.

    Jannik Hansen and Philip Larsen are both still absent from practice. No word yet on Hansen's status after he suffered that apparent knee injury against Winnipeg last Thursday.

    Now—on to World Juniors.

    Lukas Jasek's Czech Republic team is trailing Switzerland 2-0 after two periods in live action as I type this on Tuesday morning. The Czechs won their opening game against Finland 2-1 on Monday.



    Finnish captain Juolevi was on the ice for both Czech goals, but after winning gold at last year's tournament, he understands that these preliminary-round games are of limited importance.

    "It’s all about those last games," he told Lucas Aykroyd of IIHF.com. "If you can win those one-goal games in the semi-finals or whatever, you can do it. Especially here, all the teams are really good.

    "It’s a tough tournament, and you also need some luck."

    Even after the first-game loss, Juolevi has confidence in his squad.

    "I think we are a skilled team, and we have some great young talent here. If they can step up, I think we’re going to be really dangerous."

    The Finns are back on the ice against Denmark this afternoon at 2:30—and that game's only available on TSN3.

    Over in Switzerland, the annual Spengler Cup is also underway. Former Canucks Mason Raymond and Andrew Ebbett both had goals for Team Canada in its opening-game 7-4 loss to Dinamo Minsk. Team Canada also includes former Canuck minor-leaguer Dustin Jeffrey and this year's PTO candidate James Sheppard.


    The defending-champion Canadians are currently tied 1-1 with host club HC Davos near the end of the first period, with Raymond drawing an assist on Canada's goal. That game's on TSN5.
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