Hockey Afternoon Provides Sparks

Vancouver was good enough to host the oddly-timed 4pm local game against the Leafs to accomodate Hockey Night in Canada viewers.  Things got nasty mid-way through the first period when first-round pick Luke Schenn dropped the gloves with Rob Davison after Davison dropped Nikolai Kulemin with a big hit.

After the Canucks opened up a 4-0 lead, Ryan Hollweg was more than willing to go with Darcy Hordichuk to try and spark his team.  Later in the second, when the Canucks kept hitting, Pavel Kubina wound up having a short go with Mattias Ohlund.

Steve Ott and Daniel Carcillo had the fight of the night.  The closer-than-expected scrap is already rating high.  So is the Josh Gratton-Georges Laraque fight.  Laraque dominated the smaller man.  The Habs forward was clearly looking to silence those who criticized him for not stepping up more during this past week’s Bruins game where Milan Lucic hammered down Mike Komisarek.

Use the force Looch

Alan Siegel of the Eagle Tribune has a piece about fan-favorite Lucic littered with a couple of quotes from yours truly.  Apparently I said “He does what seems like everything on the ice”.  A little Yoda-y, but the point was simple: he’ll do anything for the team.  A rare powerforward, he’s on pace for more than 20 goals this season.

Videos added

Chuck Kobasew vs Paul Mara Nov 15, 2008
Steve Ott vs Daniel Carcillo Nov 15, 2008
Pavel Kubina vs Mattias Ohlund Nov 15, 2008
Ryan Hollweg vs Darcy Hordichuk Nov 15, 2008
Luke Schenn vs Rob Davison Nov 15, 2008
Josh Gratton vs Georges Laraque Nov 15, 2008
Chris Neil vs Tim Jackman Nov 15, 2008

Some reads
Leaf fans: Get ready for a Burke-quake
Outside the box
Tampa Bay’s Tocchet to install high-tempo game
Same chef, new fixin’s
Defense suffers another bad break as Andrew Ference out 6-8 weeks
Bailey’s presence tad premature, but that’s OK