'Nucks IceMan

Written by: Larry “The Nucks IceMan” Johnson

The Canucks to-date have lost 190 man games to injuries and currently have Kevin Bieksa (soon to return next week), Andrew Alberts and Alex Edler (back sometime around start of playoffs) and Lee Sweatt (week to week) still out of the lineup. On Wednesday the Canucks lost one of their most valuable players in Manny Malhotra, to an undetermined eye injury, which will keep him out indefinitely.

Since Malhotra has not been seen by all the specialists about his eye, no one is sure how long he will remain out. First of all, let’s hope that there is no permanent damage to his sight, as this has more serious lifelong ramifications.

Will he be missed in the meantime? You bet he will! You just don’t replace a veteran like Malhotra who is a leader in the dressing room and on the ice, is second in the NHL in face-offs percentage (61.7), is a big reason why the Canucks penalty kill is second (18^th last season), and the Canucks have an effective third line.  When was the last time you could say that about a Canucks third line?

Cody Hodgson

I looked at the Manitoba Moose lineup again and did not see anyone that is playing well enough that could take Malhotra’s spot. No not even Cody Hodgson, who is in a bit of a defensive struggle with his game, sitting at a +/- minus 8 on a first place team. No where could I find any face-off percentage stats for the AHL, so who knows how the Moose centre’s are doing in that department.

Mario Bliznak, who played four games with the Canucks earlier this season, seems to have the best plus/minus record at a plus 15, has always been a strong defensive player, but once again who knows how his face-off record is. Seems to me the Hodgson would have been a logical choice to play on the third line, which suits him better then the fourth.

That would have left Maxim Lapierre back on the fourth line with Chris Higgins and either Jeff Tambellini or Tanner Glass, when he returns.

Instead, it sounds like Coach Vigneault is going to move Lapierre up to the third line and place Mason Raymond at centre between Victor Oreskovich (just called up) and Jeff Tambellini. Just how did Chris Higgins get left out of this equation? He has been heads and tails more noticeable, playing in only a handful of games on the fourth line, then Raymond has been all year.

Ryan Kesler attempting a deflection on Garon

It looks like Ryan Kesler will be taking the face-offs on the right side and Henrik Sedin on the left while killing penalties. There is not too much of a drop off in the face-off circle with Kesler’s 57.1%, which ranks him 8^th in the NHL, but Henrik’s 52.3% and 33^rd place, is a far cry from Kesler and Malhotra.

Will this have an impact on the success the penalty kill has had this season? I think it will, because Henrik Sedin is not known for being a strong defensive player in his zone, whether it is blocking shots, being strong on the puck, or battling the opposition players down low. Those are not his strong suit, and if you don’t believe me, watch the Sedins when they are in their own zone.

I’ll let you know because I will there tonight and I’ll tweet you.

As for the third line without Malhotra, I haven’t seen enough of Lapierre to form an opinion on whether he can provide the same leadership. He is definitely gritty enough, has the speed and gets in on his checks, but is he as good a playmaker and distributor of the puck as Malhotra?

Also, that +/- minus 16 would frighten anyone, and maybe that’s why the Montreal Canadiens let him go, where he was a +/- minus 7 and then the Anaheim Ducks had him in the press box before he was traded to the Canucks. Might it have had something to do with his +/- minus 6? He has played in nine games for the Canucks and is already a +/- minus 3.

Those and other points are some of the insights I will be focused on tonight.

The Canucks have had way more than their share of injuries already this season and I’m sure there will be more come play-off time, but they have been able to plug the holes and continue winning. Somehow I think the players will rise to the occasion and fill Malhotra’s spot, even if it’s done by committee.

To catch all the news, updates and new articles as they occur, along with the Canucks farm team, the Manitoba Moose, you can follow me http://twitter.com/nucksiceman.com (I love this tweeting because it’s like small 140 character articles).

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Filed under: Vancouver Canucks