-dlc-

My friend, Rich, on bass. Seeing Buckethead reminded me of SMG.

"Due for a loss" (in Deb's world)

Done and wrapped. Feels good to be able to chill rather than pull an all nighter power wrapping, paced myself this weekend. And gift cards for some so that's easy enough.

Exactly.....my daughters two friends JUST arrived from Australia yesterday morning and the day was pretty much a write off. Just unpacking, resting, eating. I think you may not "feel" different doing basic things but physical exertion probably would take a toll pretty quickly.

But you didn't have to play in an NHL pace game....that's a different beast than most people's day when they arrive in town.

Oh I agree, 100%. It's so important for coaches to "get" their players and know how to work "with" them not against them. (By that I mean by not simply disciplining them and yelling to get results). Poke them as you yell in their ear (yes I love that coach but he wasn't getting the point across like that). Generally, if you want to teach people something you have to get them to buy in first. To listen. To want to hear what you're saying. Don't just coach them as a team, but as individuals with different personalities. With a strong personality like JT, it's important to connect not just coach. I think there's an obvious mutual respect between the two that allows for coaching without condemnation. A perfect fit, really. Rick knows what he's got in JT and, clearly, knows how to extract the best out of him. Can read the body language/clues and react accordingly. When he sat JT it was a cooling off period that he needed. Not a benching or alpha dog move to send a message that would hurt the team by keeping him out....it was a momentary time out that allowed JT to vent off some steam and refocus. Some coaches may have further aggravated that situation by going "at" JT. Tocchet worked with him and is awesome.

I never ever supported trading him, not once....my stance was always firm: if he goes, I go. And I meant it. But yes, I'd probably say the return for him should be something along those lines. Because he was exactly the type of player I support .... the guys who'll do anything to win. (Like Burr). When others saw "moody" I saw a guy who didn't give a sh about anything except winning. And got owly when we were losing. Took it to heart. Sometimes it got the better of him, sure. But I want an all in heart and soul player like that on my team. And I saw it in him early on.

Also, advocating to move Quinn and Brock too. Imagine our team right now without Miller, Hughes, Boeser.

Yeah but at least you're cute Alf.

He said, emphatically, that "Miller was gone". Period. There was no way he was staying.

Thing is, who knows? You don't know with any player and at least, in the here and now, Miller's a beast. Just what this team needed. So even IF he drops off...we got some good value out of him and he's paying his dues. The way he rubs off on the team is having an impact. I mean, how many players get signed and are a flop from the word go? We've seen a few of those. Miller's been a nice surprise (to those who didn't see it from the get go...not many of us did)

They were just inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame. Well deserved.

Wow, so weird. I JUST listened to this 2 minutes ago.

Nope, felt nothing.

Iain's a smart man....my favourite (Sat too).

I don't think there's a team in the league that doesn't have room to grow.

I'm pretty happy with this team and what they're doing this year. Reality is....teams just have to find a way and this team's been doing that. Some here are so determined to prove we're not worthy and that the wins are flawed...diminished. There are always "concerns"....win or lose. We're not contenders. But no one is until....they are. And picture perfect games aren't really the norm....teams have to fight for wins a good deal of the time. No team just breezes through unscathed. The standings...that's what matters. You don't gain/lose points for execution. I mean, Vegas just lost to Buffalo...happens. Teams get tired. Beat down a bit (especially players who do play a physical game). It takes a toll. After last year (the last 10 years), there's a reason to be happy with where this team's at and how they're responding. Even when they have bad starts....they rebound and manage to scrape up points I don't think those of us who support the team and choose to accept wins at face value are doing it wrong. I'd say that's the point. People are "concerned" because we can't sustain things with play like this....but we are. Results, that's what matters and they're producing some good ones. I wish instead of being stuck on being right our "fans" could just learn to give credit where it's due. And it is.

4-2 Canucks Miller (baby) Thanks for doing this, goalie! You rock.

Love how mouthy he got AFTER he was in the protective arms of the ref. Big man stuff when Zadorov's out of reach.

And I love that we have Big Z on our team. Juulsen and Joshua too. (and Miller, always of course). We're much harder to play against.

Glad they put the dagger in Chicago. Always feels good to beat them. Especially now that they got the #1 hometown boy and don't deserve him at all. Get him out of there, quick.

No one has our schedule...it's quite unique. And yes, some other players will be hitting that sort of grind soon, as they had a more leisurely entrance into the season and it'll change. We'll see how they fare. Other players also have slow starts...even maybe LOSE those games versus grab points in them. 700 plus players do it on a nightly basis? Do what? Win? Come out strong and play the same/consistently throughout the entire game. No let dows? Yet most of them are behind us in the standings? Weird. Only 20 or so actually win the cup each year. So you helped make my point. Is EVERY team just killing it all the time? (answer is no). So why does this team have to? Cut them some slack and maybe see the good, not just the bad. Half empty or full cup...that's your choice. So again....3 days ago they were in another city and shut out a team...winning 4-0. Then hopped on a plane to the other side of the country to play two morning games. Managed to sneak 3 of 4 points out of those games. They don't always look "awesome"....but I think they're no different than the other 700 players.

He did not. I, too, worried about that.