Canucks Go For Sweep At Home Against New Jersey Tonight

Posted on November 22, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff November 22, 2015

The New Jersey Devils (10-8-1), in 5th place in the Metropolitan division, come into Vancouver(8-7-6), 3rd place in the Pacific division, after losses to the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers.

New Jersey will conclude its three-game, Western Canadian road trip tonight. With Friday’s 5-1 loss at Edmonton, the Devils are now 3-12-3 in the Western Canadian cities (Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver & Winnipeg) since the 2011-12 season.

Despite Friday’s 5-1 loss at Edmonton, the Devils have won ten of their last 15 games & have points in 11 of their last 16 contests (10-5-1=21pts).

“We played them in Jersey, and they’re a tough team,” Henrik Sedin said of the Devils. “They skate, they’re a fast team. They still play well defensively and whenever you beat them, [Schneider] is back there making saves. It’s going to be a tough test for us [Sunday].” Canucks.com

Vancouver snapped a four-game winless stretch (0-3-1) with a 6-3 victory over Chicago last night at Rogers Arena.

Vancouver is closing-out its fourth set of back-to-back games tonight. The Canucks are 2-1-1 in first games and 2-0-1 in second games when playing on consecutive dates.

Daniel Sedin recorded his sixth career hat trick last night and added an assist for his second 4pt. game of the season. Sedin’s assist last night was the 900th point of his NHL career (337g-566a-903pts). He now has points in four straight (5g-2a-7pts) & leads the Canucks with 10g-12a-22pts overall.

Henrik Sedin registered a career-high 1g-4a-5pts on Saturday & now has points in three straight games (1g-6a-7pts). He ranks second on the club with 6g-14a-20pts overall.

Jannik Hansen posted 1g-1a-2pts and was a +3 vs. Chicago last night. He’s seventh (tie) in the NHL with a +11 rating overall.

Tonight marksthe second and final meeting this season between the Canucks and Devils.Vancouver lost their lone meeting versus New Jersey earlier thismonth in overtime and split the season series versus the Devils last season.Overall the Canucks are 3-1-1 in their last 5 meetings versus New Jersey.

Vancouver will again be without center Brandon Sutter because of an abdominal strain. He has missed the past five games. The Canucks recalled defenseman Taylor Fedun from Utica of the American Hockey League on Saturday. He had two goals and four assists in 14 AHL games. Fedun did not play against the Blackhawks, according to the Canucks website.

Vancouver is in 3rd place in the Pacific division, with 22-points, two points behind Los Angeles and San Jose, who are currently tied for 1rst place in the division with 24-points.

New Jersey enters the game in 5th place in the Metropolitan division with 21-points, two points behind the Islanders, and three points behind Pittsburgh, who are in 4rth and 3rd place respectively with 23 and 24 points each.

Canucks Jottings

The Canucks are 2-5-2 over their last nine games.
Vancouver was 3/4 on the power play last night & has now scored a PPG in each of their last five games (8/21, 38.1%).
Ben Hutton ranks second (tie) among all NHL rookies with 8a this season.
Jared McCann is tied (Jack Eichel) for sixth among all first year players with 6g.
Ryan Miller made 26 saves and earned the win in goal for the Canucks last night. He’s tied (Devan Dubnyk) for the league-lead among goaltenders with 18 games played this season. Miller is 6-7-5 with one shutout, a 2.54 goals-against average & .911 save-percentage overall this season.
Jacob Markstrom has started twice over the past six games. He’s 1-0-1 with a 3.41 GAA & .914 save %.
Both Canucks goaltenders faced New Jersey in their first NHL game – Ryan Miller did so on Nov. 19/02 while Jacob Markstrom facedthem on Jan. 23/11.
Brandon Prust appeared in his 100th NHL game against NJ on Mar. 10/10 while teammate Radim Vrbata collected his 100th NHL point against the Devils on Jan. 15/06.
Bo Horvat was drafted ninth overall at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft that took place in New Jersey.
Jake Virtanen leads the team and is 2nd among NHL rookies in hits with 48.
Daniel Sedin has 7 points (5-2-7) in his last 5 games. He has had two four point performances in the last six games – Nov. 10 at CBJ and Nov. 21 vs CHI. He currently leads the team in points (22) and goals (10).
Jared McCann ranks second on the team and t-sixth among rookies in goals (6); he is also the first Canucks player since Dane Jackson in 1993 to have at least five consecutive goals to start his career (no assists). McCann currently ranks 9th among rookies in shooting percentage (18.2%) and is t-7th among rookies in shots with 33.
Ryan Miller ranks t-first in games played/started (17) and first in TOI (1026:13). He also ranks second among all goalies in shots against with 485 (one behind League-leader Roberto Luongo (486)).
Alex Edler leads VAN in time on ice (24:45) and has led the team in that category in 18 of 19 games he’s played, including 10 games where he’s led all skaters in TOI. He currently ranks 11th in the NHL in TOI/GP. Last season, Edler ranked first on the team in average ice time per game (23:58) and led the team in TOI on 59 separate occasions including 26 games where led all skaters in TOI.
The Canucks have had six different players make their NHL debut this season (Grenier, Shinkaruk, Virtanen, McCann, Hutton, and Gaunce). According to Elias Sports Bureau, this is the most number players to make their NHL debut for the Canucks in a single season since six players did so during the 2007.08 season.
The last season where six or more players made their NHL debut in a single season for the Canucks was in 1999.00 (eight players). The club record for NHL debuts in a single season is 11 which occurred during the 1973.74 season.
Daniel Sedin collected his 900th point Nov. 21/15 versus Chicago. He became the 12th active NHLer, fifth Swedish born player and second Canuck to accomplish the feat.
As part of a four point effort (3-1-4), Daniel collected his 6th career hat trick and now holds sole possession of fifth spot in club history for most hat tricks. It was his first hat trick since Dec. 6/11 vs COL.
The Canucks have had 18 different goal scorers this season, t-third most in the League with Boston; Nashville has had 20 and St. Louis has had 19 different goal scorers.
The Canucks players aged 23 or younger that have appeared in the lineup thus far (Baertschi, Horvat, Hutton, Virtanen, McCann, Gaunce, and Shinkaruk) have accounted for 20.0% of points (34), goals (22) and assists (22) respectively, for the team this season
The Canucks are 7th in the League with 2.9 goals for per game; Their 61 goals on the year are 5th most in the NHL.
VANCOUVER’S 2015.16 RECORD WHEN…

Score 4+ Goals: 6-0-0

Score 3 Goals or Less: 2-7-6

Allow 4+ Goals: 0-3-3

Allow 3 Goals or Less: 8-4-3

On 0 Days Rest: 2-0-1

On 1 Day Rest: 2-4-4

On 2 Days Rest: 3-2-1

On 3+ Days Rest: 0-1-1

Score a PPG: 3-4-4

Give up a PPG: 3-5-3

25+ Shots on Goal: 6-6-5

Less than 25 shots: 2-1-1

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

CANUCKS TEAM STATS

DEVILS PLAYER STATS

DEVILS TEAM STATS

CANUCKS AT A GLANCE

Statistics courtesy of the NHL, Sportsnet, and the Vancouver Canucks, with thanks.

Canucks Ride The Sedin’s Wave, End Four Game Losing Streak, 6-3 Over Chicago.

Posted on November 21, 2015 by CanucksBanter

CANUCKS BANTER By Andrew Chernoff November 21, 2015

According to the Canucks (8-7-6), home never looked so sweet as they returned to familiar surroundings after a disastrous 7-game road trip.

Tonight’s opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks (11-8-2), were expected to be no pushover, but Daniel Sedin (3-1—4 +3) and Henrik Sedin (1-4—5 +3) had a total of 9 points, and Ryan Miller was solid (after allowing 2-goals on the Blackhawks first seven shots), stopping 26 of 29 shots, as they led the Canucks to 6-3 home win against the defending Stanley Cup champs.

The Canucks were looking to end a season high 4-game losing streak, and the Blackhawks were looking to get back to winning ways after having their 3-game winning streak come to an end, against the Calgary Flames on Friday night.

After winning three of their first four games to start the season, the Canucks had only four wins in their last 16 games. They had lost four straight and seven of their last eight.

First Period

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews (7) opened the scoring with a power play goal to make it 1-0 Chicago at 6:17, off the goal post on the short side.

Jannick Hansen had everyone worried when he was crosschecked into an on coming shot by Dan Hamhuis and he left the game, to return later. The Canucks did get a power play on the crosscheck. Fifty seconds after the Canucks started the power play, the Blackhawks got penalized again, setting up a 5-3 advantage.

Henrik Sedin (6), assisted by Daniel Sedin (12), and Alex Edler (6) made it a 1-1 tie on the power play at 9:32. It was Daniel Sedin’s 900th point of his NHL career.

Jannick Hansen (6) gets an even strength goal, set up by Henrik Sedin (11) and Matt Bartowski(5) at 15:18, and the Canucks had their second consecutive goal to take the lead 2-1.

Chicago quickly responded back, tying up the game at 2-2 on a goal by Ryan Garbutt(1), assisted by Jonathan Toews (7) at 16:10. And that was the score at the end of one period.

Vancouver out hit Chicago 5-2 in the opening period; had more faceoff wins: 13-9; had more takeaways: 4-1; more blocked shots: 6-5; less giveaways than Chicago: 2-3; and both teams had 7-shots each.

Second Period

The second period started out with both teams trying to dictate the intensity of the game. Canucks got the break they needed with a power play and did not disappoint as Daniel Sedin (8) scored from Henrick Sedin (12) at 7:22.

Both teams picked up the pace of the game with nine minutes left in the second period. Luca Sbisa received a penalty for high sticking and the Canucks responded with an aggressive penalty kill and a great save by Ryan Miller. Canucks 3-2 after the middle period. Chicago out shot Vancouver 11-6.

Canucks out hit Chicago 6-3; faceoffs were:7-7 each; giveaways: 4-0 Chicago; takeaways: 5-3 Vancouver; blocked shots: 5-2 Vancouver. Power Play:1-1 Van; 0-1 Chicago.

Faceoffs: Horvat: 10 for 12; H. Sedin: 5-12; McCann: 1-5; Cracknell: 4-7; Canucks: 20-36 overall after two periods. Even Strength: 12-27. Penalty Kill: 2-2. Power Play: 6-7.

Third Period

Canucks have had trouble hanging on to 3rd period leads, and both teams were playing with urgency early in the final frame. The action in the final frame was frantic, with a good pace to the game.

With less than ten minutes left in the game, Alex Burrows led the Canucks on a 3-on-1 into the Chicago end, as the Blackhawks got caught trying for the tying goal. The chances were there for both teams, the finishing wasn’t.

Chicago finally got rewarded for their tenacious play as Artem Anisimov (9) scored, assisted by Patrick Kane (19) and Trevor Daley (5) at 12:20, with 7:40 left in the game.

Vancouver moved it into a higher gear, and just over two minutes later, Daniel Sedin(9) scored his second goal of the game, to put the Canucks out in front 4-3 assisted by Henrik Sedin (13) and Alex Edler (7) at 14:35.

Chicago played with urgency, and the Canucks stayed disciplined and kept their composure, and two minutes later, Daniel Sedin (10) scored his 3rd goal of the game, and his 6th hat trick of his career to put Vancouver up by 2-goals, 5-3. Assists went to Henrik Sedin (13) and Alex Edler (7).

Chicago pulled their goaltender, Corey Crawford, to get within one goal but were unable to succeed and Alex Burrows scored an empty net goal on a power play as Chicago pressed shorthanded and without their goalie, to cap off the impressive win, their 3rd in 9-home games this season.

Vancouver has little rest as they take on the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night in the 2nd of two weekend home games at Rogers Place before leaving for a 4-game road trip.

GAME REVIEW

Statistics courtesy of the NHL, and the Vancouver Canucks, with thanks.

New Investigation Questions Hitler’s Suicide

Posted on November 21, 2015 by CanucksBanter

He was responsible for WWII and creating the system which led to the death of 6 million Jews. But as the Soviet Army surrounded Berlin, signaling the end of the Third Reich’s horrific reign, did Hitler really commit suicide in his underground bunker, or did he escape to South America to live out his life unpunished?

It’s one of last century’s greatest mysteries, and now experts have determined there is as much evidence suggesting Hitler didn’t die in Berlin as there is he did. A California University of Pennsylvania senior professor, John Cencich recently completed an investigation into Hitler’s death on behalf of the History Channel. His conclusion that Hitler did in fact escape Berlin comes after a factual and objective analysis of historical evidence using existing forensic technology combined with the evidence from 1945.

The impetus behind the new investigation comes from the declassification of over 700 pages of documents by the FBI which hint at the possibility Hitler may have survived and escaped to South America. Files from the Office of Strategic Services (the CIA’s predecessor) and other intelligence organisations which have been declassified worldwide were also reviewed.

The documents included a recently discovered memo written by the late J. Edgar Hoover – FBI director at the time – which states that American Army officials hadn’t located Hitler’s body and couldn’t find any reliable source to definitively say that Hitler was dead. The Russians were the ones to capture Berlin and eventually find the burned bodies who they believed to be Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun. However, even Josef Stalin, the Soviet leader, didn’t believe Hitler was dead and according to Cencich, from the evidence it appears the Russians botched their investigation of the suicide team.

Add to that the existence of underground tunnels and a subway system which was determined to lead from Hitler’s bunker to the nearby Tempelfhof Airport and you don’t have to jump very far to reach the conclusion that Hitler could have taken the tunnels to a waiting plane and then a U-boat to South America. It’s a known fact that other Nazi’s did exactly that.

Cencich was chosen to head this investigation based on his experience and reputation as a senior war crimes investigator for the United Nations. He led a criminal investigation in the former Yugoslavia, one of history’s largest, that involved murders, assassinations, torture, extermination and crimes against humanity.

It’s not likely that this new investigation into the possibility of Hitler’s flight to South America will change the history books or the accepted views of history pertaining to Hitler’s final days. However, according to Cencich, there should at least be a footnote regarding this possibility, because he himself initially saw the likelihood of Hitler’s escape to South America as far fetched, but he doesn’t anymore.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: German Federal Archives

Source: New Investigation Questions Hitler’s Suicide

The Blue in the Big Blue Marble Was Here from the Beginning

Posted on November 21, 2015 by CanucksBanter

It’s amazing to think that almost three-quarters of the Earth’s surface is water. Have you ever wondered how it got here? Some scientists have theorized water was brought to the planet when space rocks made of ice smashed into the surface well after the planet was formed. Other experts argue that water has been here since earth’s creation. But no one knows for certain.

A team of international scientists have discovered new evidence which supports the latter belief – that water has been a fundamental part of planet Earth from its beginning, sometime around 4.5 billion years ago. According to the earth scientist at the University of Glasgow who lead the research team, the data suggests the majority of the planet’s water came from water molecules stuck to the surface of dust particles which eventually accreted together to form Earth. Therefore, water was brought in during the planet’s initial formation. We were a wet planet from the very beginning.

The study involved the examination of Icelandic lava and volcanic rocks taken from an island off of the Canadian coast. The rocks came from ancient sources from beneath the planet’s surface which had remained untouched since the Earth’s formation. Scientists were able to look closely inside the rocks in order to detect chemical traces of water, including its hydrogen composition. They could do this by using an advanced instrument called an ion microprobe.

Researchers were also able to determine the traces of water had a chemical composition with very little deuterium (a hydrogen isotope sometimes referred to as heavy hydrogen) present. While deuterium can be connected to a variety of planetary bodies found in space, the amount found in this water indicates it was not carried here from somewhere else. A lot can be learned about the origins of the water found on any planet by looking at the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen found in core samples. This ratio can change over time, being mixed by shifting tectonic plates is one example, but the dust grains analyzed by researchers were retrieved from deep within the earth where they had remained unaltered and able to preserve the planet’s initial Deuterium-Hydrogen ratio.

The conclusion reached by researchers is that the water molecules were part of the dust which surrounded our sun, dust particles which accumulated to help form planet Earth, pushing back the clock on the origin of our planet’s water to when all the planets of our solar system were still forming.

The researchers do not rule out the possibility that some of the water covering 70 percent of the planet today could have arrived later however, the evidence suggests enough water was already here for life to have started earlier than previously thought. The researchers are hopeful their findings will be used by astronomers to help find and better understand the other planets within the universe that may also have water. The study was published in the journal Science.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: Muns

Source: The Blue in the Big Blue Marble Was Here from the Beginning

Tomb in China Yields Ancient Game Board and Pieces

Posted on November 21, 2015 by CanucksBanter

A broken game board and several pieces have been recovered in an ancient tomb in China already known to have been heavily looted over the countless centuries it has been in existence.

The 2,300 year old tomb was ostensibly built for aristocrats from the nearby Qingzhou City and the ancient Chinese state known as Qi. The pieces discovered by archaeologists include 21 rectangular numbered tokens, a large broken tile that once comprised the game board, and a single 14-sided die made from animal tooth. The board itself, once reconstructed, had at one time been decorated with a stylized pattern of clouds and thunderbolts, with a pair of eyes in the center, while the die had been numbered in “seal script”, an ancient type of Chinese writing, on 12 of its faces; the remaining two faces were left blank.

Researchers believe that the recovered pieces were part of an ancient game referred to as “bo” or “liubo”. The rules of the game have been lost to antiquity, as Bo fell out of favor around 1,500 years ago. While the rules are likely to have changed significantly over the centuries, a 2,200 year old poem attributed to the author Song Yu describes a chess or checkers-like game where two players faced off against each other, pieces were “kinged” and points were earned.

The massive scale of the tomb that the pieces were found in is likely part of the reason why the game board and pieces have survived to this day. Over centuries the tomb has been robbed thoroughly according to the archaeologists involved in the discovery, with more than 25 shafts dug into the tomb by those looking to loot the graves within. Countless cultural treasures have disappeared from the coffin chamber, which has been severely damaged by the process, yet the sheer size of the tomb likely led to grave robbers overlooking the game pieces – or perhaps simply dismissing them as worthless. The tomb itself is thought to have claimed the life of at least one looter who attempted to make off with any precious artifacts to be had, as the research team discovered the skeletal remains of an unidentified individual within one of the sunken shafts used to plunder the tomb. It is still to be determined when the tomb robber died, the circumstances surrounding his or her death, or even the age and gender of the individual.

The initial excavation of the tomb was conducted in 2004. Archaeological teams from the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology as well as the Qingzhou Municipal Museum participated in the dig, with the results of the excavation initially reported in the Chinese-language journal Wenwu in 2014. An English-language version of the article was recently published in the journal Chinese Cultural Relics, which is available here

Photos of some of the artifacts excavated from the tomb can be found here

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: sailko

Source: Tomb in China Yields Ancient Game Board and Pieces

Andrew Phillip Chernoff

The Outer Limits To The Inner Depths

Author Archives: CanucksBanter

Canucks Go For Sweep At Home Against New Jersey Tonight

Canucks Jottings

SEASON SNAPSHOT

CANUCKS PLAYER STATS

CANUCKS TEAM STATS

DEVILS PLAYER STATS

DEVILS TEAM STATS

CANUCKS AT A GLANCE

Canucks Ride The Sedin’s Wave, End Four Game Losing Streak, 6-3 Over Chicago.

First Period

Second Period

Third Period

GAME REVIEW

New Investigation Questions Hitler’s Suicide

The Blue in the Big Blue Marble Was Here from the Beginning

Tomb in China Yields Ancient Game Board and Pieces