Linden ties Smyl

In last night’s 4 to 0 drubbing of The New Jersey Devils Vancouver Canucks fan favourite, Trevor Linden, scored the 4th goal of the night. Scoring after beautiful passes from Naslund and Bertuzzi Linden ties legendary Canucks alum Stan Smyl’s record of 673 points in a Canucks Jersey! You can see the 2.8 MB MPG of the goal right here. It was a nice one. Way to go Trevor!

I’ve been a Canucks fan for many moons. Watching games after our 1976 visit from NS on our little B&W TV late at night was where it started. I have cheered for other teams like Boston (I went to school and played soccer with Glen Murray, just named an all star) and Philidelphia (I loved Bobby Clark), but have always had a soft spot for the Canucks.

For two (1988 – 1990) years while attending college in Middleton, Nova Scotia I lived with the parents of Canucks goalie Troy Gamble. Pat and Bill were proud parents for sure. It was kind of fun having an insider’s take on the NHL. I got the scoop as it happened.

When I moved to Vancouver in 1993 it was easy for me to cheer for the home team. But after the heartbreaking Game 7 loss at the hands of the New York Rangers and the ensuing riot after the 1994 Stanley Cup finals I felt kind of disappointed in the city’s take on hockey. Trevor Linden was traded away and we had to listen to other players whining about how much travel they had to endure in Vancouver. Blah, blah, blah! Listening to any sports commentator speak about the team for the next few years was painful. The team was nver quite good enough. We went through goalies like underwear. So I stopped watching and listening so avidly, but always hoping things would change for the better.

They have. It appears to have started with ditching Pat Quinn and aquiring Mark Crawford as coach. Things are looking way up.

It’s okay to be a Canucks fan again. We don’t have to hide in the closet anymore.

Here we are 10 years later and the Canucks just may go deep into the playoffs again. Last night’s game was pivotal. Shutting out last year’s Stanley Cup champs is, hopefully, an omen of what’s to come. Linden is back and doing a bang up job as a team leader for the ‘Nucks. Bertuzzi and Naslund are all-stars. The Sedins have found some speed and the ability to score. Cloutier has calmed down. Even though the team has been plagued with injury they continue winning. This team is firing on all cylinders. Nothing would be cooler than to see them go all the way and beat the crap out of say … Toronto (wink Pauly) this year.

One more thing: Go Canucks Go!