Canucks Win on the Back of Cory Schneider

Posted 4:36 PM ET | Comments 2

It wasn’t pretty, but the Canucks got the win against the ever surprising Ottawa Senators. If it wasn’t for Cory Schneider the Nucks would have lost this game. He was better than stellar and is deserving of all the praise he is getting from the fans. Here are my notes for last night’s game.

- Paul MacLean is an absolute hidden gem for the Ottawa Senators. Who knew that this guy could come in and work with that group the way he has. It’s clear that the Sens don’t have a lot of talent on the roster, but MacLean is doing the best with what he was given. A lot of credit has to be given to Bryan Murray for giving an inexperienced coach a chance. This is something special to see.

- Cory Schneider was absolutely fantastic last night. The save he made on Michalek’s breakaway was amazing. With Luongo on the shelf, Schneider is proving once again that he can be a much better than average starting goaltender in this league. After a couple of shaky performances, you’ve got to think that this one feels really good for Schneids. All of a sudden his stat line is looking pretty good.

- Chris Higgins is tied for the team lead in goals with 7. What’s more telling about that? Is it that Chris Higgins is leading the team in goals or that the team lead is 7? Daniel and Henrik really need to get it going. Sure, they are near the top of the league in scoring, but that’s a bucket load of second assists in there. At this rate, no player on the Canucks is on pace to crack the 30 goal mark. Concerning to anyone?

- The Canucks came out really uninspired again. This has got to be reason for concern as we are now at the 20 game mark of a season that is growing ever near that magical “December 1st” mark. It’s like the team believes that they are entitled to win based on last season’s performance. NEWS FLASH: THIS IS NOT LAST SEASON. This team needs to wake up and realize that this is a totally new year and a totally fresh grind for points and placement in the standings. No longer is the team a first place club. In fact, right now, they are an 11th place club.

- Alain Vigneault tied Crow for most wins as a Canuck coach. Good for him and I wish the guy the best going forward. He’s been a real good guy for this team and the city.

- David Booth’s ice time was down once again as he was nearly benched in the third period. At this point, fans can’t blame AV. I really thought the guy deserved more of a chance but he hasn’t shown anything since being acquired from Florida. If the coaching staff can work with him, there shouldn’t be any doubt that he can return to 30 goal form.

I’ll be writing my 20 game player review and will have that up soon. Thanks for reading and have a good week.

Follow me on Twitter: @michaelstuart93

Filed Under: vancouver canucks cory schneider ottawa senators

pdemitra_38

November 21, 2011 7:20 PM ET | Delete
Funny how people keep comparing Jon Bernier down here in LA to Schneider. I would way rather have Schneider than Bernier at this point. You guys have a real gem in Vancouver....don't lose him.

Michael_Stuart

November 21, 2011 7:28 PM ET | Delete
It's going to be interesting to see what happens with Schneids come trade deadline time. There has been lots of talk that Mike Gillis will be willing to trade him. I don't know that I see it. Schneider is quickly establishing himself as a key part of the Canucks moving forward. Do I want to see the team lose him? Absolutely not.

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