Tag Archives: Cory Schneider

Canucks: Questionable goalie calls might have cost the season

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What Vancouver GM Mike Gillis essentially said in his post-mortem with the media is announce the end of the Mason Raymond era.

Small, supposedly skilled players are out. Big, supposedly tough players are in vogue. That, Gillis said, is what it will take to win the Stanley Cup. Goodness knows what he’ll say if the Chicago Blackhawks win it all again.

The Canucks’ core is likely to stay the same. There are just too many no-trade agreements. That means this reset will look a lot like that last reset five years ago.

Maybe they’ll even bring back the coach for kicks. Though someone will have to call him to tell him, because for the second year in a row, Alain Vigneault fled the scene of the crime, choosing not to man up for his season-ending session to answer questions.

Some will see it as bush league, and they would be right.

Roberto Luongo, however, manned up in Vancouver for what he hopes is...

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Gallagher: 2012-13 a bridge too far for Vigneault

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When Mike Gillis said all those good things about Alain Vigneault at his Thursday press conference, there is absolutely no question he meant every one of them, and when the coach is fired, it won’t mean there’s been any change to those feelings — it just means it’s time for a change.

In fact, it’s long, long overdue, and the only reason Vigneault coached here and not in Montreal this season is because Gillis felt strongly he should continue.

There have been reports he refused to sign his own contract extension unless the organization was going to renew Vigneault at the same time, though Gillis denied that Thursday. But ownership has been sour on the coach now for some time, so when the move is made, nobody should feel the coach is being maligned or put upon.

It turns out the ownership was right, and among mistakes Gillis has made, this is one he’s almost certain never to repeat — wait...

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Game Day: Vigneault calls Cory Schneider the Canucks’ MVP and gives him Game 4 start

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Vancouver Canucks will be counting on a bounce-back game from goalie Cory Schneider tonight (7 p.m., TSN, Team 1040) when they try to extend their season by winning Game 4 of their best-of-seven playoff series against the San Jose Sharks.

Following Schneider's struggles in the third period of Game 3, there had been some debate about who coach Alain Vigneault would start tonight.

Vigneault suggested today it was not a difficult decision to make.

"Cory in my opinion is our MVP," Vigneault said after this morning's game-day skate at HP Pavilion. "He is one of the reasons why we got into the playoffs. He has had great bounce-back games and he has been outstanding this year and I think our group has total faith in both goaltenders.

"But they have a lot of faith in Cory and I have got a lot of faith in him. That's why we are going with him tonight."

Schneider surrendered three quick...

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Game Day: Schneider gets the start in goal as Canucks look to get back in series

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CANUCKS AT SHARKS

GAME 3

TONIGHT, 7 PM, HP PAVILION

TV: TSN. RADIO: TEAM 1040.

SAN JOSE -- A lack of goals, not goaltending, has been the real problem for the Vancouver Canucks in their first-round playoff series with the San Jose Sharks.

But the Canucks clearly hope the return of goalie Cory Schneider in Game 3 tonight can help give the team a spark it desperately needs.

"Goaltending hasn't been the issue at all," coach Alain Vigneault acknowledged after this morning's game-day skate at the HP Pavilion. "But that being said, Cory lost the net to an injury and prior to his inury his play was real good. I think in 15 games he had something like four shutouts and there were six or seven games where he only gave up one goal.

"We were going to start with him in the playoffs, he is good to go now, so he is going to play tonight."

The Canucks trail the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final...

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It’s the world vs. the Canucks

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If you’ve given up on the Canucks this year, you’re not alone.

Just ask Henrik Sedin. He said everyone has.

“Going into San Jose, there’s no pressure (even if) it’s a must-win for us,” Henrik said. “No one is believing in us, apart from us. That’s the way we have to look at it.”

So it’s the Canucks against the world. Well, the Canucks and the handful of their fans who were at the airport to wish them a bon voyage to San Jose.

In this town, you can cut the apathy with a knife and feel the hopelessness rush over you by simply sticking a wet finger into the air. It’s everywhere.

That’s what happens when you lose ten of your past 12 playoff games and score only 15 goals while doing it.

But, like this blessed run of summer weather, it can all change. The good news is Cory Schneider travelled with the team to San Jose. If he’s healthy, and there’s...

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Jamieson: Vigneault shakes up lines; Schneider missing from practice

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Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault put his forward lines into a blender on Thursday, following this team’s disturbing 3-1 loss to San Jose in Game 1 of their opening round playoff series.

Also of note, injured goaltender Cory Schneider was not in attendance at practice, after being on the ice the four previous days after missing time with an undisclosed injury. A setback? Schneider pronounced himself ready to play after Tuesday’s practice and took Wednesday’s morning skate.

Vigneault wouldn’t address Schneider’s status, saying people are free to speculate what they want. He said Schneider is still day to day. Following practice, Luongo confirmed he will start Game 2 on Friday.

The Canucks had trouble generating offence agains the Sharks, so changes were no surprise.

Leaving just the Sedins-Alex Burrows unit intact, Vigneault went back to a second line that was very productive down the stretch – moving Ryan Kesler to right wing on a unit with Derek Roy at centre and Chris Higgins...

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Cory Schneider says he’s good to go for Game 1, needs to persuade the coach

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Cory Schneider says he’s ready to go.

But we’ll have to wait until Wednesday, the morning of Game 1 of the playoffs, to find out if head coach Alain Vigneault agrees.

“I’d love to play, no matter what,” said Schneider of starting against San Jose, following his second full practice on Tuesday at Rogers Arena. “I’ll tell them that I want to play and then it’s up to them to decide the best course of action.”

Tuesday was Schneider’s third straight day on the ice after being sidelined for five days. He last played eight days ago against the Chicago Blackhawks, finishing the game and appearing fine the dressing room afterwards.

Uncertainty about Schneider’s availability has stoked yet another installment of the long-running soap opera around the Canucks goaltending position. It will also create some mixed messages in the heads of the Canucks’ first-round opponent, the Sharks – who’ll be forced to prepare for both Schneider and Roberto Luongo.

On Tuesday, Schneider reported...

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Is this the last stand? Sedin factor could be turning point for Canucks

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It’s the final week of the regular season, and the Canucks have locked themselves into the Western Conference’s third seed. It’s their fifth straight division title.

The Sedins have been here before. So many times. But this time it feels different.

After this summer, they will turn 33 years old. They have one year left on their current six-year contracts. For the first time in their careers, the end is closer than the beginning.

They’re not the fresh-faced kids who got their first taste of the NHL playoffs a long 13 years ago. Henrik has been in 95 playoff games since. He can’t help but wonder, how many games does he have left?

The Canucks have nine players who are 30 years old or older. Another two, Chris Higgins and Derek Roy, will turn 30 this year. The last time a team with this many grizzled 30-somethings won the Stanley Cup it was 1994 and it was New York Rangers.

There’s a reality...

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Canucks’ Kevin Bieksa optimistic ‘body injury’ won’t stop him from starting playoffs

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VANCOUVER — Wounded Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa said Thursday he is optimistic he'll be ready for next week's Stanley Cup playoffs and also “revealed” why he has missed five straight games, including Thursday night's encounter with the Anaheim Ducks.

“I just have a body injury right now,” he said impishly, no doubt feeding off coach Alain Vigneault's announcement Wednesday on goalie Cory Schneider.

While that was good for a laugh, the team had been saying Bieksa's ailment was actually to his lower body. With playoffs around the bend, reporters are conditioned to never accept an injury report at face value. Bieksa did miss seven games earlier in the season with groin issues.

“It could be my shoulder for all you know,” Bieksa said. “So I don't know why we're talking about the groin.”

Whatever the problem, it appears to have improved to the point where the feisty right-side defenceman will be ready to play next week, if not in Saturday's final regular-season...

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Roberto Luongo in while Cory Schneider heals

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VANCOUVER - In this most unusual season for Roberto Luongo, he has learned through all the twists and turns to fully appreciate the starts that in the past had become almost routine.

So when Luongo got the news that Cory Schneider is injured and he would start Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks, he felt badly for Schneider and very good about getting the chance to play again.

"Obviously, you have to cherish them, you know, especially when they are numbered," Luongo said Wednesday of the starts that have been few and far between in the second half of this season.

"It's exciting, it's a great opportunity for me and I am just looking forward to getting back in there and giving this team a chance to win. Obviously, you never want to see a guy get injured. That being said, I don't think it is anything too serious and hopefully he will be back soon. In the meantime, it...

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Schneider hurt. The sky is falling.

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1. I looked out the window this morning and, indeed, the sky was falling. News came out that Cory Schneider is injured, and that some guy who’s admitted to struggling at the AHL level is headed this way to back up Roberto Luongo. While the sky was falling, people were jumping off the bandwagon, screaming. An ugly scene, from the streets to the Twitterverse. But what if it’s really nothing? What if the Canucks just feel that Schneider could use a rest? What if he’s not quite 100 per cent – say, he’s 98 per cent. Doesn’t it make sense to get him off skates for a couple of days? And if a couple of days isn’t quite enough, what about five or six days? Welcome him back on Sunday or Monday, when the Canucks host their first playoff practice? Or will he be too cold, heading into his first playoffs as...

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Dallas 5 Vancouver 1: Tired, sloppy Canucks hang Schneider out to dry

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DALLAS — The Canucks’ best players Thursday were Chris Tanev, Kevin Bieksa and Chris Higgins.

Just one problem, and it’s a big one. None of them were playing.

Without miraculous goaltending or a third line, and with Cam Barker in the top four, the Canucks collapsed in an embarrassing 5-1 loss. It exposed so many of the problems which have plagued the Canucks on this long, revealing road trip.

Cory Schneider said his team has been too casual. That should evoke memories of last year when the Canucks admitted they couldn’t raise their game emotionally after a January showdown in Boston.

Just think, the playoffs are less than two weeks away.

"We lost the system we play, and we lost momentum," Henrik Sedin said.

"We should be in games until the end. This can’t happen where you give up a goal in the third and everything falls apart.

"That’s not the team we have here."

The team the Canucks have is supposed to be built with...

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