Hey, what the hell? Seeing how last night was so much fun, let’s do it again.

You realize it took Rick Rypien a single game to notch a team best +2? Wow.

Period #1
- Good to see Kesler’s face looks as bumpy as ever.
- The Braberian waits about four seconds before a tussle with Stortini. Fun way to start.
- Kesler and Naslund had a beautiful chance with a 2-on-1 but they couldn’t covert. The pace to the first few minutes of this game is fantastic.
- Staios takes a call on Ritchie and let’s see which version of the Canucks powerplay we’ll see tonight. This time last week they scored four against the Flames which is still mind-numbing.
- Nothing doing on the powerplay this time around but the Canucks looked good. The bounces didn’t go their way.
- The Oilers are having some neutral zone issues. As in they are just giving it to Vancouver over and over again.
- Raymond is fun to watch, little bugger is quick.
- The Sedins and Pyatt look good early on, they were just dancing around the Edmonton crease but nothing’s doing so far.
- Interestingly, Matt Cooke is scratched for the evening. Hmmm…Naslund and Mo are flying early too. All good signs.
- Penner is a truck; looked a ton like Bertuzzi back in the day just holding guys off him while driving to the net. The Oil just had their best shift of the night but Luongo’s doing just fine.
- Son of a bitch, did you know that the Canucks are second in the league in PP% (27.3%)? Wow, that Calgary game was a monster.
- Miller flutters one that almost fooled Roloson. Stortini is back but Cowan isn’t. Once again: Hmmmm.
- Krajicek takes a hooking call when he can’t contain Penner on a one on one match up. Let’s see Burrows tee another one up.
- Canucks are 17th on the PK, but the Oilers are 29th on the PP so rest easy kids.
- Manny hits a homeroom in Boston to tie the game up in the bottom of the fifth. Just letting ya’ll know. Manny’s rather happy looking.
- The Oilers have another strong shirt and this time Daniel takes a hooking call. Glorious.
- Alert: Lowell just put Boston in the lead with another homerun. Yankees suck.
- Anyhow, the Canucks go short handed again and Souray nearly blasted one through Luongo.
- Hemsky hooks Ohlund in the front of the linesman but no call. Just ignore the infraction in front of you sir.
- What do we think of Weaver? Good? Bad?
- OHHHHH, this is going to be fun to write: in the last minute of the period, Souray has a weak clearing attempt, Naslund catches it and sends it to the net for Morrison to pounce on. Good good stuff. The good guys go up 1-0.
- End of the first on a positive note. A good first period with the only problem being that Cowan managed to play 13 seconds only for some reason.

Period #2
- Alert: Injuns tie up the Sox at 6 in the 6th. But enough of that, let’s get the second moving. Looks like a nice night in Vancouver. You lucky people you.
- I think it’s cool Edmonton has all their #1 picks from the past few years playing. It means I can’t talk shit about them because I don’t know them yet. I’ll be sure to grow a healthy dislike for them by the third.
- Just what I hoped wasn’t going to happen IS happening: the Canucks came out flat, the Oilers are being far more aggressive and, son of a bitch, a Vancouver hooking call. A plum job guys.
- The Oil are 0-3 on the man advantage and thank you again Mike Keenan. If any other goalie was back there I’d be shitting myself.
- Speaking of Keenan, his ladies won a game for him tonight against I suppose maybe 20 people in Nashville (and 10 of them got lost and ended up in the arena by mistake).
- A little back and forth and Luongo makes a sweet save on a surprise shot by Staios. Morrison thought so much of Staios’ shot that he wacks him in the face and Mike sees BLOOD. I love this game.
- Oh my…Raymond and Rypien almost hook up with a beauty by Rypien couldn’t finish. More end to end rushes for both teams, the pace is picking up nicely as the game approaches the halfway mark.
- A Sami Salo sighting! Question: does the league force players during a game who aren’t playing to wear the official hat of the team? I bet they do, that sounds dumb enough to be a mandate.
- Tarnstrum hooks down Naslund and the Canucks put their powerplay to the test again.
- The Mattias Ohlund hour: three shots, a skate deflection and a post.
- Jesus, the sustained pressure during this power play is amazing. I think they’ve been in the Edmonton zone the entire time.
- With four tired souls on the Oilers defense, the Sedins make them pay when the power play expires. Henrik finds Daniel hanging out in front and he roofs it. A great end to a fun few minutes. Vancouver jumps up 2-0 and going back on the powerplay.
- Edmonton’s PK looks a lot better this time around.
- Daniel strikes again with a questionable interference move by Naslund but we’ll take it. The Sedins are making the Oilers their personal bitch again. Vancouver’s commanding lead looks a bit like 3-0 now.
- Let’s see Daniel get the natural hat trick before the period ends.
- Kesler’s had a strong game and, better yet, hasn’t been cross checked in the face by a no talent asshat from Philly.
- And the second period draws to a close with Daniel needing one for his first trick of the year, Luongo needs a flawless 20 minutes for his first shutout of the year and the Canucks need a win for their first winning streak of the year. AND…(dramatic pause)…I’m spent.

Period #3
- OK Stortini I’m beginning to grow bored with. See? Told ya I’d get the hate going by the third.
- Sedins are back out there making life miserable for the Oilers defense. Hey, anyone seen Penner, Pitkanen or Souray the past 20 minutes?
- Wait, Souray’s -2 so he must have been out there last period, so good news, he’s alive.
- And son of a bitch…Souray and Stortini go in the box together. A 5-on-3 for the Sedins…er…Canucks. Kiss your ass goodnight MacT.
- Well shut my mouth, the Oilers kill it off. Vancouver never really got anything flowing there for the two minutes and the Oilers PK did a decent job.
- The bounces are just not going Edmonton’s way: with most of the Canucks changing, Henrik has a huge rebound and Pyatt buries Roloson’s initial stop. It’s officially a shitshow (in a good way): Vancouver’s flying 4-0.
- Not sure what just happened, but Souray ends up dealing with Ritchie after the -2 FA signing levels Kesler. Burrows is going off for something or other. The Canuck box is pretty full and Edmonton gets the man advantage.
- Luongo’s looking so much stronger then the last time I saw him play. And he’s playing rebounds a lot better then he was during most of last season it seems. That or Edmonton is simply awful. Take your pick.
- It’s Pitkanen’s turn now to be annoyed with Luongo. Another great aggressive save to stay perfect through 50 minutes.
- Sounds like Souray is gone for the evening. The good news there is his +/- can’t take any more beating from the Sedins.
- Now it’s Pitkanen’s turn to go to the box. New rule: everyone pass to Daniel.
- Damn it all….Naslund’s bouncing pass can’t be handled by Morrison and that lets Cogliano score on the rebound. Doh! 4-1 Canucks.
- The Oil kill off the penalty and the Canucks still have a commanding lead though Luongo seemed ticked off at his play on the Cogliano goal. Shit happens.
- Well Center Ice Online keeps crapping out so I have no clue why the Oilers are on the powerplay but so be it. Less then three to play.
- The Oilers aren’t going quietly it seems but, yet again, thank you Mike Keenan.

Postgame
This was exactly what the Canucks needed. Shake off crap showings against San Jose and Philly by dashing Edmonton back to back and jump ahead of them in the standings. All the key players - Luongo, the Sedins, Naslund, Morrison, Kesler - had strong back to back games and got this team playing like a team again. A pleasure to watch and blog through.

Oh yeah, for the record, I called it. I’d like to thank the good people at Yuengling for helping my amazing brain power this evening.

The Canucks get to live in the moment for about 30 seconds before they fly off host (thanks Rinslet!) San Jose on Monday and LA later in the week (c’mon recall Cloutier already!) so here’s hoping they can make it three in a row and get some revenge against Roenick and remind Crawford what he’s missing. Cheers.