Vancouver hoping for a change of momentum decided to switch
goalies and start Cory Schneider for game 3 counting on a different result
after losing both games on home ice, but that plan did not work and now they
find themselves one loss from being eliminated in the first round.  Jonathan Quick stood on his head as he earned
a shutout and led Los Angeles to a 1-0 victory in game 3.  The only goal of the game did not come until the
third period when Dustin Brown scored his fourth goal of the series and Los
Angeles is one victory from shocking the Vancouver Canucks in a sweep.

Vancouver came out strong in the first period peppering
Jonathan Quick with 11 shots in the first period and carrying the play
throughout the first period.  The Canucks
had one power play opportunity in the first period and once again failed to
capitalize as they have failed to score a goal with the man advantage in the
series.

The second period was a carbon copy of the first period with
the Canucks spending most of the period in the Kings end and once again
outshooting the Kings 14-6, but could not find the back of the net.  The big play of the second period was Dustin
Brown’s big hit on Henrik Sedin that left Sedin staggering & struggling to
get to the bench.

The third period started just like the first two periods
with Vancouver controlling the play and the game being mostly spent in the Kings
end.  The first and only goal of the game
came in the third period.  Justin
Williams shot could not be controlled by Schneider and Dustin Brown said thank
you very much and put it past the fallen Canucks goalie and the Kings had a 1-0
lead and held on for the victory and take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

With game 4 on Wednesday Vancouver does not have much time
to get things back on track, however, Daniel Sedin is travelling to Los Angeles
to practice with the team on Tuesday and if he is able to play on Wednesday
could be the spark the Canucks are looking for to get the series back to
Vancouver.

The Vancouver Canucks scored early in the first period and
that turned out to be all they would need as they shutout the Los Angeles Kings
1-0.  Manny Malhorta Scored 3:05 into the
first period on a shot that Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick probably should
have stopped and Roberto Luongo stopped all 38 Los Angeles shots to earn his
fourth shutout of the season.

The lone goal of the game was scored when Maxim Lapierre passed
the puck to Manny Malhotra and his shot eluded Jonathan Quick’s glove and
Vancouver had the lead that they would not surrender, it was only his seventh
goal of the year.   Los Angeles had some
good scoring opportunities in the first period and outshot the Canucks 9-5.

The final two periods saw both teams have good scoring
opportunities, but both Quick and Luongo were there to make the key saves.  Los Angeles actually outshot Vancouver 38-25
including 17 shots in the final period but could not get it past Luongo who has
been playing much better as of late.  It
was the same old story for the Kings they just don’t score many goals and have
to rely on Quick to keep them in the game.

With the win Vancouver moved past the 100-point
mark for the fourth straight season and are now only two points behind St.
Louis for the Western Conference lead.  The
Canucks did not have a very good night on the power play not being able to
score on 4 power play opportunities and did not have many good scoring
opportunities.  The Canucks next game is
on Wednesday when they host the Colorado Avalanche who are desperate for points
and are currently out of the playoffs tied with the Kings for ninth

The trade deadline came and went today and the Vancouver Canucks made some moves to hopefully improve their chances of winning the Stanley Cup.  Vancouver made three separate deals as they were the among the busiest team on the annual trade deadline day.

Vancouver acquired Sami Pahlsson from Columbus for defensemen Taylor Ellington and two fourth round draft picks in 2012

The Canucks made another deal for a forward when they acquired Andrew Gordon from the Anaheim Ducks for defensemen Sebastian Erixon

Vancouver’s final deal made just before the 3pm et deadline was a bit of a surprise.  Vancouver traded forward Cody Hodgson and defensemen Alexander Sulzer to the Buffalo Sabres for forward Zach Kassian and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani.  Time will tell if these players will improve the Canucks, but management showed they are trying to improve the roster for the playoffs and not just happy with what they have.

The headline of the day was not who got traded, but who did not get traded.  Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets was courted by a number of teams, but it turned out the price was to high so he will finish his season with the Blue Jackets and once again will be golfing while the playoffs are going on. 

The Canucks next game will be Tuesday when they travel to Phoenix to take on the Coyotes

The Chicago Bears scored two touchdowns in both the second and third quarters and went onto defeat the San Diego Chargers 31-20.  Once again turnovers played a big role in the Chargers loss, with Philip Rivers throwing two more interceptions and Ryan Mathews had a crucial fumble leading to the Chargers fifth consecutive loss.

San Diego took their first offensive possession right down the field, but once again when they entered the red zone things bogged down and they had to settle for a Nick Novak 28 yard field goal and San Diego led 3-0.  Chicago answered right back with a 9 play, 62 yard drive before settling for a 42 yard field goal by Robbie Gould and the quarter ended with the teams knotted at 3-3.

San Diego forced the Chicago offense into three consecutive three and outs, so the San Diego defense was doing their part up to this point, but that would not last for long.   Chicago scored the first touchdown of the game on a 5 play, 41 yard drive finished off by a one yard run by Marion Barber and Chicago led 10-3 with just over four minutes remaining in the quarter.  The big play of the drive was a 26 yard pass to Earl Bennett.  San Diego answered right back as for once San Diego scored a touchdown in the red zone.  Philip Rivers found Antonio Gates in the end zone for an eight yard pass and the game was tied 10-10 with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter.  The big plays of the drive were two long receptions by Vincent Jackson.  If San Diego could have stopped Chicago from scoring before the first half ended the outcome could have been different, but they could not do it.  Thanks in part to a big kickoff return from Johnny Knox; Chicago scored a touchdown with just: 20 left in the quarter.  Jay Cutler found Kellen Davis in the end zone for a four yard touchdown pass and Chicago led 17-10 at half time.  Devin Hester and Johnny Knox combined for 143 return yards in the first half.

The third quarter started just the way Norv Turner had hoped.   Philip Rivers found Vincent Jackson for a 5 yard touchdown pass and just like that early in the third quarter the game was tied 17-17.  The big play of the drive was a 47 yard pass to Vincent Jackson.  Jackson had 7 catches for 165 yards.   Chicago dominated the rest of the third quarter scoring two touchdowns.   Chicago went on an 8 play, 83 yard drive finished off by a one yard run by Jay Cutler to make it 24-17.  San Diego got the ball and immediately gave it back to the Chicago offense thanks to a fumble by Ryan Mathews and Jay Cutler made San Diego pay.  Two plays later Cutler found Johnny Knox in the end zone and just like that Chicago had a 31-17 lead and that is how the third quarter ended.  

San Diego responded with a field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut the Chicago lead to 31-20.  Philip Rivers was having a pretty good game, but things unraveled in the fourth quarter.  With San Diego driving he tried to force a pass to Vincent Jackson in the end zone and it was picked off and later he was picked off when trying to throw the ball away and the Chargers fate was sealed.  The Chargers record dropped to 4-6 and next they have to deal with Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos.

The Chicago Blackhawks scored three third period goals and cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.  That was the Blackhawks fourth straight win as they lead the Western Conference, meanwhile Vancouver continues to suffer from the hangover from last year’s playoff run as they have are currently out of the playoffs.

The first goal of the game did not come until early in the second period.   Jannik Hansen scored his fifth goal of the season and just: 38 into the period Vancouver had a 1-0 lead.  That would be the only time Vancouver would get the puck past Chicago goalie Corey Crawford.  Chicago answered back with two power play goals in the second period to take a 2-1 lead into the second period intermission.  Andrew Brunette scored his fourth goal of the season on the power play when Ryan Kesler took a tripping penalty.  Chicago took a 2-1 lead when Patrick Kane scored his seventh goal of the year just: 11 after Alex Burrows was in the sin bin for slashing.

Chicago put the game away in the third period when they scored three goals in the last eight minutes of the game to secure the victory.  Jonathan Toews made the score 3-1 when Viktor Stalberg spotted Toews wide open in the slot and he beat Vancouver goalie Cory Schneider.   Chicago increased their lead to 4-1 about two minutes later when Patrick Sharp took a shot from the left side that dribbled past Schneider into the net, a shot that Schneider should have stopped as the melt down continued.  Vancouver finished off the scoring when Steve Montador’s blast from the slot beat Schneider and Chicago had their 12^th win of the year.

Vancouver continues to be inconsistent so far this year as they have a record of 5-5 in their last 10 games, with a season record of 9-9-1.  It would appear the Canucks have not recovered from losing to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals last year.    With Roberto Luongo out with an upper body injury they will have to count on backup goalie Schneider as they go on the road for three games next week.  With only four teams with a worse record then the Canucks in the Western Conference they better get their act together before it’s too late.

The Green Bay Packers scored 21 first quarter points that the San Diego Chargers could not overcome as Green Bay defeated San Diego 45-38 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Sunday.   With the win Green Bay remained perfect this season, meanwhile San Diego has lost their last 3 games as their record dipped to 4-4.

San Diego could not have asked for a better start as they try to forget what happened last week against Kansas City as they hit pay dirt on their opening possession.  The Chargers marched right down the field and was capped off by a 23 yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson and the Chargers jumped out to a 7-0 lead, now can the San Diego defense stop Aaron Rodgers?  The answer was no as Green Bay went right down the field on a 8 play, 63 yard drive as Rodgers found Jermichael Finley for a 5 yard touchdown pass and just like that the game was tied at 7-7, San Diego will not be able to keep up if this turns into a track meet.   Green Bay did the rest of the scoring in the first quarter as they picked off Philip Rivers twice and returned both for touchdowns and the first quarter ended with Green Bay leading 21-7, this is just not the same Philip Rivers as last year, Rivers has thrown at least two interceptions in 6 of the 8 games the Chargers have played this year.

San Diego undaunted went on a 6 play, 66 yard drive to narrow the Green Bay lead to 21-14 early in the second quarter when Mike Tolbert scored on an 8 yard run as San Diego attempts to keep up with Green Bay.   Green Bay failed on a fourth down gamble and that led to a San Diego field goal and with just over five minutes remaining until the first half San Diego trailed by just four points.   Green Bay broke the Chargers heart with just: 18 left in the second quarter when Rodgers found Jordy Nelson for a 16 yard touchdown and Green Bay led 28-17 at the half.

Green Bay got the ball first in the second half and if San Diego has any hope of winning this game they have to control the Green Bay offense, Green Bay has outscored their opponents 69-10 in the third quarter this year.  San Diego outscored Green Bay in the third quarter 7-3 to keep within striking distance trailing 31-24.

The fourth quarter saw Green Bay score two touchdowns to increase their lead to 45-24 with about ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and it looked like Green Bay had the game in control.  San Diego showed that they were not going down without a fight and scored two quick touchdowns to Vincent Jackson and with just over six minutes remaining San Diego still had a chance trailing 45-38.  San Diego was driving with under a minute to play when Philip Rivers under threw his receiver and Green Bay had its third interception of the game and sealed the victory.   San Diego has a short week as they host the hated Oakland Raiders on Thursday night.

Plaxico Burress caught three touchdown passes from Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets defense stifled the San Diego Chargers offense in the 2nd half as New York Beat San Diego 27-21, with the win the Jets improved their record to 4-3.  Once again Philip Rivers threw two more interceptions; he has now thrown eight interceptions this year and had a quarterback rating of under 50 in today’s game.   Until San Diego can prove they can go to the east coast and get victories they will continue to be a mediocre team.

San Diego got off to a quick start in the first quarter scoring a defensive touchdown.   Donald Butler stole the ball from Dustin Keller and he galloped 27 yards for the touchdown, it was about time the Chargers defense caused a turnover.   The New York Jets responded with a field goal about five minutes later and the first quarter ended 7-3.

San Diego increased their lead early in the 2nd quarter when they went on a 14 play, 76 yard drive capped off by a 2 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gates and San Diego led 14-3.   Even though San Diego was leading 14-3 they had only seventeen offensive plays halfway through the second quarter.  The Jets answered right back on an 8 play, 77 yard drive of their own as Plaxico Burress scored his first of three touchdowns on a three yard pass from Sanchez and the Chargers lead shrunk to 14-10.  The Jets drive was aided by several penalties by the San Diego defense.  San Diego went on their own impressive drive to close out the scoring in the first half.   The Chargers went on an 11 play, 87 yard drive finished off by a one yard run by Mike Tolbert and San Diego went into the half leading 21-10.  The big play of the drive was a one-handed catch by Malcom Floyd.  If you were a San Diego fan you had to think that the Chargers were in good shape, however, the Chargers would not score again which would lead to their demise.

The Jets went on a 10 play, 55 yard scoring drive late in the third quarter.  Plaxico Burress got his second touchdown of the day when he caught a 4 yard touchdown pass and suddenly the Chargers lead was trimmed to 21-17.  The San Diego offense was MIA in the third quarter as they had three consecutive three and outs.

San Diego finally put a drive together in the fourth quarter until a pass deflected off Vincent Jackson and went right into the waiting arms of Darrelle Revis and he returned it all the way to the San Diego 19.  A few plays later Mark Sanchez found Plaxico Burress for his third and final touchdown of the game and New York had the lead for good at 24-21.   This was the first time San Diego had allowed a receiver to score three touchdowns on them since 2003 when Chad Ochocinco torched the San Diego defense.  Philip Rivers threw another interception a few minutes later which led to a Jets field goal and New York came from behind to beat San Diego 27-21.  Things won’t get any easier as next week San Diego hosts the undefeated Green Bay Packers.

Game Notes

LaDainian Tomlinson did not play most of the second half…Marcus McNeill also missed the majority of the second half…San Diego was flagged for thirteen penalties

Sami  Salo scored his first two goals of the season and Roberto Luongo made some big third period saves as the Vancouver Canucks held on to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Saturday Night to finish off their first road trip of the season.   Vancouver went 2-2 on their four game road trip and now will return home to face the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.   Vancouver was able to win despite the first career hat-trick by Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins; with the win Vancouver improved their record to 2-2-1.  Roberto Luongo who got his first win of the year made some big saves late in the third period to preserve the victory.

Vancouver was the first team to light the lamp on the power play when Sami Salo’s slap shot from the slot overwhelmed Edmonton goalie Devan Dubnyk and Vancouver led 1-0, this was the first time the Canucks scored the first goal of the game this season.   Edmonton tied the game about five minutes later on the power play as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his first goal of the game to tie the score.   Edmonton came out strong early in the first period, but Vancouver controlled play in the second half of the period.  It looked like there would be no more scoring in the period until Nugent-Hopkins scored his second goal of the period; the rookie deflected a shot from the point that eluded Luongo with just: 29 on the clock and Edmonton went into the intermission leading 2-1.

Vancouver who had lost their previous two games to Philadelphia and Detroit did not want to end the road trip losing three consecutive games scored the first goal of the second period on the power play.   On a scramble in front of Edmonton goalie Dubnyk, Henrik Sedin propelled the puck just over the goal line to tie the score at 2-2; it was Henrik Sedin’s second goal of the season.  The score remained the same until Vancouver forward Jannik Hansen took a tripping penalty with just under four minutes to play in the second period; it was the 24th penalty the Canucks have taken this year.   Ryan Nugent-Hopkins completed his hat-trick and Edmonton led 3-2, but the lead did not last for long.   With just: 15 left in the period Alex Burrows deflected a pass from Daniel Sedin by the Edmonton goalie and the second period ended with the teams tied 3-3.

Vancouver controlled play in the third period outshooting Edmonton 9-4 and that pressure led to the go ahead goal by Vancouver.   The Canucks forced Edmonton to turn over the puck in their own end and Mikael Samuelsson passed the puck to a wide open Sami Salo and he beat Dubnyk for his second goal of the game and Vancouver led the game 4-3 with about 12 minutes remaining in the third period.  Edmonton put on some pressure late in the period, but Luongo made all the saves and Vancouver ended the road trip with a victory.   The Canucks next three games will be at home at Rogers Arena.

The San Diego Chargers built a 13 point half time lead and had to hold on to defeat the Denver Broncos 29-24 to improve their record to 4-1.  San Diego went into the second half leading 23-10, but seemed to lack a sense of urgency and almost allowed the Broncos to come back and win the game.  San Diego who now has week off before playing the New York Jets in New York did not look very good and this type of performance will not be good enough to beat the Jets.

San Diego marched down the field on their first possession with Ryan Mathews running the ball, but once again the drive stalled in the red zone.  Nick Novak came on and kicked a 24 yard field goal to give San Diego a 3-0 lead.  The next time San Diego had the ball disaster struck.  Philip Rivers pass went through the hands of wide receiver Patrick Crayton’s hands and right into the waiting arms of Denver cornerback Cassius Vaughn and he returned it 55 yards for a touchdown to give the Broncos a 7-3 lead.  That was Rivers seventh interception of the year.  San Diego is having no problems moving the ball in the first quarter, but when they get in scoring position things fall apart.  San Diego went on a 10 play, 66 yard drive before settling for another Nick Novak field goal to close out the first quarter and Denver led 7-6.

Denver was the first team to score in the second quarter as they went on an 11 play, 63 yard drive before settling for a 35 yard field goal to increase their lead to 10-6, but that would be the last time Denver would score in the second quarter.  San Diego finally scored a touchdown in the red zone, Philip Rivers ran it in from the two yard line and San Diego led 13-10.  San Diego once again was able to move the ball on the Denver defense on their next possession, but once again settled for a field goal and led the game 16-10.  San Diego closed out the scoring in the first half on a 42 yard touchdown pass to Malcom Floyd and they led at half time 23-10.  San Diego took control of the game and it looked like it would be an easy win, but I guess that is why you have to play with urgency for all four quarters.

The Tim Tebow era started at the beginning of the third quarter as he replaced an ineffective Kyle Orton.  There was no scoring in the third quarter as the teams could not put together any sustained drives.

San Diego increased their lead in the fourth quarter to 26-10 on a Nick Novak 51 yard field goal, which was Novak’s career longest field goal.  Tim Tebow started to move the ball on the San Diego defense in the fourth quarter mostly using his legs.   Tebow ran for a 12 yard touchdown and they were successful on a two-point conversion and just like that the Chargers lead shrunk to just eight points, 26-18. Philip Rivers fumbled the ball on the Chargers next drive and it was recovered by Denver and the Chargers once comfortable lead was in jeopardy.  Denver wasted no time scoring another touchdown as Knowshon Moreno took a screen pass and turned it into a 28 yard touchdown, this time they failed on the two-point conversion and Denver trailed 26-24.  San Diego was able to get another Nick Novak field and knock down a pass by Tim Tebow in the end zone on the final play of the game to preserve the victory.  The easy part of the Chargers schedule is over now and San Diego has a record of 4-1, if they continue to have lackluster performances they won’t have a winning record for long.

Game notes:  Ryan Mathews had a career high 125 yards rushing.  … Antonio Gates missed another game.

The San Diego Chargers squeaked out another win over an inferior team by defeating the Miami Dolphins 26-16 to improve their record to 3-1.  Philip Rivers threw for one touchdown and had no interceptions for the first time this year and Nick Novak had four field goals to lead the Chargers to the victory over the 0-4 Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins who came into the game winless was able to open the scoring when Lex Hilliard scored on a 1 yard run to give Miami a 7-0 lead.  Once again the San Diego defense is not playing up to their capabilities or maybe they are just not that good.  The Miami drive started at the Dolphins eight and they went on an 11 play, 92 yard scoring drive.  During the drive Miami lost their starting quarterback Chad Henne to a shoulder injury, but Matt Moore stepped in and led Miami to the touchdown.  San Diego answered back just 1:12 later to tie the score at 7-7.  Philip Rivers spotted Vincent Jackson wide open and he stretched out to make a great catch and had time to get up and run into the end zone for a 55 yard touchdown reception.  It took just 3 plays for San Diego to even the score and take the momentum away from Miami.

The second quarter turned out to be a field goal fest with San Diego kicking two field goals and Miami splitting the uprights one time.   San Diego took a halftime lead of 13-10 as they had a couple of long drives, but had to settle for Nick Novak field goals.

San Diego favored to win this game easily was able to score a touchdown on their first possession of the third quarter to open up a 10 point lead.  The big play of the drive was when Ryan Mathews caught a screen pass from Rivers and rambled all the way down to the Miami 5 yard line for a 42 yard pass and run play.  Three plays later Mike Tolbert ran it in from the one yard line and San Diego had a 20-10 lead on an 8 play, 54 yard drive.  Miami refuses to go away and keeps the game close as they get a 37 yard field goal from Dan Carpenter to narrow the score to 20-13 on an 8 play, 61 yard drive.  San Diego countered with a field goal of their own as they are having trouble finishing off drives having to settle for field goals.   Nick Novak kicked a 23 yard field goal to once again give San Diego a 10 point lead at 23-13.  San Diego looks like they are slowly taking control of the game as they are getting the run game going and the Miami defense is starting to fade. 

In the fourth quarter the teams traded field goals and San Diego won the game 26-16. Once again San Diego escaped with a victory, but did not look very impressive considering they were playing against a winless team that was playing with their backup quarterback.  When they start playing tougher competition they won’t be able to get wins if they continue to play like this.

Game notes

Antonio Gates did not play for the second consecutive game with a foot injury and Vincent Jackson played sparingly in the second half with an abdominal injury.