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Point Shots: Canucks face Seguin, Benn; Luongo robs Johansson; When did the Toronto Maple Leafs get awesome?

Vancouver hosts the Dallas Stars tonight at Rogers Arena ... the Maple Leafs are on fire, have won six straight games
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Rangers forward J.T. Miller beats Ryan Miller to give New York a 2-0 lead over the Vancouver Canucks. The Rangers would win the game 5-1

*Bullet points from the rink, December 17, 2014...

  • Despite four straight losses, the Vancouver Canucks aren't panicking. And because it's December, we don't know if that's a good idea or a bad idea yet... past seasons saw the Canucks sputter out of the gate but rebound en route to fantastic regular seasons. Last year, with head coach John Tortorella, saw Vancouver get the speed wobbles around New Year's, they didn't adjust accordingly, and they flunked their way to the sixth overall pick.
  • Here's Canucks coach Willie Desjardins, one Saturday's 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers and tonight's matchup with the Dallas Stars (via Peace Arch News):

"We're just trying to make changes that allow us to utilize our talent and what we're good at... I think certain lines are good at certain things and others have other strengths. We want to try and maximize that with our systems."

  • Last time the teams met, in Dallas in October, the Stars shot to a 5-0 lead and won 6-3.
  • And last year, the Stars handed Vancouver perhaps the defining blowout loss in a long, slow, disappointing season... (story via BCLocalNews)

  • You're probably tired of reading about Dallas Eakins and the Edmonton Oilers by now, after they fired him two days ago and lost again last night, but I wanted to draw your attention to the photo below.
  • He just looks so alone and abandoned. I can't tell whether he's at an Oilers press conference or if he's about to give a rousing final speech to end The Great Dictator...

Dallas Eakins preaches patience

  • Last night, the Florida Panthers and the Washington Capitals went 20 rounds – a new record – before Nick Bjugstand won the shootout with a nice little wrister over Braden Holtby's trapper (video below).
  • Included in that shootout was a sweet little save from Roberto Luongo, who was known in Vancouver for not doing that all the time...

  • Note to Nazem Kadri: This is why people fear we won't be able to control robots in the future. Because right now, it looks like lifeless rubber pucks are smarter than us...

  • Aren't the Maple Leafs supposed to suck, or be a joke or something?
  • Toronto has won six games in a row, all over formidable foes (Toronto Sun)