ERST LESEN! » Over three seasons there since being acquired in a draf

VANCOUVER, BC – Theyre not quite at the midway mark of their season – that will come Tuesday night in Nashville – but the Vancouver Canucks have lurched to the 40-game mark which offers a nice round number with which to work when assessing their season so far. And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand. Professional sport is a what have you done for me lately business and unfortunately, there are too many Canucks who havent done much in recent weeks. With just one goal in their past seven periods – on 71 shots in that span, I might add – the Canucks have to start asking themselves where the offence has gone and where its going to come from when teams get into lockdown mode as the battles heighten for playoff spots down the stretch. The Canucks opened the season with 13 wins and a shootout loss in their first 20 games (13-6-1 for 27 points). They scored 59 goals and allowed 59, spreading the offence and finding ways to win the close games while a few blowout losses accounted for the higher than desired goals against. As theyve done for the better part of a decade now, Henrik Sedin (5+15=20) and Daniel Sedin (4+16=20) led the Canucks offence and produced at a point-a-game clip over the first 20 outings and new linemate Radim Vrbata came out firing with nine goals in his first 20 games. Vrbata was followed closely in the goal-scoring derby by fellow newbie Nick Bonino (7+8=15) while another newcomer Linden Vey (4+5=9) chipped in capably in the teams first 20 contests. The second 20-game portion of the schedule started with three straight victories over Chicago, New Jersey and with a 5-0 win in Columbus on November 30th, the Canucks slept on the NHL lead with a record of 16-6-1 and 33 points in their first 23 games. However since that night in mid-Ohio, the Canucks have been spinning their wheels with seven wins in their past 17 outings (7-8-2). All told, the team went 10-8-2 (22 pts) in its second 20-game stretch of the season with the offence dropping to 52 goals while the Canucks managed to tighten up defensively -- even without Dan Hamhuis, who was injured in Game 20 and hasnt played since -- surrendering 44 goals. As they did in the first 20-game segment, the Sedins paced the Canucks offensively with Daniel (4+12=16) leading the way and Henrik (3+12=15) just a point back. Linemate Vrbata was again the Canucks leading goal-scorer in the second 20-game stretch, registering seven goals during the span. So across the board, there was slippage in scoring from the Canucks top trio, but not significantly enough to sound the alarm. No, the alarm is needed for the next six forwards, particularly the second liners. While Nick Bonino settled in nicely in his new surroundings in the first six weeks of the season, he has gone into hiding offensively in the past month. After recording 15 points in his first 20 games, Boninos contributions were cut in half in the second segment with just seven points while Chris Higgins, who had opened the season with 12 points in his first 20 games, dried up in the next 20 with five. Alex Burrows, who has shuttled up and down the lineup in recent weeks, has held steady from segment to segment with nine points in the first 20 games and eight in the past 20. Brad Richardson and Shawn Matthias were both strong in a 10-game stretch (Games 21-30), but have seen their offensive contributions all but vanish in the past 10 games. Segment over segment, Richardson started the year with seven points and Matthias had five in the first 20 games. Richardson upped his output to 12 and Matthias chipped in with seven in the most recent 20-game stretch. Zack Kassian missed most of the second 20-game stretch of the season with an injury and only recently returned, but he has just five points on the season and has just one goal since opening night so he gets lumped in with the rest of the struggling scorers. Fourth liners Jannik Hansen (5+1=6/4+5=9) and Derek Dorsett (2+4=6/2+5=7) have remained fairly consistent in their production and have chipped in with timely scoring – although like many others on the team, the goals have dried up in recent weeks. The concern for the Canucks is the past 10-game segment was played primarily on home ice and did not include any back-to-back games. The team went 5-4-1 scoring 24 goals while giving up 18. However, seven of the 24 goals came in one game against Arizona and the stretch also included two empty net goals against Detroit and an own-goal versus Calgary. Take those scoring plays out of the mix and that leaves 14 goals over nine games. Overall, the Canucks have 18 goals from their forward group in the past 10 games led by Radim Vrbata with four, Alex Burrows three, Daniel Sedin has two and Henrik Sedin scored both of his goals in that stretch into an empty net against the Red Wings. Seven other forwards have netted a single goal over the past 10 games. And on too many nights of late, this years Canucks resemble the team of a year ago that struggled so mightily to put the puck in the net. Willie Desjardins and his coaching staff have to figure out how to get this group scoring again or it will be a monumental challenge in the second half of the season to stay with the pack in the Pacific Division and in the Western Conference wild card race. The Canucks have received sensational goaltending since Christmas and have had one of the leagues top penalty kills all season long and those elements have helped them pick up points over the past two weeks. But that can only take a team so far. They could certainly use a few more chances on the power play in the next segment of the schedule – they had 67 power plays in the first 20 games but just 52 in the past 20 as their power play goals dropped slightly from 13 to 11. So the power play percentage rose segment over segment, even though the number of goals declined. On Saturday against Calgary, the Canucks didnt have the chance to work with the man-advantage – the second time that has happened in the past six games. That was the latest example of the Canucks struggles to score. They outplayed their Alberta rivals – and held a wide 36-23 edge in shots. But at the end of the night, none of that mattered. The bottom line was the Flames found a way to put a puck in the net while the Canucks were left to wonder where the offence that was there for them early in the season has gone. And it has some observers wondering whether they can get it back or if changes will have to be made to keep the Canucks competitive as they begin the third 20-game segment of their season. NMD R1 Canada . For the Bombers it has been a combination of things coming together at the most inappropriate moments in time. Quarterback, injuries, Canadian talent or depth and leadership are all issues. Trust me when I say being a Bomber is no fun right now in a city that embraces football the way Winnipeg does. While Buck Pierce will be getting another shot, I think Max Hall does deserve another opportunity. Stan Smith Shoes Canada . In sunny and almost windless conditions, the Swede shot four consecutive birdies on the front nine on his way to a 68 and went 9 under for a one-shot lead over Englands Lee Slattery and two over Paraguays Farbrizio Zanotti (68). http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/ultra-boost-cheap-canada.html .J. -- Patrick Sharp is on one of those streaks. NMD Cheap Canada . Freddie Roach said if the Rios fight "does not go well, we will seriously talk about his retirement," but that Pacquiao was training as well as ever for the Nov. NMD 2020 Cananda . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont.This Fourth of July for the Minnesota Wild was a little less eventful than the last. Still, the Wild made another holiday splash by bringing in more help for their blue line. The Wild announced Thursday they agreed to terms on a two-year contract with defenceman Keith Ballard, who was available after being let go by Vancouver earlier this week with a compliance buyout to clear space under the salary cap. The Wild said paperwork for Ballards deal would be filed Friday, when the free agent market opens. The Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported Ballards contract is worth $3 million. He was scheduled to make $4.2 million in each of the final two seasons of his previous deal with the Canucks. The 30-year-old Ballard managed just two assists in 36 games for Vancouver in 2013. Over three seasons there since being acquired in a draft-day trade in 2010 with Florida, Ballard had only 16 points in 148 games. He was hindered by several injuries. Before that, though, the former Univeersity of Minnesota star was far more productive.dddddddddddd Over five seasons with Phoenix and Florida, he averaged nearly 30 points while playing in 97 per cent of the games. As a rookie with the Coyotes in 2005-06, Ballard had eight goals and 31 assists and played in all 82 games. In his first year with the Panthers in 2008-09, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Ballard had six goals and 28 goals with a plus-14 rating while again playing all 82 games. Ballard will essentially replace defenceman Tom Gilbert, another local guy, who was dumped by the Wild with a compliance buyout this week. Ballard is from Baudette, Minn., on the Canadian border. He won two NCAA championships in his career with the Gophers. Another Minnesotan, centre Matt Cullen, will be moving on as the Wilds most prominent unrestricted free agent. Cullen told the Star Tribune that Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher informed him he couldnt offer him a fair contract given the teams cap constraints. ' ' '