Championships Action Heats Up

The NHL Canadian Championships heat up with 5 games in the next 6 nights before the New Year. The Ottawa Senators, who have yet to play a Championship game, will head out to Western Canada to play 3 games.

The Calgary Flames, will try to hang on to top spot with match-ups against the Sens and a New Years Eve tilt with provincial rival Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers, who also have 3 games over this 6 day stretch, have a chance to move back into the race or fall off completely.

The Vancouver Canucks, who have struggled thusfar with only 1 win in 4 games, will play twice in what should be considered "must win" situations.

In the New Year, the Senators return east to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 3rd (CBC, 7 pm).

Vancouver Canucks lose to Edmonton Oilers and continue Championship Struggles

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish had a simple explanation for the Oilers' 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. "It was the first game all year where I can say that everybody played well," MacTavish said. "It was the first real complete 60-minute game we have played all year. Normally, there have been patches of the game where there are some poor performances, but everybody did their job tonight. That was the first sign of a complete game by everyone this year. It was an important game for us."

Dwayne Roloson made 23 saves for his first shutout in two seasons and 23rd in 11 NHL seasons.
"It was important to get a win like this, especially in our own building where we haven't played our best hockey," Roloson said. "Tonight was probably one of our best games of the year. We played unbelievable."

Dustin Penner, Ales Hemsky and Robert Nilsson scored for Edmonton. The Oilers have won four of their last five games to improve to 14-12-2 on the NHL season, and 1-1 in Canadian Championship play. The Canucks have now fallen to 1-3 in the Championships. The Ottawa Senators begin their Championship schedule in Calgary on December 27th, and continue with their western swing before the New Year.

Calgary Flames Suffer First Loss in Championships

MONTREAL (AP) -The Montreal Canadiens got a winning result by putting Alex Tanguay on a line with Robert Lang and Alex Kovalev to face his former team. Lang had two goals and an assist, and Tanguay and Kovalev each had two assists to lead Montreal to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on December 9th.

Reunited with Kovalev - his linemate with Pittsburgh earlier in the decade - for the last four games, Lang was asked if the pair had recovered their old magic. "I don't know, but the result was there," said Lang, who had an assist on Andrei Markov's goal in the third.

The Canadiens improved to 1-1 in the Championships, while the Flames fell to 3-1. Next up, a home-and-home series between the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers. The Ottawa Senators begin their Championship schedule in Calgary on December 27th, and continue with their western swing before the New Year.

Calgary Flames Undefeated in Championships

Daymond Langkow and the Calgary Flames jumped into 1st place in the NHL Canadian Championships with a home-and-home sweep of the Vancouver Canucks.

Langkow scored the pivotal first goal in the Flames' 3-1 victory over the Canucks on Saturday night, deflecting Dion Phaneuf's rising snap shot from the blue line past rookie goalie Cory Schneider on a power play late in the second period.

"It was one of those games where both teams really wanted the points," Langkow said. "It was a defensive battle, but we got a few more shots and were fortunate to get some goals and get the win."

Combined with a 4-3 victory Thursday night in Vancouver, Calgary climbed top spot in the Championship.

"We lost a couple to them earlier in the year so it's definitely nice to get those points back," said Langkow, remembering back to October when the Flames began the NHL season by getting swept in a home-and-home series with the Canucks.

Leafs end Western Swing with 1 Win

The Toronto Maple Leafs finished a three-game swing through Western Canada with two losses and a win. On Saturday, the Leafs came out on the wrong end of a 4-2 decision to Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks in a rare late afternoon start at GM Place. The Maple Leafs are 2-2 so far in the Championship after losing a 4-3 decision in Calgary on Tuesday and posting a 5-2 victory over Edmonton on Thursday. The next Championship match-up occurs on November 27th when the Flames visit the Canucks. The Ottawa Senators, who have yet to play in the Championship, will have to right their ship - after their second 4-game losing streak of the season - before their December 27th game in Calgary.

Leafs Win First Championship Game

The Toronto Maple Leafs blitzed the Montreal Canadiens to win the first ever NHL Canadian Championships game. The game looked fairly balanced for two periods, but the stronger skating and clean hitting Leafs pulled ahead to stay in the 3rd Period. Mikail Grabovski had a goal and an assist and linemate Niklas Hagman scored twice to lead Toronto to the 6-3 victory. With momentum behind them, the Leafs head out west to take on the Flames, Oilers and Canucks in three consecutive Championship match-ups. Montreal will next see Championship action on December 9th when they host the Flames.

Championship Begins Saturday

The NHL Canadian Championships begin this Saturday when the surprising Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens (CBC, 7pm). When the teams met earlier in the NHL Regular Season, the Habs came away with an easy victory. The Leafs have tightened up on the defensive end, and have defeated some of the top teams in the NHL in the past two weeks. The Canadiens continue to show that they are team to be reckoned with, having only once in regulation time.

In other action next week, the Leafs travel out west to take on the Flames, Oilers and Canucks. With four of their ten games in the first week, the Buds could put themselves in an interesting position for the remainder of the competition.

Canucks and Oilers Look Good Early

The Canadian NHL Teams will warm up for the Canadian Championships with early Regular Season NHL action. There does not seem to be a clear cut favourite to win the championship in 2008-2009, although the Canadiens, Canucks and Oilers look strong. A number of All-Canadian match-ups occur in October, which will give us a hint of what's to come for the rest of the season. Stay tuned for updates before the "real" games begin.

NHL Canadian Championships - Pre-Competition Schedule
October 9 - Flames 0 at Canucks 6
October 11 - Canucks 5 at Flames 4 (OT)
October 11 - Canadiens 6 at Leafs 1
October 17 - Oilers 4 at Flames 3
October 18 - Flames 2 at Oilers 3
October 25 - Senators 2 at Leafs 3
October 25 - Oilers 3 at Canucks 6