FanHouse Jannik Hansen

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northwest Division.

It appears we are setting up for an offseason of significant change in the Northwest Division. Only the Vancouver Canucks will have the same coach as last year, and there could be some real upheaval in terms of personnel. Not only that, but two teams (Minnesota and Colorado) have changed general managers.

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After setting an NHL record for the best start through 30 games, the San Jose Sharks ran into a brick wall on Wednesday by the name of Steve Mason. The Columbus rookie netminder stopped 47 shots in a 2-1 overtime win for the Blue Jackets.

For the Sharks, the loss snaps a three-game winning streak, though, they still haven't lost a game in regulation since November 9, so they've gained at least a point in 15 straight games. The Blue Jackets have now won three of their past four, all of which have come with Mason in net, who seems to be cementing himself as the team's No. 1 goaltender. The 47-save performance against San Jose improves his save percentage on the season to an impressive .929, while his record goes to 9-5-1.

The game remained scoreless through the first two periods, until San Jose's Devin Setoguchi scored at the 3:41 mark of the third period. Later in the frame, Mike Peca picked up his second of the season, tying the game, ultimately sending it to overtime.

The Blue Jackets registered only one shot in the extra period, though, they made it count as R.J. Umberger scored his ninth goal of the season to give Columbus the win.

While Vancouver suffered what could be a devastating injury to starting goalie Roberto Luongo, the Canucks did manage to walk out of Pittsburgh with a 3-1 win, so, they at least have that going for them. Still, the sight of Luongo being helped off the ice probably steals some of the thunder from what was a solid defensive performance and road victory.

Things were quite heated just 25 second into the game (see the video shown above) when Penguins forward -- and former Canuck -- Matt Cooke sent Alexander Edler flying through the air, igniting a line-brawl at center ice. When the chaos was finally sorted out, there were 50 minutes in penalties handed out, including two game misconducts -- one to Cooke, and another to Vancouver's Jannik Hansen.

Pavol Demitra scored a pair of goals for the Canucks, including the game's first goal at the 18-minute mark of the first period. He sealed the game with an empty-netter late in the third period. The line of Demitra and the Sedin's (Henrik and Daniel) accounted for all of Vancouver's scoring on the day, as Daniel registered a goal and two assists, while Henrik assisted on all three Canucks goals.

Mike Zigomanis scored the only goal for the Penguins, who were held to just 19 shots on goal for the game.

Still no official word on the severity of Luongo's injury.

The Stars aren't shining brightly in Dallas, but the role players are.

Jan Bulis, Stu Barnes, and Taylor Pyatt were the goal scorers as the Canucks took Game Three by a 2-1 count in overtime. Markus Naslund, the Sedins, Mike Modano? They were nowhere to be found on the score sheet.

The phrase "Fast-paced low-scoring hockey game" might not sound right, but it perfectly describes last night's tilt, which was the complete opposite of a very boring Game Two. The two teams combined for 67 shots, and provided plenty of good offensive chances at both ends of the ice.

Both teams were showing the great speed they are known for, hustling hard, and rushing back and forth up the ice with vigour. I was tired just watching these teams skate back and forth! Both team's Power Plays have been nullified by the superior penalty killing units of both clubs, where both teams use their great speed to play very aggresive penalty killing styles.

The main difference between the two teams is that Vancouver likes to hit, while Dallas prefers to sit back and lull opponents to sleep. The Stars are very much a passive team, and it showed when the Canucks forechecked hard in the 3rd period, and the Stars were on their high heels.

"When we scored, we could tell they looked scared," said Jan Bulis, who scored Vancouver's first goal. "It was like they didn't want to win it in regulation, they wanted to get it into overtime. They never found their rhythm and it was up to us to take it."

For Taylor Pyatt, the OT goal was his first ever playoff goal in 17 games. He was taken off of his usual spot with the Sedins, but found instant chemistry with the hard-working duo of Linden and Smolinski.

Jannik Hansen also continued his Cinderella story, and earned himself another shot in Game Four. With increased ice time (15:27), Hansen fired four shots on goal, one of which led to Jan Bulis' opening tally. Hansen continued to display a great package of speed and enthusiasm, and hardly looked like a 21-year old rookie playing in just his second NHL tilt.

As for the Stars' stars, they have been well neutralized by Willie Mitchell and Roberto Luongo. Mike Modano has just one lone assist in this series, and was hard to notice on the ice last night. Mike Ribeiro, the Stars' regular season scoring leader, has been softer than a duck-down pillow and has just one lone point, himself.

Stu Barnes, of all people, leads the Stars with three points in three games. If the Canucks continue to neutralize the few weapons that pop-gun Stars' offence has, then no amount of Marty Turco heroics is going to help Dallas overcome Vancouver's balanced attack.

When Matt Cooke, Ryan Kesler, and Alex Burrows went down to injury in Game One, the Canucks recalled a couple of fill-in players.

One of these players was Jannik Hansen, a Danish prospect who most people in Vancouver had never heard of until Friday night. Jannik hadn't even played a regular season NHL game, and yet he was called up ahead of more well-known farmhands such as Brandon Reid and Brad Moran.

Well, Hansen was quite a revelation for the Canucks in Game 1, showing lots of speed and enthusiasm while generating some scoring chances off of the rush. Hansen had 4 shots and was buzzing around like a hummingbird.

"The start was a little bit nervous and shaky and I really didn't know what to do with the puck and it didn't feel right," said Hansen, 21, who logged 9:43 of ice time Friday and finished with an even rating on a line with Bryan Smolinski and Jan Bulis. "But after a couple of shifts, I got more into the game and felt more comfortable."

Comfortable to the point where coach Alain Vigneault had the winger on the power play with Henrik and Daniel Sedin in the third period.

"I didn't expect that -- it was a little overwhelming being out there," added Hansen, who nearly deflected home a first-period point shot and set up Sami Salo for a prime third-period chance.

What makes Hansen's story even better is that he's only the second Danish player to ever make the NHL. Coming from a country with about 3,500 registered players, and being drafted way back in the 9th round (2004), Hansen has beat some long odds and definitely earned a shot to play in Game 2.

Before Canucks fans get TOO excited, however, let's realize that the kid had only 34 points in 72 games with the AHL's Manitoba Moose this season, his first season in pro hockey. Hansen still has a long way to go to cement himself as a regular NHLer, even with one good playoff game under his belt.