Music: {allcanada} Snowstorm in Alberta delays Canucks

Sunday, March 3, 2013

{allcanada} Snowstorm in Alberta delays Canucks

CALGARY -- A snowstorm in southern Alberta has grounded the Vancouver Canucks.

Expecting to depart for Calgary after their 5-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, the Canucks have been stuck in Vancouver as they wait for weather conditions to improve prior to their game 8 p.m. ET Sunday at Scotiabank Saddledome.

On the team's official Twitter account, the club announced it's flight was scheduled to depart at 3:45 p.m. ET.

Calgary coach Bob Hartley said he has little in the way of sympathy for their Northwest Division rivals.

"We control many things in this business but we certainly don't control weather or any factors that might affect the team," he said. "For me, that's more a concern for the Canucks than for us. On our side, we're in our own building and we prepare for our game. That's the way it should be."

Still, Matt Stajan isn't sure the situation yields much of an advantage for the Flames.

"It's a short flight, so I don't think it's that big of deal," he said. "It's either that or they would've gotten in really late last night. When you play back-to-backs, I think it's more just making sure your body's ready. You try to get as much sleep. Every team has to go through it, but that's on them. We've got to do our thing here. We can't worry about other people's schedule. We have to take care of our business on home ice."

The travel delay is one Hartley had to go through as coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. Unlike Sunday's situation with snow, Hartley was grounded by other elements.

"I think it was the fog in Atlanta," he said. "I remember we stayed at the hotel right at the airport in Atlanta and we were able to fly around 11 o'clock the next morning. It was big fog."

Hartley acknowledged the key to overcoming those kinds of situations is mental preparation.

"You always have to be ready. Anything can happen," he said. "Your goalie breaks a pad, the glass breaks. Look at the Super Bowl -- the electricity runs down. Part of the coach, part of a player, is that you need to be ready to overcome those challenges."

Here is the lineup the Canucks likely will go with when they finally do get to Calgary:

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alexandre Burrows

Mason Raymond - Jannik Hansen - Chris Higgins

David Booth - Maxim Lapierre - Zack Kassian

Tom Sestito - Jordan Schroeder - Dale Weise

Kevin Bieksa - Alexander Edler

Dan Hamhuis - Jason Garrison

Christopher Tanev - Andrew Alberts

Roberto Luongo

Cory Schneider

Scratched: Keith Ballard, Cam Barker

Injured: Ryan Kesler (foot), Manny Malhotra (eye)