With a 2-0 victory last night over the New Jersey Devils and friend-turned-foe Cory Schneider, the Vancouver Canucks picked up another victory to improve to 15-6-1 on the season, good for second in the Western Conference and just two points back of Anaheim and Montreal (with a game in hand on both) for first in the entire NHL.
The win was the continuation of a nice little run for Vancouver, that has seen the team go 5-1-1 in their last seven and 11-3-1 in their last 15. These early successful results were expected by few, after all, the Canucks were considered a bubble team in the West by most prognosticators before the season.
However, what’s most surprising isn’t where Vancouver finds themselves in the standings as we approach American Thanksgiving, but rather how they got there. Let’s take a look at their last five wins to give you an idea why.
Canucks Keep Winning in a Myriad of Ways
November 9th – @Anaheim: Vancouver was finishing up a difficult (but ultimately successful) four-game road trip that passed through hockey’s version of Death Valley, California. Not only had the Ducks dominated the Canucks last year, but Vancouver was also at the end of a tough road trip and facing former franchise cornerstone Ryan Kesler for the first time. All the signs were there for a let down game. However, sophomore back-up Eddie Lack turned in his best performance of the season, and second line center Nick Bonino, the man who will forever be linked to Kesler, scored the shootout winner against his old team.
November 11th – vs Ottawa / November 19th @ Edmonton: In these two games, it was the Sedins’ opportunity to lead the way. Daniel Sedin netted the overtime winner against the Senators, the 11th of his career, assisted by Henrik Sedin, naturally. Against the Oilers, as is their wont, the Sedins and linemate Radim Vrbata had a field day. The trio combined for two goals and seven points, while also giving the Canucks another two points in the standings.
November 23rd – vs. Chicago: Since first meeting the rejuvenated Blackhawks franchise in the playoffs back in 2009, games against Chicago have always been a measuring stick for the Canucks. If this game was any indication, the Canucks seem to be perfectly on track. It was a win not propelled by the team’s stars, but rather their fourth line. Oft-maligned winger Jannik Hansen picked up his first career hat-trick, rookie center Bo Horvat had a breakout performance with three assists, the first multi-point game of his career, and Derek Dorsett, generally known for his fisticuffs, chipped in two assists as well. The Canucks skated away with a strong 4-1 victory.
November 25th – vs. New Jersey: Which brings us to last night’s date with the Devils. This time it was contributions from the second and third line, in the form of goal-scorers Alex Burrows and Shawn Matthias, combined with a solid 20-save shutout from goaltender Ryan Miller that led to a 2-0 victory.
So, is a pattern beginning to emerge? It’s quite obvious that in their five wins over their last seven games, the Canucks have gotten contributions from all over the ice.
Prior to the season, the fear was the Canucks would have the Sedins to hang their hat on (and even that was in dispute after their awful 2013-14 campaign), and little else. While both Daniel and Henrik have been good (both are on pace for around 80 points) and Vrbata has been a revelation on their wing (he seems assured to score 30 goals this year and may approach 40, barring injury), it’s clear that everyone on the roster has been contributing to the Canucks success.
The second line of Burrows, Bonino, and Chris Higgins has combined for 39 points in 22 games (in Burrows’ case, 17 games) and all three are pace to approach 20 goals and 50 points by season’s end. Depth forwards like Hansen, Dorsett, Matthias, and Brad Richardson have been chipping in. Rookies Horvat and Linden Vey won’t contend for the Calder, but both seem to have acquitted themselves well enough early in the year to stick with the big club for the remainder of the season (though the jury is currently out on Vey, who has cooled after a strong start). In short: the secondary scoring that so many doubted the existence of is there.
People will point to the team’s 2.73 goals against average (19th in the NHL) as a glaring weakness, but that number is mostly inflated by a small handful of blowout losses earlier this season. If you remove the four games the Canucks have lost by 3 or more goals, that number drops down to an elite 2.12. As the season goes on, and the effect of small sample sizes becomes more negligible, it seems likely that Miller and Lack will be able to provide above league-average, if not excellent, goaltending for the remainder of the year. At the very least, they’re winning games (Miller is tied with Nashville’s Pekka Rinne for the league lead with 14), which is the most important stat to any goaltender.
So while there are improvements still to be made, particularly on the power play and getting more of a contribution from their blueline corps (which has combined for just seven goals, three off the stick of Alex Edler, and now must find a way to replace Dan Hamhuis), team president Trevor Linden and GM Jim Benning have to be pretty happy with what they’ve seen out of their team over the first quarter of the season. Credit can go to rookie coach Willie Desjardins as well, who has been working his roster with aplomb to maximize its potential.
Certainly if it were just the Sedins carrying the team, there would be cause for concern. But the fact is, the club is getting contributions from a myriad of sources, from the first line to the fourth, from veterans to rookies, from scoring stars to grinders. When a player or a line is having a tough night, or can’t take advantage of a match-up, their teammates have stepped up time and time again to help lead the Canucks to victories. It’s given the Canucks and their fans confidence that not only is the team’s hot start not an illusion, but also an indicator that their strong play is entirely sustainable.
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