After a tough defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres, six games remain on the Vancouver Canucks road swing. At 6-4-4, these next several contests could be a major turning point in the Canucks season. Here is a preview of each of the first three games with a difficulty rating out of ten for each one. Look for part two later this week.
Vancouver Canucks Road Trip Preview (Part 1)
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils actually haven’t had a particularly bad start to the 2015-16 campaign. Going 7-5-1, the Devils rank 16th in the NHL, and sit just one spot out of an Eastern Conference playoff berth. They certainly won’t be the pushover they’ve been in the past, but that doesn’t mean this won’t be a winnable game for Vancouver. The Devils, on paper, still don’t appear particularly dangerous, and unlike the Sabres or Penguins, there isn’t the talent there to break a game open. It certainly won’t be an easy victory, but this is two points that are very much on the table for the Canucks to take home.
Difficulty Rating: 5.5
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets got off to a terrible eight-game losing streak, and has led into an 4-11-0 start that finds them at the bottom of the National Hockey League. While they’ve improved under new head coach John Tortorella, the Blue Jackets still don’t pose a particularly large threat to the Canucks, with the fact that “Torts” will be coaching against his former team being the only concern of note. With points having already been given up to the Sabres this road trip, Vancouver can’t afford to be giving up points to anymore bottom-feeders, and they better hope they can get the job done against a struggling Columbus squad. Perhaps they’re not the automatic two points they were earlier, but that doesn’t change the fact that this team isn’t particularly good either.
Difficulty Rating: 3.5
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators rode crazy momentum into the post-season at the end of last year, mostly thanks to the goaltending of Andrew Hammond. While they haven’t gone at quite as torrid a pace this year, they are off to a relatively solid 7-4-3 start, and find themselves nestled in at sixth in the Eastern Conference, as well as second in the Atlantic Division (ahead of the reigning East champion, the Tampa Bay Lightning). Of all the teams covered so far, the Senators pose easily the biggest threat to the Canucks. With game breakers such as Erik Karlsson and Bobby Ryan at their disposal, the Senators boast an advantage that neither the Devils nor Blue Jackets do. That said, while the Senators will undoubtedly push the Canucks hard, they are certainly no powerhouse, and two points in Vancouver’s favor is a very, very realistic possibility.
Difficulty Rating: 6.5
There you have it, the first half of the remaining six games of the Canucks road trip. The potential is there for points in the bank, but as we saw against the Sabres, nothing is a guarantee. Coming up in part two of the Canucks Road Trip Preview, a trio of Canadian clubs: The Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets.
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