Vancouver vibe
With an 18-8-4 record the Vancouver Canucks sit fourth in the West and second in the Northwest Division, two points behind Colorado with three games in hand. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
Adam Proteau
2010-12-20 13:45:00
The Vancouver Canucks were The Hockey News’ pick to win the Stanley Cup this season. After a slow start, we’re seeing why.
Led by the Sedin Bros. (who have combined for 22 goals and 75 points), the Canucks have won three in a row and have lost just once in regulation time in their past 10 games. They don’t rely on their defensemen to do a lot of scoring – only two blueliners (Alex Edler and Christian Ehrhoff) are in their top 13 point-producers – but with talents such as Ryan Kesler (15 goals, 25 points) and Mason Raymond (seven goals, 18 points and three game-winning goals), they don’t need to.
And, of course, no mention of the Canucks would be complete without noting the contribution of goalie Roberto Luongo. The 31-year-old is rounding into form – going 2-0-0 with a 1.46 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage in his past two games.
The Nucks no longer have the league’s top power play – they’re now third overall at 23.8 percent, behind Chicago (24.0) and Colorado (23.9) – but that drop has been offset by a penalty kill that is ranked fifth (85.0). Although Vancouver is a somewhat pedestrian 6-2-2 against the weaker Eastern Conference, they’re 12-6-2 against tougher opponents in the West and 7-1-1 in their own division.
The Canucks won’t have a gigantic, Olympics-caused road trip to deal with this season. But they’re on the road this week for three games against Central Division teams: Monday at St. Louis, Wednesday at Detroit and Thursday at Columbus.
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RK.
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TEAM
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LW
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OVERALL
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L10
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THE SCOOP
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1 |
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3 |
22-7-5 |
7-1-2 |
Loss of Chris Pronger would cripple lesser squads, but Flyers have depth and talent to continue to roll |
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2 |
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1 |
20-8-4 |
4-4-2 |
Wings have most trouble with Pacific Division teams (6-4-2) |
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3 |
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2 |
21-10-2 |
8-2-0 |
Sidney Crosby has a 21.1 shooting percentage (26 goals on 123 shots); Evgeni Malkin has an 8.7 shooting percentage (11 goals on 127 shots) |
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4 |
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7 |
18-8-4 |
8-1-1 |
Ryan Kesler second on Canucks in goals (15) and power play goals (six), tied for first in game-winners (three) |
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5 |
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8 |
20-10-3 |
6-2-2 |
Stars are 9-2-0 against Eastern Conference teams |
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6 |
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4 |
17-10-4 |
5-3-2 |
Bruins have faced Western Conference teams just four times so far this year and have 1-1-2 mark |
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7 |
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5 |
19-12-2 |
5-4-1 |
Habs dominating their division (9-3-0) |
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8 |
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10 |
18-10-4 |
5-3-2 |
Center Dominic Moore a team-worst minus-17; his career worst is a minus-11 with the Wild in 2007-08 |
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9 |
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16 |
19-10-4 |
6-1-3 |
Relative unknown David Jones tied for second in Avs goal-scoring with a career-best 11; his previous high was 10 last season |
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10 |
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6 |
19-12-4 |
2-6-2 |
Freefalling Caps deserve to be sworn at by Bruce Boudreau |
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11 |
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9 |
18-12-1 |
5-4-1 |
Anze Kopitar is on pace to finish with 37 goals and 84 points – both would be career highs |
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12 |
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14 |
17-9-6 |
8-1-1 |
Sophomore Colin Wilson is nothing if not consistent: last year he had eight goals and 15 points in 35 NHL games; this year, he has seven goals and 14 points in 32 outings. |
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13 |
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11 |
18-11-5 |
6-2-2 |
Thrashers are league’s comeback kids – when the opposition scores first, they have a .615 winning percentage; next closest team is Washington (.476) |
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14 |
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12 |
20-14-1 |
6-4-0 |
Loss of Ryan Callahan puts more pressure on Marian Gaborik to succeed |
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15 |
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13 |
15-9-7 |
4-4-2 |
Average shooting percentage of top three Coyotes point-producers is 6.6 percent |
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16 |
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15 |
17-11-5 |
6-3-1 |
Logan Couture leads Sharks with five game-winning goals |
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17 |
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21 |
15-12-4 |
6-2-2 |
Eric Staal on pace for 42 goals, 86 points; his career best is 45 goals and 100 points in 2005-06 |
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18 |
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19 |
18-14-3 |
6-3-1 |
Hawks’ power play now league’s best (24 percent). Penalty kill (a 27th-ranked 79 percent) still a problem |
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19 |
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18 |
15-11-5 |
3-5-2 |
Blues’ lineup ravaged by rash of injuries |
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20 |
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17 |
16-13-3 |
2-5-3 |
Goalie Steve Mason is 0-1-0 with a 10.81 goals-against average and .742 save percentage in his past two games |
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21 |
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20 |
17-15-4 |
5-4-1 |
Ryan Getzlaf leads Ducks in overtime goals (two), game-winners (four) |
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22 |
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22 |
14-13-4 |
3-5-2 |
Wild are winless when they out-shoot their opponent |
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23 |
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24 |
14-16-0 |
5-5-0 |
Tomas Vokoun’s save percentage at home is .911; on the road, it’s .930 |
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24 |
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23 |
12-14-5 |
6-3-1 |
Oilers tied with Thrashers for worst shootout record (1-4) |
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25 |
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27 |
14-16-3 |
5-4-1 |
Only Jarome Iginla (14) and Rene Bourque (13) have more than nine goals for Flames |
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26 |
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25 |
13-16-4 |
5-4-1 |
Sabres unbeaten this year in shootouts (3-0) |
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27 |
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28 |
14-17-4 |
3-4-3 |
Sens have league’s third-worst goals-for/against differential (minus-25) |
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28 |
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26 |
12-16-4 |
4-5-1 |
Leafs have just one shorthanded goal all season – from Phil Kessel, of all people |
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29 |
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29 |
9-21-2 |
2-8-0 |
The end seems near for John MacLean |
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30 |
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30 |
6-18-6 |
2-6-2 |
Isles still haven’t won a game when trailing after the first period |
The Hockey News ranks the teams 1-30 each Monday based on a combination of last week’s play and a squad’s overall outlook.
For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.
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