Vancouver Canucks (22-16-5, 49 pts): Vancouver started this season in hopes of finally taking the next step to being a top-caliber NHL franchise. With the Sedin twins up front and superstar netminder Roberto Luongo in the crease, the Canucks look as if they may finally be able to compete on a nightly basis with the top teams in the league.
With his twin brother Henrik (32 assists) feeding him the puck, Daniel Sedin has seen a tremendous amount of success this season, and is on pace to finish somewhere in the vicinity of 85-90 points. Veteran winger Pavol Demitra has chipped in nicely where needed, and the rest of the Canucks’ offensive lines have decent numbers.
It has been the Canucks’ defense which has helped them be so successful this season. Luongo was on a Vezina-like tear at the beginning of the season, recording a 3 game shutout streak to open the month of November. Unfortunately for the Canucks, Luongo injured his groin and has been out since November 22nd. Since then, three other keepers have filled in, with varying degrees of success. Still, the Canucks defensive corps has played admirably, consistently playing shutdown defense, and keeping opponents under 30 shots a game. While that number could be better, the Canucks should be feeling pretty confident considering that they’ve been winning games without one of the game’s top goalies.
Current League Rankings:
Goals - 11th Goals Against - 4th Powerplay Goals - 16th Powerplay Percentage - 18th Shorthanded Goals - T-8th Penalty kill percentage - 14th