Canucks and Beyond

But On the Bright Side...

04/09/2009 at 6:43pm EDT

From Matthew Sekeres in the Globe & Mail:

The Vancouver Canucks remain alive for the Northwest Division title and home-ice advantage in the first round of the NHL playoffs next week.

But, truth be told, the Canucks have a bigger priority right now as they face the Los Angeles Kings this evening at General Motors Place.

After permitting 46 shots in their last game, and 14 goals in the three games before that, Vancouver needs to tighten up defensively or it risks making a quick postseason exit.

Indeed. The full article is here.

Sekeres’s assessment is accurate, though you could look at it in another way: that even when they’re terrible in one respect, it’s often another aspect of their game that steps up.

In the case of Calgary, obviously that was Roberto Luongo. In other games, Vancouver’s offense has bailed that same goalie out of some bad moments as well. Not too often (in recent months) does their entire game all fall apart at the same time. *knock on wood*

That being said, giving up 21 shots a period is not really a recipe for success. And while I’m not all that confident they can bring together their entire game at any one time—offense, defense and goaltending all on a roll—I do imagine they can pull it together again in time for Luongo have his own bad game or two, sooner or later.

While that might not translate into playoff success, per se, it might get them through a few games.

(Hey, just trying to put a positive spin on things, here. People tell me I’m too negative lately. :) )

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