The Vancouver Canucks are an enigma.
In fact, they have been for a long time, but the last couple weeks have been a true microcosm of it. Vancouver went from preparing to make the Canucks’ front office walk the plank for a dismal 2-5-0 start, to charting a new course back towards the shores of Playoff Island.
This week, contributions from across the lineup and the long awaited return to dominance for Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller led the Canucks to sweep a three game series against the Senators and snag a rare win in Winnipeg against the Jets last night. During that span the Canucks outscored their opponents 20-4, and despite being outshot in all three games against the Sens, Thatcher Demko and Braden Holtby stood on their heads and gave fans (and teammates) a real reason to forget who walked out their door to Calgary last offseason.
Make no mistake: the Canucks have a lot of work to do before they can truly hang with the big boys of the North Division. The Maple Leafs asserted their dominance over the Flames and Oilers in their week long Alberta road trip, and the Canadiens have held serve so far in their first homestand of the year. But perhaps the massive momentum swing Travis Green’s group has put together this week could make all the difference when it comes to challenging the best of the best in the coming days.
1) Toronto Maple Leafs – ⬆️ 2
Seven out of eight points in Alberta and we sent Matthew Tkachuk on a rampage?! If it weren’t for those awful Reverse Retros, this would’ve been a perfect week!
2) Montreal Canadiens – ⬇️ 1
It took us a whooole month to lose our first game in regulation, Oh NoOoOoOoOoN!
3) Vancouver Canucks – ⬆️ 7
Look, aside from pure chaos, we have no idea what we are either.
4) Winnipeg Jets – ⬇️ 3
That two week quarantine for new players can’t end soon enough.
5) Calgary Flames – ⬇️ 4
The only two ways to solve a team slump? Players only meetings and Jacob freaking Markstrom.
6) Edmonton Oilers
Every time you’re close to forgetting about us, Connor McDavid does something mind-blowing.
7) Ottawa Senators – ⬇️ 5
We’re going to be seeing the Lotto Line in our nightmares for a long, long time.
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