Canucks Heading To The Playoffs
by Simon Hoodikoff
The Canucks are holding a steady
third place in the conference and
are looking strong coming into the
playoffs. They happen to be ruling a
particularly easy division, and leading
a division leapfrogs you directly
into the top three playoff berths.
The Northwest Division is also one
of the tightest races going on.
If we’ve learned anything about
this team, it’s that the season means
pretty much nothing. Our best
season turned out to be our worst
playoff run, and one of our worst
finishes brought us to the finals in
’94. Two different teams, maybe,
but it shows basing a playoff predication
on the team’s performance in
the regular season isn’t as reliable as
one may think.
The main source of the Canucks’
success this year came from their
ability to maintain leads and control
the play while they are ahead.
If they hope to have any standing in
the playoffs, this is a trend they need
to keep. The Canucks used to have a
habit of falling back when in a lead.
They would slow the play down and
hope to hold onto whatever margin
they had. More recently, they’ve
been defending by attacking and
have been twice as effective because
of it. The difference is the speed; the
Canucks have acquired some key
players since their defensive days
and are using them to their full potential.
Kyle Wellwood, in particular,
has been picking up his play recently.
Winger Mikeal Samuelsson
is in the middle of a career high 30-
goal season, Luongo is getting back
on track after a few shaky losses,
and Henrik Sedin has a solid grasp
on the Art Ross trophy. So individually,
the Canucks are looking great.
The question remains, however, if
they can pull together as a team and
make it past the second round for
once.
As it stands, the most likely firstround
opponents are the Detroit
Red Wings, who are the hottest team
in the NHL right now. They have a
streak of 11-2-1 in Mar., vaulting
them into sixth place in the West
and becoming the most feared team
in the league in the process. The Canucks
seem to fare well
against the better teams,
but have a measly 1-3
record against the Wings
this year.
After clinching a
playoff spot in an exciting
shootout victory against
the Anaheim Ducks, the
question then turns to
play style. We’ve seen a
very fast and offensive
team this year, the kind
that Naslund would have
liked, no doubt.
When all is said and
done, the Canucks have
to focus on making it
through the first two
rounds. It’s become such
a roadblock for them
over the years, and if they
can make the hurdle this
year then it could give
them enough momentum
to make some noise
in the later rounds.