Welcome to my blog. I’m here to talk about the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, and occasionally about the NHL in general. I hope you enjoy reading! Comments are always welcome.
No time for panic… yet!
So the Canucks lost their first two games of the year – and as I post this, they’ve now dropped a third straight – and with all the high expectations placed on them by fans and the media, a lot of people are getting worried about how this team will fare. Mark my words: there’s nothing to worry about. I’ve maintained for years that the first 20 games of the season have no bearing on how a team will look at the end of the year. Teams are still trying to gel and develop chemistry, so even though the points are important, I’d much rather see my team go 5-15 in the first 20 games to follow up going 40-20 in the next 60 games then have that reversed. I remember all too fondly the late ‘90s when the Canucks would get off to a great start only to collapse later in the year and miss the playoffs. They’ll be fine.
They haven’t been playing badly. With the exception of the first period against Calgary, which was embarrassing to the point I won’t even discuss it here, they’ve been playing hard, playing strong, and playing like winners… only to get stopped by a hot goalie. The bounces will start to go their way soon. Calgary struggled to beat Vancouver and Edmonton in their first two games. When the Canucks and Oilers take their early losses to improve on the basics, they’ll come out stronger the next time they play Calgary who, conversely, won’t bother making any major adjustments: this is as good as they’re going to be all season.
Kiprusoff kept the Flames alive in the third period on Thursday. He’s going to get burnt out because, honestly, there’s no way McElhinney will be able to win enough games for the team. As much as Sutter wants to give Mikka some rest, they won’t be able to sacrifice the wins. Anderson was great on Saturday, robbing the Canucks on many occasions. Once the Canucks get a few bounces and a bit of confidence from a win, Luongo will come around and we’ll start seeing the numbers get a little higher in the W column.
Why so surprised?
Speaking of Luongo, this is his fourth year in Vancouver, and he has struggled in October for three straight years. Why is everyone so shocked that he’s struggling early this season? Do they really think that the Olympics are enough of a draw for him to play completely differently in the first month? They said it on Sportsnet tonight: he’ll struggle in October and then turn it around in November, breaking more franchise records as he hits his stride. The fact of the matter is that October isn’t the time when Luongo is going to win games for the Canucks; conversely, this is the time when the team is going to have to win games for him as he finds his stride. It sucks, sure, but that’s the way it is, and we’ve known that for three – going on four – seasons. This is still a team to be reckoned with. Once Louie gets going, the rest of the league had better be careful.
That’s it for the first edition of Canucks This Week. Coming tomorrow: HockeyTalk, with my thoughts on the rest of the NHL to date, including my predictions for the end of the season; Canucks This Week’s first video highlights on YouTube; and (time permitting) HockeyTalk: Live on blogtalkradio.com. Comments are always appreciated!
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