Dec 20, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Vancouver Canucks goalie Ryan Miller (30) makes a save against the Florida Panthers in overtime. The Panthers won 4-3 in a shootout at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
With the Pacific Division at its worst, the Vancouver Canucks remain in playoff position, despite losing three of last week’s four games.
You can probably imagine how sick I am of reading — and writing — about how bad the Pacific Division is. But the Vancouver Canucks and their Pacific foes leave us no other choice. Another week of NHL hockey is in the books, and the Pacific Division’s longest active winning streaks are those of the Anaheim Ducks and the Arizona Coyotes. Both have won one game.
Related: Vancouver Canucks World Junior Championship Preview
As much as we love watching Canucks hockey anyway, the World Junior Championship will be a welcome change. Canucks forward Jake Virtanen and Team Canada are looking to defend their title and beat the world’s best hockey nations to another gold medal. The tournament will start on December 26th and end with the final on January 5th. The Canucks have three games during that span, giving us a lot of hockey to watch during the holiday season.
Back to the Pacific Division. The Los Angeles Kings are still in first place, but behind that, literally anything can happen. Vancouver in the playoffs? Anaheim? Calgary? Edmonton? There is no way to know.
Here’s how the teams rank this week, from terribly bad to slightly better but still pretty bad.
Next: 7. Edmonton Oilers