Vancouver Canucks: Don’t Be Fooled by Winning Streak
By Alex Hoegler
After a rough two-month stretch from late October to mid-December, the Vancouver Canucks five-game winning streak has provided fans with new hope. But should it?
Well, this is fun, isn’t it?
The Vancouver Canucks went from a surprise 4-0-1 start to losing their next nine games. They then seemed to alternate quite a bit between wins and losses, but now they sit at 19-18-3, courtesy of a five-game winning streak.
Vancouver now sits just one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. If the Canucks can sweep their home-and-home with the Calgary Flames this weekend, they’ll surpass their bitter western Canadian rivals and find themselves back in the playoff picture.
However, history suggests the Canucks’ hot streak is a mirage at best, and they’ll soon regress back to their old ways.
Back in December of 2013, when John Tortorella was the head coach, Vancouver put together a seven-game win streak. They sat at 23-11-7 entering the new year.
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The Canucks started out 2014 with four-straight losses and never recovered. They finished the season at 36-35-11 and ended up with the sixth-overall pick. Not what they expected after a promising end to 2013.
And at this point last season? The Canucks were 15-16-9 and hanging around in the playoff race. Everyone knows where they ended up.
With all due respect to the Canucks, their five-game winning streak isn’t so convincing. It started with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 28. The Kings are barely in the playoff picture and haven’t played that well without Jonathan Quick.
Their wins against the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers soon after were well-earned, but consider those trap games for their opponents. Wins against the struggling Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes shouldn’t please anyone too much, in all honesty.
Though Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi have picked up steam, Daniel Sedin has struggled with just one assist during the win streak, while Loui Eriksson has gone pointless in his last three outings. The Canucks haven’t taken a step forward in that regard.
Ryan Miller has won his last four starts. Still, it’s hard to imagine a 36-year-old who hasn’t been the Vezina Trophy-caliber goalie in years has suddenly discovered the Fountain of Youth.
The truth is, the Canucks have been able to string together five strong wins, but it’s not going to propel them to the playoffs. The Kings are bound to get hot when Jonathan Quick returns, and the Dallas Stars are coming around after a miserable start. Tough to see the Oilers, Ducks and/or Flames regress in the second half.
Next: Winning Makes Everything Better
Even though it’s been a nice couple of weeks for Vancouver Canucks fans, you shouldn’t be buying into the belief that they’re finally coming together, because they simply aren’t talented enough to sustain this consistency of excellence.