Vancouver Canucks move down in NHL power rankings

The Vancouver Canucks had up-and-down showings last week, which led to a gradual drop in NHL power rankings. See where they place and stack up across the web.

Good thing the Vancouver Canucks were able to steal a 4-2 victory from the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. That helped erase the two disappointing losses to the Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils earlier in the week.

But had it not been for Brock Boeser and the once-again stellar goaltending of Jacob Markstrom, there’s a good chance the Canucks go pointless in those three games.

Outside of the newly named ‘Killer B’s Line’ of Boeser, Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi, the Canucks haven’t been scoring much, and the defence has defined “inconsistent” greatly.

In short, last week wasn’t the best we’ve seen of the Vancouver Canucks. Throw in Monday’s sloppy and mistake-filled loss to the Detroit Red Wings, and you can see where the disappointment settles in.

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Still, the Canucks sit at 7-5-1, holding onto the top wild card spot in the Western Conference. If the playoffs started today, they’d have a winnable matchup against the Los Angeles Kings in round one.

Truth be told, the Canucks have played much better than anybody expected. There have been nice stories thus far, including Derek Dorsett and Anders Nilsson.

But due to a somewhat sloppy week, the Canucks (in general), slipped in NHL power rankings across the web. That’s what happens when you lose three of your last four games, especially in somewhat unconvincing efforts.

At TSN.ca, the Canucks placed eighth and fell just one spot. They also offered high praise for the Canucks:

“A 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh was a feature game for Brock Boeser, who had three goals and an assist for 13 points in 10 games. The young guns in Vancouver are getting the job done.”

Over at Sports Illustrated, Jeremy Fuchs placed the Canucks 11th, though he believes the play is “unsustainable, especially since Derek Dorsett leads the team in goals.” Fair point for Mr. Fuchs, considering Dorsett hasn’t scored in his last four games.

At CBS Sports, the Canucks stayed steady in the ninth spot. That came thanks to the New York Islanders moving up four spots, and the Toronto Maple Leafs dropping down four. But over at the Orange County Register, the Canucks didn’t get quite as much love, as Eric Stephens placed them 18th.

Next: Chances of the Canucks making the playoffs

It hasn’t been a great few games for the Canucks, but they’ve still been playing better than most expect. If the Canucks want to win more games and essentially move up in power rankings, they’ll have to regain their form from the first two weeks of the season. Easier said than done, of course.