Vancouver Canucks drop significantly in NHL power rankings
By Alex Hoegler
With losses in five of their last six games and a string of injuries to key players, the Vancouver Canucks saw themselves fall significantly in power rankings across the web.
Over the first two months of the season, the Vancouver Canucks dazzled and surpassed early season expectations. The electrifying first line of Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Sven Baertschi powered the offence that kept this team in the running for the Pacific Division.
But Horvat and Baertschi are out for several more weeks after suffering a fractured foot and broken jaw, respectively. Boeser is day-to-day with a bone bruise, according to general manager Jim Benning:
Canucks GM Jim Benning on Brock Boeser’s bone bruise: “It’s a matter of day to day, not week to week.” #relief
— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) December 18, 2017
The Canucks have dropped five of their last six games, being outscored 29-9 in that span. They have 34 points and have moved all the way down to 13th in the Western Conference. With so many injuries to top players, this team hasn’t been able to produce enough scoring.
Take all of this into account, and it’s not surprising to see just how much the Canucks have fallen in power rankings across the web.
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After coming in at 21st on last week’s TSN rankings, the Canucks fell all the way down to 25th this week. TSN noted they’re giving up 5.2 goals per game during that six-game losing streak — which is kind of bad.
At CBS Sports, Cody Benjamin ranked the Canucks 23rd, and asked: At what point do the Canucks regret their offseason emphasis on short-term vet additions?
Interesting question, but Thomas Vanek has been a fine pick up. Sam Gagner? He’s getting a little bit better overtime. Depth is the real issue, not the short-term free agent pickups.
There wasn’t much love from Sam Page at Sports Illustrated, who ranked the Canucks 25th. On top of that, he referred to them as “hapless” under his Calgary Flames entry.
Ryan Lambert of Yahoo Sports also placed the Canucks 25th, yet noted that it’s probably a good thing if this team is tanking.
At the Orange County Register, Eric Stephen was a little more friendly as he placed the Canucks 23rd. theScore.com was also kind enough to give the Canucks the 23rd ranking, while mentioning they’re better under head coach Travis Green, but not good enough to contend right now.
December has been a rough month for the Canucks. They’re 3-5-0 and have lost their entire first line to injury. Throw in the surges of fellow Pacific Division rivals like the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers, and the Canucks playoff hopes are really on thin ice.
Next: Canucks: Jim Benning shouldn't make any trades
As they continue to struggle, their placements in power rankings across the internet will continue to drop. We’ll see if they can rebound and jump back into the top-10 — a place where they stood in November.