Vancouver Canucks look like an offensive juggernaut

The Vancouver Canucks have been carried entirely by a high-powered offence thus far. And right now, there’s little reason to believe that they’ll start slowing down.

Perhaps no team has struggled to score as much as the Vancouver Canucks over the past five seasons, but the tables are turning rapidly in 2018-19.

Through the first 15 games of the season, at least.

Rookie Elias Pettersson is already performing like a true superstar. He’s single-handedly taking over games, beating teams with his shooting, skating and puck movement. He’s elevating the play of his teammates.

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But the Canucks sit at 9-6-0 not just because of Pettersson, but because the other forwards are starting to contribute a lot more.

Bo Horvat is playing up to his usual standards with 11 points, while Brock Boeser seems to be turning a corner after a slow start with four goals and 11 points on the season.

In previous years, the Canucks relied entirely on the Sedin twins to do the scoring. Last year, Horvat and Boeser missed significant time after surging starts to the season.

That forced Vancouver to get by without their two best players, and the 37-year-old twins had to carry the load yet again.

But the Canucks have a new ‘big three’ up front in Pettersson, Horvat and Boeser. All three young stars are making major impacts in every aspect. With all these clutch game-winning goals and late game heroics, the Canucks finally have a trio of go-to stars when they need them most.

As if the new big three wasn’t enough to begin with, consider the other forwards that are coming around offensively. Jake Virtanen has been on a tear as of late, with five goals and two assists on the season. He looks bound to hit the 20-goal mark for the first time.

It’s obviously early, but Markus Granlund has also been chipping in with time offence. He has three goals and six points on the season, and has worked nicely on the second power play unit. And when Sven Baertschi returns? There’s another top-six forward to supply secondary scoring.

Yes, it’s a tad bit early to label the Canucks as a legitimate playoff contender, and maybe they wind up being one of the lowest-scoring teams this season.

But so far, this unit looks like a true offensive juggernaut, with a world class star in Pettersson and great sidekicks in Horvat and Boeser. If the likes of Virtanen and Granlund can throw in the secondary offence from time to time, the Canucks could win up being one of the highest-scoring teams this season.