Vancouver Canucks: Young forwards showing they can lead

Led by Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson, the Vancouver Canucks have been playing their best hockey in years. It goes to show just how much of a difference these two young stars can make for the franchise.

The Vancouver Canucks have been playing their best hockey of the season over the last two weeks, and they continued it with a 4-2 demolishing of the surging Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night.

Brock Boeser continued his hot streak with a goal and two assists. He’s now up to 23 points in 23 games on the season. Of course, he’s been a tad bit overlooked thus far in the young 2018-19 season, since some guy named Elias Pettersson is taking over as the team’s leading scorer.

Pettersson scored another goal on Sunday, bringing his totals up to 35 points in 30 games. He’s already just three goals away from 20 in his rookie season, and we’re only in mid-December. Simply remarkable.

Future captain Bo Horvat tallied a goal and an assist. He’s now up to 16 goals and 32 points in 36 games. The 23-year-old has recorded seven points in his last nine games, and Horvat is already in line to surpass a career-best 52-point season from 2016-17.

The Canucks lost eight in a row during the month of November, then they proceeded to lose four of their next five after that. But with Boeser back in full health, the Canucks are scoring in bunches and starting to play their best hockey in years.

We’re seeing just how much of an impact Boeser, Pettersson and Horvat are making. The Canucks are still a very flawed team, but they’ve looked like a playoff caliber team in the midst of their 5-0-1 run.

There isn’t any secondary scoring here. The blue line leaves a lot to be desired. The goaltending is eh-okay, and the special team units don’t stand out much. The Pacific Division couldn’t be much more difficult, either.

And yet, the Canucks sit just three points behind Edmonton out of a playoff spot. All the injuries, all the weaknesses, all of those losses in November. But with a trio of young forwards leading the way, those flaws are being overlooked. It just goes to show how big of an impact they’re all making, and how they’re more than ready to lead in the post-Sedin era.

Boeser, Pettersson and Horvat are just entering their prime years now, and that’s already enough to keep this team somewhat alive in the playoff race. They still have room to get better, and Olli Juolevi and Quinn Hughes aren’t in the NHL yet.

But if the Canucks can play this well with only a trio of young forwards doing most of the workload, then just imagine the future when the other significant pieces of this rebuild come on board.