Canucks have a simple New Year’s Resolution: Make the playoffs

2020 marks a new year and a new decade. The Vancouver Canucks can start it off by punching a ticket to the postseason for the first time in five years.

The Vancouver Canucks closed out 2019 — and the 2010s decade — on a high note by winning five consecutive contests, but the real game begins now.

It’s unknown how many Canuck players made personal New Year’s Resolutions, and what those resolutions could consist of. But if the team secretly came up with one vow and goal together for 2020, it should be a simple one.

Make the playoffs.

Entering play on Thursday, Vancouver sits third in the Pacific Division with a 21-15-4 record. They’re two points behind the second-placed Arizona Coyotes, and four behind the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.

Many fans and pundits were careful not to get overly excited about Vancouver’s strong start in October, especially since history suggested that they would hit a bump in November. Sure enough, the Canucks came away with just five wins that month.

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But the team rebounded nicely in the final month of the decade, going 8-5-0 and launching themselves right back into the playoff picture. This included character wins over the powerhouse Golden Knights and Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 19 and 21, respectively.

Luckily for the Canucks, the Pacific Division is weaker than ever before. For the first time in the 21st century, all three California teams are struggling mightily.

At this point, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are more likely to win the draft lottery — or at least earn top five picks. Their playoff dreams are quickly fading.

The Calgary Flames aren’t getting much production out of their top stars — namely Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. The rival Edmonton Oilers have predictably unraveled after being carried entirely by Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and James Neal.

Losing stud goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been brutal for the Coyotes, who’ve gone a mere 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. The advanced stats suggest that Arizona has been on the right side of puck luck, and that regression is inevitable.

You can argue that after Vegas, Vancouver is the most balanced team in the Pacific Division. They have a legitimate and fearful top line that consists of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller. Tanner Pearson and Jake Virtanen are adding ample secondary scoring, too.

And of course, the blue line looks as good as ever. In my opinion, this is the best group of defencemen Vancouver has had since their last Presidents’ Trophy season in 2011-12. And oh, Jacob Markstrom is performing like somebody who deserves consideration for the Vezina Trophy.

All of the pieces are in place for the Canucks to punch a ticket to the postseason for the first time in five years. The division is weak, and the team is firing on all cylinders.

That, folks, is why Vancouver’s 2020 New Years’ Resolution should be a simple one: Just make the playoffs. That’s all Canuck fans want. Even if they were swept out of round one, it would be far better than missing the playoffs for a fifth straight year.

But with the way this team is playing, it’s also not unreasonable to think that Vancouver could steal a playoff series (maybe two) if they met the 2020 goal by making the postseason.