The Canucks flew down to San Jose, a notoriously difficult place for the Orca, and beat the Sharkies 4-3, keeping our lovely little streak alive. Daniel Sedin, Alex Edler, Jannik Hansen, and Alex Burrows (game winner) scored for the good guys, while Cory Schneider stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced. It's also important to recognize the "LSF Top Star Who Didn't Score A Point," Tanner Glass, who got involved in two brawls that kept the squad pumped up. Talk about gaining some respect among fans. Boosting their point total to 55 (25-8-5), the Canucks are now the all alone best team in the NHL, and have earned a 10 point lead on the Northwest's #2, Colorado Avalanche.
So, it seems like the Canucks just don't know how to lose these days. 11-0-2 in their last 13 games, a five game winning streak, 8-0-1 in their past 9 road games, 15-1-2 in the last 18 games overall. A win or OT loss against Calgary on Wednesday night would set the Canucks franchise record for most consecutive game where at least one point was scored. They are crazy hot right now, and the pessimist I am just keeps expecting their flame to go out. But, even when faced with a back to back in the always tough Shark Tank, we just can't be stopped.
How long can we expect the good times to roll? We'll give a historical context:
Longest NHL winning streak: 17 by the '92/'93 Pittsburgh Penguins
Longest NHL streak without failing to gain at least one point: 35 by the '79/'80 Philladelphia Flyers
Those are some pretty big numbers. To break that second record, the 'Nucks would need to win or lose only in OT for the next 23 games. Wow. That's a long way. I don't think many of us expect that to happen, but maybe we can pump out at least like 5 more.
How about looking to the Canucks as a team:
Longest Canucks winning streak: 10 games in 2002.
Longest Canucks streak without failing to gain at least a point: 14 games in 2003.
And to help us look a little more at the bigger picture to see where this Vannie team might end up ranking among the top in franchise history:
Most wins by a Canucks team in a season: 49 in '06/'07
Most points by a Canucks team in a season: 105 in '06/'07
Most goals by a Canucks team in a season: 346 in '92/'93
How long do I expect this undefeated streak to go? Well, I think I'm right to say that we won't break the Flyers record of 35. However, looking at the schedule, I think we can pick off a couple more. We have three home games coming up, as we face Calgary, Edmonton, and Detroit by January 8. The Oiler and Red Wing games are on back to back nights, and I think I'm being a realistic fan to say that our streak will end there. 15 games from December 8 through January 8, with a loss coming at the hands of Detroit. All in all, that would be a pretty darn successful streak.
But where will this Vannie team rank among the all time Canucks? We're on pace for:
Wins: 54
Points: 119
Goals: 283
While this clearly wouldn't be the best scoring team in Canucks history, if they keep up their current pace after these first 38 games, they have the potential to finish with 5 more wins and 14 more points than the best team in the history of this franchise.
If you would have asked any 7th Canucks back in late October if we'd be on pace for that kind of finish by January, they all would have laughed at the thought. But, we seem to finally be that legit team we all hoped we would be, and if we can get passed the second round of the playoffs, we may be completely unstoppable.
The Houston Astros of the NHL are up next. Let's keep this thing going.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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