When you've clinched the division, the league, and the President's Trophy, it might be a little hard to get up for a game against a horrible team as the regular season comes to a close. That's what's going on for the Canucks right now, as they're coming off of a 1-4 loss to the lowly Edmonton Oilers over the weekend. You can't blame them right now, but you have to figure out what's left to play for as the regular season winds down.
On Saturday, the youth movement from Edmonton took it to the Canucks, and came out large on top. Foster and Eberle scored power play goals, while Omark and Paajarvi sealed the deal, with Alex Burrows getting the only goal for the Orca in the loss. Cory Schneider made 30 saves on 34 shots, but you can't really blame him. The Canucks just weren't putting a huge effort together. Young defender Yann Sauve finished as a -2 in the game, and I don't want to point him out, but as a team the Canucks laid a big egg, and he just didn't look great on the ice. But does it matter?
What does it matter if the Canucks lose out? We've won the President's Trophy, and we have nothing left to prove in the regular season. Does winning the final three games matter? Do we have anything to play for? The answer is obviously, yes. You didn't think I was going to say no, did you? We've got Edmonton tomorrow, Minnesota on Thursday, and Calgary on Saturday, and it's all important.
Sit back and I'll tell you why.
1. The injured stars are coming back: On Tuesday, Mikael Samuelsson is coming back, with Alex Edler (remember him?) coming back Thursday, and Dan Hamhuis hopefully getting back by Saturday (my own speculation). It's important to get these guys some skating time in real game action before the playoffs. You don't want someone who has been off with an injury for a long while having their first game back in a playoff level atmosphere.
2. Let the lines gel: Thanks to the Malhotra injury, we've had to undergo some line shuffling. While Daniel, Henrik, and Alex will be our top forwards, the other lines look a little different as the season winds down. Kesler with be centering the second line with Samuelsson and Higgins (is Higgy excited about that, or what?). Mason Raymond has shifted to center the third line with Raffy and Jannik. And, Maxime Lapierre is rolling as the fourth line center, with Tambers and Glass most likely playing the last line wings. These guys will benefit from getting some more time together before the second season starts.
3. Daniel Sedin is looking to make history: Never, in the history of sports, have twin brothers finished on top of the most important stat in any sport in back to back seasons. This is real history that we are about to witness. Last season, Henrik won the Art Ross by leading the NHL in points in 2010, and now Daniel is close to locking down the Art Ross for 2011. As I type, Daniel has 100 points, leading Martin St. Louis by 6 and Corey Perry by 7. Hank, last year's Art Ross winner, is 8 back of his brother. With 3 Vancouver games remaining, Daniel is closing in on history.
4. The team needs to stay on a roll: Picking up some continued confidence over the final three regular season games is also VERY important. Laying three eggs heading into the playoffs doesn't sound like a great idea, but if we can pick up some steam as we get ready for the second season, that'd be a huge boost for us. I'm not talking about having to have wins over these final three, necessarily, I'm just talking about playing hard and getting on track before the playoffs.
The Blue & Green are 52-18-9 with 113 points. While we've clinched everything, I'll still point out our various leads for my own fun. We're 22 points up on Calgary in the division, 11 up on Detroit in the conference, and 10 up on Philly and Washington in the league. What a truly epic season.
Even though we've got everything locked up, there is still a ton of excitment as the season winds down for two other LSF squads (again, sorry Andrew). Buffalo has 90 points right now, with 3 games left. They sit 7th in the East, 1 up on the Rangers (#8) and 4 up on Carolina (#9). They are also only 1 point back of #6 Montreal. Brandon must be barely able to sit down! Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are #8 with 92 points and 4 games remaining. They lead the #9 Flames by 1 point and #10 Dallas by 3, and trail #7 Anaheim by 1 and #6 Nashville by 4.
Since it matters so much for who we play in the opening round of Lord Stanley's playoffs, we'll take a quick look at the battle for the 8 spot, and yes, it really does still include 7 teams.
4. Los Angeles (96 points, 4 to go)
5. Phoenix (96 points, 3 to go)
6. Nashville (95 points, 3 to go)
7. Anaheim (93 points, 3 to go)
8. Chicago (92 points, 4 to go)
9. Calgary (91 points, 2 to go)
10. Dallas (89 points, 4 to go)
It's looking more and more like a three horse race between the Preds, the Ducks, and the Blackhawks, and it's looking even more and more like I might get my dream matchup against Jon's Hawks. Look, let's be honest, man. This version of the Hawks isn't anything like the previois incarnations of the squad. In fact, the Thrashers are more Chicago than the Blackhawks at this point. The new version of the Blackhawks seems to be incosistent, especially lately, and may only go as far as Corey Crawford can take them (which probably isn't that far, in all honesty). Am I right? I'm guessing Jon will say no.
Tomorrow night, the Canucks travel to Edmonton to continue their jog to the finish line. Let's hope they push a little harder than they did on Saturday, and get Daniel Sedin some more points, eh?
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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