Yes, this team is for real.
It is only two games, but look at what they've done.
An emotional 6-0 win (that one was for you Luc Bourdon) and then a 5-4 OT victory in hostile territory tonight. Northwest Division rival Calgary was the victim both times.
And I know how people say the preseason doesn't matter, but it's no fluke that the Canucks had one of the best records in the NHL during the preseason. They are for real. LAST YEAR was the fluke for this team...Vancouver had a bump in the road.
New leadership and some new troops has this team poised for success in 08-09. That's why I picked them to win the mediocre-at-best (IMHO) Northwest Division. And yet I was attacked by all of HockeyBuzz it seemed for my prediction of the Canucks finishing in the West's Top 3.
I maintain it. And I encourage all of the doubters that still remain to continue to watch this team through the year.
Thank you.
They really do have a little bit of everything... from an extreme defensive core, to a surprising offense (so far they've continued their preseason totals of 4 goals per game into the regular season... even more!), to the obvious toughness (if you've watched the games, the Flames are no slouch in toughness but have been worked over by Vancouver, plus lots of fights in game 2), and naturally Luongo in net is as close to perfect between the pipes as any team can get.... It was pretty exciting to witness a little bit of everything from this team and they haven't even put talented Wellwood into the lineup. I wonder if they keep it up against teams other than against the Flames? My guess is yes.
I'm very impressed with the Canucks this year so far. Can anyone remember the last team we actually looked like a TEAM, and not just a conglomeration of players wearing the same colours? These guys care about each other. When was the last time the Canucks have managed to pull out a win coming from behind twice? AND in a hostile building? Impressive, to say the least.
LOL....i know they played well having watched most of both of those games but "they are for real" ?? Its two games into the season and just cuz theyve outplayed the Flames and beat them 5 times in last 2-3 weeks doesnt install them as automatic division leaders. Calgary's a bit overrated too IMO and without Robyn Regehr, its gonna be tough to play good defense with some of their young kids in the lineup. Kipper is shaky at times or maybe he just runs for cover when he sees Canuck sweaters cuz his record vs the Canucks over the last few years isnt very good. Calgary's supporting cast around Iginla, Phaneuf and Regehr is pretty average...esp compared to last year and the year before that. If Budaj can settle down for the Avs, that team should be very scary with the offense they have and their versatile defense core.
So we lose 4-5 of our top defenceman for a lot of the season last year and the Flames miss Regher for one game and thats their excuse. Oh wait he played the next game and he was a minus 2...Hmm there goes that theory.
What about this whole "are we going to sign the Sedin twins or not" thing that's going on? I don't know too much about the Canucks in general, but I feel like the whole team is going to be on edge this whole season, just trying to play catch-up with the loss of their top D-men. They're going to be leaning on Luongo even more than they have in the past.