cp29 Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 True but I think there are too many "ifs" If this happens, if that happens, etc...it is too risky to rely on something that hasn't been working all season to magically work once the playoffs begin. Didn't the Canucks use "saving energy as the playoffs" as an excuse for their poor play near the end of the last season? They sure used the energy well by losing in 5 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucklehead Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I thought this would of been about aliens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera82 Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 if you consider guys like sestito, pinizzotto and vandemeer good depth guys...you should really take a look at previous stanley cup winning teams depth guys. The guys you mentioned are just plugs and wont do anything to help the team win. lapierre and higgins were depth guys when we went to the final. now we rely on them quite a bit. that alone should tell you what position this team is in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallstreetamigo Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Through 25 games, they are 1 pt off their pace from 2010-11 season ..... the year they went to the SCF. This team is a slow starter. Nothing new. Always been the same. Probably always will be the same if AV stays here. If they don't go on a run pretty soon - or struggle like last yr going into the playoffs, I'd be really concerned. But until then, this pace is nothing new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoneypuckOverlord Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 and we lost round 1 in 5 games... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallstreetamigo Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I wonder if LA fans were saying that last year..... Of course when you go into the playoffs against a Vezina caliber goalie with your top goal scorer out and your second best playing with two injuries that will require surgery how do you really expect to do? Every year there's at least six to 8 teams capable of winning the cup. The biggest factors are getting hot at the right time, staying healthy, and goaltending. It's not always the team with the most talent that wins the cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disisdayear Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Spoken like an optimistic Canucks fan...good on you for bringing a positive perspective to what is usually a dark place. The regular season is really a prolonged exhibition season where you have the opportunity to fine tune your players and systems. I've felt all along that because of playing in the NW division, we have almost a free pass into the playoffs (this will obviously change with realignment), so we have the luxury of playing through slumps, injuries, and other issues while achieving our obvious objective for the regular season. Now, that's been tested as Minnesota is coming on, but I'm still of the opinion (in spite of our play in the past 12 games) that we will make it into the playoffs as the third seed in the WC. The free pass doesn't amount to much if we don't get our sh!t together and start playing like a contender firing on all cylinders as we round the final quarter turn before heading into the playoffs. And I don't think anyone here takes comfort being clumped together with the Detroits, San Joses, Dallas', Nashvilles, etc. of the WC in sharing similar issues related to consistency. One of the good and bad things about having a relatively successful team for the past 5 years is that we have high expectations of our team (some say "entitlement", but I like to think they are expectations). So here are my expectations and projections for the second half: (1) Goaltending improves from being average to slightly above average to outstanding (regardless of who is in) (2) Edler somehow pries his head out of his @$$ and starts to play like he did in 2010-2011 (3) Preparation for each game is back at the levels that are expected of contending teams (4) Powerplay somehow magically improves (who knows, maybe we acquire a PP specialist like the weasel Ribeiro from the Caps and he helps us...I personally can't stand Ribeiro, but he would be very useful for us) (5) We improve on our relatively good five on five play (I believe we're ranked fifth on GF-GA on 5-5 situations) -- offence finds itself and defence improves in coverage in our zone (6) And the team actually plays better collectively with Kes and BXA back in the lineup As we get our $h!t together, all the angst that we felt over the past 12 games will melt away...we didn't really get a chance to see the real Canucks in the first 12 games (over-achieved as far as record goes with average play) and the second 12 games (under-achieved as far as record with equally underachieving play). I expect the second half will reveal to us who the real Canucks...and I expect and hope that the real Canucks will be a contending team. The Canucks have been inconsistent this season. True. But there's no denying, if this team can gain some confidence and welcome back the likes of Kesler and Bieksa, that they could renew their early season success. There have been many posts fearing how the canucks will do in the playoffs, or if they'll even make it at all. But in all honesty, what have any other teams done in the Western conference with the exceception of Chicago and Anaheim. Detroit, LA, Nashville, St. Louis and San Jose have all been equally as inconsistent as we have. If Schneider and Edler can regain their confidence, the defence can tighten up, and Kesler can stay healthy, we could still do some serious damage in the playoffs up against the previously mentioned teams. I'm excited to see how the second half of the season will play out, and although the Canucks haven't been playing their best hockey, hey, look around... we're not alone. Now let's start winning some games so we can be alone atop the north west... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DooBie604 Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 A plus just for making a positive thread on CDC. If last year taught us anything, once the playoffs hit it's a whole new ball game. The Canucks were going into the playoffs at 8-1-1 while LA barely squeaked in with a 5-2-3 finish. And then LA steamrolls every team in the playoffs. Before that LA has done nothing in the previous playoffs with their core players of Brown, Kopitar and Doughty. You could argue that Mike Richards and Carter put them over the edge but during the season everyone was calling those two a bust. Same things we are saying about Garrison and Booth. All it takes is the right people to go on a hot streak at the right time and suddenly your deep into the playoffs. If your goalies suddenly are unstoppable, then you can go far on goal tending alone. I think this team is still too good to not make the playoffs and once that happens, anything goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera82 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Minus our best player, it will happen. Whats L.A equivalent of a Daniel Sedin? I would probably say Drew Doughty. Take him away from the team, the outcome will be different. If we had Daniel the outcome would have been different also. I'm not saying sure win, I think some idiots really forgot we didn't have Daniel Sedin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naslund.is.king Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Team needs time to gel with kes in the line up and things should look better .. i have only been concerned with injuries this season its a deal breaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etsen3 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Just because other teams are doing it doesn't mean it's OK. I don't expect us to win every game or avoid rough patches completely, but we can still be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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