Rob_Zepp Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 There is no question the Canucks are not ready to be consistently competitive in the March/April sense and will fall short of the playoffs this year but the game in and game out effort, style of play and general growth of their young players is beyond anyone's expectation I am certain. I would say, without doubt, they are the surprise of the league and if Green isn't seen as being the best coach out of the gate in the entire league, then someone isn't paying enough attention to what is happening out of west coast of Canada. What is remarkable is that NO other team in the NHL, let alone the teams near them in the standings in the West like Calgary and Edmonton, are: Without arguable their best Dman who is also (for better or worse) their PP QB - he has only played in 10 or 17 games so far this year Without arguably their best goal scorer who isn't a freak of nature Swedish rookie - he has played 13 of 17 games this year and arguably many of them hampered Without arguably their most important free agent signing and one of the best face-off and PK specialists in the entire league and who has only played only 5 of 17 games Have had their other best Dman play in 13 of 17 games Have their third line center, and huge presence on PK, missing for past four games and counting Have their first line left winger only in 10 games so far this and likely gone for quite a while longer Their only NHL ready other goalie gone for several weeks already 10 of their first 17 games on the road and included on that would be against teams like Tampa, Pittsburgh, Winnipeg, Boston..... IF you took those items above and said that was going to happen over the first 17 games, after coming off the one win exhibition season where goals were harder to come by than decorum at a White House press gathering, who would have projected this team to be four games over 500 and scoring at a rate they haven't done since winning President's trophies. I think this is getting harder to ignore. I know they will hit a wall soon - they have to. However, anyone who thinks this is not a team on the rise is nuts. Watching players like Virtanen emerge, Hutton's resurrection, Horvat become part of the league's elite (in Boston he goes 14-16 in the dot and has 4 points....not star, SUPERstar), Guddy returning to the form they traded for and so forth is so inspiring but when you add in the very phenomena that is EP40 and know what is still coming from Utica and US College etc. - I guess "impossible to ignore" is more the right thing to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whaleroad Train Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 I'm not ignoring it. I'm loving it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Also calculate their goaltending could improve, when Nilsson returns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hindustan Smyl Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Great post. unlike the three previous seasons, the Canucks seem to be far more resistant to the injury bug and seemingly have more depth everywhere (net, far, up front.....and even on defense). I’m cautiously optimistic. I love what I see so far give or take 1-2 things. One game at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokes Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 I wonder where we would be if we were healthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Greener's done a fantastic job. What I'm loving most is it's different guys stepping up every night, besides EP and Markstrom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cripplereh Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 well i could see us if all goes right getting a playoff spot and from that the next many years will be awesome for us again! if we fall short so be it, but so far we have a group that plays hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beni Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 I am cautiously optimistic. I love the way the guys are playing right now, they have something to prove. If the momentum continues when Sutter and Beagle are back they will have a very strong first half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogersTowell Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 When it was only 10 games into the season you could see the point when someone said "but it's only 10 games in - wait until 20 game to see what we have. At 17 game in with all these injuries and the team's still rolling, you have to think it's real. When the goaltending is good, the Canucks usually win. When it isn't hot, they still win pretty often. Before the season started, I laughed when people were concerned about losing the Sedins' 100 or so points. I figured others would get those o-zone starts and their +/- would probably be better than the Sedins 5 on 5. I thought possibly overall offence might drop, but goals against would drop even more. Little did I know that we'd see one of the top offences in the league over the first 17 games. I liked the addition of depth, and that's turned out to be crucial. We now bring in guys who can play in the NHL when a starter is injured. In fact, there's still a decent amount of competition for roster spots and guys get a chance to knock others off the line up when they get a crack. Competition is live and well. It makes me glad that I've been giving Benning the benefit of the doubt because it certainly looks like he's earned it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 You lost me here: There is no question the Canucks are not ready to be consistently competitive in the March/April sense and will fall short of the playoffs this yearI I feel like people who say this are just covering their bases. If we don't, they say "I told you so". If we do, they get to be pleasantly surprised. Of course there's "question". Why not just let it be? Watch, enjoy and not have to project? I have faith in this group and can honestly see them exceeding all expectations...they already are. Let's leave it at that? I feel it does them a disservice to do this. They believe so let's just give them that. I do like what you go on to say, but just don't understand why people have to make proclamations of what we will or won't do. No one knows, that's the beauty of it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Crossbar Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Dude, I'm one of your biggest fans but when you say things like ... "There is no question the Canucks are not ready to be consistently competitive in the March/April sense and will fall short of the playoffs this year ..." It actually makes me root against you because ... at this point in time, there's no evidence to say we won't be consistently competitive when we're continuing to be consistently competitive ... AND ... we're beating great teams. This isn't about the Canucks but rather people's ability to let go of their ego and need to fit in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 I guess the thing for me is this: I'm loving this. I don't really care to hold my breath until the end of the year to see how it turns out. I'm enjoying the ride, regardless. Hey, it's a long shot for sure. But what's the point if we can't dream? Hope? I'm not holding out for "a few years from now". I want it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Zepp Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 9 minutes ago, debluvscanucks said: You lost me here: There is no question the Canucks are not ready to be consistently competitive in the March/April sense and will fall short of the playoffs this yearI I feel like people who say this are just covering their bases. If we don't, they say "I told you so". If we do, they get to be pleasantly surprised. Of course there's "question". Why not just let it be? Watch, enjoy and not have to project? I have faith in this group and can honestly see them exceeding all expectations...they already are. Let's leave it at that? I feel it does them a disservice to do this. They believe so let's just give them that. I do like what you go on to say, but just don't understand why people have to make proclamations of what we will or won't do. No one knows, that's the beauty of it all. Disagree, not enough depth yet and you can’t win in April with .900 goaltending but you can see the strides. I am am sure they believe. I plan on rooting for them. My guess is 85 points seems attainable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Zepp Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 1 minute ago, debluvscanucks said: I guess the thing for me is this: I'm loving this. I don't really care to hold my breath until the end of the year to see how it turns out. I'm enjoying the ride, regardless. Hey, it's a long shot for sure. But what's the point if we can't dream? Hope? I'm not holding out for "a few years from now". I want it now. You still taking about hockey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebreh Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Petey wants the cup NOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Zepp Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 9 minutes ago, Dr. Crossbar said: Dude, I'm one of your biggest fans but when you say things like ... "There is no question the Canucks are not ready to be consistently competitive in the March/April sense and will fall short of the playoffs this year ..." It actually makes me root against you because ... at this point in time, there's no evidence to say we won't be consistently competitive when we're continuing to be consistently competitive ... AND ... we're beating great teams. This isn't about the Canucks but rather people's ability to let go of their ego and need to fit in. Sorry, cannot even begin to agree that they are “there” yet but this progress has been impressive. There are still too many defensive issues and their team save % won’t get it done but can see with OJ and Hughes on the back end and improved netminding, this is a team to be reckoned with. Soon. Enjoyable now no doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaudette Celly Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 54 minutes ago, Rob_Zepp said: There is no question the Canucks... will fall short of the playoffs this year... Dave Pratt, is that you? You forgot the "I get that's" and "but what we knows". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 this team aint hittin no wall, they bustin through that maf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Just now, Rob_Zepp said: Sorry, cannot even begin to agree that they are “there” yet but this progress has been impressive. There are still too many defensive issues and their team save % won’t get it done but can see with OJ and Hughes on the back end and improved netminding, this is a team to be reckoned with. Soon. Enjoyable now no doubt. That's the thing though.....why do we have to say they are or aren't? Aren't "where"? They're in a great spot in the here and now and, in the here and now, that's what matters. It seems like we're always waiting for the bubble to burst but that kind of sucks the fun out of it. I could get hit by a dumptruck tomorrow and so all that matters is up to that point. Next spring is too far away for me to care about and it strips me of the joy of this deal if I have to weigh it out. BELIEVE If it all falls apart, it was fun while it lasted. I don't expect them to light it up every game and there will be peaks and valleys. But hell, this was a fun game so I am just going to leave it there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10pavelbure96 Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 I see what you mean in the first sentence but we are in a very weak division. We have a great shot at the playoffs. It's a win win, if we make the playoffs, awesome. And if we don't, we have a shot at Quinn's brother. Either way this team is trending in the right direction and we still have boat loads of talent yet to touch the NHL ice. The future and the present is bright and we are one of the youngest teams in the league. Here's to decades of success, hopefully. GCG!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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