Three NHL teams hit the 40 game mark Monday, including the Vancouver Canucks. Here is their tale.
Vancouver Canucks: 24-13-3, good for 51 points:
After making the Stanley Cup Finals last season, the Canucks, and Roberto Luongo, got off to a slow start, which led to much hand wringing and other nonsense. Now, shockingly, this supremely talented team is atop the Northwest Division and have the third best goal differential in the league at plus-32. Playing in what may be the weakest division in the NHL, particularly when you just consider Vancouver's competition, it looks like business as usual for this team.
Vancouver has depth this season, as they have nine players who have at least 22 points. As usual, they are led by the Sedin twins. Henrik is tied for the league lead in points with 46, and Daniel is tied for third with 44 points in 39 games. He also leads the team with 17 goals. After getting healthy, Ryan Kesler has been excellent, scoring 28 points in 35 games. Alex Burrows has been particularly good as well.
The Canucks have had some impressive play on the blueline as well, led by Alex Edler, who has six goals and 28 points. Kevin Bieksa has 23 points, and Dan Hamhuis has 18 points and is a plus-12. In net, Luongo has bounced back, as he has a .914 save percentage. Considering how slowly he started, he has been playing quite well recently. Fortunate for Vancouver, Cory Schneider has been outstanding as his backup, as he has a .931 SV% in 17 appearances. Only Boston has a better goaltending duo.
It's business as usual in Vancouver. They are one of the league's best teams, they will win their division, and they may have the best reference in the conference as well. The Canucks are a Stanley Cup contender again.
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