Although the Canucks are still realistically out of the playoff picture, they have shown marked improvement as of late.
Scoring, which was hard to come by even in December when the Canucks were winning, has not been the issue recently, with the Canucks scoring three or more goals in many of their last few games.
Alexandre Burrows — who had not scored up until a game against Winnipeg two weeks ago — is scoring nearly every game, perhaps making up for lost time.
This has reignited the first line, along with rookie call-up Nicklas Jensen. Jensen had a slow start in the AHL, but is averaging just under a point a game playing with Burrows and Henrik Sedin. For the first time in a long time, the first line looks like a first line.
In the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 17, though it ended in a 4–3 loss, the Canucks mounted an impressive third period comeback from 4–1. Perhaps “impressive” is a strong word, but it was only a week or two ago that 2–0 would have been a safe lead against the Canucks.
It should be noted in that game that the comeback was in the third period, after a lackluster first two periods. Previously, the third period was the Canucks’ kryptonite: If they had a lead it would almost surely be surrendered; if they were behind, there was no chance.
The fact that they came back from a sluggish start is promising, in contrast to the 6–1 Dallas whooping in which the Canucks looked like they gave up early.
Even David Booth, who will still likely be bought out this offseason, has been showing a better game, laying hits on the competition making up for his lack of scoring. Also notable is new addition Shawn Matthias who looks like he could be a solid player for the Canucks.
There have still been problems, no doubt. The Canucks are still amazingly inconsistent, the defence seems questionable, there are too many boneheaded penalties, and the pressure seems to be making de facto No. 1 Eddie Lack uncomfortable. Not to mention, the Canucks would be hard pressed to make the playoffs even if they won every one of their games.
But, recently, there has been light. They have been playing decent, entertaining hockey; every game seems winnable, not just some futile exercise. If they started playing like this at the Olympic break, they would likely be in playoff contention, though that’s hardly a silver lining.
