Truthfully, it’s too early in the season to be singing the Canucks’ praises, especially as the majority of their competition has been from Alberta.
However, it’s hard not to get giddy watching them so far. They’re scoring goals, even power play goals, and they’re just fun to watch (even if their defence looks more than a little questionable at the moment).
But most of all, the Sedins appear to be rejuvenated — they look dangerous again. On nearly every play, they look like an offensive threat.
In their first two games, the Sedins combined for eight points, with Henrik getting two goals and two assists, while Daniel had four assists. Obviously that’s an incredibly small sample size, but it’s a comforting sight, even if just for a short time, to see them at an over a point per game pace.
Playing on the same line is new addition Radim Vrbata, who has been dynamite with the Sedins so far, already notching three points, two of them goals. This is a dangerous-looking line that seems like a match made in heaven.
This is a big jump from last year when people were questioning whether or not the Sedins were done, or at least done as elite first line forwards. If what we’ve seen so far is any indication, it would appear that they still have something to prove.
It also seems as though the rejuvenated Sedins equal a rejuvenated power play. The power play problem is one that goes further back than last season; for some reason, the feared Canucks power play seemed to have died in the aftermath of the 2011 Cup finals, replaced by an unsure, ineffective power play that usually served the other team better.
But now, we’re seeing glimpses of that long lost power play. The Canucks have still had a few terrible power plays, but they scored three goals on the advantage in their first two games. There have also been shifts where they don’t score a goal, but they do manage to keep up pressure and keep the momentum in their favour, rather than deflating it.
As I said before, it’s too early to say — especially considering that the Canucks have played mostly weaker teams, and they have yet to really get into the grind of an 82-game season — but what we’ve seen so far looks pretty good.
(A)side Jab: Why did the Canucks have a bye week now? Why not when they are all injured and wearied by a tough schedule, instead of two games in? It seems like a waste when the Canucks could probably use one later in the year.
