The Vancouver Canucks are going to get their captain back, their top-four defenceman back, and their points back — at least try to. The last stretch for the honour of competing for Lord Stanley’s Cup starts this week, the 18th week of the NHL season.
After watching the NHL All-Stars unfold the way it did, I forgot that the Pacific Division is the worst in the NHL. What does it mean for the Canucks? It means that they are fourth in the division that takes up five spots in the league’s bottom 13.
If the beginning of the season was headlined by how high in the standings Vancouver was despite their poor play, thanks to the weak Pacific, the finishing stretch of the season is going to be a whole lot different.