What do I mean by two different seasons? Let’s dig a little deeper.
After the first 33 games the Vancouver Canucks’ record was: 11-14-8. Not exactly a record that screams playoff potential. Add to that the mass of injuries that caused countless line changes every game or the fact that consistency was hard to find early in the season. In the first 33 games, overtime was their kryptonite. Yes, they survived a few shootouts, but they could not solve the new 3-on-3 overtime conundrum. Injuries were happening left and right on the blue line taking out both of Luca Sbisa and Dan Hamhuis indefinitely.