Canucks vs Avalanche Pre-Game

Well, one can’t complain. I asked Nonis to make a move and he listened…back from injury and returning to the NHL tonight against Colorado comes Peter…oh, rather…Ryan Shannon! Wow. The Canucks take one more step towards sneaking an entire AHL franchise into the NHL! In fact, if we can manage to get the Shannon, Jaffray, Raymond line alongside Bourdon and McIver there will only be that damn Luongo to get rid of!

Okay, okay…I’m sorry. We should actually be thankful that the Canucks have such solid farm hands to bail the team out of this rash of injuries. Shannon does have an offensive upside and could provide some jump alongside the energetic duo of Jaffray and Raymond. It is just that this is crunch time for the Canucks and without a solid winning streak in the near future they will be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

According to James Myrtle, the Canucks will need to finish the season near 16-10-1 in order to have a chance at a playoff position. So with a four game home-stand ahead they should be looking to collect at least 6 of a possible 8 points. A tall order considering the Canucks record of late and the injured players still out. Every game will have to be as tight and boring as their last win over Atlanta and Luongo will have to aim for a shutout each time…because you know he will only get a goal or two in support. In addition, they will have to look for regulation wins over divisional opponents Colorado and Minnesota as every point will count down the stretch.

Possible? Sure. Probable? Umm. Who knows. Maybe Vigneault can get a response like he did early in the season when Bieksa and Salo went down and the team sucked it up and took off on a roll. Needless to say, their best player has to be dominant for the rest of the season; and Luongo thrives on that kind of pressure. In such a close, tough division, the Canucks have their backs against the wall. No one is letting up; not even Colorado who haven’t missed a beat despite key injuries to players like Smyth, Sakic and Stastny. And it seems the Oilers are beginning to relish their role as potential playoff spoilers after thumping Calgary and beating up on Chicago. It is going to be a wild run to the finish. Game on.

Go Canucks Go!