The Canucks were one point out of a wild-card spot Monday, but held games in hand on the Avalanche and Oilers
The best is yet to come.
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That’s the annual rallying cry for NHL teams above the playoff bar at the quarter pole to secure their positions. And especially for those who need to beat historical odds to advance to the second season.
It’s rare for teams out of the wild-card chase after 20 games to make the playoff grade. It requires a strong run of success to catch and then pass other contenders and also hold regulation wins and tie-breaker advantages.
And now that Boeser is on verge of returning from a Nov. 7 concussion, he will be a key cog to help the Canucks get back to the dance. He practised Monday in a full contact jersey and might play Tuesday in Boston.
“It felt great,” said Boeser. “It’s hard to not be in game shape, but they pushed me pretty hard. It’s really hard to judge until you step into that first game. Short shifts and control it that way.”
Last season in the Western Conference, two teams in wild-card positions at the quarter pole — St. Louis and Seattle — didn’t make the playoff cut, while those below that bar — Edmonton and Nashville — advanced.
The Oilers did it in stunning fashion to finish with 104 points, five back of the Canucks. And the Predators secured the first wild-card spot for a postseason date with the Canucks.
In the Eastern Conference, Washington and the Islanders were out of playoff contention at the quarter pole but rallied. The Capitals were the second wild-card seed, while the Islanders had a finishing 8-1-1 kick to place third in the Metropolitan Division.
What does this mean for the Canucks?
They were one point out of a wild-card spot Monday with 23 points (10-6-3) after 19 games, but held games in hand on Colorado and the Oilers, who were seeded first and second. The Canucks were in a much more comfortable position a year ago with a 14-7-1 record and a point out of the division lead.
It’s hard to imagine these Canucks won’t gain ground as they get healthier. They were five points shy of the division lead Monday with two games in hand and can close that gap on this six-game trip because a 7-1-0 mark away from home has kept them competitive.
Here’s the good and bad we’ve learned at the quarter pole:
The Good: Allvin’s ‘A’ game, big hit, road warriors
Really winging it: Pushing the pace for more off the rush meant adding Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Kiefer Sherwood and rolling the dice on the mercurial Daniel Sprong. He could dash but not defend, and was traded to Seattle on Nov. 8 for future considerations.
DeBrusk is hitting scoring stride, Heinen is good on the penalty kill, and Sherwood has been a wise bet. Drove the Canucks crazy in the playoffs. Has six goals, 12 points, a league-leading 125 hits, and is on the books for another year at just $1.5 million.
Grinding on road: Away from home distractions and better dialled into systems have been beyond promising. Only Minnesota has just one regulation loss on the road (9-1-3) and the numbers really reflect how the Canucks are sold on the process. In a 7-1-0 run, they hold a 29-17 goal advantage, are 6-for-24 on the power play (24 per cent) and 22-for-27 on the penalty kill for 81.1 per cent efficiency.
The Bad: No home cooking, bad luck, mixed message
House of horrors: The Canucks were 27-9-5 at home last season and their paltry 3-5-3 mark this season stings. Slow starts, especially at home, meant coughing up the first goal on 10 occasions in an 11-game span. And with the Canucks 0-5-1 overall when trailing after two periods, and 6-0-2 when leading after 40 minutes, you can see where the big problem is.
Yes, defence wins: A year ago, the camp message put an accent on positional play. Be good in your own zone and transition should lead to offence. With four new wingers at camp this season, it was about creating more odd-man rushes because the back end should be fine. However, three new blueliners in the mix and a struggling second pair have hurt defending.
