The Vancouver Canucks are back in town and practicing out at UBC this morning ahead of their Friday night game against the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues will be playing the second half of a back-to-back when Vancouver sees them on Friday for Game 4 of an early-season six game road trip. They're in Edmonton tonight to take on the Oilers after edging Calgary 4-3 and losing to Minnesota 3-2 to Minnesota to kick off the trip.
While the Canucks sit comfortably perched at the top of the Western Conference, please
click here to read my new Canucks Army piece, featuring the five Canucks I think have most exceeded expectations in the early going.
It'll be especially interesting to see how far Ryan Miller can go with his current calm, cool, rebound-free playing style. It looks like he'll remain the main man for the foreseeable future.
Sean McIndoe at
Grantland was one of many national writers who didn't give the Canucks as much as a prayer this season. He's not quite ready to abandon his stance in
this new column, but admits that "Miller’s play is a big story; if he’s really back to his 2010 form, then all bets are off."
Before he backpedals, McIndoe wants to see how the Canucks hold up on this impending five-game homestand, which includes games against three good teams from the East: Washington, Detroit and Montreal.
Willie Desjardins spoke before the season about how it was important to start picking up points right from Game 1. He and his group have done a very impressive job of building a cushion that might be needed when the going gets tough later in the season.
Willie's first of two Memorial Cup championships came in his second season behind the bench with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2004. He won his Calder Cup in his second year with the Texas Stars in 2014. How far can he go this year?
Ever since Willie took over in Vancouver, he has impressed me with his ability to learn and adapt. During his first trip through the NHL last season, I felt like he made effective adjustments once he got some first-hand experience against specific teams. He might not have been as quick on the draw as we would have liked in the playoffs against the Flames, but from what we have seen so far this season, I feel like that lesson has been learned.
The Canucks played both Washington and Montreal at home during the first month of last season, too. They disposed of the Caps by a score of 4-2 before beating Montreal 3-2 in overtime in a wildly entertaining contest. I'm looking forward to those games but I don't think the Canucks have any reason to feel intimidated.
It sounds crazy to say this, but keep an eye on the Minnesota-Arizona game on tonight's out-of-town scoreboard as well as Connor McDavid's home debut as the Oilers host the Blues.
The Coyotes are 3-0 so far this season, with wins over the Kings, Penguins and Ducks. They could pass Vancouver and take over top spot in the west with another win tonight. It's like the Conference is upside down!
Goal Song Update
As the clock ticks towards Friday night, Radim Vrbata's goal song needs to get locked and loaded.
As A_SteamingLombardi pointed out yesterday, Vrbata's 18 shots through four games put him near the top of the league. After Wednesday's action, he's now second only to Patrick Kane. (Side note: Daniel Sedin has 17 shots, tied for third overall)
Last year, Vrbata's shooting percentage was 11.6 percent. For his career, he sits at 9.5 percent.
It's time for him to light the lamp.
The Canucks have narrowed the choices for Vrbata's fan-voted goal song to four options. They're all pretty good.
Click here to check out the list. I think I'd go with "How You Like Me Now?"
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»