You sort of had a sense that this was going to happen. The Columbus Blue Jackets had lost 12 straight on the road, have managed 3 wins in their last 20 or so games. So it was only natural to think in the first period, with the Canucks down 2-0 off of 2 rather quick goals from RJ Umberger and Kristian Huselius, that the Canucks were back to being their inconsistent selves.

But expecting consistency of any kind from the Canucks this year is silly.

Well, what did you think I was going to lead this with? Yes, for the time being, Henrik Sedin is now tied with Joe Thornton for #1 overall in the NHL scoring race. It may be short lived, he may continue with the torrid pace he’s been on, but this is an outstanding accomplishment and shows that Mike Gillis was absolutely correct when he decided to sign the twins this past off-season.

The Canucks were looking to extend their hot start post-Christmas with a win over the Phoenix Coyotes. The Yotes were looking to earn a franchise best 10 straight victories at home. Whatever happened tonight, someone was going to be going home disappointed. Unfortunately, it was some bad decision making in the second period that resulted in the Canucks going to overtime and eventually losing in the shootout to the Desert Dogs.

The Canucks continue with their topsy turvy play as they came into tonight’s matchup suffering an ugly loss to the St. Louis Blues. Sound familiar? Yeah, I realize that these recaps sound like I could have simply did a Find and Replace in Word, but better the Canucks win a game than lose all the time. But, tonight’s game did have two guys dressed in green spandex (see above), so this most assuredly wasn’t a repeat!

The Sedins have been enjoying immense success as of late. There’s been much talk of Henrik being right at the very top of the NHL’s scoring elite, being outpaced only by Joe Thornton, while brother Daniel has been making a lot of noise for himself: he recently picked up his third career hat trick, was named 2nd star of the week by the NHL and player of the day December 11th.

Which isn’t to say that linemate Alex Burrows hasn’t been doing well for himself, either. Although cooling down a bit when Daniel was out with an injury, Burrows has 10 points (6g, 4a) in his last 10 games and has been an absolute beast on the penalty kill.

With all that said, there’s been little talk about the Sedins linemate, as the Canucks top line is looking like a top line. Before Burrows was given the opportunity by Alain Vigneault last season, the constant issue for the Canucks was finding someone to fill in that role. Over the years, there have been numerous players who were pegged to be the ‘Third Sedin’, so here’s a look at some of the more notable Third Sedins of the past, as well as a look at one potential future Third Sedin.

Playoff drama in December. Consistency was the big thing going into today’s game. There’s been much noise made regarding the Canucks being weak in the second period, I’ve written about how the Canucks need to be getting their special teams sorted out and Mike Gillis sounded off earlier in the week.

Wow, okay. Yeah, I still have this blog here. Good to know.

So, I had a bit of a hiatus there. Apologies, but I’ve got my ducks all in a row, so let’s get back to blogging! Yay!

I guess I should offer up some thoughts on the Canucks, seeing as how we’re already 22 games into the season and one of my goals here is to do some hockey blogging.

I’m sure most people have seen that the Canucks are leading the league in man games lost to injury and yet, despite that, the team is 2 games above .500. What’s even more remarkable is that the Canucks have been without Roberto Luongo and Daniel Sedin for a good chunk of that season. This has been in large part due to the team stepping up when the chips are down and contributing. For example,

Henrik Sedin has managed to step up and explode offensively: he has 13 goals to date and is on pace to hit the 40 goal mark. There have been a number of people who were critical of Mike Gillis over the summer for signing the Sedins to rather pricey contracts, with the argument being made that the twins are only good as a package. As we’ve been seeing, at least with regards to Hank, that is happily not the case.

Andrew Raycroft, and I can’t believe I’m writing this, stepped in for a spell and has looked great in the backup role. How great? He currently has more wins than the beleaguered Toronto Maple Leafs, a team who is on pace to have a worse record than the 1993 Ottawa Senators, a stat made all the more troubling in the era of shootout, which hockey curmudgeons say has been leading to inflated point totals thanks to the ‘loser points.’

One of the biggest keys to the Canucks success so far has been at the hands of Christian Ehrhoff, who is quickly becoming Gillis’ best offseason acquisition so far. Back in the summer, I heard from San Jose fans who praised him for his offensive capabilities, but warned me of his defensive brainfarts. Thankfully, this hasn’t been the case, as the ‘Hoff has been playing amazing hockey, tallying goals like it ain’t no thing, being amazing on the penalty kill and being the Canucks best defenseman by far: his +11 rates him as number one on the team, with Willie Mitchell’s +3 being the only dman who plays top minutes coming close to touching him. His defensive brainfarts seem to be a thing of the past, as supported with his +/-, but his scant 10 PIM ties him at number one with Alex Edler for lowest PIM amongst defensive regulars. Paired together, it’s looking like Ehrhoff’s game is really starting to come together.

Other standouts have been Mason Raymond, who is on pace to smash his offensive totals from last season and is finally utilizing his speed in ways other than falling on his butt in the attacking zone, Ryan Kesler, who has been an absolute monster for the Canucks (especially on the PK) and Tanner Glass, who has been really starting to assert himself on the fourth line after a rather ‘meh’ preseason. Michael Grabner, a highly touted prospect who had a poor training camp, fared much better in a callup role before injuring himself in a freak accident.

All in all, this is a Canucks squad that seems to be rolling with the punches thus far this season and hasn’t been forced to rely entirely on Roberto Luongo to steal games for them. Me likey.