No time to ease up, this schedule can be dangerous

With the Vancouver Canucks one of the hottest teams in the league, and coming off a big win over the San Jose Sharks on the weekend, the team and it’s fans are feeling pretty good about the way things are going in Canuckville. And wait, there is more good news on the horizon…or is there?

Alain Vigneault needs to keep the team focused during this next stretch of games.

The Canucks have a very favourable schedule opponent wise over the next few weeks, playing several teams who are currently in non playoff positions. Some of those teams, like tonight’s opponent, the L.A. Kings are fighting for their playoff lives. Some of them are just looking to play spoiler down the stretch, as that’s all they have left to play for.

After a brutal road schedule in the first quarter of the season, the Canucks emerged in great shape and had a huge string of home games in front of them. They had a real chance to establish themselves in the conference, and entrench themselves in the top eight. Well, we all know how that went. Yes there were injuries to deal with, and every team has slumps, but that stretch was a real missed opportunity, and it may cost the Canucks the division this season.

This portion of the schedule presents it’s own opportunities, but it certainly does not come without challenges. The Canucks cannot afford to let up at all, as every point from  here on in  is critical. As well as the team has played during this stretch, they really haven’t created any separation, or made up much ground on those ahead of them in the conference. Taking this next stretch of games against the lesser powers of the league lightly could be a fatal mistake, in a tight Western Conference.

Through  the slump and this current streak the Canucks are saying all the right things. That they’ll take it one game at a time, each night preparing for the opponent at hand, and not looking ahead. Let’s hope they do just that, starting tonight in L.A.

Shame on the Canucks

As Alanah McGinley of Canucks and Beyond writes, the Canucks decision to raise ticket prices last week is a poor one. In this economy you would think the Canucks could give the ticket buyer a break. As Alanah points out The Canucks are a money making entity and all they are really saying is that aren’t going to make as much as last year, so the fan is going to pay the difference.