Success won't go to Canucks' heads
Canadian Press
12/22/2002
VANCOUVER (CP) - The Vancouver Canucks head into the Christmas break thrilled with their early-season success but unwilling to let visions of playoff glory dance through their heads.
They are tied with the Dallas Stars for first place overall. Both teams have 45 points but the Canucks, 20-9-5-0, have two more wins and two games in hand.
The last time Vancouver led the NHL at this stage in a season was Jan. 25, 1992, when they were 28-13-7.
The Canucks also enjoy a two-point lead over Minnesota in the Northwest Division. If the season ended today, they would begin the playoffs at home for the first time since 1993.
It's also only the third time in the team's 32-year history it has 45 points after 34 games.
``We worked hard to get to this point,'' says captain Markus Naslund, who scored his league-leading 22nd goal on a two-man advantage at 2:20 of overtime Saturday night for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers. ``We worked hard last year and we worked hard throughout the summer to be prepared for this season.
``The key is we're not satisfied. We want to get better and stay at this level. We know it's the springtime when it counts.''
After avoiding injuries in the autumn for the most part, the Canucks have had a sudden rash of injuries.
Goaltender Dan Cloutier, who leads the NHL with 17 wins, sat out Saturday with a knee injury suffered in a loss to Chicago last Tuesday. He did not make the trip to Colorado, where the Canucks play the Avalanche on Monday in their final game before Christmas.
Peter Skudra will make his third consecutive start. Tyler Moss, called up from the AHL Manitoba Moose, wil be the backup.
Also left at home was defenceman Mattias Ohlund, out with a strained knee, and forward Trevor Linden, who resembles a raccoon with his eyes still black after being clipped in the face by teammate Trent Klatt's stick Dec. 15 against Calgary.
``Up to this point, we've been pretty fortunate,'' said centre Brendan Morrison, who after a hot start has cooled off with only one goal in his last 10 games. ``We haven't had any (injuries) that were major but now we have a couple at once.
``We've been preaching about our depth. Now is the time for us to show it.''
Working with a $32 million US payroll, general manager Brian Burke has managed to comb the bargain bins to make key additions.
He dealt holdout winger Peter Schaefer to Ottawa in September for steady defenceman Sami Salo.
With the team struggling in early November with one win in nine games, he acquired big defenceman Marek Malik and gritty forward Darren Langdon from Carolina in a trade for Harold Druken and Jan Hlavac.
Soon after, he signed free agent Mats Lindgren.
The Canucks enjoyed the most successful November in team history with 12 victories, including a 10-game win streak.
Winger Todd Bertuzzi says the Canucks are like a martini with the right mixture of gin and vermouth.
``We have a good mix,'' says Bertuzzi, who is again showing the smash-and-bash style that made him one of the sport's best power forwards last season. ``We're comfortable with each other, but we still have to be on the edge and come out and perform every night.''
Hockey success in Vancouver over the years has been like snowfall in the city - infrequent and quick to disappear.
Heading into Christmas breaks, the Canucks have been above .500 only seven times. Last season, they were 14-21-4-0, and it appeared as if the Grinch had already stolen any hope of playoffs.
The Canucks rallied to win 28 of the next 43 games, then they beat the Detroit Red Wings in the opening two games of the playoffs before running out of gas.
Coach Marc Crawford said his young team is learning how to win.
``What we have to do is continue to play well,'' he says. ``We've done some good things.
``Our players are understanding more the process of what it takes to be good on a nightly basis.''
Cheers,
Aquaman