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Vancouver Canucks Didn’t Do Enough to Make Playoffs

By Doug Praskach

Nov 21, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin (22) and center Henrik Sedin (33) react against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin (22) and center Henrik Sedin (33) react against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports /
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Vancouver Canucks
Oct 22, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Sutter (21) screens Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (70) during the third period at Rogers Arena. The Washington Capitals won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /

How About Some Scoring?

The Vancouver Canucks were next to last in scoring last season with 191 goals, finishing only ahead of New Jersey.  That was 76 less than league-leading Dallas, which is just about a goal a game difference.

Nov 22, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks center Henrik Sedin (33) drops a pass to forward Daniel Sedin (22) against the New Jersey Devils at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks center Henrik Sedin (33) drops a pass to forward Daniel Sedin (22) against the New Jersey Devils at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports /

They finished dead last in Goal Differential at a minus -52.  Washington was first with a plus +59. That is a lot of goal scoring to make up.  They are counting on Eriksson to add at least 20 but do you still get 28 from Daniel Sedin, the most he had since the 2011-12 season?  The power play was 27th in the league, connecting only 15.8-percent of the time.

Another place the Canucks are hopeful is Brandon Sutter.  He only played in 20 games and had a promising nine points before going down to injury.  The 27-year-old is more of a chippy, defensive-minded center though who has only scored 21 goals twice in eight years in the league.

Jannik Hansen is the only other 20-goal scorer as of now although Vancouver management is hoping for big things from both Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi who had 16 and 15 respectively. Anton Rodin, a promising 25-year old winger from Sweden had a gruesome knee injury in January and could possibly chip in at some point.

Eriksson can help the power play and there may be a little increase from the supporting cast but it looks like the Vancouver Canucks are still in need of a lot of goals that need to materialize from somewhere.

Next: The Back End

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