Vancouver Canucks are experiencing a bad case of deja vu

The Vancouver Canucks are experiencing a bad case of déjà vu. For the second straight year, a surprising start has been torpedoed by the injury bug.

The rebuilding Vancouver Canucks, who many predicted would struggle mightily this season, have done the opposite, emerging as one of the biggest shockers in the first month. However, an all-too-familiar storyline appears to be repeating itself, as the club is currently being plagued by injuries just like a season ago.

Vancouver spent the first two months of the 2017-18 season as one of the most surprising teams in the league. Nobody foresaw first-year head coach Travis Green finding a way to hit all the right buttons so quickly.

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Center Bo Horvat was having a breakout season through the first two months. Brock Boeser was emerging as a household name after being a healthy scratch to begin his NHL career. Even the Sedins were emptying their tanks of any remaining magic as their final season played out. At the end of November, they had a surprising 12-10-4 record.

Then, as the calendar flipped to December, the Canucks lost a battle to the injury bug they are once again facing now.  Horvat was lost for six weeks at a time when Vancouver’s record had climbed to 14-10-4. He had 20 points at the time of the injury. When Horvat returned to the lineup, the Canucks record had fallen to 18-22-6.

Horvat wasn’t the only player to miss time. He was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. Chris Tanev, Erik Gudbranson, Sven Baertschi, Alexander Edler, and Boeser all missed significant time a year ago.

Fast forward to today and an eerily similar story is playing out for Vancouver. Horvat is once again having a great start to his season, the Canucks once again feature a potential Calder Trophy candidate in Elias Pettersson, and they have the most points in the Pacific Division entering Sunday, Oct. 28.

Unfortunately, the team is also being devastated by injuries. Tanev is day-to-day after missing the team’s recent 4-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes. Baertschi and Edler have been placed on the injured reserve. The former is dealing with a concussion and his timetable for a return is unknown. Edler, one of the last players the team could afford to lose given his defensive stability on the blue line, could be gone for months with a knee injury.

Pettersson, after electrifying the league in the first five games of his career, hasn’t played the previous six games for Vancouver while dealing with a concussion. Jay Beagle, the team’s most notable offseason addition, has also been out after only five games due to a broken hand. He’s still expected to be out at least another month.

Vancouver’s 6-6-0 record is also surprising considering the club has only played three home games. The Canucks kicked off a brutal six-game road trip in their second game of the season managing to secure a 3-3 record on the trip. The Canucks aren’t beating bottom feeders either as the club has notable road victories over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Vegas Golden Knights.

They’ve also defeated the Boston Bruins at home meaning the Canucks have beaten four legitimate Stanley Cup contenders in the first month of the season. It would be a shame if injuries became the main reason behind why Vancouver tumbled down the standings for a second straight season.

Pettersson is believed to be close to returning which will no doubt provide a necessary spark to the lineup. However, without the club’s top-two leaders in ice-time, and their top defensive pair of Tanev and Edler, it’s hard to imagine the Canucks being able to maintain any long-term success. Tanev and Edler were so crucial to providing the defensive stability needed to close out games that their void will be noticeable.

Horvat has put the franchise on his back through the first month mostly without Pettersson or much offensive contribution from Boeser. It remains to be seen if he can keep it up but the center and future captain of the club looks destined to break his career-highs of 22 goals and 52 points this year.

Boeser will eventually start finding the back of the net as well as he shakes off the sophomore slump. Should Pettersson return as the same player he was prior to the concussion then perhaps the trio of Horvat, Boeser, and Pettersson will provide just enough to keep the Canucks above water as they attempt to survive the injury bug.