Breaking down the Canucks’ must-see games of 2022
The Vancouver Canucks might not have had their best season in 2021-22, but they finished the year on a high after bringing in Bruce Boudreau to coach the team.
The Canucks were 8-15-2 when they fired then head coach Travis Green; after that, Boudreau took over and coached the team to a 32-15-10 record. That success under Boudreau could lead to a good year in 2022-23 or it could just be a peak in play after switching head coaches – time will answer that question.
With the season a little over two months away and the schedule already out, let’s take a look at some of the top games Canucks fans can get excited about for the 2022-23 season.
The Canucks are bringing back their young team for another season. They still have Petterson, Boeser, and Hughes all relatively young and ready to take some big steps forward this season, and while the defense might not be the best on paper, they will have all season to improve that.
So without further ado here are some key games to get excited about:
Saturday, October 22, at home against Buffalo
The home opener is always exciting, and by then Canucks fans will have gotten to see their team play five times as they start the season on a road trip.
The Canucks will play in Edmonton, Philadelphia, Washington, Columbus and Minnesota all before coming home for their home opener against Buffalo. By then, fans will have had a taste of what this season will be with those five games and then they will see their squad play at home against the Sabres.
While I think it would have been more entertaining to start the year against a divisional rival like the Flames or Golden Knights, playing the Sabres should be entertaining and allow the Canucks to put on a show at home.
Tuesday, November 1, at home against New Jersey
The next game to keep an eye on comes on November 1, against the New Jersey Devils. This might not be the biggest game for all the fans in the crowd but it will be a big game for one of the players on the team.
The Canucks will welcome the New Jersey Devils, allowing Jack Hughes to come to Vancouver to play his older brother Quinn. Having the brothers face off is something that is fun to watch and could provide for some national attention to the game.
The Flames and Senators had this kind of spark the past few seasons when the Tkachuk brothers would faceoff and now those brothers find themselves in the same division with Matthew being traded to the Florida Panthers.
It will be fun to add Luke Hughes into the mix in a few years. Luke was drafted by the New Jersey Devils but won’t be in the NHL this season as he is returning to Michigan for another year of college.
Thursday, January 5, at home against Colorado
The Colorado Avalanche come to town on January 5 to play the Vancouver Canucks. The Avalanche will learn an important lesson early this upcoming season – everyone wants to beat you when you win the Stanley Cup.
The Avalanche are now the measuring stick for every team in the league. Every time you see the Avalanche on your schedule, you will take your game to another level when you play them, as they are the best of the best. This is true for the Canucks as well. This will be an important game to measure where the team is.
The Avalanche still have most of their championship team intact, so this game in January really could be a big measuring stick for the Canucks.
The Avalanche and Canucks meet three times in 2022-23, once in Colorado on November 23 and twice in Vancouver on January 5 and 20 those games will be fun to watch.
The March Homestand
The last two notes on the 2022-23 season are not individual games, rather they are a block of games to keep an eye on. The Canucks start the month of March at home with six games that could change the direction for the 2022-23 season.
The Canucks have six games at home all spaced out allowing for a lot of rest during the month of March. From March 2nd through March 14th the Canucks are at home with six games. Let’s break it down with the games:
- Minnesota on March 2
- Toronto on March 4
- Nashville on March 6
- Anaheim on March 8
- Ottawa on March 11
- Dallas on March 14
Those six games could totally change the direction of the Canucks season. If things go well, they could go from being a team in the Wild Card race to competing for a spot in the division. Assuming the Canucks play competitive hockey and enter March with a record-keeping them afloat for a playoff spot, March could change their season’s direction.
The Canucks have a lot of games on the road early, but the nice thing is that they will have plenty of time at home near the end of the season when the points seem to matter that much more. Starting off with five games on the road is not ideal, but if they can get through those games, the Canucks will be rewarded later.
The Final Division Push
The Vancouver Canucks will have the opportunity to push for the playoffs late in the season. Assuming this team is competitive and is in the hunt for a wild card or division spot come March, the final eight games prove to be very valuable.
The Vancouver Canucks play some pretty big divisional rivals during their final eight games of the season. It starts with the Calgary Flames on March 31 at home. Then their next seven games include the Kings twice, Kraken, Flames again, and Ducks. They also face the Coyotes and Blackhawks who at that point probably will be competing against each other for the bottom spot in the league, so those four points are pretty much guaranteed.
Those eight games feature divisional rivals like the Kings Ducks and Flames. Those are teams the Canucks will have to beat to make the playoffs, and the fact that their schedule falls with so many big games right at the end of the year could make for a very entertaining playoff push late in the season.