HERE WE GO AGAIN

It seems like just yesterday the city was alive with excitement and passion for the 2011 stanley cup playoffs, and here we go again.

The Canucks shut out the Edmonton oilers 3-0 on saturday night to secure there second straight presidents trophy as leagues top regular season team, but this year the trophy wont seem to matter as much to the city based on our fan base knowing better then anyone that it doesn’t aways promise you will be hoisting the championship come june.

This season was not all puppies and rainbows though thats for sure and the comparisons sort of stop right at the presidents trophy. Individual stats dropped off dramatically from the likes of the Sedins and Kesler this season, and I realize not every year can be a career year for players but with the stigma out there being that the Sedins already have trouble scoring in the playoffs this wont contribute to any more optimism from the fans. There were some bright spots though for sure, Chris Higgins has turned into a huge player on the team playing up and down through the line up and producing quite consistently. The team has even been able to somewhat creep out of the cloud of being the leagues most hated team with guys much more willing to get in dust ups like Maxim Lapierre, but i personally enjoy the fun antics that Maxim and some of the other canucks deployed last year to get under the skin of the opposition, hopefully he and others have different tactics up thee sleeves this time around. Corey Schneider has also brought his game to another level and im sure we will see more out of him in the playoffs this year compared to just his game 6 start against the Blackhawks in the first round last year.

While individual and team awards are nice we all know that the playoffs are a different brand of hockey whether you agree with it or not. This years team I feel is better built for the playoffs and a little tougher combined with balance scoring, great goaltending and willingness to play the low scoring game.

The team gets started wednesday night against the LA Kings and the mighty Jonathan Quick who is undoubtedly one of the best goalies in the league and had to be with an abysmal offense playing in front of him. The obvious positive to playing LA in the first round though of course is the travel factor and not having to change time zones which could definitely help in the long run. They’re a good team and canucks fans out there who were hoping to play a tomato can push over team are now reminded of the great parody around the league that exists with each team, its the best of the best in the playoffs.

So buckle up Canucks fan