Music: {allcanada} Canucks dominating the league in wins, confidence

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

{allcanada} Canucks dominating the league in wins, confidence

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The Vancouver Canucks have the most wins, most goals, best team defensive numbers, best road record, the highest-scoring forward, the most productive power play and they are the NHL's hottest team with a 9-1 record in their last 10 games.

With the playoffs two weeks away, the Canucks might also be leading the NHL in confidence by a wide margin.

"The difference this season is they are more mature and they handle adversity well," said NBC hockey analyst Ray Ferraro. "Everything rolls off them, and that is either coming from experience or the realization that 'Hey, we are pretty good.' "

The Canucks will have to cope with more adversity because defenseman Dan Hamhuis' status is unclear after he suffered his second concussion of the season during Sunday's game.

But that news didn't deter voters from making the Canucks the unanimous No. 1 team in the USA TODAY power rankings.

Undoubtedly, it helps Vancouver in the team rankings that Daniel Sedin leads the MVP vote and Roberto Luongo is third in the goaltending vote, behind the Boston Bruins' Tim Thomas and Nashville Predators' Pekka Rinne.

"We take a business-like approach and we are never satisfied with our game," Vancouver center Ryan Kesler says about the Canucks' consistency.

The Canucks have scored 72 more goals than they have surrendered this season. But Ferraro says that while the team is dangerous, he has some reservations about their playoff chances because Manny Malhotra is out for the postseason with a serious eye injury.

"One reason why they have been such a good team is they addressed some of their shortcomings," Ferraro said. "And Manny filled a lot of them. He's a terrific penalty killer, great on the draw, and he's a very stable, heavy, physical presence."

The defense remained solid even after Alexander Edler had to have back surgery.

"It's efficient," Ferraro said. "They won't run over anyone, but they get the puck and they move it. One pass it's out of the zone. No muss. No fuss."

Hamhuis is an important piece of the defense. "You watch him play once and you say, 'He's pretty good,' and you watch him 20 times and you say, 'Hey, that's a really good player.' "

Because Henrik won the NHL scoring championship and Hart Trophy last season, the Sedins could become the first brothers to win MVP. Henrik is third this season in the scoring race, seven points behind his twin.

"Those two are so good at hanging onto the puck until they find each other — it's a challenge to play against them," said Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.

Daniel said last season, when he missed 19 games with a broken foot, was big for the twins' development.

"We realized that we could play good without each other, and when we are put together we can be a little bit better," he said.

Luongo leads the league with 35 wins, even though the Canucks have rested him more this season to keep him fresh for the playoffs. Luongo has played more than 70 games in a season four times but he will be close to 60 this season. Cory Schneider's strong play has aided the efforts to reduce Luongo's regular-season playing time.

"In Vancouver, it's almost a pastime to question whether Luongo is any good or not," Ferraro said. "Yet his numbers are ridiculous."