Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
It’s hard to know exactly where to stand with the Vancouver Canucks, who very clearly deserve full marks for the way they performed in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. But the victory – as complete as it was – in isolation means very little.
The Canucks merely kept pace with the Calgary Flames, who were 3-1 winners in Winnipeg on Saturday. And even after capping Hockey Day In Canada with one of their more complete efforts in recent weeks, the Canucks still reside below the playoff bar in the NHL’s Western Conference.
So, the skepticism in the market is understandable. This year’s version of the hockey club simply hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt.
It was just last weekend the Canucks shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 on Hockey Night, and the talk then was that it was the kind of 60-minute performance the team could build off. And it should have been.
Instead, the Canucks immediately got thumped by both the Winnipeg Jets and Los Angeles Kings. So, remind me again about the merits of the big win over the Leafs? It already feels like a lifetime ago.
And go back to mid-December when the Canucks blanked the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers only to get blitzed two nights later by Boston. Or a nearly flawless 3-1 win over Colorado followed by a late-game collapse in a 3-2 overtime loss in Utah.
In fact, there are countless examples this season where it seemed like the Canucks had turned in the kind of effort and result that had you believing they were close to turning a corner, only to fall flat on their face the very next game. An impressive 4-2 win in Los Angeles in early November was followed by a 7-3 home-ice loss to Edmonton. A 2-0 win in Boston a few weeks later was easily forgotten 24 hours later when the Canucks fell behind 5-1 in the first period in Pittsburgh.
All of this is to say that the win over the Oilers shouldn’t be disregarded. The Canucks held Edmonton to just 15 shots on the night and only eight over the final 40 minutes. The first period showed the kind of spark and energy rarely seen on home ice all season.
But the challenge is now to back it up with a similar effort on Tuesday against Buffalo. The Canucks remain without consecutive victories since the start of December and haven’t posted back-to-back wins on home ice all season.
On Tuesday, they get a sad-sack Sabres team that is starting a western road trip in Seattle on Monday night. It’s quite possible the Canucks will see veteran James Reimer in goal. Yes, that James Reimer – the 36-year-old that has one victory all season and it came against San Jose in late November.
With a highly anticipated rematch against the Oilers in the offing and a game against Washington following that one, the Canucks simply can’t lose their focus and look past the Sabres.
Get it done. Just find a way to get it done.
But understand that many will need to see it happen before they’re willing to believe it was more than just a one-off. That comes with the territory of being one of the most inconsistent teams in hockey.
The win over Edmonton was the kind of 60-minute performance that should draw the fan base back in once again. It provided enough evidence that when on their game, the Canucks can hang with the big boys in the NHL.
The question – and it remains a big one – is can this group follow it up with anything that remotely resembles the structure and commitment put forth on Saturday? We’ll all have to wait a few days to find out.
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