Canucks have one of the NHL's toughest remaining schedules
“The Vancouver Canucks have had it easy.”
That’s definitely an over-simplistic statement, but there’s no doubt that the Canucks have had one of the easiest schedules in the league so far.
According to Power Rankings Guru, the Canucks have had the third easiest schedule, behind only the Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins.
Based on Hockey Reference’s strength of schedule, the Canucks have faced the easiest slew of opponents in the entire league.
But that’s about to change.
Canucks have a tough road ahead
Multiple outlets state that the Canucks have the toughest remaining schedule among Western Conference teams.
Power Rankings Guru, which judges strength of schedule based on a compilation of power rankings from across the hockey universe, says that the Canucks have the fifth-toughest remaining schedule and the toughest among any Western Conference teams.
PowerRankingsGuru.com
Tankathon, the draft lottery website that, thankfully, Canucks fans won’t have to think about this season, says the Canucks have the sixth-toughest remaining schedule. Even though it’s a tad easier than the list above, it’s still the toughest remaining schedule in the Western Conference.
They determine strength of schedule based on the average points percentage among remaining opponents.
Tankathon.com
The Canucks have played 23 of their 50 games against teams currently in a playoff spot. Over their final 32 games, 18 of them will be against playoff teams.
Of those 18 games, 12 of them are against teams that are top-10 in the NHL.
Here are the Canucks’ remaining games against top-10 teams:
- Boston Bruins (x2)
- Colorado Avalanche (x2)
- Dallas Stars (x1)
- Winnipeg Jets (x3)
- Vegas Golden Knights (x3)
- Edmonton Oilers (x1)
The remaining six games against playoff teams include two matchups against the Detroit Red Wings and four games against the Los Angeles Kings.
What about their rivals?
Well, according to the rankings, everyone has it easier than the Canucks.
But there is a caveat.
One thing that these outlets determining strength of schedule don’t take into account is which teams are playing on the second night of back-to-backs. The Canucks have a league-low two back-to-back sets remaining, tied with the Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks.
The Golden Knights, for the record, have one of the easiest remaining schedules based on the combined points percentage of their opponents. They are currently seven points back of the Canucks for first place in the Pacific Division.
The Oilers are about middle of the pack in terms of difficulty of opponents. However, the Oilers still have eight back-to-back games coming up on their schedule. That’s the second-most in the league and the most in the Western Conference.
The Los Angeles Kings, although they’ve struggled, have the second-easiest remaining schedule in the league based on points percentage, which is saying something considering that they play the Canucks four times. However, they’ve yet to play the lowly Chicago Blackhawks and have three games left against the Anaheim Ducks.
Canucks have played well against top opponents
Although the Canucks have had an easy schedule, they’ve made the most of their opportunities against the best teams in the NHL.
Here’s a look at the top 12 teams in the league as of today.
NHL.com
Against these opponents this season, the Canucks have gone 11-4-2.
Beating the Oilers three times early on certainly helped that record. However, this team also beat the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes twice while picking up wins against the Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Canucks have shown they can hang with some of the best teams in the NHL, and upcoming games against the Avalanche, Golden Knights, and Jets in particular will be interesting to watch.
Those teams are three of the five best teams in the Western Conference. The Canucks have yet to beat either the Avalanche or Golden Knights, and they’ve yet to play the Jets.
Their only game against the Golden Knights was a 4-1 loss, and it was arguably their worst showing of the season. Considering that Vancouver could face Vegas in the playoffs, and will assuredly battle them for top spot in the Pacific, those three games might be the most intriguing ones remaining on the schedule.
Regardless of how tough the Canucks’ remaining schedule is, they deserve credit for making the most of their “soft” schedule so far.
They’re currently on pace for 118 points, which would be one point better than their franchise-best 117-point season in 2010-11. To top that mark and hit 119 points, they need 47 points over their final 33 games. They could get there with something like a 21-8-3 record.
Would you bet against them?
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