Canucks Clinch First-Ever Presidents' Trophy
All good things come to those who wait, and for the good fan in Vancouver, the waiting is over.
It took until the 78th game of their 40th season, but the Vancouver Canucks, in a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings last night, clinched their first Presidents' Trophy signifying that they are not only the Western Conference regular season champions, but also carry the NHL's best record into the playoffs, which means they'll have home ice throughout. And just for good measure they clinched in decisive fashion with 113 points (and counting), 14 points more than their closest Western foe, San Jose Sharks, and 11 more than the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference.
I watched the Canucks-Kings game on satellite TV last night, and the stepped-up intensity by the Canucks was obvious. 35 shots-on-goal to the Kings' 19 was just one of the tell-tale signs in the box score. The biggie, however, was in their desire to control the puck. The Canucks were an impressive 60% on face offs, which no doubt led to their dominance around the goaltender.
So, props to Henrik Sedin and the rest of the Vancouver Canucks for making 4 decades of diligence pay off. Perhaps they can parlay this season's success into a nice, long run in this year's chase for Lord Stanley's Cup!
