How long has it been since I last posted here?  Let’s see…the Canucks’ record before I updated the sidebar widget, was 19-15-0 for 38 points, 3rd in the Northwest, and 10th in the Western Conference.  Since then, they’ve gone 7-1-1, and are STILL 3rd in the division, but have moved up to 6th in the conference.  Well, at least they’d be in the playoffs if they started today.  Unlike the Detroit Red Wings, who wouldn’t.

The difference is, though, that they’re only two points out of a tie for first in the division.  Makes that game coming up against Calgary seem even better, doesn’t it?

Back in November I wrote a post on Canucks.com saying that if the Canucks were to go 10-5 in December, that they’d probably be all right for the balance of the season.  What was their record?  10-5 (yeah, yeah, there was an overtime loss, I know.  But it’s still 10 wins and 5 losses, okay?)

So far they’re 2-0 this year, and they completely dominated the Blue Jackets last night, after they recovered from spotting them a 2 goal lead early in the first period.  Roberto Luongo didn’t have to stand on his head, or save the game for them, as scoring wasn’t an issue.  And whenever someone like Rick Rypien chips in with a goal, you know that the secondary scoring is contributing the way that it should be.  A hat-trick from Alex Burrows doesn’t hurt either.

I have to admit that Mikael Samuelsson’s goal was one of the weirdest I’ve seen in a long time.  Sure looked like the guy was offside, but it appears that the officials indicated that the Blue Jackets put the puck back over the blue line, which made Samuelsson on-side.  But shouldn’t that have made it an unassisted goal, rather than giving two assists?  No matter.

Two more games coming up this week, and with the Phoenix Coyotes not playing the way they did last year, maybe the Canucks will play a little better, too.  Not play down to the level of their opponents.  And the Calgary game on Saturday night is just going to be nothing but fun.  Especially if the Canucks knock them off 5-1 like they did in their last meeting.  Time will tell.

I’d like to announce right now that while the league might be shutting down for the Olympics, CanuckNation.ca will be posting on all of Canada’s games during the tournament.  Or games that involve Canucks players, anyway.