Canucks’ strong March pushes Vancouver to brink of President’s Trophy

By Bud L. Ellis

The race for the top seed in the Western Conference and the President’s Trophy is just about finished, thanks to a strong finishing kick by the Vancouver Canucks.

With nine games left in their regular season, the Canucks can just about set their sights totally on the Stanley Cup playoffs, comfortable in the knowledge they likely will have home-ice advantage all the way through until mid-June.

Vancouver sits ahead of the pack with 103 points, eight points in front of second-place Detroit. Thanks to winning eight times in their past 10 games, the Canucks are the first NHL team to crack the 100-point barrier.

March has been very kind to the Canucks. Vancouver opened the month with a 2-1 shutout victory over Columbus. Following a loss two nights later at home to Nashville, the Canucks won seven in a row, the winning streak ending Friday night with a 3-1 loss to Phoenix.

The Canucks can just about bury Detroit’s dreams of winning the West regular-season title with a victory in Detroit on Wednesday night. It’s the first game of a four-game road trip that also takes Vancouver through Atlanta, Columbus and Nashville.

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 8:01 pm by bud

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