CBC-Sports

Get the points now before the Olympics come to town

October 22, 2009 06:00 PM | Posted by   Glenn Healy  

Is it too early to declare a Saturday night game in October a must win?

Well, as the Toronto Maple Leafs pull into town for a 7 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT tilt on Saturday, I will declare that it’s not a must win for the Leafs, instead it’s the Canucks that must put two points in the kitty.

I make this declaration not based on the fact that it’s the winless Leafs coming to town, but based on a number of issues that may bite Vancouver in the derriere down the road.

Canada is ecstatic that the circus they call the Olympics is coming to town. And no one is more pleased than the great people of Vancouver. However, one thing is for certain: Before the votes were tallied to see which city was designated as the home of the free-for-all we call the Olympics, the selection committee failed to ask the 23 players on the Vancouver Canucks for an opinion.

The Olympics invade the city for weeks and when that happens, the Canucks get punted from GM Place. In my opinion, Vancouver has the worst schedule in the NHL. The schedule stinks not because they travel 45,300 miles during the regular season where they play in a different time zone 39 times, but because they are evicted from their rink and city for 43 days during the Olympics.

That is 43 days without the luxury of a home game. They play St, Louis on Jan. 27, 2010, and don’t get to hear the fat guy with a beard sing the national anthem in Vancouver until March 13 when they host Ottawa.

The owners, as has been reported, don’t like to darken buildings during the Olympics for two weeks. What does a 43-day break do to momentum? During the Olympics the Canucks will play 14 straight games on the road. “Bye, honey, I will be back when the kids graduate from school!”

This is how their 14-game odyssey will unfold.

They start the trip in the East, swing down to Florida for a few tilts, try to steal some points in the Midwest and finish the marathon stretch playing in front of no one in Phoenix. Sounds easy, eh? Not.

Vancouver has 11 Saturday night home games and for eight of them the team is fresh (not back to back). Toronto has not won a game and is stumbling into town. These are valuable points that the Canucks must seize or they will be looking up at teams in the standings when the go on their road trip from hell in February. Come to think of it, the road has not been kind to the Canucks so far this year.

Sure, the team will say that it doesn’t matter about the trip and that they’re not concerned and in fact, they may even proclaim that it’s the best schedule ever. Good one. Next trick!

If it doesn’t matter, then ask Ottawa. You see, they were punted from their rink for the world junior tournament and it cost them the playoffs.

Get the two points Saturday because the next night at home you have Edmonton screaming into town. I like your chances better on Saturday.

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