So here we are a month later. The Canucks are still in first which is pretty damn cool. But things aren't all wine and roses.
Edler, Ballard, Hamhuis, Alberts and Bieksa are all injured. That is five of our top six defencemen. Are you kidding me? The only one of the top six still active is Salo, the glass man who could injure himself sleeping, who had been out all season until now. I figure it's only a matter of time before he's out again. These last few weeks have been like dominoes. Each game some d-man gets injured. Here at work we were at first joking about it but as it has compounded no one is making light of it anymore.
The most frustrating thing is that the defence was largely considered the missing piece in making this team a contender. We clearly had the forwards and goaltenders but our lack of defence kept us trapped in the second round. So this year our GM makes the moves to improve the defence. And the team is number one! The move is paying dividends. But with our entire defence out injured are we not now vulnerable to the same weakness as before?
Now it's only February and the general feeling is that we realistically can get most, if not all, of these guys back by the playoffs. And with the lead we have missing the playoffs just isn't a real threat. But, man, you feel like the hockey gods are out to get you when you specifically address your previous shortcomings only to have that negated due to incredibly bad luck.
That dreaded "this is when it all fucks up" feeling is creeping in. Any fan of an underachieving team knows that feeling and only recent championships can cure it.