Will the Vancouver Canucks Successfully Defend the President's Trophy?

Last season, the Vancouver Canucks dominated the rest of the NHL in pretty much every statistical category, and walked away with the President's Trophy as the best team in the regular season.

This year, the consensus was that the Canucks would take a step back after the grueling playoff run that decimated their roster with injuries to core players.

Claiming the Northwest Division title again was a given with how bad the Avalanche, Flames, Oilers and Wild are, but very few people, including Canucks fans, thought they could repeat as the NHL's top team.

Skip ahead to the last week of the regular season, and the Canucks have displaced the Blues for first in the Western Conference, and are tied with the Rangers for the overall NHL lead. 

Down the stretch, the Canucks have a very favourable schedule that should allow them to both rest some star players while still running the table to defend their President's Trophy.

No team has won consecutive President's Trophies since the Dallas Stars in the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 seasons.

The Canucks have 107 points and are 7-2-1 in their last ten games. They are also riding a six-game winning streak.

They have three games left against teams with an average of 78 points, all of which are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

Remaining Games: 

• Anaheim Ducks (33-24-11) 12th in the West, 77 points
• Calgary Flames (35-29-16) 11th in the West, 86 points
• Edmonton Oilers (31-28-9) 14th in the West, 71 points

The New York Rangers have 107 points, but also have a game in hand over the Canucks. The Rangers are 7-3-0 in their last ten games, and are riding a four-game winning streak.

The Rangers have four games left against teams with an average of 96 points.

Three of those teams are solidly in the playoffs, or in the case of the Capitals, a team that is desperate to hang onto the 8th spot. 

Remaining Games:

• Boston Bruins (46-28-4) 2nd in the East, 96 points
• Philadelphia Flyers (45-24-9) 5th in the East, 99 points
• Pittsburgh Penguins (48-24-6) 4th in the East, 102 points
• Washington Capitals (40-31-8) 8th in the East, 88 points

The St. Louis Blues are just behind the Rangers and Canucks with 106 points.

The Blues were running away with the Western Conference and overall NHL lead for most of the season, but have slumped recently, going 4-3-3 in their last ten games.

They have three games left against teams with an average of 92 points.

The veteran Wings are battling for home ice advantage, while Phoenix and Dallas are desperate teams playing for their playoff lives and maybe the Pacific Division crown depending on how other games play out.

Remaining Games:

• Detroit Red Wings (46-27-5) 5th in the West, 97 points
• Phoenix Coyotes (39-27-13) 7th in the West, 91 points
• Dallas Stars (42-32-5) 9th in the West, 89 points

The Rangers and Blues would most likely win the first tiebreaker (regulation wins) if the teams are end up tied at the end of the season, so the Canucks would have to run the table to win their remaining games and hope that the Rangers drop at least three points in their last four games.

Factoring around the competition that the Rangers are playing versus the teams the Canucks are playing, though, this is a very distinct possibility.