Vancouver Canucks Sink San Jose Sharks To Vault Back into Playoff Position

The Vancouver Canucks rolled into San Jose on a three-game win streak, but the Sharks were looking for revenge after being ousted in five games last spring. 

As we learned in last year's Western Conference finals, the biggest predator in the Pacific isn't a Shark; it's an Orca.

The Canucks picked up where they left off last spring, using great goaltending and timely power-play goals to take down the Sharks in a hard-fought 3-2 game.

However, it wasn't all roses for the Canucks, as we also were reminded that not only is Orca greater than Shark, but Jamie McGinn is greater than Canucks defencemen.

Last spring it was a hard check that put Keith Ballard out with a shoulder injury, and in this latest game, it was another hard check that send Alex Edler to the dressing room. Edler did not return.

The story on the night though was once again Cory Schneider.

For the fourth game in a row, Schneider was named the first star. He didn't get the shutout, but he did stop 43-of-45 shots for an outstanding 0.956 save percentage. 

Is a goalie controversy awaiting coach Alain Vigneault when the team returns to Vancouver?

It would be awfully hard to sit Schneider after the string of games he has played, regardless of how healthy Roberto Luongo is.

Another Canuck who had a strong game was Ryan Kesler. Kesler set up the game-winning goal by Andrew Alberts with some strong play along the boards, and now has two goals and three assists during a four-game point streak.

It appears that Ryan Kesler is now fully recovered from his offseason hip surgery and is back in the Selke-winning, 41-goal scoring form that delighted Canucks fans and infuriated other teams last year.

The win vaulted the Canucks from 10th to sixth, leapfrogging several teams in the tight Western Conference.

This also marks the first time since the initial week of the season that the Canucks have been in a playoff position. And more importantly, they have passed Edmonton and are closing in on Minnesota for the Northwest Division lead.

The Canucks are now 8-4 in November, with one remaining game against Columbus on Tuesday Nov. 29th.

They may have started slow, but with this win streak they are exceeding the 7-4-2 record I originally predicted for November.

Have the Canucks found the President's Trophy form that escaped them to start the season? It certainly seems so based on this last week.