Vancouver Canucks: The American Express Line Is Fueling Resurgence

After their annual early season slump the Vancouver Canucks have appeared to right their ship. Winners of five of their last six, the Canucks have been climbing the Northwest Division ranks.  

The reason for the resurgence? Better goaltending? Better defense? 

Sure, all those things have been improved but more importantly they are getting secondary scoring from the second line. From the "American Express" line. 

Early in the season, only the Sedin line was scoring with any consistency and the Canucks were not getting anything else even-strength. If the Sedins couldn’t score, the Canucks were going to lose. 

To bolster their second line they went out and acquired David Booth from Florida with the idea of matching him with Ryan Kesler and Chris Higgins. Those three struggled early, the lines were juggled and the team’s struggles continued. 

Recently this line was reunited and has been on fire. 

Dubbed "The American Express" line by fans, due to all three players being American born, the Canucks have been scoring more goals, and in turn, winning games. 

In the last five games the American Express line has combined for six goals, 12 assists, 18 points and a +16. David Booth appears to finally be settling in to his new home, scoring three of those goals, and now has 13 points since joining Vancouver. 

Watching them is exciting as they are pouring shots on goal and seem dangerous on each shift.

One thing Vancouver learned during their playoff run last year is that they desperately need the second line to show up. Last season, opponents threw everything they had at shutting down the twins and when they were successful, as Boston was, the second line did not pick up the slack. 

For most of the playoffs Kesler was a centre without any running mates.  

Kesler struggled his first few games back from hip surgery but appears to have that jump in his game that led him to 40 goals and a Selke Trophy last season. He is the catalyst for the American Express line and in many ways the most important player on the Canucks roster.

The blue print to beating Vancouver in the playoffs is out there. Rough up the Sedins, shut them down and the rest of the team will be easy to stop.  

If Kesler and his new line-mates continue the type of play they’ve enjoyed the past couple of weeks that blue print will need to be revamped. The Canucks will become that much tougher to beat.