Black Ice Vancouver

Long gone are the days of Al Arbour and his high flying Islanders of the 80’s. While Vancouver’s franchise win percentage was sinking far below .500, like mercury in the antarctic, Arbour and the likes of Mike Bossy, Billy Smith and Brian Trottier we decimating the league in the relative obscurity of New York.

The 1982 Stanley Cup Final was a benchmark year for organizations on both sides of the conference divide. Vancouver bumbled around the .500 mark for most of the season and then went on a tear, losing only twice in their final 22 games (including playoffs). New York was coming of their second straight cup and they breezed through the regular season with 118 points. Mike Bossy, who would go on to win the Conn Smyth Trophy, scored 147 points in the regular season and was the difference maker between New York (blessed with talent and organization) and Vancouver (armed with a tenacious coach and gritty squad of veterans).

New York won that series, as most of you know. What that season did for the Canucks, long the laughing stock of the West Coast, was solidify the presence of hockey in the region and whet an appetite, long unsated, in the local fanbase.

Canucks Nation was born.

Tuesday’s prosaic game against the Islanders was a far cry from the heated battles of Mike Bossy and Tiger Williams. It was a reunion of Roberto Luongo and his former team (he played 24 games for the Isles before being traded by “Mad” Mike Milbury in 2000) that went as un-heralded as the game. The Canucks were out of the gate quick with a slick snapshot from the hashmarks by Pavol Demitra, but quickly sank into a particular show of mediocrity. Blue gave his team every opportunity to win, save score a goal, but in the end the Canucks can leave this one for the trash heap.

Until then, Canuck Nation shall wait.

Next Up — Rangers