As we approach the NHL’s holiday break, we have a bit of time to look at the Vancouver Canucks’ schedule.
It’s been a busy start to the season for the Canucks. This team is tied with five other teams for the most games played this season with 33.
Through it all, the Canucks hold a 22-9-2 record and have weathered the storm that was the first 40% of the season. There’s still a long way to go in the 2023-24 season but as we get set to turn the calendar to 2024, let’s take a look at some notables from the schedule.
Back-to-Backs
The Canucks have already completed most of their back-to-back sets this season. We saw five sets of back-to-backs in the opening 33 games and the team went 5-3-2 in those 10 games.
We will see four more sets of back-to-backs for the Canucks through the remainder of the season. The tough news there is that all four will see travel – well, sort of.
- The ‘not really travel’ back-to-back with New York Rangers and Islanders in mid-January.
- Detroit to Washington in mid-February.
- Minnesota to Colorado a week after the DET-WASH games.
- Vegas to Arizona at the beginning of April.
The Canucks’ four back-to-backs are on the lighter side for the remainder of the season if you compare them to the rest of the Pacific Division.
- The Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks have eight sets of back-to-backs left on their schedule.
- The Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks each have six sets remaining.
- The Seattle Kraken and Los Angeles Kings each have five sets left.
- The Calgary Flames have it the easiest and are the only Pacific Division team with fewer back-to-backs remaining than the Canucks. They only have three sets left this season.
Road Trips
We’re basically 50% of the way through the travel distance and still just at the 40% of season mark - 33,265 kilometers down and only 36,450 to go!
We will see five more multi-game road trips for the Canucks this season and a total of 24 more road games before the season comes to a close.
The longest remaining road trip will be a seven-game stretch that begins on January 4th and will see the team travel 8,867 kms. The team will begin in St. Louis and go through New Jersey, New York (x2), Pittsburgh, Buffalo and wrap up in Columbus on January 15th.
Then there’s a five-game road trip at the beginning of February that sees the Canucks begin in Carolina on February 6th and then play in Boston, Detroit, Washington and close out the trip in Chicago.
After those two long trips, the remaining road games are much easier. There’s just a pair of three-game road trips, and a couple of one-game stops at the end of the season for games 80 and 82.
We’ve seen this Canucks team play well on the road this season. They are holding a 10-6-1 record away from Rogers Arena. That road record will be tested through the second half of the season but there’s a lot a lot to look forward to on home ice as well.
Home Cooking
The remainder of the season will see 25 more nights where the Canucks play at Rogers Arena.
So far this season, the Canucks have a 12-3-1 record on home ice and have outscored their opponents 62-32 through their first 16 home games.
We will see a massively long homestand through March. The Canucks will play nine straight games on home ice beginning with Winnipeg coming to town on March 9th and wrapping up with Anaheim on March 31st.
The nine-game homestand goes from game 67 to game 74 of the season and comes at a good time for the team to make hay during a late-season push for the playoffs. The crowds have been excellent this season and the boost from the fans is certainly felt by the players.
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Divisional Games
The Pacific Division is looking strong this season and with the Canucks, Kings and Golden Knights all fighting for the division title, the remaining games between the teams will have major implications on who each team will face in the playoffs.
Here’s how the remaining divisional games shakedown for the Canucks:
- Two games against the Anaheim Ducks.
- Two games against the Calgary Flames.
- One game against the Edmonton Oilers.
- Four games against the Los Angeles Kings.
- One game against the San Jose Sharks.
- One game against the Seattle Kraken.
- Three games against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The combined seven games against the Golden Knights and Kings will be a major factor in Pacific Division seeding. The Canucks don’t play their next game against the Golden Knights until March 7th and have still not faced the Kings this season. The first time we see the Canucks match up with the Kings will be February 29th, and they will play four times in a span of five weeks.
Through 33 games this season, the Canucks are 8-4-0 against Pacific Division opponents. They have 14 games remaining against Pacific Division teams.
We’ve still got a lot of hockey left this year but the first 40% of the season has been great to see the fans support this team and look forward to each game this season.
