Western conference

Sporting News, The, Jan 12, 2004 by Kara Yorio

VANCOUVER CANUCKS On the power play, the Canucks, like many teams with a lot of skill, are guilty of trying to make pretty, complex plays instead of simple ones. Because of that, their power play has hurt them more than helped. A couple of games with simple power-play success would help the Canucks relieve their recent offensive woes.

However, a lot has gone right with this team. Despite his slowed production, rookie RW Jason King has been a big plus alongside LW Daniel Sedin and C Henrik Sedin. They will regain their scoring touch and again provide the Canucks with a dangerous second line. And despite more attention after last season's success, the top line of LW Markus Naslund, C Brendan Morrison and RW Todd Bertuzzi hasn't lost a step. Add the underrated play of the team's defense, and you've got a lot of things going right.