Thursday, March 30, 2006

The Canucks TRUE Top Line

Through all the struggles that the Canucks are having, the big plus side that the managment can look at is the emergence of the line of Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, and Anson Carter. Each player compliments the other perfectly. The amazing thing is that those three are all in the top-5 in team scoring and all having career years.

For Carter, it is his break out year. Already, he has 30 goals (most in his career) and has almost eclipsed his career year in 2001-02 in Edmonton. Though there were many different forwards to play alongside the Sedin twins, Carter has been the cog that the Canucks needed to actually spark the twins to their full potential. The skill both Sedin twins possess make Carter virtually invisible to the defense, which has allowed him to get those 30 goals.

The Sedins have been nothing short of spectacular. It's a season like this which shows the Canucks that they made the right choice in picking the twins 2nd (Daniel) and 3rd (Henrik) Overall in the 1999 Entry Draft. Up to this point in their careers, they have been duds. Daniel's best point output was 54 pts (18g, 36a), while Henrik was 42pts (11g, 31a) both in '03-'04. Luckily for the Sedins, they knew that they were going to be with Carter, which allowed them to develop a chemistry they hadn't had before.

The Canucks are reaping the benefits, however, if they want to stay in the playoff picture, they need to help of not only the Sedins/Carter line, but also their "top" trio of Todd Bertuzzi, Brendan Morrison, and Markus Naslund. Though those three have been playing fairly well, the inconsistency that surrounds the line is what needs to be fixed in order to have any shot at a deep Stanley Cup run, if they make it.

In any case, there's really no debate in the Canuckland that the Sedins and Carter line is the top one right now in VanCity. If they are to be dethroned, it will take a strong effort from the other lines and even then, it still could be open for debate.

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