Expectations for the Vancouver Canucks were not high heading into the season.

Asked in September if he expected the team to make the playoffs, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford hedged.

91裸聊视频淭o be very to the point, the changes that we made, we have a playoff team if everything goes right,91裸聊视频� he said.

Things did go right.

On Sunday, the Canucks will host their first home playoff game since 2015 when they kick off a first-round matchup against the Nashville Predators.

Vancouver has been one of the big surprises of the NHL season. The team went 23-9-3 ahead of the Christmas break and consistently hovered near the top of the league standings before capturing the Pacific Division title with a 50-23-9 record.

91裸聊视频淚 think if someone told us where we would be this time (of the) year in the summer, obviously we91裸聊视频檇 take it,91裸聊视频� said captain Quinn Hughes. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 different when you91裸聊视频檙e building something every day and you91裸聊视频檙e living it. But we knew we had some good pieces in here and we91裸聊视频檝e got a great staff, and management did a really good job with putting pieces together.

91裸聊视频淎nd it hasn91裸聊视频檛 been easy, but we did everything we were supposed to do.91裸聊视频�

Players arrived in Vancouver well ahead of training camp last fall, trading their late-summer plans for group skates.

Brock Boeser, the team91裸聊视频檚 longest-tenured player, says it feels 91裸聊视频渁mazing91裸聊视频� to see the hard work result in a playoff spot and division title.

91裸聊视频淥bviously, we were sick and tired of losing,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淎nd that91裸聊视频檚 why we came here early to try and set that standard, set those expectations. I think we had that great start to the year and just built off it. We91裸聊视频檝e had our ups and downs, but I think we91裸聊视频檝e learned a lot.91裸聊视频�

Several of the Canucks91裸聊视频� top players shone throughout the season, putting up career-high numbers.

Hughes led all NHL defenceman with 92 points. Boeser hit the 40-goal mark. Three Vancouver players were among the league91裸聊视频檚 top-20 scorers, including forward J.T. Miller with a team-high 103 points. Even after missing a month with a knee injury, goalie Thatcher Demko finished with a 35-14-2 record, a .918 save percentage and five shutouts.

Point totals and division titles don91裸聊视频檛 count in the post-season, noted winger Conor Garland.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 nice, but once Game 1 comes around, it91裸聊视频檒l all be meaningless,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲e give ourselves a chance getting into the playoffs. It really doesn91裸聊视频檛 matter if you91裸聊视频檙e the eighth seed or the No. 1 seed, everybody has a chance. And that91裸聊视频檚 what everybody fights for all year.91裸聊视频�

Head coach Rick Tocchet preached the importance of having a 91裸聊视频渄ay-to-day mindset91裸聊视频� throughout the season. That won91裸聊视频檛 change come playoffs, he said.

91裸聊视频淚 think for our group, we just have to worry about Game 1,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淵ou can91裸聊视频檛 look at the big thing, 91裸聊视频榃hat if?91裸聊视频� or 91裸聊视频榊ou91裸聊视频檝e got to win a series,91裸聊视频� all that stuff. I think it91裸聊视频檚 dangerous when you think that way.

91裸聊视频淚 think, honestly, we91裸聊视频檝e got to prepare for that first period against Nashville and be ready to play from that first shift. 91裸聊视频� I think when you think big picture, that91裸聊视频檚 when you get nervous.91裸聊视频�

NHL playoff experience is one thing many of Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 stars lack. The Canucks91裸聊视频� last playoff run came in the Edmonton bubble during the COVID-abbreviated 20219-20 season.

91裸聊视频淭hat was different. That was tough,91裸聊视频� said Garland, who played for the Arizona Coyotes at the time. 91裸聊视频淥ur games were at like, 10 in the morning. So I was eating pasta at 8 a.m. It wasn91裸聊视频檛 the most fun I91裸聊视频檝e had in my life.

91裸聊视频淭his year is different. I91裸聊视频檒l find out.91裸聊视频�

Six current Canucks played for Vancouver in the bubble, including Boeser. Playoffs this year will be completely different, he said.

91裸聊视频淚 think we91裸聊视频檝e just got to look at it as our first time,91裸聊视频� Boeser said. 91裸聊视频淛ust with the fans and the momentum shift and all that, it91裸聊视频檚 something new to us and something I think we91裸聊视频檙e going to have to embrace.91裸聊视频�

The Canucks swept their season series against Nashville, but all three games took place before Christmas and the Predators were one of the NHL91裸聊视频檚 hottest teams coming out of the all-star break. Nashville took points from 18 straight games across February and March, and finished the regular season fourth in a ultra-competitive Central Division.

The late-season push doesn91裸聊视频檛 scare Canucks winger Dakota Joshua.

91裸聊视频淚 feel good about facing anybody,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 think this group is a confident one.91裸聊视频�

The results of the Vancouver-Nashville season series will help going into the playoffs, Joshua added.

91裸聊视频淵ou know you can beat them,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淏ut at the end of the day, you start off 0-0. They were a pretty hot team here down the stretch, so they91裸聊视频檙e feeling probably a lot better than the times we played them during the season. And it should be a great series.91裸聊视频�

TALE OF THE TAPE

Regular-season series: Vancouver 3-0

Goals per game: Vancouver 91裸聊视频� 3.40 (6th); Nashville 91裸聊视频� 3.24 (10th).

Top scorers: Vancouver 91裸聊视频� J.T. Miller, 103 points; Nashville 91裸聊视频� Filip Forsberg, 94

Starting goaltender: Vancouver 91裸聊视频� Thatcher Demko, 35-14-2, 2.45 GAA, .918 save percentage; Nashville 91裸聊视频� Juuse Saros, 35-24-5, 2.86 GAA, .906 save percentage

Power play percentage: Vancouver 91裸聊视频� 22.7 (11th); Nashville 91裸聊视频� 21.6 (16th)

Penalty kill percentage: Vancouver 91裸聊视频� 79.1 (17th); Nashville 91裸聊视频� 76.9 (22nd)

The Big Stat: Vancouver went 17-12-4 after the all-star break while Nashville was 21-7-3.

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