Daniel Sedin says he has not been good enough lately. Henrik stopped short of going there, but did point out he should be a 20-goal scorer. He has three in 21 games.
After a monster first month of the season, during which the Sedins put up huge points (33 in 15 games) and played massive minutes, the twins have tailed off. Six games into November, they’ve combined for five points and the Canucks have two wins.
That’s the downside to all that ice time. If the Sedins aren’t going, neither are the Canucks.
“I know I can score goals,” Henrik said. “I’ve shown in the past I should be at least a 20-goal scorer. I know I have to score.”
The twins are adamant they’re not wearing down because of this uncharted playing time, something they will be accused of during every slump this year.
“I don’t think that’s it,” Daniel said. “My body feels great. You go through these ups and downs in the ebb and flow of a season.”
Interestingly, head coach John Tortorella’s latest line shuffle will give the Canucks their most balanced lineup of the season today when they entertain the Dallas Stars.
Maybe that’s because Jannik Hansen’s return means this is a near-healthy lineup. Only Dale Weise and Jordan Schroeder are out now.
On Saturday, the coach had Alex Burrows back with the twins, while Ryan Kesler was centring a line with Chris Higgins and Jannik Hansen, set to play his first game since Oct. 22.
That bumps Mike Santorelli to the third line, where he will face the tall task of extracting more offence out of wingers David Booth and Zack Kassian, and drops Brad Richardson to fourth-line centre, which is a significant upgrade.
