The Vancouver Canucks and Philadelphia Flyers have given plenty for their fans to cheer about. But Adam Proteau is skeptical about whether the excellence extends long enough.

As the NHL season unfolds, we’re still seeing teams overachieve – at least, given the expectations some (this writer included) had for them – but there’s still plenty of time for them to regress to the mean.

We’re referring specifically to two teams: the Vancouver Canucks and Philadelphia Flyers. Call it the “John Tortorella connection,” but both the Canucks and Flyers are punching above their presumed weight. The big question now is whether or not they can sustain the success they’ve enjoyed thus far this year.

When it comes to the Canucks, this writer's hunch is a regression is coming. 

After getting out to a 10-2-1 record, Vancouver went 6-7-0 in their next 13 games. They did bounce back after that, and they’re currently on a 6-0-1 streak, taking advantage of a softer part of their schedule to settle in as the second-best team in the Pacific Division. But their road gets more difficult from here, as their next 10 games includes tilts against Dallas, Philly, New Jersey, the New York Islanders and New York Rangers.

All but three of those next 10 games are on the road, and the Canucks are just 10-6-1 away from home this season. They’ll be challenged to improve that road record if they’re going to stave off likely pushes from the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights. 

The Pacific is a top-heavy division, meaning Vancouver almost assuredly has earned themselves a Stanley Cup playoff berth, but the real question is what the team sets itself up for – winning the division or a first-round matchup with either the Golden Knights or Kings. Obviously, they’d prefer to finish atop the Pacific and earn a post-season berth against a lesser light such as Calgary, Edmonton or a Central Division wild-card team.

That said, the key needle-mover for the Canucks in 2024 is the play of star goalie Thatcher Demko, who has been excellent for them with his .921 save percentage and 2.34 goals-against average in 23 appearances. But Demko has played more than 35 games only once in a single NHL season, and it will be intriguing to see how hard Canucks coach Rick Tocchet leans on his starting goalie the rest of the way. We’ve never been the biggest fan of backup Casey DeSmith, but a lighter workload – he’s appeared in only 11 games this year – might keep him fresher down the stretch and capable of taking more pressure off of Demko.

Meanwhile, we’ve been waiting for the Flyers to fall off their hot pace, and that hasn’t happened. Amazingly, they’re only four wins behind New York Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division. They’re 7-0-1 in their last eight games, beating teams like Colorado, Detroit and New Jersey in that span. They’re a better team on the road (10-4-1) than at home (8-6-1), and they’ve benefitted from a 3-0 shootout record. 

They haven’t fluked their way into their overall record. That’s because they’re getting great play out of their defense, averaging just 2.61 goals-against per game – tying them for sixth overall in the league in that department – and making the most of the offense they are getting.

However, that offense must be better than the 2.61 goals-for average they’ve posted thus far – making them a bottom-10 team in the league in that category – as they can't keep expecting to be defensive dynamos and fend off later-season pushes from the Hurricanes, Devils, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metro. Flyers GM Daniel Briere must also make tough choices on some veterans who probably aren’t part of the long-term plan in Philadelphia, and they may need to take a half-step back before they can go forward next season.

Between the two teams, we like the Canucks to maintain their pace the rest of the season more than Philadelphia doing the same, but the Flyers have earned some breathing room to get them through the tough stretches every team goes through at some point in their year. Health is also going to be paramount for Vancouver and Philadelphia, and a few missed games for some of their key players could lead to losing streaks that push them down their current place in their respective divisions.

The Flyers and Canucks have given their fans much to appreciate this year, but it wouldn’t surprise us to see them tail off somewhat in the grind of the season. Tocchet and Tortorella are tasked with keeping them competitive, and we can see both succeeding in that regard. But we’re not completely convinced either of them has what it takes to be a true Cup front-runner just yet. 

Stranger things have happened, of course, but years of experience watching teams go through rollercoaster existences has taught us to expect a downswing for both teams. How they respond to the challenges of the grind will ultimately decide just how far they go, but fans can take some solace in seeing them raise the bar for themselves out of the gate.