Edmonton Oilers goaltender Anders Nilsson makes a save against Vancouver Canucks forward Henrik Sedin during the third period on Oct. 18, 2015, at Rogers Arena. The Oilers won 2-1 in overtime.Anne-Marie Sorvin
Twenty seconds into the game on Sunday night, Vancouver hosting Edmonton, star Canucks centre Henrik Sedin was flying up the ice and the 35-year-old flipped a deft set-up pass over to a charging Alex Edler. But the defenceman's dangerous shot from the slot was blocked by Oilers goaltender Anders Nilsson.
Then, early in the third period with the game tied 1-1, Henrik skated in on Nilsson on a clear breakaway. He deked to his backhand, but Nilsson made the save. Brother Daniel was trailing close behind and pounced on the loose puck as it sat in the crease, the net completely open. Yet Daniel inexplicably chipped the puck over the net.
The Canucks went on to lose in overtime, 2-1, their second loss in a row after a hot 3-0-1 start.
Through that game, the Sedins exerted their usual dominance over the Edmonton Oilers. Over 15 NHL seasons, the twins have feasted on the Oilers, the third-worst team in hockey over that long stretch of time.
But something is a little off with their game. It's only six games into the Canucks' season, but people here worry that the Sedins, who turned 35 in late September, might be showing their age. Midway into four-year deals that pays each of them $7-million (U.S.) a year – making them the highest-paid Canucks – both Sedins are off to sluggish starts. Henrik has two points in six games, well below the 7.5 points he has in his first six games of recent seasons. Daniel has four points – his worst start in a decade.
Age does not necessarily define a hockey player, even if the league is quickly getting younger. Fellow Swede Henrik Zetterberg, captain of the Detroit Red Wings, was born two weeks after the Sedin twins and, as of midday Monday, he was tied for the NHL scoring lead with nine points.
The Sedins may just be adjusting to a new winger, Brandon Sutter, a natural centre, who the Canucks acquired in the off-season. But the trouble goes beyond an unusually weak offensive start. Their usually stellar puck-possession numbers have also tumbled. You don't need advanced statistics to know the Sedins have a remarkable ability to control play and produce offence by cycling the puck.
This season, they've notably slid. They have long been elite, in the ballpark of 55-per-cent possession or better, and yet Henrik is down to about 51 per cent so far and Daniel has slipped fractionally below 50 per cent.
Supporters will point out that the Sedins, in 2014-15, were both top-10 scorers (in a weirdly depressed season for scoring). Daniel was No. 8 with 76 points, and Henrik was No. 10 with 73. The Sedins were still the Sedins.
But it can be argued those point totals were at least a bit inflated by the hapless Oilers.
Last season, the Sedins scored 18 of their combined total of 149 points – 12.1 per cent – against one team.
This is not the end of the Sedins. They are noted for their fitness, and say they feel as strong as ever, even if the start of this season has been so-so. In Sweden over the summer, they worked out daily starting at 7 a.m. "We used to go for long workouts," said Daniel. "Now it's shorter and more intense."
Henrik said he felt "a little rusty" in the first couple games of the season. But of the fourth outing, a 3-0 win in Los Angeles against the Kings, Henrik said: "I felt as good as I've ever felt."
The brothers still impress.
"Sometimes," Connor McDavid said of the Sedins on Sunday night after the Oilers' win, "you're in awe of watching those guys move the puck around."
David Ebner