As fun as it's been watching the Canucks get off to a 4-2 start, the reality is that the Canucks are no closer to the playoffs than they were at the start of the season. I have always wondered why the first few games of the season always feel more important than other games throughout the season.
Over my experience, I think there are a few reasons for this. To start, the euphoria of climbing the standings or parachuting down in the matter of standings is pretty intense one way or another. The fear of sitting bottom in the standings is painful and never a good feeling and the reverse is true with being first in the NHL aft a handful of games into the season.
For the most part, it's all psychological but there has to be some short of science behind it if your team is on pace for a 74-8-0 season. The other idea I can think of is that it's fun to see the potential of your favorite team race off to a 12-1 record. Over a 20-year period, no one really remembers the exact record a team has or where they finished in the season standings, but they will remember a historical 9-1-1 start or something along those lines that propels a team to a great season.
It's important to remember, every game is an important game. You never know when the injury bug bites a team during a soft six game homestand or a team goes into a funk during the middle of the season. Teams that are four points out of a playoff spot on March 1st will use the old saying that the last 20 games will feel like playoff games. Well, how about we win as many games as we can so we can glide into the playoffs instead of relying on puck luck at the end.
It's actually quite surprising the overaction that fans have at the start of the season. I get it, some of it might be sarcastic but the most part seems to be the fact that fans forget how long of a season it is. For myself, I believe it all matters where a team is in their rebuilding cycle. I find myself rather excited after six games from Vancouver because it has been so long since Vancouver has been in the playoffs.
For a team that is predicted to have a long season, any sort of 6-3 start brings out extra good vibes. On the other hand, a team that is expected to contend for the Stanley Cup and has experienced fun playoff times will often have more patience.
