British Columbia battles not only the elements, but the Vancouver Canucks

It has been one of the most devastating weeks in recent history for many British Columbia families, as heavy winds and rainfall pours down on the province.

Torrential downpours over the weekend have caused hundreds of families to evacuate from their homes. On top of that, landslides and water have closed highways around the province, leaving some families no way out. 

Joey Kenward, a play-by-play commentator for Sportsnet 650 lives in BC, where he and his family have watched the events of the last four days unfold.

“It’s been a crazy couple of days here,” said Kenward. “To put this in perspective, if you want to get into Vancouver right now and if you are outside the lower mainland, the only way to get here is either by water or by air. Every major roadway into the lower mainland of BC is closed at some junction.”

Sports tend to take a backseat when all anyone can do is focus on Survival.

“Western Hockey league teams like Kelowna or Kamloops, Prince George, or BC hockey league teams, can’t get anywhere,” said Kenward.  “And if you are up there and can’t get back home, you are stranded.”

Many fans turn to sports as an escape from situations like this, but even then, the people of British Columbia might be out of luck.

The Vancouver Canucks have gotten off to a very bad start to the season and are currently 5-9-2. Now seventh in the Pacific Division, ahead of only the Seattle Kraken, the Canucks have lost four in a row and five of their last six.

“The Vancouver Canucks have had a rough start to their year, and that’s an understatement,” said Kenward. “They had a road trip to forget. After starting the season on a long 6 game road trip playing some good hockey, they came home for seven straight and we’re not great.”

Kenward believes the Canucks record doesn’t tell the whole story, but regardless, there are major areas of concern for the team.

“All the losses that they had at Rogers arena, each of them was by one goal,” said Kenward. But on the road, some much bigger issues came to the surface.

“They had a chance to find their game when they went on the road and played three really good teams in Colorado, Vegas and Anaheim,” said Kenward. “They conceded 19 goals against in those 3 games.”

On offense, the biggest concern has been the play of Elias Pettersson, who has been the top goal scorer for Vancouver over the last few years.

“There’s no denying he has struggled out of the gate,” said Kenward. While doctors say he is one hundred per cent healthy after missing more than half of last year with a wrist injury, he could still be shaking off the rust.

“He has had just 3 goals through 16 games,” said Kenward. “To me what’s more alarming, is he’s not shooting the puck enough. “His shooting percentage through 16 games is 6.8 percent. That’s not very good, and this is a guy who most seasons is consistently hovering around 18-20 per cent.”

The Vancouver Canucks resume their schedule Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Arena 

For both the Canucks fans, and the entire province of BC, people are wishing for the same thing.

“You can only keep your fingers crossed and hope the worst is behind us,” said Kenward.