Just a couple of short weeks ago Vancouver Canucks fans were abuzz with excitement. Henrik Sedin was atop the scoring race with a healthy lead over potential Art Ross candidates like Joe Thornton, Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Of course it is natural to be excited when one of your team's players leads the league in scoring, but considering that no Vancouver Canuck has ever finished the season atop the scoring race (Markus Naslund was the only one to come close) fans and media alike were abuzz with the possibility that Henrik could capture the 2010 Art Ross Trophy.

Henrik, up until now a perennial point-a-game player, has this season emerged as one of the game's greatest superstars, and he, brother Daniel, and grinder turned sniper Alexandre Burrows have arguably been the league's best line through the two-third mark of the NHL season. Stronger, faster, and more determined than ever, the Sedins (and Burrows) have terrorized opposing defensemen, who have been largely helpless to defend against their dominating cycle, their uncanny no-look passes, and their much-improved shooting ability. Up until the last couple of weeks the line, and most particularly Henrik, seemed unstoppable and it looked like Henrik might indeed have a legitimate shot of becoming the first Vancouver Canuck to nab the Art Ross.

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. Alexander Ovechkin has been on an absolute tear while Sedin has cooled off considerably. Going into today's action Ovechkin had erased Henrik's sizable lead, passed him, and sat 4 points ahead in the scoring race - 82 to 78. However, it was Ovechkin's performance today against the Sidney-Crosby-led, arch rival Pittsburgh Penguins that looks to have sounded the death knell on Henrik Sedin's Art Ross hopes.

With his Washington Capitals trailing the Pens 4-2 going into the third period Ovechkin scored two goals in the final frame to tie that game up and send it to overtime. He managed the feat despite taking a hard cross check to the ribs that seemed to have him laboring. Though he was lacking his usual flash and dash Ovechkin still has that nose for the net and that wicked release, and those two attributes allowed him to beat a helpless Marc-Andre Fleury for the 4-3 and 4-4 goals.

In overtime the Penguins looked like the better team, with Washington generating little in the way of offensive chances. However, an undisciplined high-sticking penalty by rugged Pittsburgh defender Brooks Orpik gave the Caps a 4-3 powerplay with under 3 minutes left in overtime. There was no mystery that the play was to give the puck to Ovechkin and the Pens did their best to overplay to his side, but Ovechkin still managed to get a low shot through traffic. The puck rattled off the post and back under Fleury, where Mike Knuble was waiting to poke it into the net.

Ovechkin finished the game with 3 goals and 1 assist, overshadowing Sidney Crosby's 2 goal effort in a losing cause, and extending his lead in the scoring race to what appears to be an unassailable 8 points. Now it may seem premature to concede the scoring title to Ovechkin with 25 games left in the season, but you have to remember that Ovechkin actually missed some time early in the year due to injury and suspension and has managed to build this lead despite the fact that he has played 7 or 8 fewer games than Crosby, Sedin or Thornton, giving him a points per game average much higher than his competitors. Barring injury to Ovechkin it is hard to imagine that any of the three are going to be able to gain any ground on the Russian superstar. In fact, it is more likely that Ovechkin will continue to widen the gulf and by the time the curtain falls on game 82 of the regular season he will have won the scoring title by a landslide.

Ovie's 3 goals (to Crosby's 2) also extended his lead for the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal scorer. He now has 42 goals to Crosby's 39, and despite Crosby's emergence as a sniper this season it is hard to imagine Sid the Kid reeling in the Great 8 down the stretch.

Ovechkin's clutch performance this afternoon also played a huge role in extending the Washington Capitals' incredible winning streak to 14 games. Ironically, it is the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise that holds the record for the longest consecutive regular season winning streak, a mark of 17 straight set by the Mario-Lemieux-led Penguins back in 1993. You know Crosby and the Penguins are kicking themselves after blowing a golden chance to end the streak.

Talk about an improbable series. If you were giving odds back in late January that these two teams would be facing each other in the first round of the playoffs you would have had people lining up to take your money. Both teams were outside the playoff picture looking in at the time with St. Louis sitting in the basement of the conference and Vancouver mired in the middle of a franchise record 9 game home losing streak.

Well, over the past two months or so the Canucks and the Blues have enjoyed a dramatic turnaround and have been the 2 hottest teams in the Western Conference, surging up the standings and finishing the season 3rd and 6th in the west respectively.

To be fair to the Vancouver Canucks the 3rd place result shouldn't come as a surprise. They are a well-balanced team on both the offensive and defensive side of the puck, and have arguably the best goaltender in the world in Roberto Luongo. It is no coincidence that their slide occurred during Luongo's 2 month absence with a groin injury. It continued for the first couple of weeks after Luongo's return as the star goalie shook of the rust, but once he found his game you could see his Nuck teammates visibly swell with confidence and they've looked like world-beaters over the past two months of the season.

The St. Louis Blues are a little more of a surprise, and much of the credit for their incredible play since the NHL all star break has to be given to coach Andy Murray. Plagued by injuries to his many of his veterans Murray called upon his young players to fill the void. He asked, and they delivered with young guns like David Backes, Patrick Berglund, T.J. Oshie and David Perron all having breakout years.

In net goaltender Chris Mason has made the most of the opportunity he was given when St. Louis starter Manny Legace went down with injury. He regained the form he had in the 2006-07 season with the Nashville Predators, and his numbers were stellar with a 2.41 GAA, a .916 save percentage and 6 shutouts. Luongo is grabbing all the press right now but Mason definitely has the potential to steal games and shouldn't be underestimated by the Canucks.

On the Canucks' side of the ledger obviously Luongo is the key, but even their meal ticket can't win this playoff series all by himself. The Sedin twins have been criticized for their lack of playoff production in past years, averaging less than half a point per game in their post-season appearances to date. However, in years past they were also playing on the 2nd or even the 3rd line. This year, with more ice time and playing on the first unit powerplay their points per game average should be a lot closer to what we've seen from them in the regular season. Don't forget, with all the parity in the league, the past month of the NHL regular season has been played at playoff intensity, and the Sedins certainly haven't pulled a vanishing act like they did in late season stretches in years past. In fact, if anything their game has gotten stronger. It has been a good litmus test for them and bodes well going into round one of the playoffs.

The Canucks will also need some secondary scoring, and this will be Mats Sundin can really earn the big dollars the Canucks shelled out to get him back in December. Sundin's appearance in the post-season will be his first since 2004 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. If Sundin can elevate his game and score some clutch goals he, along with Demitra and Kesler can take a lot of pressure off the Sedin line.

Overall I think Vancouver just has more depth at all positions to lose this series. St. Louis has been hot, and they are definitely danger, but I believe with Roberto Luongo currently playing at the peak of his ability and a healthy roster Vancouver has to be considered a Stanley Cup favorite.

Prediction: Canucks win the series 4-1

How hot are the Vancouver Canucks right now? How about even hotter than Alexander Ovechkin's stick?. The Nucks, who a mere month ago were outside the playoff race looking in after losing a club record 9 straight games at home, have now reeled off a club record 11 straight home wins after shutting out the St. Louis Blues 3-0 at GM Place last night.

The Canucks started the game out flat, only mustering 4 shots in the first period. However, goalie Roberto Luongo kept his club in the game, stopping everything the Blues threw at him, and allowed his teammates to finally find their game. It was Bobby Lu's first shutout since returning from injury, and the donut was an "in your face" statement squarely targeted at the Vancouver media, from whom Luongo had faced recent criticism for, in their opinion, giving up at least one soft goal a game. Coach Alain Vigneault joked with the media after the game, suggesting that they should get first star honors for pissing Luongo off.

An extra motivated Luongo is a scary prospect for other teams in the Western Conference. This guy is already one of the fiercest competitors in the sport without pouring more gasoline on the fire. And his fellow Canuck teammates look just as motivated as he does. Guys like Kesler and Burrows have been playing well above their pay grade for several weeks now, and the supposed stars like the Sedins, Sundin, and Demitra are all starting to shift into high gear.

Forget Detroit or San Jose, If I were an NHL coach in the Western Conference right now, I would be plenty worried about the prospect of meeting this team in the playoffs. The Canucks are really firing on all cylinders and look ready to make a deep playoff run. If Luongo gets hot at the right time it is hard to imagine anyone stopping the Canucks this post-season. Maybe Francesco Aqualini should open up his wallet and pay the Vancouver media to make more disparaging remarks about his number one goaltender. Okay, maybe not. The other teams in the west need to have some chance, don't they?