Given the ridiculous number of injuries they’ve been dealt in the first month of the new National Hockey League season, the Vancouver Canucks have every reason to pat themselves on the back for reaching the 15-game mark with more wins than losses (8-7). The danger there—the way things have gone so far for this hockey team—is if they do, someone is bound to separate a shoulder, sprain a wrist, or do some sort of bodily harm that will keep him out of the lineup too.

Through the difficulties of playing without their captain, their leading sniper, and a host of regulars on a list that grows longer by the game, the Canucks have more often than not still found ways to manufacture victories. It hasn’t always been pretty—truth be told, it’s been downright difficult to watch some nights with so many regulars out—yet it’s been fairly effective, and the points all look the same when deposited in the standings. And although .500 hockey (or thereabouts) won’t be good enough to make the playoffs at season’s end, what the Canucks have managed to do with their patchwork team is keep their heads above water and stay within sight of the teams ahead of them in the Western Conference.

Oh, they’ll have to get better, and they will certainly have to string together victories to make a push to separate themselves from the pack. But they should get that chance because they didn’t allow the rash of injuries to derail their season when it looked like that was a distinct possibility after they stumbled from the start with three straight losses.

Still, even those within the organization are hard-pressed to know exactly how to accurately gauge the first 15-game segment, because the lineup being used is always changing, and many of the players wearing the uniform now likely won’t be when the injured players return.

“I think we’re in a tough position to evaluate our group right now because we haven’t had our group,” head coach Alain Vigneault said with a little laugh when asked to assess his team’s start following its 15th game (a 3-0 win over Colorado at GM Place on November 1). “When all is said and done, our guys are coming to the rink and they’re coming here to play, and every night we’re trying to come up with a plan where we can win the game. So far we’re a game above 500 in very challenging circumstances. We need to keep getting better, and that’s what we’re working on.”

What makes the Canucks’ relative success through 15 games all the more impressive is that they’ve found a way to persevere despite sluggish starts from a handful of the few healthy bodies they were counting on. After failing to score against the Avalanche, Alexandre Burrows—who had 28 goals in a breakout season last year—had gone 10 games without putting a puck in the net. Kyle Wellwood, when in the lineup, hadn’t scored a goal. And somewhat startlingly, Kevin Bieksa, Alex Edler, and Sami Salo—three defencemen with proven offensive capabilities, and guys who see their share of power-play time—had combined for just one goal, and Bieksa scored it on opening night in Calgary. In the following 14 games, none of them had found the back of the net.

Somehow, none of that has really mattered, even though it ought to.

The Canucks got quick starts to the season from Henrik Sedin and Mikael Samuelsson, and lately Ryan Kesler has elevated his game and has arguably been the most consistent forward, even though Henrik leads the team in scoring. As he did in the second half of last season, Kesler is taking control of hockey games and making those around him better. And the Canucks have had just enough healthy bodies to ice a potent power play in the early going this season. Decent goaltending, a red-hot power play, and a different player stepping up on any given night can carry a team a long way in today’s NHL, and the banged-up Canucks are clearly proof of that.

“Obviously, with the injuries, I don’t think we’re happy with our record, but it could be a lot worse,” Kesler said after scoring once and setting up linemate Mason Raymond for another in the win over Colorado. “Everybody in here thinks we should be a few more games over .500, but it’s the beginning of a long season, and once we get these guys back, we’re going to be a good team. But until we do, we have to steer this ship in the right direction.”

And so far, the boat is afloat. A big part of that is the fact the Canucks have been a very good hockey team on home ice, winning six of their first eight at GM Place. But stormy seas are in the offing. The club will hit the 20-game mark during a five-game road trip against Western Conference opponents over the next few weeks, and there’s that monster 14-game odyssey broken up by the two-week Olympic break that still lies ahead. So the Canucks need to rack up all the points they can at home, because they haven’t been nearly the same team out on the road this year.

Through the many bumps, bruises, and broken bones, the Canucks have done a commendable job and have done enough to get by so that when their injured players do return, the team is positioned to still be a factor in the division and the conference.

They just have to remain confident that they’ll get the chance to see what their full lineup looks like.

Jeff Paterson is a talk-show host on Vancouver’s all-sports radio, Team 1040. E-mail him at jeff.paterson@team1040.ca.