 Despite the arrival of Luongo, many hockey analysts and fans predicted before the season began that the team would either miss the playoffs, or at best battle for the last playoff spots as 7th or 8th seed in the Western Conference.However, a few did foresee that the addition of a high-calibre goaltender in Luongo would propel the Canucks into the top three of the conference.Under such skepticism, the team played mediocre hockey from October to the Christmas break, and received criticism due to the team's lack of scoring during this period.