Alain Vigneault firmly believes his Vancouver Canucks team is capable of making a serious Stanley Cup run this season.

All that's needed are a few surprises.

The Canucks know Henrik and Daniel Sedin are likely both good for 80 or more points and that they can also bank on getting blue-chip goaltending from Roberto Luongo.

But much more than that will be required if the Canucks, who begin season No. 39 tonight, are to end their Stanley Cup drought.

"You need surprises," Vigneault said Wednesday, before he and his players headed to Calgary for tonight's regular-season opener against the Flames. "Last year, we had guys like [Ryan] Kesler and [Alex] Burrows come out and have breakout seasons. We need that again, whether it be Kyle Wellwood or [Sergei] Shirokov or whoever it is. We need guys to come out and have breakout seasons and assume a bigger role on this team."

Shirokov, the 23-year-old Russian who was the story of training camp, will start the season on the team's second line and on the first power-play unit with the Sedins.

"Maybe this is one of the players who can do it for us," Vigneault said.

It's a lot to ask from a young player just stepping into the NHL, but the Canucks have decided they will give Shirokov every opportunity to shine.

"The kid seems to have some upside and we might as well see what he can do at the start of the season," Vigneault said. "Obviously, there is always adjustments to be made as the season goes on and we'll see if he can handle the moment. If he can, great for us. If he can't, we'll make some adjustments."

But besides Shirokov, there is a long list of players the Canucks are hoping will improve enough to allow them to go deep into the playoffs.

Wellwood, for starters, needs to be a better playmaker than he was last season. While he did chip in with 18 goals and was especially sharp on the power play, he had just nine assists all season.

The Canucks will be looking for Wellwood to set the table for wingers Steve Bernier and Mason Raymond. Bernier, of course, needs to finish more of his chances. He had 15 goals last season and missed a number of great opportunities. He's come to camp in the best shape of his life and the Canucks don't think 20 to 25 goals is out of the question.

Raymond, too, must continue to evolve as a player and improve at using his terrific speed to create offence. He had 11 goals last season. A 20-goal season this year would be one of those "surprises" Vigneault is referring to.

Winger Mikael Samuelsson figures to a get a more offensive role than he had with the Detroit Red Wings. He loves to shoot the puck and will get his chance to do that more often. Anything less than 20 goals would be a disappointment.

On defence, Vigneault is banking on the likes of Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo, Alex Edler and Christian Ehrhoff giving his team some secondary scoring.

The way Vigneault sees it, the more the scoring can be spread around, the more effective the Sedins can be. Vigneault thinks that with a strong supporting cast, the twins could each break the 90-point plateau this season.

"I think if our secondary scoring - and I'm talking about our second line, our third line and our defence - if those guys can contribute more offensively, these guys [the Sedins] can probably get 90 points," he said. "If the other team only has to focus on them, it's more challenging obviously."

Vigneault has set the bar high for his team.

"We think we are a team that can compete for the Stanley Cup," he said. "We firmly believe that."

The players seem to believe it, too, and are especially motivated after last season's painful second-round exit in Chicago.

"I think it is still fresh in a lot of our minds," Bieksa said. "I thought about it all summer long ... but we learned from it and are looking to get back in that same position this year and win the games we couldn't last year."

bziemer@vancouversun.com