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Jason Chen

Entry posted by Jason Chen

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Like Trevor Gillies and his antics in the Penguins brouhaha, the league's negative headlines have far outweighed the good. Case in point - Sidney Crosby has now missed two months with a concussion and is now unlikely to return this season, and while that topic has dominated Maclean's covers and sparked talk of amending the rulebook in this week's GM meetings, the best story this season has been the playoff race. Never before do I remember such a close race in the West and two such intriguing storylines with the Leafs and Devils. But one thing's for sure: the Canucks will have to have a colossal collapse and the Wings would have to catch fire if the want to claim the West title. The former is unlikely to happen.

This means that the Canucks enter the post-season as the number one seed, locking up home-ice advantage for, perhaps, the entire journey. With so much media scrutiny, so much pressure, and so many past meltdowns, you can't help but think that the Canucks are looking ahead to who they might face. They probably aren't, since they're such a level-headed team, and are concentrating on finishing the season on a high note. But of Minnesota, Anaheim, Nashville, Calgary, Dallas, and Phoenix (excluding Chicago and Los Angeles, who both have 7 wins in their last 10 and are most likely to finish in the top 5), who does Vancouver match-up the best? The worst?

It is becoming increasing unlikely that the Wild will make the playoffs, but if they do, it'll present the Canucks with one of the most interesting match-ups. it's no secret - the Canucks stink at the Excel Energy Center in Minnesota, save Cory Schneider. The Canucks are tough at home and if they sweep the first two games then it's all fine and dandy. The only story that really matters is what to do if Luongo struggles. It's unlikely to happen for the 2011 Vezina-nominee (yes, I said it) but having such a strong backup eventually creates goalie controversies to varying degrees.

The Ducks have a chance if they have Jonas Hiller, another would-be Vezina-nominee had he not been sidelined with vertigo, in the lineup. Dan Ellis may be hot right now and Ray Emery may be a feel-good story, but even with the addition of Beauchemin the Ducks just don't have enough depth up and down the roster. If the Canucks can play a clean game and keep Teemu Selanne off the powerplay and keep the Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry line from dominating, this should be an easy series.

The Predators have not won a single playoff series in their history and it's not going to happen this year if they face the Canucks. Even with the unheralded Pekka Rinne, like the Ducks, the Preds just don't have the depth. The Shea Weber-led defense may frustrate the Canucks but the lack of scoring oomph in the Preds lineup may be even more frustrating for Barry Trotz. Let's not mentioning that the Preds will be playing 5 defensemen instead of 6 due to Shane O'Brien's constant bouts of Roxy flu.

Of all the teams mentioned, Calgary scares me the most. They have a good goalie, an experienced blueline, and the ultimate warrior in Jarome Iginla. They've been a completely different team since Darryl Sutter was fired and are now playing the kind of hockey everyone expected them to play. They've got enough grit, size, toughness, and skill to at least make this a series. David Moss and Rene Bourque provides some good depth. The only questions here are the Canucks' health on defense and Calgary's poor matchups at centre against the Canucks.

The Stars were in danger of missing the playoffs a couple weeks back after Brad Richards went down with an injury and the team was sent into a mini-downward spiral. Since then, the Stars have 6 wins in their last 10 and are trending up. Alex Goligoski was a good pickup for a team lacking offense from the blueline, even if the price was a little high. Marc Crawford is behind the bench and on squads that he's coached that don't feature Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg, he's only made it past the quarterfinals once. There's nothing on this Dallas team that really scares me - except for a potential writhing Mike Ribeiro suffering from extreme "back pain." There's just enough drive from Brenden Morrow and Langenbrunner and skill from Benn and the very underrated Loui Eriksson to cause the Canucks some trouble, but remember that in head-to-head matchups this year the Canucks swept the season series outscoring them 20-5.

Phoenix is an interesting team. They've got a great coach, good goaltending, a mobile defense headlined by Keith Yandle, and a crop of forwards that gets the job done without an elite forward. If Ilya Bryzgalov gets hot, and we've seen this happen with many, many undeserving Cup finalists, watch out. But that's about it.

But here's the REAL low down. When Kyle Wellwood returned with the Sharks, he was quite vocal about the experience and maturity level in the Canucks' dressing room, saying that there's still "lessons to learn." In a way, he is right - the Sharks look much better right now than I've seen in years past and the Capitals enter the post-season as a virtual unknown because of their new commitment to playing defense. Both teams have choked in the playoffs rather dramatically.

Upsets over the number one seed in the first round are rare in any sport, but for the past two consecutive seasons, it's happened in the NHL. In 2009, the President's-winning Sharks were upset by the Ducks despite the Sharks setting franchise records in wins (53) and points (117). In 2010, the Habs defeated the President's-winning Capitals in the first round despite the Caps' awe-inspiring 121 regular season points. Both the Ducks and Habs featured hot goalies - Jonas Hiller had shutouts in Games 1 and 4, perhaps the vital games in any series, and everyone knows the Jaroslav Halak story. This is why Phoenix may pose the biggest threat if Ilya Bryzgalov, or even Miikka Kiprusoff, gets hot. The Canucks are set to shatter their franchise record of 105 points and could very will finish the season close to around 115 (7 wins in 11 games - not impossible).

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arteess

Excuse an awkward question. BUT where was the media and the politicians when Malkin rammed Willie Mitchell head first into the boards? But I forgot, Willie was only a local boy playing for an unknown West Coast team. Malkin was a 'STAR' with an important U.S. team. I feel sorry for Crosby but he should have earned enough that he could retire comfortably. perhaps qualify for university.

This situation is a poor indicator for the playoffs, as the NHL is still trying to sell hockey to ESPN who will be trying to sell the games to joe football in the US, There will be a tendancy to be generous to the teams from US cities, In a country where only one in four high schools teaches geography, who will care about being fair to an unknown team from an obscure Canadian city?

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Jason Chen
Excuse an awkward question. BUT where was the media and the politicians when Malkin rammed Willie Mitchell head first into the boards? But I forgot, Willie was only a local boy playing for an unknown West Coast team. Malkin was a 'STAR' with an important U.S. team. I feel sorry for Crosby but he should have earned enough that he could retire comfortably. perhaps qualify for university.

This situation is a poor indicator for the playoffs, as the NHL is still trying to sell hockey to ESPN who will be trying to sell the games to joe football in the US, There will be a tendancy to be generous to the teams from US cities, In a country where only one in four high schools teaches geography, who will care about being fair to an unknown team from an obscure Canadian city?

It's all politics. Brian Burke got absolutely FLAMED for his comments comparing Mike Brown and Sidney Crosby. He was right. In any situation, sports, jobs, business, current affairs, politics plays a HUGE role. Should Malkin have been suspended for that hit on Mitchell? I think so - at the very least that was a boarding, a charging, and a game misconduct.

Am I telling you to feel bad for Crosby? Not really, and it's hard to tell anyone to sympathize with a player that earns $8.7 million a year. But keep in mind two things 1) the shelf-life of a pro hockey player isn't very long and the average AHL makes roughly $55,000. It's not bad but with the punishment these guys take it's not exactly fair value so we can't fault them for wanting a lot of money. It's their right. Some players side with reason and others just want to cash in. It's not unlike any opportunist in society. 2) If Crosby retires, this is a huge blow to the NHL. If Mitchell retires, and no disrespect to the local hometown boy, but who cares? Crosby is our generation's generational player. Our parents had Gretzky and our grandparents had Orr.

In regards to generosity, why do you think Atlanta has a team? It's politics. Atlanta is the one of the US' biggest TV markets. Having Atlanta, LA, NY, and Florida makes that much more appetizing for ESPN or Versus to cut a TV deal. They're numbers guys. Gary Bettman and the NHL isn't any different.

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steveRbarker

Interesting read. I am not too scared in the first round. I would not be surprised with a Canucks 4-0 sweep in the first round regardless of opponent. What would suprise me the most is if the series reached game 6. If I had to pick a team I would "fear" in the first round though, it would be Anaheim with Hiller. Hiller has the ability to steal games on the road, while the line of Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry can bully wins at home. Moreover the revitalized Selanne and underrated Visnovsky make their pp pretty lethal. However even with all that being said, still a relatively easy series win for the Nuckers.

-cheers

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Jason Chen
Interesting read. I am not too scared in the first round. I would not be surprised with a Canucks 4-0 sweep in the first round regardless of opponent. What would suprise me the most is if the series reached game 6. If I had to pick a team I would "fear" in the first round though, it would be Anaheim with Hiller. Hiller has the ability to steal games on the road, while the line of Ryan-Getzlaf-Perry can bully wins at home. Moreover the revitalized Selanne and underrated Visnovsky make their pp pretty lethal. However even with all that being said, still a relatively easy series win for the Nuckers.

-cheers

For the Ducks, it's all Hiller. No Hiller, no chance. Same deal with the Preds and Pekka Rinne.

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