The Canucks head into game one of the first round of the 2011 NHL Playoffs against the Blackhawks in great shape. They've had their most solid, most consistent regular season in their History. The numbers, the stats and the awards are well documented. I don't think I need to waste time here going over them once again. Let's just say the numbers have been astounding, and leave it at that. The Hawks on the other hand have crawled into the Playoffs, almost against their will. They played that last game against Detroit like they had already planned a fishing trip for the weekend. On paper every little stat favors the Canucks.

Having said all of that there is a reason they drop the puck. Anything can happen. Hawks' coach Joel Quenneville has the tough job of trying to figure out how to get the Canucks out of their rhythm. He's a great coach, the best coach in this series in fact, but he's got his work cut out for him. The Hawks have had to play hard for 82 games. They've had to rely on two lines and their top two defencemen for the whole season. They will continue to have to rely on them in this first round. That may be too much to ask.

Last season has been well documented and there's probably not much I can add, but the Canucks headed into that second round series against Chicago a very bruised, battered and tired team. This year it is Chicago's turn. Rookie goalie Corey Crawford has been looking tired lately. Since he's probably the third best goalie in this series I'd have to say this could be a quick demise for the Hawks.

The biggest thing to watch for tonight is how the Canucks start the game. The biggest advantage the Hawks have just might be psychologically. The Canucks need to not only realize that they are a great team but also that Hawks are a shell of their former selves. They need to play to win and not be afraid to lose. They need to play one game at a time, one shift at a time. (Damn. That's about all the cliches I can come up with, I was on a roll there.) On the other hand, Chicago doesn't give a tinker's damn that the Canucks finished first overall. (It's been a while since I've blogged, do people still say 'tinker's damn'?) They will try to make things as uncomfortable as possible and once again try to get into the Canucks' heads. I don't like their chances of doing that, but time will tell. If the Canucks can't beat the Hawks this year in the playoffs I'm not sure it will ever happen again.

There has been a lot of talk about Luongo. No surprise there. Reading some of the posts on the Blackhawks website, I was surprised to read that some of their fans think that Vancouver hasn't addressed their goaltending. The Canucks got a new, full-time goalie coach, Luongo changed his style to play deeper in the crease making it harder to run him, and we now have the best back-up goalie in the league so Luongo is FINALLY rested heading into the playoffs. I'm not sure how you could do more to address the goaltending issues. I feel very confident that Luongo will be fine. In fact better than fine. He's my Conn Smythe pick this year. (Hmm, I hope I don't jinx him.)

Speaking of jinxing, I'm going to make an effort to try not to be superstitious this year. It was getting ridiculous. I had to wear the same jersey every game, wave my Canuck flags while the anthems were sung, eat my Baked Cheezies as the puck dropped.

I could be wrong, but I don't really think the outcome of this series hinges on which type of snack I choose. Call me crazy. I definitely believe in luck. To win the Stanley Cup you need a lot of luck. But I think the players can create their own luck. I can't do that for them. That doesn't mean I'm not going to eat Baked Cheezies. I just may switch it up with Baked Ketchup Chips. It's called living on the edge people.

One thing I've always found amusing, if you go to the Canucks messageboards, or probably any teams messageboards, I always read posts like 'Let's not be too overconfident' or 'don't panic, it's just one game'. To be honest, I don't really care what the fans do. If you want to panic because Luongo let's in a shaky goal, by all means PANIC! Just as long as Luongo and the rest of the team doesn't panic. If you feel like marching through the streets of Vancouver (watch out for those hookers and junkies) after the Canucks win their first game, you go for it! I just don't want to see the Canucks spraying champagne on each other's bodies until they've won 16. Now where was I? Sorry, got distracted there.

It also occurred to me the other day that if 'we are all Canucks', then shouldn't I go and get my ring finger sized? And then I thought, they better not go chintzy. No damned cubic zirconia for me. Hey, my overconfidence isn't going to affect the outcome of this series. Haven't you been paying attention?

The playoffs are a journey. The Canucks begin that journey in a couple of hours, and they hope it's a long one. There will be a lot of sleepless nights for me and who knows what my fingernails will look like when all is said and done. I'll be the one with bandaged hands at the Parade. As nervous as I will be, it's important to appreciate how good this team is and to enjoy this journey we're about to embark on. I don't even want to think about how many losing seasons the Canucks have had. How many times they've been out of playoff contention by Christmas. How many times they've gone 0-for-January. That's all in the past. This is their time. And now it's time for them to show us what they've got. If they can win the battle against their own insecurities, it promises to be a fun ride.