http://www.wetcoastsports.com/western-conference-finals-the-matchup

So the Western Conference finals start in t-minus 24 hours…and the stage is set for what should be an exciting series. Both teams come into this series having knocked off two good teams, and both have had a few days to rest and prepare for the mayhem that could insue if both teams come out firing on all cylinders.

The Sharks are coming off a huge win over one of the most experienced, and veteran teams in the league, the Detroit Red Wings. They won a nail-biter in the 7th game, after losing 3 straight to the Wings. They should be fired up, and if their top players play like their top players, they could the President’s Cup winning Canucks with tough challenge.

The Canucks had a very different opponents in the second round of these playoffs. They played a younger squad, who were playing their first ever second round series. They had a tough battle for 6 games mostly because of all-star performances in all 6 games from their rookie goaltender, Pekke Rinne.

The Canucks were finally able to shake off their nemisis, The Chicago Blackhawks in round 1 of these playoffs, but have they been able to completely shake the monkey off their backs that have held them down over the past 2 seasons? Let’s think back to the 2010 NHL playoffs when Antti Niemi was in his first full season as a member of the Blackhawks. Niemi and the Hawks went onto to beat the Canucks in 6 games, and eventually win the Stanley Cup. This has got to enter the minds of some of the returning Canucks team as they get set to play game 1 on Sunday night. After coming off an MVP-esque second round against the Red Wings, he will be looking to his jewelery collection started last season.

After losing on their past 3 attempts in the Western Conference Finals, the Sharks are looking to play in the Stanley Cup series for the first time in their history, but they will have it in tough against the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks come off their best season as members of the NHL, setting team records in almost every catagory.

The one player everyone is watching very closely on the Canucks team, is goaltender Roberto Luongo. Roberto is looking to add a some hardware himself, after winning Gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He has tasted victory and he knows a shiny ring would look really nice beside the gold medal in his sock drawer. Luongo had an outstanding 1.63GAA in the second round against Nashville, with a .933 save %. If he continues on this path, there’s no line in the league that can beat him in 7 games.

The outcome of this series is going to come down to whether the Sedin twins will come out and play with the big boys. Their performance in the play-offs to date has been dismal. Being tied at this point with the worst plus/minus among all players left in the playoffs, with -8, they are going to need to step up and prove they are worthy of the regular season praise they received all season long. If they come out and play like they have all season, I see the Canucks winning in 6 games.

What the heck, Im going to say Canucks in 6 games, regardless! (Don’t let me down boys!)

-Kevin Luck-

@wetcoastsports