Okay, many of you may remember my Canucks articles from last year. The reason for it was obvious: our third and possibly best chance to win the Stanley Cup. For those of you who want to read them again or have never read them, here are my articles: Confessions Of A Canucklehead, My Stanley Cup Experience, Stanley Cup Game Seven preview and aftermath.
Last year we won the Presidents Trophy. This year we do it again. It wasn’t entirely expected at first because October, the first month of regular season started on a down note with five wins, five losses and one overtime. Many Vancouverites were uncertain if we’d do it again but I reassured many that if the Lions can lose their first five games and then go on to win the Grey Cup, the Canucks still have a chance. The months became better over time as the Canucks would bag more wins and move up higher in the ranks to the point they appeared poised to repeat as Presidents Trophy winners.
However it would be a tight April 7th as the Canucks were one of four possible teams to win the Trophy and it took a final game that night. Their toughest rival for the Trophy, the New York Rangers, lost their final game. A win from the St. Louis Blues wasn’t enough to supersede the Canucks in the League standings. A win from the Pittsburgh Penguins meant that an overtime at the least would be what the Canucks would need at the least. It wasn’t like last year where the Canucks had a comfortable lead over the second-place team in the NHL by six wins. Nevertheless the Canucks won against Edmonton 3-0 and they repeated as Trophy winners. I remember the game well as I saw it at my cousin’s place. It was a fun time. It wasn’t just hockey action but the dogfights too. My cousin has two dogs–one that looks like Lassie and a puppy that looks like Toto–and they fought alot duing the games. The fights were even more entertaining than the actual hockey fights!
The funny thing is that even after the Canucks won, it wasn’t all over. There was still one last NHL game being played at the time: Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks. It was an important one too as the Kings and Sharks were both #7 and #8 in the Western Conference and a loss from either team would make them #8 and thus the Canucks’ first Stanley Cup Playoff rival. The game went into overtime and ended with an overtime goal from the Sharks. The Kings are the Canucks’ first rival en route to the Stanley Cup.
Now it’s Playoffs time. It all starts April 11th and Vancouver will face Los Angeles. Vancouver has won two of the four regular season games against LA with one of their losses being an overtime. Vancouver has consistently played better against the Kings at home which is an advantage for this contest.
Anyways the sixteen Playoff berths have been decided and the match-ups are set. The whole playoff action begins on April 11th. Lots of fanfare and celebrations to be held. One thing’s for sure that I will not buy a ticket for a Finals game again if the Canucks do happen to make it. The amount I payed for a fourth-class seat at the game was ridiculous and I won’t do that again.
So enjoy the playoff action. There may be sixteen cities celebrating now but by June, there will only be one city still smiling. Let’s hope it’s Vancouver this time.
Jon The Blogcentric 