Canucks Advance

As was pointed out on TEAM 1040 this morning, the Canucks got all kinds of scoring from those who weren’t really counted on to provide it.  Sure the Sedins picked up right where they left off at the end of the regular season.  And yeah, Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler only got one apiece (and empty netters at that), but Mikael Samuelsson led all scorers in the post season.  And who would have thought that Steve Bernier would pick up four goals in six games?

If Roberto Luongo keeps getting stronger, which he did as the series went on, the Sedins and Samuelsson keep doing what they’ve been doing, and Alex Burrows starts scoring the way that he did in the regular season, the Canucks are going to go deep into the playoffs this year.

Do they still have some issues?  Sure.  The penalty kill, while it’s been much better the last couple of games, still needs to be ironed out so that they don’t wind up with another game where every time the Canucks are shorthanded they give up a goal.  That will end your season really fast as you get later into the playoffs.  Roberto Luongo also needs to be consistent, which he is starting to show signs of doing.  Getting pulled from a game (particularly in the playoffs) would tend to have that sort of an affect on a guy like him.

The Canucks could know as early as tonight who they’ll be facing in the next round of the playoffs.  If the Hawks beat the Preds, the Canucks get to face the Hawks again, in a rematch of last year’s second round.  But if Nashville wins, it’s the winner of the Phoenix – Detroit series.  The Coyotes give the impression that they’re going to find some way to win, no matter how improbable it seems.  Kind of like the Canucks teams of ‘82 and ‘94.  The Red Wings have massive amounts of deep playoff experience, but age may be starting to creep up on them finally. 

Personally, I’d like to see the Canucks play Chicago again, if for no other reason than Luongo can finally get the image of last year’s game 6 out of his mind, and move on.  It’d be a hell of a series.  Particularly if they can find some way to take Dustin Byfuglien on his ass, and out of the series. 

But, more on that when we know for sure.  In the meantime, this is going to be the temporary home for CanuckNation.ca for the time being.  Some hosting issues have come up that I’m working to resolve, but may not be be able to get worked out before the end of the season.  The site will have a new look next fall anyway, so I may just go ahead and keep posting here until the end of the playoffs this year, and then tighten up the design for next season during the summer.

And now, some thoughts from various places around the Canucks and Kings blogs.

• Another Third Period Rally Helps Canucks Advance – Nucks Misconduct
• A Farewell To Kings, Thanks to Jekyll, Not Hyde – Canuck Puck
• Canucks Beat Kings 4-2 – LAKings.com
• Why – Jewels From the Crown
• Kings 2, Canucks 4: So That’s How It Ends – Purple Crushed Velvet