Having been the first team to complete a sweep of their series in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, accompanied by Boston and Detroit, the Vancouver Canucks have been rewarded with a lengthy break between rounds, as well as a mystery round 2 opponent. Having ended the series with the St. Louis Blues in just four games — a feat the Canucks have never accomplished as a franchise before — the Canucks are placed in a position that could be debated as working for or against them: does the break between rounds allow the Canucks to rest up and prepare for round 2, or does it destroy their momentum and remove them from the rhythm of the game?
However, the bigger question on most people’s minds is which team the Canucks are even preparing for. The answer to that question lies in the results of two series that are still underway: the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, and the Chicago Black Hawks and Calgary Flames. Because of the makeup of the playoff tree, points from the regular season still count towards the second round of the playoffs. This means that since Detroit, the second seed in the West, has won its series, it will face either Vancouver or Anaheim because of their respective places in the Western Conference.
Because Anaheim is currently leading the series with top seeded San Jose, Vancouver fans are hoping for them to continue their success, leaving them to play Detroit at the start of round 2, and allowing Vancouver to face the winner of the Calgary/Chicago series. Although the placing of teams in the standings does not always reflect the would-be success of either team (one need only look at San Jose’s performance against the eigth placed Anaheim Ducks), theorhetically it would be more favorable to the Canucks to be playing either the Flames or Black Hawks. However, at this point all the Canucks can do is prepare for their next round and wait for the outcome of these last few round 1 games.