Round 2 schedule announced, Canucks tickets selling fast
With the defeat of the New York Rangers, the Calgary Flames, and the San Jose Sharks over the last two nights of the first round of the playoffs, the schedule for round 2 has finally been revealed, including game dates and times. The wait for this announcement was long overdue for teams who were able to sweep their series, such as Boston, Detroit, and Vancouver; the long break plays a large role in the upcoming round because of its ability to throw momentum, rest players, and downright transform the strategies devised by the coaching staff who may not have gotten the matchup they were planning for. As far as the matchups are concerned, the Eastern and Western teams look like this: Boston vs. Carolina; Washington vs. Pittsburgh; Detroit vs. Anaheim; Vancouver vs. Chicago.
Aside from on-ice changes caused by the break, the difficulty of scheduling and planning ticket sales was also increased due to the wait. While Vancouver Canucks tickets did go on sale, any details surrounding the date, time, and opponent were all still unknown, and were only released to the public last night upon Carolina’s win over New Jersey when the NHL released the final schedule. Despite the lack of information, tickets for all four Vancouver home games went on sale and seemed to move even faster than the first round tickets, even with the increase in price from round to round. However, like the opening games of the first round, the market is being flooded by sellers looking to make a quick buck, and not enough buyers are willing to consider the inflated prices. This current trend of slow sales is resulting in the readjustment of the market, meaning tickets are becoming more affordable while demand for them remains high.
To ensure you get a seat to one of the second round games, you better act fast. The Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Black Hawks series begins tomorrow at 6PM PST, with the other three beginning in the following two days. To see the schedule in it’s entirety, check out NHL.com’s Round 2 schedule.
Tag: hockey tickets
Cinderella story swept off it's feet as Blues exit playoffs
It was on the minds of just about every St.Louis Blues fan and sports analyst leading into the series: the Blues could be this year’s Cinderella story. Having come out of the Christmas break in January in last place in the West, and after losing lead goaltender Manny Legace, back-up goaltender Chris Mason rallied the Blues in the second half of the season, going 25-9-7 in their last 41 games of the season and finishing sixth place in the West. Blues fans had high hopes for their reinvigorated team after jumping nine places in the standings to make the playoffs, but the team lost its luster in the post season, dropping four straight games to the superior Vancouver Canucks.
Last night saw the end of the Blues’ playoff run, as well as the Canucks’ first four game series sweep in franchise history — it was also the first time since the 1994 playoffs that St.Louis suffered a four game sweep. Despite the result, St.Louis played their best game of the series facing elimination, driving the puck to the net and following it through, something failed to do in the first three games. Their aggressive play led to their tying of the game at two in the second period with back-to-back goals less than four minutes apart. It also led to an astounding 49 shots on Luongo — compared to the Canucks’ 36 on Mason– throughout three periods of regulation and one frame of overtime.
However, Luongo’s disciplined composure kept his head in the game after the Blues kept crashing the net, single-handedly keeping the Canucks from facing a loss on numerous occasions, especially during the 4 minute penalty caused by Ryan Kessler’s high-stick in overtime. The man-advantage was definitely where the Blues went wrong this series, squandering their chances through all four games (they went 1 for 24). At the end of the night, it was the Canucks who truly impressed, with Burrows scoring the winning goal with 19 seconds to go in overtime, giving the Canucks the win and the 4-0 clean series sweep.
Vancouver Canucks tickets for the second round will go on sale soon once their opponent is decided.
Cinderella story swept off it’s feet as Blues exit playoffs
It was on the minds of just about every St.Louis Blues fan and sports analyst leading into the series: the Blues could be this year’s Cinderella story. Having come out of the Christmas break in January in last place in the West, and after losing lead goaltender Manny Legace, back-up goaltender Chris Mason rallied the Blues in the second half of the season, going 25-9-7 in their last 41 games of the season and finishing sixth place in the West. Blues fans had high hopes for their reinvigorated team after jumping nine places in the standings to make the playoffs, but the team lost its luster in the post season, dropping four straight games to the superior Vancouver Canucks.
Last night saw the end of the Blues’ playoff run, as well as the Canucks’ first four game series sweep in franchise history — it was also the first time since the 1994 playoffs that St.Louis suffered a four game sweep. Despite the result, St.Louis played their best game of the series facing elimination, driving the puck to the net and following it through, something failed to do in the first three games. Their aggressive play led to their tying of the game at two in the second period with back-to-back goals less than four minutes apart. It also led to an astounding 49 shots on Luongo — compared to the Canucks’ 36 on Mason– throughout three periods of regulation and one frame of overtime.
However, Luongo’s disciplined composure kept his head in the game after the Blues kept crashing the net, single-handedly keeping the Canucks from facing a loss on numerous occasions, especially during the 4 minute penalty caused by Ryan Kessler’s high-stick in overtime. The man-advantage was definitely where the Blues went wrong this series, squandering their chances through all four games (they went 1 for 24). At the end of the night, it was the Canucks who truly impressed, with Burrows scoring the winning goal with 19 seconds to go in overtime, giving the Canucks the win and the 4-0 clean series sweep.
Vancouver Canucks tickets for the second round will go on sale soon once their opponent is decided.
Canucks ticket availabilty doesn’t reflect team’s support
Coming off a well-earned 2-1 win against St.Louis in the opening game of the series on Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks aim to claim yet another win tonight as the Blues return for game two. But should the team and their supportive fans be worried about the over-abundance of available Canucks tickets?
Being one of the hottest teams coming out of the second half of the regular season, and the Northwest Division Champions, the Canucks should be expected to sell out GM Place, resulting in a hot market for season ticket-holders who decide to resell and last minute ticket buyers. However, because of the inflation of post-season ticket prices — a 40% increase over regular season tickets for the first round, and a possible 200% increase for the Cup finals — there just isn’t that much of a demand for tickets, especially in this economy.
As a result, the market is flooded with sellers over buyers, ten to one, meaning resellers are able to sell their tickets before the venue can even sell out — a result many fans noticed during the first game against the Blues where a number of lower bowl seats were left empty throughout the game, white towels draped over them. This is the time for fans to take advantage of the situation and watch the market closely in order to score great tickets for a cheaper price than they normally would. Hopefully tonight there will be enough fans in attendance to give the Canucks the support they need as they take on the Blues in game two, aiming to extend their series lead to two.
Canucks ticket availabilty doesn't reflect team's support
Coming off a well-earned 2-1 win against St.Louis in the opening game of the series on Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks aim to claim yet another win tonight as the Blues return for game two. But should the team and their supportive fans be worried about the over-abundance of available Canucks tickets?
Being one of the hottest teams coming out of the second half of the regular season, and the Northwest Division Champions, the Canucks should be expected to sell out GM Place, resulting in a hot market for season ticket-holders who decide to resell and last minute ticket buyers. However, because of the inflation of post-season ticket prices — a 40% increase over regular season tickets for the first round, and a possible 200% increase for the Cup finals — there just isn’t that much of a demand for tickets, especially in this economy.
As a result, the market is flooded with sellers over buyers, ten to one, meaning resellers are able to sell their tickets before the venue can even sell out — a result many fans noticed during the first game against the Blues where a number of lower bowl seats were left empty throughout the game, white towels draped over them. This is the time for fans to take advantage of the situation and watch the market closely in order to score great tickets for a cheaper price than they normally would. Hopefully tonight there will be enough fans in attendance to give the Canucks the support they need as they take on the Blues in game two, aiming to extend their series lead to two.
Canucks stop Blues from marching in game 1
Last night the 2009 NHL playoffs got underway, opening with four games: three from the Eastern Conference, and the lone Western Conference opener between St.Louis and Vancouver. The host Canucks finished the season with the fourth best record in the latter half of the season, going 23-13-5 in their last 41 games and 6-3-1 in their last ten leading into the playoffs, though they were overshadowed by the success of the Blues going into last night’s game who had a 25-9-7 record in their last 41 games and a 8-1-1 in their last ten. With these numbers in place, St.Louis was the hottest team in the NHL since the All-Star break in January and looked to continue their success in the opening game of the first round against Vancouver.
Although analysts held both teams’ statistics in high regard, it was Vancouver who benefited from their 13-1-1 home record since February as they opened the first round at GM Place with a win over the Blues. The Canucks came hard in the first period, coach Alain Vigneault worked feverishly to match lines with opposing coach Andy Murray’s Blues; the line match-ups worked out well for the fans, resulting in a hard-hitting opening frame that seemed to last the rest of the game. Both teams aimed to establish a physical presence early in the series, leading to an astounding 15 penalties through regulation time.
Daniel Sedin was the first on the scoresheet having threaded the needle off a pass from Pavol Demitra during a delayed penalty. St.Louis responded to the goal with pressure deep in Vancouver’s end, but failed to capitalize on any chances, including a 5-on-3 opportunity half-way through the first period. Much of the Canucks’ ability to shutdown the Blues came from Luongo’s outstanding play and Vancouver’s regular season MVP Ryan Kessler, who was able to block three shots during the two-man disadvantage. Vancouver’s dominance over the Blues carried over into the second period when Salo, having been fed the puck from the cycling Sedins, fired a shot from just inside the blueline, taking advantage of an early-period powerplay. Penalty trouble continued to plague both teams, with the Blues finally answering the Canucks with a goal on a late powerplay in the second, hoping to kill the home team’s momentum going into the third.
Despite their best efforts, the Blues failed to really pressure the Canucks in the final frame, having been outshot 15 to 6 in the third. The lone opportunities came in the final minute of play when the Blues pulled goaltender Chris Mason for the man advantage, but the veteran defense of the Canucks were able to once again keep the Blues at bay until the final whistle.
It was great to see the physical style of play so early in the series from both sides, a sign that a greater rivalry will develop before the winner of the first round is determined. If the Canucks can continue their momentum going into the second game, and harness the support from their hometown fans before going to St.Louis for the third and fourth games, they are in good shape to move on to the second round.
For a full game summary visit the Canucks game summary here.