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.
Tag: Vancouver Canucks
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.
Pins drop in Scottrade Center as Canucks silence the Blues
The crowd was electric as the puck dropped in St.Louis last night as the Blues hosted the Canucks for game three of their playoff series. This was the first game of the series to be played in St.Louis, and as such, the fans would play a pivotal role as the “sixth man” throughout the game. They made their presence known early in the game when the Blues scored just over three minutes into the game with a goal from David Backes, and continued the noise as the Canucks entered the revolving door to the penalty box, offering up a 5 on 3 opportunity to St.Louis halfway through the first.
Despite the opportunities, the Blues failed to capitalize on the two-man advantage as well as a handful of powerplays, an odd occurrence seeing as their regular season powerplay success against the Canucks was at a strong 26%. This led to a swing of momentum in favor of the Canucks in the second period when they scored back to back goals within four minutes of each other, beginning at the 8 minute mark. The cheers turned to whimpers for a brief 5 minute run before Andy McDonald tied it up at 2, reinvigorating the struggling Blues and their nail-biting fans. But with the struggling St.Louis power play, it is hard to hold the fans accountable for the lack of noise in the Scottrade Center, as the supposed 8th best power play team in the league went 1 for 17 in the series at the end of game 3.
This isn’t to say that special teams weren’t a factor in the game in St.Louis; the Canucks, after taking the lead 3-2 at 1:41 in the 3rd period, proved their success with the man advantage, having scored all three of their goals on the power play last night. With the Blues’ failure of conversion on the PP and their Swiss Cheese defence on the Penalty Kill, the stadium fell silent as the Canucks extended their lead in the series 3-0, just one win away from sweeping the series. If the Canucks can maintain the level of play they have shown St.Louis thus far, the only sound you will hear coming out of the Scottrade Center on Tuesday night will be the fans singing the Blues.
For more on last night’s game check out the Canuck’s Game Summary and Highlights.
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.