Fan In Van

Potential Playoff Opponents

March 16th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized

With a spot in the NHL playoffs all but sewn up, the Vancouver Canucks can start to turn their focus towards potential playoff matchups. During their recent stretch of stellar play, the Canuck bandwagon is approaching maximum capacity, and just in time for the playoffs.

Their high-octane offense has them perched atop Western Conference scoring, and it appears as though the Vancouver Canucks may have finally silenced their longstanding criticism that they’re a trapping, defensive-oriented club. It might not even be a farce to suggest they’re one of the more exciting teams in the league.

Combine their offensive surge (which has the league’s fifth-best powerplay) with their continuing defensive presence in the West (Only seven NHL clubs have surrendered fewer goals against) and even the earliest Canucks fans may start to believe this is the team’s best chance at winning a Stanley Cup in recent years.

And with March quickly giving way to April, it’s time to start looking at the standings to see which teams could be toeing the line against the Canucks for a chance at the Stanley Cup. Below are four teams Vancouver may potentially face in the first round of postseason action.

Colorado

Alright, hands up. Who honestly believed the Colorado Avalanche were going to make the playoffs this season?

Nipping at the Canucks’ heels for the Northwest Division crown, the Colorado Avalanche had been pegged to finish last in the conference by a lot of league “experts”. With an influx of fresh-faced teenagers, a goaltender who had been in a backup role all his career, and a new head coach who hadn’t been behind an NHL bench before in his life, the judgment had been clear long before October came around.

But Colorado has certainly bucked any doubts. Fourth-year forward Paul Stastny has returned to point-per-game status and gotten some surprising offensive support from sophomore Chris Stewart, who has 26 goals, and rookies Matt Duchene, T.J. Galiardi, Ryan O’Reilly, and Brandon Yip, who have a combined 53. As usual, Milan Hejduk, the“Canuck Killer”, has been solid with 18 goals in limited action.

The story though, has been goaltender Craig Anderson, who has seen as much action in one year as he got in three before signing with Colorado. His seven shutouts and 35 wins have him among league leaders and to put it bluntly, the Illinois native has been their bread and butter all season.

In their five games against each other this season, the Canucks have a record of 4-1 against the Avalanche, with their only loss to Colorado coming in the second game of the season. Since their 3-0 shutout loss to the Avs, the Canucks have blitzed Colorado for 22 goals in four games. The team has been able to physically pummel the young Avalanche, a trend which would likely continue in the playoffs.

Odds of meeting Colorado in the first round: 3 in 5

Odds of beating Colorado in the first round: 4 in 5

Los Angeles

It was pretty clear going into the year that the Kings could challenge for a playoff spot, but the majority of fans thought their time would come one or two years from now.

Apparently Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Jonathan Quick didn’t get the memo.

The trio have been godsends for head coach Terry Murray. If Anze Kopitar isn’t filling the back of the net with pucks, Drew Doughty is taking his spin-o-ramas to the net. And if all else fails, goaltender Jonathan Quick has been there as the last line of defense.

The Kings have already obliterated their wins total from last season, which was 34. This year, they have 40, and with 14 games left to go, it’s clear the bar has been set higher than it’s been since Wayne Gretzky was in town.

Los Angeles has nine players who have scored ten or more goals this season, and while some contributors have been a pleasant surprise, someone who hasn’t been a surprise is defenceman Drew Doughty. While his 13 goals aren’t even close to teammate Anze Kopitar’s team-leading 32, it’s the small things that have made Doughty an MVP candidate for the Kings and a candidate to win the NHL’s Norris trophy for best defenceman.

In their three meetings thus far, the Canucks have won all three contests. But one of those wins came via a shootout, and their last meeting was way back in December. It’s hard to gauge how the Canucks would fare against a team as young and unpredictable as Los Angeles. We all remember how the Canucks did against an equally young team in Chicago in last year’s postseason.

Odds of meeting Los Angeles in the first round: 2 in 5

Odds of beating Los Angeles in the first round: 3 in 5

Phoenix

It’s been a wild year for Phoenix Coyotes fans (all eight of them) and it could get wilder in April as the team marches towards the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

After their owner Jerry Moyes filed for bankruptcy and sold ownership and control to the NHL, the Coyotes steered their focus back to the ice, setting out to prove to the city that hockey could work in Arizona. And thus far, they’ve made a strong case to keep the team in Phoenix.

Captain Shane Doan, who has been with the team since they arrived from Winnipeg, is once again leading the club in scoring. And while the ageless veteran isn’t having a career year by any means, he’s gotten some fairly strong support from Matthew Lombardi, Radim Vrbata, and Scottie Upshall, who have combined for 54 goals.

Head coach Dave Tippett has also received strong offensive contributions from his blueline, as Keith Yandle, Ed Jovanovski and Adrian Aucoin have chipped in 28 goals. In fact, their defencemen are among the highest scoring in the NHL.

And similar to Colorado and Los Angeles, goaltending has once again been a dominant factor in team success. Phoenix’s Ilya Bryzgalov is also among the NHL leaders in wins and his eight shutouts are best in the league. I for one believed Bryzgalov should’ve been Russia’s starting goaltender in the Olympics, as the 30-year old has the ability to carry a team for a long stretch and steal some games along the way. In a postseason matchup, Bryzgalov could be the X-factor.

In three games of head-to-head action, the Coyotes have not been kind to the Canucks, handing Vancouver two shootout defeats. Vancouver’s one win came in January when Alex Burrows recorded a hat trick to defeat Phoenix 4-0. But in the playoffs there are no shootouts, and so you can toss the regular season results out the window.

Odds of meeting Phoenix in the first round: 1 in 4

Odds of beating Phoenix in the first round: 2 in 3