2011 NHL Conference Finals: Whose Next for Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings or San Jose Sharks?
The Vancouver Canucks had an outstanding regular season no doubt, but saying they have had an exceptional postseason so far, does not seem right. Winners of the Presidents’ Trophy, Vancouver has just not performed at par with expectations fans had when they
entered the play-offs after having the best season in their 40 year history. They have now reached the Western Conference finals, but only time can tell how far they will actually go in achieving their target, which is ultimately the Stanley Cup.
It was a shame to see a team like Vancouver face-off in a game seven against a team like the Chicago Blackhawks who barely made it into the play-offs. After a 3-0 lead in the quarter-finals, the Blackhawks bounced back for three consecutive wins and forced
a game seven decider in which the Canucks barely won in over-time. Luckily, in the semi-finals Vancouver performed better and eliminated the Nashville Predators in game six to win the series 4-2.
Now, the question that is on everyone’s mind is who the Vancouver Canucks will be facing in the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs Western Conference finals? The Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks are the two prospective candidates for that question
and currently both are tied in the semi-final series 3-3. Both teams will meet on Thursday for game-seven and a conclusion to who will play against the best team in the league.
Celebrating their 40th anniversary, the Vancouver Canucks want to end this post-season on a high note, just like they did with the regular season. Their ultimate aim is to win the Stanley Cup, but it mostly depends on the opposition they will
face, come the conference finals. Taking a look at both the Red Wings and Sharks, I will try to determine which team would present the Canucks with a greater challenge and which team will make their life a little bit easier as they fight for a shot at their
first Stanley Cup in club history.
The Red Wings have had a couple of up’s and down’s this season and post-season as they fought hard for positioning in the final moments of regulation season. San Jose finally over-took them for the second spot in the Eastern Conference but it did not make
a significant difference looking at the way things have turned out so far.
The only thing Detroit is slacking behind in is player momentum. The line-up is exhausted in its continuous battles against the Sharks but they have still managed to make a historic come-back Detroit played a huge game on Tuesday against San Jose to defeat
them in game six and force a game seven decider when being down 3-0 in the start. No one could have possibly imagined that it would come down to a game seven when a team like San Jose had such a dominating advantage.
Whoever emerges victorious on Thursday’s match-up will get sufficient time to rest as the Tampa Bay and Boston Bruins series will come into play in the meanwhile. During the regular season, the Canucks had an advantage over the San Jose Sharks as they won
three out of four match-ups and only lost the fourth in over-time. The season series against Detroit remained equal throughout the 2010-11 season, but in the play-offs it really does not make a difference.
Vancouver’s offensive side is in considerable turmoil as we speak as both the Sedin twins Henrik and Daniel have not shown significant dominance during the play-offs as they once did in regular contention. Ryan Kesler has emerged as a go to player for them,
but it will not be long until he finally has an off day which could have dire consequences for the team overall.
Playing against the offensive onslaught which both the Red Wings and Sharks carry, it could be the only thing which actually hurts Vancouver’s chances at the Cup. San Jose has Patrick Marleau, Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane, Dany Heatley, Ryane Clowe and Joe
Thornton who have all showed a consistent performance in lifting their team to where they are today. Detroit has Henrik Zetterberg, Darren Helm and Pavel Datsyuk which combine to become an unstoppable trio.
Something all three teams have in common is their goal-tending abilities. Vancouver, Detroit and San Jose have Roberto Luongo, Jimmy Howard and Antti Niemi respectively. All three are the top goalies in the league and have been a major factor for their team’s
success. Be it Howard or Niemi, Vancouver will certainly face a tough time.
Concluding the discussion, there is no clear “easy team” or “hard team”, both have their respective advantages and abilities which will without a doubt make Vancouver work hard for their victories in the upcoming 2011 NHL Play-offs Western Conference finals.
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