2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals Preview: 3 Reasons Why the Vancouver Canucks will win the Series
Now that Vancouver Canucks has advanced into the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals after a tough stretch in the Western Conference Playoffs, there are all sorts of rumours and predictions flying around the ice hockey world about its future against either the Boston
Bruins or Tampa Bay Lightning.
Whether it is the Tampa Bay Lightning or the Boston Bruins who emerge victorious out of the National Hockey League (NHL) Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals, Vancouver will be ready and planning for their first chance at the Stanley Cup since way back in
1994.
The Canucks have a lot at stake this season, winning the Presidents’ Trophy during the regular season and entering the playoffs as the top team in the league, not winning it would be embarrassing and a missed opportunity to celebrate their 40th
anniversary with a cup.
In 1994, the Canucks reached the finals and was up against New York Rangers. It was down 3-1 in the series after four games and it seemed to be the end of the road for them, but they managed to fight back and force a game seven but eventually came up short
and lost.
They have the abilities this time around and want to rewrite the story with them emerging as the winners.
To prove a point, we will discuss three major reasons why the Vancouver Canucks will win the Stanley Cup this year.
Pressure Handling
One of the biggest attributes a team needs when entering the Stanley Cup Finals is the ability to handle pressure and properly cope with it. There are many teams like Washington Capitals who perform well all season and then finally choke when it comes to
the playoffs.
Vancouver felt the pressure after they lost three consecutive games to the Chicago Blackhawks in the quarterfinals after being ahead 3-0 in the series.
Game seven was highly intense and Canucks emerged victorious in overtime. Blackhawks could have taken them out as the monumental pressure in these types of situations has broken some of the biggest teams in history but Vancouver managed to tackle it.
With time, Vancouver’s ability to take on the pressure head-to-head improved as we saw in the Nashville series which went into six games and finally against the feisty San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals which ended in only five games.
Ability to Kill and Take Advantage of Power Plays
Also holding the best record for killing and capitalising on power plays, the Vancouver Canucks is an all-rounder team in this respect.
San Jose gave numerous penalties in the last few games of the series and Canucks took advantage of that. In five games against Sharks, they scored nine goals, all on penalties.
A piece of advice to any Eastern team that will face Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals, do not give power play opportunities to them or else they will devour you.
All-Rounder Team
Probably the best thing about this team is their ability to play an all-round game irrespective of their defined positions.
The Vancouver defensemen are equally capable of scoring goals as are the offensive attackers are able to block the net when the need arises.
Major examples of this statement would be Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo who performed with multiple goals throughout each of the past three series including numerous game winning performances.
Whatever the case might be and even if Vancouver does not win this year, they would have set a standard for every team in the league with their team chemistry and dedication.
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