Playoff Pick 'em: Canucks (1) vs. Blackhawks (8)
by Dominik on Apr 13, 2011 9:38 PM EDT
in This, That & What-Not
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PrintThis one could be the tightest 1 v. 8 series in recent memory -- and I'm not talking a "ride Halak as he stands on his head" kind of way. Despite their big gap in the standings, the Canucks and Blackhawks are fairly close in their ability to control play. For all their good work winning the underrated President's Trophy despite Islanders-like injuries this year, the Canucks sure drew a tough first-round opponent.
Canucks (54-19-9) vs. Blackhawks (44-29-9)
Season Series: 2 Van W, 1 Chi W, 1 Chi SOW
SBN Fanatics: Nucks Misconduct | Second City Hockey
Of course, the bonus in this is it makes for good theater for the rest of us.
Schedule/TV
| Wednesday, April 13 | at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. | CBC (HD), VERSUS | |
| Friday, April 15 | at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. | CBC (HD), VERSUS | |
| Sunday, April 17 | at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. | CBC (HD), VERSUS | |
| Tuesday, April 19 | at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. | CBC (HD), VERSUS | |
| *Thursday, April 21 | at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m. | CBC (HD), VERSUS | |
| *Sunday, April 24 | at Chicago, 7:30 p.m. | CBC (HD) | |
| *Tuesday, April 26 | at Vancouver, TBD | CBC (HD) | |
Possession (not the Exorcise-able kind)
Some of you are more into this stuff than others, but there is some nice work (that I won't simply replicate here) from the advanced stat-oriented guys, looking at how these teams control possession at even strength.
Great way of gauging these teams over the long haul -- which is a nice way of betting on the short term -- but of course what I love about the playoffs is the lovely short sample that exaggerates little moments, expands the impact of big moments by bad players and uncharacteristic mistakes by great players. The best part of this theater to me (when I have no vested rooting interest, anyway) is when who should win doesn't match who does.
So anyway, even if you're more into the story and the qualitative factors around any playoff series, for a look at why these two teams are closer than one might think, I'd recommend this pretty readable post at Copper & Blue and this one at Behind the Net.
Ex-Islander Factor: Um...Jeff Tambellini? [Update: And Chris Campoli, of course. Somehow forgot him.]
History: The Hawks have kind of owned the Canucks (and Roberto Luongo) for two playoff years. So if the Canucks don't pull this one out, it'll be good for a lifetime of demons.
Pick 'em
The Hawks have been pretty good most of the season, showing a surprising lack of drop-off after having to shed the bottom half of their roster to cap cleansing over the summer. But the last two months have been, well, alarming for their fans, and the fact that the team backed into the playoffs when they "had destiny in their hands" can't be a good sign.
I buy that they're still really good, but something about that inconsistent play makes me think it will appear again, and the Canucks will have enough to get past this demon. I'd sure like to see them do it, so...Head and Heart Both Say: Canucks in seven.
And you?
LHH Full Playoff Bracket Pool: In WebBard's FanPost
Previous series polls: Penguins-Lightning series | Red Wings-Coyotes series | Capitals-Rangers series | More to come as these series begin...
Wednesday night's playoff game chat (if you're reading this Wednesday night): Here.
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Everyone better pick Canucks or I will withhold my special Grabner scoring powers!
;)
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
lol, you would have kept grabner if you knew he was a 30goal scorer.
Proud Islanders fan, the organization that iced the greatest team to ever play the game and won 4 straight cups. Bleeding Blue and Orange.
Let's go Islanders! Beep...Beep...Beep.Beep.Beep.
"Offensively, he was incredible. He was such a big guy who could skate like the wind. One of the reasons I think it’s ridiculous to try and decide who was better between the two of us is because we played under drastically different systems. In Al Arbour’s scheme, there was no way Denis was allowed the freedom to roam with the puck the way I did in Boston. If he could, who knows how many more points he might have had? Defensively, he was underrated. Potvin more than held his own. "
-Bobby Orr on Denis Potvin
No one knew
He was going to be a 30 goal scorer. And it’s still to be seen if he can repeat. And we really needed the defense.
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
Yeah, I agree.
But Grabs always had the raw skills to be at least a repeat 15-20goal guy once he peaked. Speed kills even if you have average goalscorer hands.
Proud Islanders fan, the organization that iced the greatest team to ever play the game, whom won 4 consecutive cups. I'm bleeding Blue and Orange.
Let's go Islanders! Beep...Beep...Beep.Beep.Beep.
Datsyuk IS the best player in the nhl
Hawks in 5
Proud Islanders fan, the organization that iced the greatest team to ever play the game and won 4 straight cups. Bleeding Blue and Orange.
Let's go Islanders! Beep...Beep...Beep.Beep.Beep.
"Offensively, he was incredible. He was such a big guy who could skate like the wind. One of the reasons I think it’s ridiculous to try and decide who was better between the two of us is because we played under drastically different systems. In Al Arbour’s scheme, there was no way Denis was allowed the freedom to roam with the puck the way I did in Boston. If he could, who knows how many more points he might have had? Defensively, he was underrated. Potvin more than held his own. "
-Bobby Orr on Denis Potvin
Canucks in 7
The Canucks were the obvious #1 ranked team this year, in both actual standings points and the power rankings. The Blackhawks, despite needing help to squeak into the playoffs on the last day, did pretty good in their own right. They were ranked 12th for the year.
For the last two months of the year, the Canucks were 7th best and the Hawks were 3rd. They pretty much had to be, in order to qualify. Meanwhile, along with their injuries, the Canucks were likely guilty of letting off the gas and coasting a bit.
In other words… this one’s gonna be tight. I think the Nucks are a team of destiny this year, though, so I give Game 7 to them.
Commissioner of the FIG pool, because I'm one mediocre player.
by ICanSeeForIslesAndIsles on Apr 13, 2011 9:55 PM EDT reply actions
Nucks in 5
Chi town lacks the grit they had last year. The Nucks are to good for them and it will clear.
Nucks LOGO??
Ok Dom, is this the jersey that had the word “canucks” written in the shape of a skate? The skate LOGO was pointing down as in skating downhill? I think the soulder had a “v” pattern with the wide end of the “V” adjoining the neck line. The V was two colored; yellow and orange, this was all on a black away jersey. Right? Or is my memory going in the same direction as the logo?
We are all Islanders, even if we are in Jersey!
That's right
Although that logo saw several different uni incarnations. (Originally the “V” was on the whole front, almost like a double sash, and the skate logo was on the shoulders. Later the skate logo moved to the front but they kept the “V” motif on the sleeves.)
What you see above is indeed part of the downhill skate.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
The huge V
is one of the worst jerseys ever. I think of that every time I watch the greatest goal ever scored.
So, so beautiful
The goal and the blue stuff, that is.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
How the hell did I miss that?
I even scanned their roster because I thought I was missing someone.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
