Sunday night, the Vancouver Canucks eliminated the Los Angeles Kings in six games in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That’s not a surprise by any stretch, but the way in which the Canucks eventually woke up and drilled the Kings was quite telling. The Kings took a 2-1 lead in the series after winning 5-3 in Los Angeles in Game 3 and then, it would appear, Vancouver got pissed.
The Canucks went on to win 6-4, 7-2 and 4-2 as Henrik Sedin, who really should be the NHL’s most valuable player this season, had a goal and four assists in the final three games of the series. When a team puts up 17 goals in three games in a Stanley Cup playoff series, that team is really on its game.
Now look, we picked the Canucks to win in six and so did a lot of other generally misguided pundits, but I think we all believed Roberto Luongo’s goaltending would be the difference. That wasn’t the case. In this series, it was the Canucks offence that made the difference and quite frankly, if that keeps up, it will make the Canucks a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup.
Meanwhile, it was a big week for the two Pennsylvania teams. The Philadelphia Flyers, who were 5-1 against the New Jersey Devils during the regular season, continued to take it to the Devils and ousted favoured New Jersey in five games. We picked Jersey in seven, but we did not believe that Philly would put a blanket on the Devils the way they did. We also didn’t expect goaltender Brian Boucher to be as good he was (1.59 goals against average and a .940 save percentage) and yet he was clearly the pleasant surprise of the series.
It was a little tougher for the Pittsburgh Penguins who needed six games to take out the Ottawa Senators. The Sens were feisty in this one and despite a serious stomach problem, Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson did everything he could to keep the Sens alive. Unfortunately for Ottawa fans, it wasn’t enough against a Sidney Crosby-led Pens team that really looked like the defending Stanley Cup champions when it counted. Crosby finished the six game series with 14 points and appears to be on the way to a Conn Smythe Trophy.
The San Jose Sharks took out Colorado in six games and I’m surprised it went six. The San Jose players finally got rid of the knots in their collective stomach and won a playoff round with ease. It’s about time.
Before the week ends, Boston, Washington, Chicago and, yes I still believe Detroit, should wrap up the remaining four series. That will leave us at 7-1 in the opening round and ready to predict a Vancouver-Pittsburgh Stanley Cup final.
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