VANCOUVER CANUCKS VS LOS ANGELES KINGS ROUND 1

[Jelly]

*points at St.Louis last year*

[Sid Dithers]

*points at St.Louis last year*

Sure it was a sweep, but IIRC, the games were all close. I like this LA team more than that St. Louis team. And going in, Louie isn't playing nearly as well as when the playoffs started last year.

My other concern here is that the Canucks haven't played well at all in Los Angeles in recent years.

[the toucan kid]

I like this LA team more than that St. Louis team.

Me too. They actually have a good selection of veterans throughout the lineup, and rather than rooks and sophs, guys like Brown and Kopitar who have been just itching to get there and are now in their primes rather than being green like St. Louis. We're in for a tough series I think, at the very least.

[ClamRussel]

I'm calling Vancouver in 6 and its going to be a close hard fought battle.

Ehrhoff will be back and hopefully Mitchell isn't far behind him. Even with Luongo's struggles we have a advantage in net, they've had problems in net themselves lately. They have a better blueline but we've got more experience there so hopefully that evens out a little bit. Expect a physical series from Johnson and we all know what Doughty is capable of. Up front they've got some big guns but we have the Art Ross and our SIX twenty goal scorers cannot by matched by LA. Hopefully our offensive depth and goaltending tips the scales over their blueline.

Looking forward to it!

[Jelly]

*points at St.Louis last year*

Sure it was a sweep, but IIRC, the games were all close. I like this LA team more than that St. Louis team. And going in, Louie isn't playing nearly as well as when the playoffs started last year.

My other concern here is that the Canucks haven't played well at all in Los Angeles in recent years.

I'm not saying it will be a sweep, and heck, last year's series was only a sweep on paper anyways.

I'm saying Kings and Blues are similar where they are both young teams that have just arrived into playoffs.

[Jelly]

I'm calling Vancouver in 6 and its going to be a close hard fought battle.

Ehrhoff will be back and hopefully Mitchell isn't far behind him. Even with Luongo's struggles we have a advantage in net, they've had problems in net themselves lately. They have a better blueline but we've got more experience there so hopefully that evens out a little bit. Expect a physical series from Johnson and we all know what Doughty is capable of. Up front they've got some big guns but we have the Art Ross and our SIX twenty FIVE goal scorers cannot by matched by LA. Hopefully our offensive depth and goaltending tips the scales over their blueline.

Looking forward to it!

fixed

[Jovorock]

ALL GAMES ON CBC! JIM HUGHSON IS BACK1!

Hughson will do the Lauf games, oh sorry Toronto isn't in the playoffs?

[LotusBlossom]

I like this match-up as well.

No one should take the Kings lightly. They are a good young team with lots of promise.

Still, someone here mentioned Chicago as that good young team with hunger, true, but the Kings are NOT the Blackhawks, not even in the same echelon.

I'm sure they will be riding the good fortunes of Hank and really make a drive in the playoffs. CANT WAIT!

[Kel]

I think LA is a good opponent not because the Kings is weak, bur rather it's that should be good for a warm-up for further actions. I kind of felt that St Louis was not much of a test and the Canucks let their guards down after the sweep. Remember they gave up a 3-goal lead late in the first game that gave Chicago the confidence to come back again and again after the Canucks scored throughout the rest of the series. It won't be a sweep against the Kings this time, but the Kings still lack the overall team strength to pull an upset if the Canucks are their usual selves. And the travel can't really be better (excluding San Jose, which is a shorter travel but the Canucks wouldn't have home ice).

[Arachnid]

I think LA is a good opponent not because the Kings is weak, bur rather it's that should be good for a warm-up for further actions. I kind of felt that St Louis was not much of a test and the Canucks let their guards down after the sweep. Remember they gave up a 3-goal lead late in the first game that gave Chicago the confidence to come back again and again after the Canucks scored throughout the rest of the series. It won't be a sweep against the Kings this time, but the Kings still lack the overall team strength to pull an upset if the Canucks are their usual selves. And the travel can't really be better (excluding San Jose, which is a shorter travel but the Canucks wouldn't have home ice).

Quick has struggled lately, that's what the Queens fans have been posting on their boards.
We will have to feed on that. Our D is suspect. Our goal is just OK.

If we win this it won't be with a hot goalie it will be by scoring the most goals. When we ran into a hot goalie on the other team during the regular season we lost. So go with our strengths and hope we don't meet a dominant net minders for 4 rounds

Go Orcas!

[dangler]

If Luongo elevates his game for the playoffs,as I suspect he will.The Canucks stick to a very disciplined game, i.e.good starts,60 minutes,strong team defence and strong special teams.Serious injuries unforseen.Then I think they will prevail victorious in the series.
There are no pushovers in the west and would be surprised if there were not upsets.
Different story in the East,and would bet money that Mont.,Boston,and Philly are golfing in 2 weeks and am really tempted to throw Ott. in with that group.

Do you people really think we'll see Willie Mitchell in a Canucks uni. again? I wonder if he is holding off on risking reinjury because he knows he won't be back next season.

[Farhan Lalji]

While I think the Canucks WILL find a way to defeat the L.A. Kings, it isn't going to be easy. I would even go as far as saying that it might be just as difficult as our series against the Dallas Stars from 07'.

While Luongo looked a lot better last game, he has been struggling for months. IF Lou doesn't find his old form, then L.A. definitely has the talent to light him up. Brown, Frolov, Kopitar, Doughty, Johnson, etc., are just a few names.

Blueline: The Canucks, sans Mitchell, should have a completely healthy blue-line come Thursday but we all know of Salo's history. Erhoff and O'Brien may not be at 100% either, while Kevin Bieksa isn't exactly Mr. Durability. If the Canucks play the way they did in January, they will demolish the Kings in 5 games. However - if Lou doesn't resolve his mental problems and/or the 'D' becomes decimated with injury, then the Kings are more than capable of knocking off the Canucks.

Farhan's prediction: Canucks in 6.

[Kel]

I think we're going to know more about the series after game 1. Luongo shows up for the big games generally, and he's eager to redeem himself after the recent struggle. And starting the series at home should help him build his confidence back. I am hoping that the extra day of rest and the home start would help the hurting D group quite a bit. The team can't really afford to lose Salo given that Mitchell is not returning. And please don't put Alberts out there; I'd rather have Baumgartner.

[Farhan Lalji]

If Luongo elevates his game for the playoffs,as I suspect he will.The Canucks stick to a very disciplined game, i.e.good starts,60 minutes,strong team defence and strong special teams.Serious injuries unforseen.Then I think they will prevail victorious in the series.
There are no pushovers in the west and would be surprised if there were not upsets.
Different story in the East,and would bet money that Mont.,Boston,and Philly are golfing in 2 weeks and am really tempted to throw Ott. in with that group.

Do you people really think we'll see Willie Mitchell in a Canucks uni. again? I wonder if he is holding off on risking reinjury because he knows he won't be back next season.

-I don't think we'll ever seen Mitchell play another game in a Canucks uniform. Hopefully, I'm wrong.
-While most people (including me) have picked Washington, NJ, Buffalo, Pitsburgh, SJ, Chicago, Vancouver, and Detroit as their 1st round victors, I still think there are a few upset potentials.

(Phoenix over Detroit)
(L.A. over Vancouver)
(Boston over Buffalo)
(Montreal over Washington -).

Phoenix had a TREMENDOUS work ethic and attitude this year. The last "non-elite" hard working team to have 4 equally balanced lines was the Edmonton Oilers of 05/06…..a team that just so happened to knock off the Wings that year. One big difference between Phoenix and Colorado is their attitudes. You can learn a lot about a person and/or team by the vocabulary that they choose to use. In Colorado’s case, you can often hear them saying, “It was our goal to make the playoffs and prove the naysayers wrong.” In Colorado’s mind, they have achieved their goal….and anything on top of that is icing on the cake. In Phoenix’s case however, you REALLY get a sense that they believe in themselves. Guys like Shane Doan and Ed Jovanovski have really given that team some exceptional leadership. The Yotes’ may not knock off the Wings, but they’ll give em’ a run for their money.

L.A. has the talent and the grit needed to knock off a less-than-stellar Luongo and/or a banged up blue-line. If the Canucks find themselves up 2-0 in this series and decide to take a “breather” in game 3 (as the Canucks have done all year long in games that they perceive as not “having to win”), then the Kings could easily route Vancouver in game 3 and completely change the momentum. Nucks will have to be careful here or we’ll be golfing with Calgary.

If Thomas comes even close to matching Miller, then Buffalo could be in trouble. Buffalo has some pretty good defensemen, but none are as good as Zdeno Chara. If an upset is to occur in this year’s 1st round playoffs, this, along with L.A./Vancouver unfortunately, is the most likely scenario.

Although Washington is far more talented than Montreal and will most likely blow em’ out, I’m still not sold on Washington’s D. If Montreal frustrates them and/or the fans REALLY lift Montreal at home (I was at a game in Montreal earlier this year and the Hab fans are damn sure passionate!), then Montreal could perhaps do the unthinkable.

[Farhan Lalji]

I think we're going to know more about the series after game 1. Luongo shows up for the big games generally, and he's eager to redeem himself after the recent struggle.

Agreed, but there are a few things that concern me:

1) The 6th game against Chicago last year. Yes - the team defense was ATROCIOUS in that particular game, but a superstar goalie should be capable of bailing them out atleast some of the time. In game 6 last year, Luongo was burned on all chances.

2) The Olympics: Although many people are labelling Luongo as "proven" now that he's won Gold, the fact of the matter is that Luongo didn't have to do all that much.....since the team in front of him was so superb (i.e. similar to Brodeur and Canada's team in 02'). While Luongo wasn't terrible during the Olympics, he was not stellar either. Again Slovakia, Luongo let in a brutal goal when Canada was leading 3-0.....and this almost helped precipitate a Slovakian comeback. Also - that last "save" on Demitra wasn't even a save....it had more to do with Demitra missing the net. In the Gold Medal game, Luongo did not look particularly brilliant on that 1st goal, while he gave up the 2nd goal to Parise in the last minute.

Long story short: Luongo still needs to prove himself as a superstar clutch goalie come playoff time. He did it against Dallas back in 07', but hasn't done it on a consistent basis since then. Hopefully, this will be the year where he silences the naysayers.