Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview: Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames
(Ed. Note: There are five Canadian teams in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, trying their hardest to recapture Lord Stanley’s Cup and return it to the Great White North after it’s been in the grimy, unworthy hands of American teams since 1994. Here is Puck Daddy’s Playoff Preview for the first round, complete with a celebration of their Canadian elements.)
The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks have met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs six times in their histories, and four times the winner of that series has gone on to play for the Stanley Cup.
Could this edition be yet another harbinger of a Cup finalist?
Or is this just two surprising playoff qualifiers trying to extend their postseasons just a little longer before meeting their demise?
It’s been a true joy to see the Sedins become the Sedins again at this stage of their careers. No, the numbers aren’t as bloated as they once were – Daniel Sedin had 20 goals and 56 assists, while Henrik Sedin had 18 goals and 55 assists – but Twin Magic has been a thing all season, especially that sick no-look pass they connected on during a critical win over the Kings.
Alex Burrows (18-15=33) has been back on their wing this season after Radim Vrbata began there after coming over from the Coyotes as a free agent. Instead, he’s been the vital secondary scoring option the team needed: 31 goals and 32 assists, a stellar 23 power-play points as well. Nick Bonino, who came over in the Ryan Kesler trade, had 15 goals in 75 games. Chris Higgins (36 points) plays with them.
Young Bo Horvat has given the Canucks a strong season with 25 points, usually playing with Jannik Hansen (33 points). Ronalds Kenins (12 points) could see time with them.
Shawn Matthias (18 goals) has contributed a bit more than expected. Brad Richardson and the pugnacious Derek Dorsett round out the fourth liners.
The Flames are … well, pretty much a one-line team, but it’s a hell of a line.
Jiri Hudler, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan combined for 202 on the season, with Hudler (31 goals) and Monahan (31) tied for the team lead in goals. Gaudreau, meanwhile, had 21 power-play points in his 64-point rookie season.
The Flames will need more than that line to advance. Joe Colborne (28 points) and Mikael Backlund (27 points) make up the second scoring line. Veteran Matt Stajan (17 points), Michael Ferland (5 points in 26 games) and David Jones (30 points) will contribute, while Brandon Bollig (Stanley Cup ring), Josh Jooris (24 points) and Markus Granlund (18 points) will make the most of limited minutes.
Three X-factors: Lance Bouma, a 34-point forward who plays with reckless abandon, is day-to-day with an injury; Sam Bennett, the team’s 18-year-old fourth overall pick last summer, is a available and ready to play; and Paul Bryon, who played 57 games this season, could be working his way back into the lineup.
ADVANTAGE: Even
Defense
The Canucks are anchored by Alex Edler (31 points, plus-13, 23:58 TOI) and Chris Tanev (20 points, plus-8 and 21:04 TOI). They play the toughest minutes, and yet are the two best possession defensemen on the Canucks.
Dan Hamhuis (23 points) played 21:31 per game, matched with Yannick Weber for the most part. Veteran Kevin Bieksa’s average ice time was his lowest since his rookie year (20:49), and his possession numbers weren’t stellar this season, but should we blame Luca Sbisa for that?
Oh, what a different series this would be had Mark Giordano not seen his second straight Norris-worthy season humbled by injury …
His defense partner, T.J. Brodie, picked up the slack with a stellar season: 41 points and 25:12 TOI. We don’t want to say he’s carrying defensive partner Deryk Engelland, because Deryk Engelland hasn’t been a complete disaster. So he’s just somewhat carrying him.
Kris Russell had been an overlooked and underappreciated defenseman before emerging this season as a shot-blocking ace, setting an NHL single-season record for blocked shots. Dennis Wideman can be a liability in his own end, but 56 points dulls that pain.
Rapheal Diaz is working back from injury. David Schlemko is steady on the third pairing, potentially with Corey Potter this series.
ADVANTAGE: Canucks
Look, most of these players aren’t here anymore, and one of the coaches isn’t either (although he’s still getting paid). But last season’s line brawl between these teams was just so ridiculous we simply must cite it here.
Goaltending
The Canucks had been playing coy with their goaltending choice as Ryan Miller recovered from injury and Eddie Lack was either unbeatable or quite beatable on any given night. It would be interesting to see Miller try to atone for his postseason flop in St. Louis.
Calgary’s Jonas Hiller has a .911 save percentage and a 2.48 GAA. When he’s on, he can be unbeatable, and he’s been on before in the postseason. If he falters, the gig falls to rookie Joni Ortio or shaky vet Karri Ramo.
ADVANTAGE: Canucks.
Vancouver: 13. The United Nations of Hockey team, which Canadians joining players from all odd corners of the world. Places like Latvia, Italy, Denmark and East Lansing, Michigan.
Calgary: 15. All of them born after the Flames’ 1989 Cup win.
Coaches
While the premise of Willie Desjardins’s instant success with the Canucks is “he wasn’t Tortorella,” his impact on personnel and systems should have been worth of a Jack Adams nod.
Bob Hartley could very well snag one of those nominations. The Flames’ underlying analytics are subpar, but he kept a young team steadily surging to a playoff berth and then they didn’t get flustered when the heat was turned up late.
ADVANTAGE: Even.
Special Teams
The Canucks were 19.3 percent on the power play, No. 9 in the NHL (46-238). They were No. 2 on the penalty kill at 85.7 percent (38-266).
The Flames were 18.8 percent on the power play (48-255), No. 13 in the NHL. They were 80.6 on the kill, No. 20 in the NHL. (36-186).
Alex Burrows isn’t just French-Canadian, he’s dastardly and French-Canadian!
Sean Monahan inspired this Twitter feed and we frankly can’t imagine anything more Canadian.
Players To Watch
Watching Radim Vrbata come into his own as a star offensive talent (outside of Arizona) has been fun. He scores goals of great significance.
For Calgary, there’s really one answer, and it’s the guy who wanted to light his stick on fire at the all-star game.
Prediction
Flames in six. No, this doesn’t make much sense, considering the bottom’s going to drop out on them and Hiller could be average and they’re a one-line team. But what the hell has underestimating them gotten us to this point?
