According to the Vancouver media Kesler is apparently still suffering from his hip condition. Looks like they are preparing a list of excuses for their failure this year.
There is much stiffer competition in the west this year, and their starting goalie has been pulled from a lot of games this year already.
IMO the Canucks have less depth this year than last and a much lesser ability to close out games compared to last year.
With no games going to the shoot out and 5 on 5 overtime combined with the refs letting teams go all out on each other does not bode well for a team built like the Canucks.
Frankly this is the year of the Rangers or Blues, with my other picks being Nashville and Pittsburgh or Philly.
i think it will be one of Boston/NYR/Pit/Philly that wins the cup, all 4 of them are better than any team coming out of the west imo.
From the west i think the blues could win out as they have a strong team but i think lack of playoff experience may get them this year, the most dangerous team imo is the kings, quick has been on fire lately and they have the size to grind out a series or 2.
should be interesting, the series to watch will be philly/pitt imo
There is much stiffer competition in the west this year, and their starting goalie has been pulled from a lot of games this year already.
I don't know if I agree with that. The competition in the west this year has been a pretty big joke imo. Some games Detroit looks dominant some games they have looked sloppy, same with Chicago. Both of them have goal tending issues to boot. St. Louis style has been very successful in the regular season but will it be in the playoffs when the game changes, less PP's and more physicality.
Phoenix is a poor mans St. Louis. LA can't score and have been a joke all season along with the Sharks. That leaves us with Nashville who could be a huge wildcard.
During this year's playoff, any team playing the Canucks will temporarily be my favorite team in the NHL.
BTW I want Nashville to win the cup, I don't know why. It would be a good underdog story. But if I recall correctly, it seems everytime they make the playoffs, they're an underdog team.
Pretty sweet delusion thread on the Canucks board atm. The "Why are we hated?" thread is predictably turning into the "We have the best city and women" and "Everyone is jealous of us, we are better than everyone" thread. Heads up guys, no one hates you because you win regular season games.
Canuck team/fans haven't been nearly as arrogant/entitled as they were last year. The team is rarely in the media spotlight anymore. I suppose that will change when the post season rolls around, and the complaining to the media begins.
Canuck team/fans haven't been nearly as arrogant/entitled as they were last year. The team is rarely in the media spotlight anymore. I suppose that will change when the post season rolls around, and the complaining to the media begins.
Yeah I'd agree and until that recent game against the Hawks not much has come out of their camp all season.
Canuck team/fans haven't been nearly as arrogant/entitled as they were last year. The team is rarely in the media spotlight anymore. I suppose that will change when the post season rolls around, and the complaining to the media begins.
Yeah, they've been low key so far this season and you have to give them credit for that. It's amusing that the big reason they think people hate them though is because they win.
If the Canucks win the Cup, the OP should be banned.
2nded.
On the playoff topic, does anyone else consider LA a darkhorse pick? They had size, skill, goaltending and defense, and they added scoring.
1) After they got Carter they started to put 4 and 5 goal nights up,
2) Doughty seems to be coming around again,
3) It's reasonable to consider Quick a contender for the Vezina and maybe even the Hart this year,
4) Voynov is arguably playing JJ's former role better than he was.
All in all, they lost nothing and gained a big top 6 scoring fwd who can play wing or C. The west has some strong teams, but I think LA could be the "surprise" team this year. If there is one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oilsands
Stay classy Edmonton. Regardless of our/your personal feelings about Vancouver, why can't you HFOilers be better than this?
I'm no fan, but Vancouver is a perennial elite team, coming off a SCF appearance. The Oilers are on pace for a third consecutive bottom 2 finish.
This thread makes Oiler fans look bad, immature, and petty.
Cheering against a rival team is immature and petty? Everyone does this. Not liking a team and hoping they lose is what makes them a rival team. You think Flames and Nucks fans haven't gotten in their chuckles at our expense over the last 5 years or so?
Hopefully they will only last 1 rd, at most 2......
In many ways the way they went out last year was more satisfying than the early exits of previous years, so I'm not opposed to a Game 7 SCF elimination again on the "strength" of a -4 guaranteed win game by each of the twins.
) for a long, long time now.
