Series One, Round One
Vancouver Canucks (45-23-13-1) vs St Louis Blues (41-24-11-6)
by Rink Rat
The St. Louis Blues think they've had a stroke of luck already this National Hockey League season by meeting the wobbly Vancouver Canucks in the first round, rather than red hot Colorado. This series could be considered the 'state of mind' series because the Blues wonder if they can trust new goalkeeper Chris Osgood and Vancouver wonders if they can trust themselves.
The Blues have had a terrible time with injuries this season which contributed to the parade of puck stoppers through their crease - seven at last count. For now the big doo-doo in the nets is Detroit castoff Osgood. Osgood had a miserable time with the New York Islanders and seems to have packed that poor play in his suitcase when he moved to Missouri. His save percentage is .888 with the Blues, dipping to under .870 in the last five games of the season. Allowances must be made because the Blues were going nowhere in the standings. Coach Joel Quenneville insists Osgood has 'stabilized' the position, which likely means he doesn't react badly to goals being scored, panicking his teammates.
St. Louis was 18-13-7-3 on the road this season, fifth in the conference. They achieved that record in a strange way - their goals for/against was 109-112. Five aside they were 70-69. Their power play was good (35/178, 19.7%, 4th in the conference) but their penalty killing was awful, perhaps reflecting the turmoil in the crease. They were dead last in the league killing penalties on the road (155/195, 79.5%). It was not as if they took an unusual number of penalties because they were only 13th in the league in times shorthanded. The Blues had huge years from centre Pavol Demitra (36-57-93) and defenceman Al MacInnis (16-52-18). Rookie defender Barrett Jackman found himself as MacInnis' sidekick and is now in the running for rookie of the year.
St.Louis is a strong, hard skating team which plays an up-tempo game. They have agitators like Tyson Nash, bangers like Keith Tkachuk, and scorers. They allow 26 shots/game on the road and will have to work hard to protect goalkeeper Osgood. If that penalty killing doesn't come around, and the Rat thinks it won't, the Blues are in trouble.
Vancouver Canucks were middling at home this season, compiling a 22-13-6-0 mark. However their goals for was third in the conference ( 135, 3.29 goals/game) and their goals against was seventh allowing 104. Canucks' power play was a thing of beauty most of the way, producing 51 goals in 236 attempts (21.6%, 2nd in NHL). Those 236 opportunities at home were the most in the league by a long shot. Their penalty killing slumped in the new year, possibly a function of injuries to goalkeeper Dan Cloutier and defenceman Mattias Ohlund, who is still injured.
A worry for the Canucks is the state of Cloutier's knee because his backup is rookie Alex Auld, who likely too young to be playing now. Vancouver's attack revolves around wingers Naslund and Bertuzzi. Some cause for concern can be voiced for the split between their even strength scoring and power play scoring. Naslund was 24-26-50 even strength, 24-30-54 on the power play. Bertuzzi's numbers were 21-34-55 even and 25-17-42 power play.
If the Canucks continue to draw scads of penalties then those splits don't matter so much. The variable in this series is the mood of the Canucks entering game one. They had a grim meltdown in the last week of the season, causing them to lose the divisional title. The team has failed at significant hurdles on at least six occasions this year, indicating a team still maturing.
However, they do catch a break because the Blues are a skating team and will trade chances, which is also the Canucks game. Interesting point: the Canucks lost one game in overtime the entire season, the Blues lost six.
In the Rat's opinion, a poor penalty killing unit and suspect goaltending put the Blues in a hole. Canucks win game one and eventually the series, probably in six games. Vancouver's record: in Vancouver - W 6-3, T 4-4 in St. Louis- W 4-2, L 6-4
I hate to do this, but Im going against Ron and the rest of Team Bookiekiller.com and taking the ‘Nucks. Play on the CANUCKS Money Line !!!
Vancouver Canucks (45-23-13-1) vs St Louis Blues (41-24-11-6)
by Rink Rat
The St. Louis Blues think they've had a stroke of luck already this National Hockey League season by meeting the wobbly Vancouver Canucks in the first round, rather than red hot Colorado. This series could be considered the 'state of mind' series because the Blues wonder if they can trust new goalkeeper Chris Osgood and Vancouver wonders if they can trust themselves.
The Blues have had a terrible time with injuries this season which contributed to the parade of puck stoppers through their crease - seven at last count. For now the big doo-doo in the nets is Detroit castoff Osgood. Osgood had a miserable time with the New York Islanders and seems to have packed that poor play in his suitcase when he moved to Missouri. His save percentage is .888 with the Blues, dipping to under .870 in the last five games of the season. Allowances must be made because the Blues were going nowhere in the standings. Coach Joel Quenneville insists Osgood has 'stabilized' the position, which likely means he doesn't react badly to goals being scored, panicking his teammates.
St. Louis was 18-13-7-3 on the road this season, fifth in the conference. They achieved that record in a strange way - their goals for/against was 109-112. Five aside they were 70-69. Their power play was good (35/178, 19.7%, 4th in the conference) but their penalty killing was awful, perhaps reflecting the turmoil in the crease. They were dead last in the league killing penalties on the road (155/195, 79.5%). It was not as if they took an unusual number of penalties because they were only 13th in the league in times shorthanded. The Blues had huge years from centre Pavol Demitra (36-57-93) and defenceman Al MacInnis (16-52-18). Rookie defender Barrett Jackman found himself as MacInnis' sidekick and is now in the running for rookie of the year.
St.Louis is a strong, hard skating team which plays an up-tempo game. They have agitators like Tyson Nash, bangers like Keith Tkachuk, and scorers. They allow 26 shots/game on the road and will have to work hard to protect goalkeeper Osgood. If that penalty killing doesn't come around, and the Rat thinks it won't, the Blues are in trouble.
Vancouver Canucks were middling at home this season, compiling a 22-13-6-0 mark. However their goals for was third in the conference ( 135, 3.29 goals/game) and their goals against was seventh allowing 104. Canucks' power play was a thing of beauty most of the way, producing 51 goals in 236 attempts (21.6%, 2nd in NHL). Those 236 opportunities at home were the most in the league by a long shot. Their penalty killing slumped in the new year, possibly a function of injuries to goalkeeper Dan Cloutier and defenceman Mattias Ohlund, who is still injured.
A worry for the Canucks is the state of Cloutier's knee because his backup is rookie Alex Auld, who likely too young to be playing now. Vancouver's attack revolves around wingers Naslund and Bertuzzi. Some cause for concern can be voiced for the split between their even strength scoring and power play scoring. Naslund was 24-26-50 even strength, 24-30-54 on the power play. Bertuzzi's numbers were 21-34-55 even and 25-17-42 power play.
If the Canucks continue to draw scads of penalties then those splits don't matter so much. The variable in this series is the mood of the Canucks entering game one. They had a grim meltdown in the last week of the season, causing them to lose the divisional title. The team has failed at significant hurdles on at least six occasions this year, indicating a team still maturing.
However, they do catch a break because the Blues are a skating team and will trade chances, which is also the Canucks game. Interesting point: the Canucks lost one game in overtime the entire season, the Blues lost six.
In the Rat's opinion, a poor penalty killing unit and suspect goaltending put the Blues in a hole. Canucks win game one and eventually the series, probably in six games. Vancouver's record: in Vancouver - W 6-3, T 4-4 in St. Louis- W 4-2, L 6-4
I hate to do this, but Im going against Ron and the rest of Team Bookiekiller.com and taking the ‘Nucks. Play on the CANUCKS Money Line !!!
