Season series: 3-1 for Anaheim. Ducks outscored Vancouver 14-6
Team Records: Vancouver 49-26-7, 105 pts; Anaheim 48-20-14, 110 pts.
Ducks GM Brian Burke brings his new team to face his old team, the Vancouver Canucks, in a series that pits his very physical, aggressive squad against the patient and methodical team he used to manage.
Offense: The Canucks showed why they are the lowest scoring playoff team to make it to the show, as they were shutout three different times by the Stars, and went a woeful 3-for-37 on the Power Play. The Canucks rely heavily on the cycling ability of the Sedin twins, and are very adept at keeping the puck in the offensive zone, patiently waiting for opportunities. The Stars used this against the Canucks by allowing the Canucks to play on the outside, and not allowing any forwards to do damage in the Red Zone. The Linden-Smolinski duo found great chemistry together and utilized their fore-checking ability to provide some timely secondary offense.
Markus Naslund continues to struggle, and had only two points in the series versus Dallas. Taylor Pyatt was a revelation, chipping in five points in the first round and creating room for whatever line he played on.
The Ducks rely on two very different tactics to win games. The first is to utilize the speed of their finesse forwards such as Chris Kunitz, Andy MacDonald, Teemu Selanne, and Ryan Getzlaf to provide the bulk of the offense. Secondly, the Ducks have a whole lot of crashers and bangers that pound opposing defensive corps into submission and soften them up for the speedy guys. Brad May was suspended, so that takes him out of the equation. Still, watch out for the likes of Travis Moen, Rob Niedermayer, Corey Perry, George Parros, Shawn Thornton, and Dustin Penner. The Ducks can thug is up better than most teams in the league, while the Canucks have ... umm ... Jeff Cowan. There is some worry that the Ducks will have their way with the Canucks finesse forwards without much payback.
Defense: The Ducks have two of the very best in the league in Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, and it's rare that either one is not on the ice at any point in the game. Francois Beauchemin is a solid #3, but there is a large drop-off after him in O'Donnell, DiPenta, and Huskins. Thankfully, for the Ducks, the Top Three can log so much ice time that the others don't have to do very much except not trip over their sticks.
The Canucks have a much better balance from #1-6, with Willie Mitchell becoming one of the most dependable defensive rearguards in the game, and Krajicek/Sopel/Salo/Ohlund capable of providing good offense. The Canucks got 45 goals from the rearguards, while the Ducks had 42 (albeit 28 from their top two guys).
Both clubs utilize the passing ability of their d-corps to kick-start their offensive attacks. Pronger and Niedermayer have few peers when it comes to play-making, while Salo and Bieksa provide the cannons for the Canucks.
Both teams also have excellent defensive forwards in the fold that excel at killing penalties. For the Ducks, Samuel Pahlsson is Selke-worthy and teams up with Rob Niedermayer to shut down opposing superstars. The Canucks? They have the league's best PK unit with forwards Alex Burrows, Josh Green, Trevor Linden, and Jan Bulis providing unheralded defensive efforts. Anaheim's PK unit wasn't far behind, ranking 5th best in the NHL.
Goaltending: Everyone knows that the Canucks are only here because of Bingo-Bango-Bongo Roberto Luongo, the savior of the franchise. His numbers were downright awesome in the first round: 1.41GAA, 95.0SV%!! The Ducks? They have a nice duo, but who's going to be the #1?
Ilya Bryzgalov had a very ordinary regular season, but won the starting job away from J-S Giguere when J-S missed some time due to a birth defect found in his newborn child. Both goalies are capable, but hardly match up to Luongo.
Prediction: Ducks in 6. Canucks just wont generate enough offense to win.
For more viewpoints, check out these team specific blogs:
Battle of California
Canucks and Beyond
Waiting for Stanley
Hockey Rants
Yankee Canucks
Canucks Hockey Blog
Stick in Rink
