The first round is over and Kent was the big winner, as he chose every series winner in the first round of the west. I want what he is drinking
Game 1: Avalanche at Stars -- May 7, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS)
Game 2: Avalanche at Stars -- May 9, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, SN360, TVAS)
Game 3: Stars at Avalanche -- May 11, 10 p.m. ET (TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, SN1, TVAS)
Game 4: Stars at Avalanche -- May 13, TBD (ESPN, TVAS)
+ Game 5: Avalanche at Stars -- May 15, TBD (TBD)
+ Game 6: Stars at Avalanche -- May 17, TBD (TBD)
+ Game 7: Avalanche at Stars -- May 19, TBD (TBD)
Westy - I didn't pick any of these teams to make it to this round. You can tell what type of expert I am. I really hope that Dallas can keep up with the firepower of Colorado and after beating Vegas, maybe they can. If I am a true believer, I want the Stars to win, as the Canucks don't have a shot to beat Colorado. I said it. Unfortunately, years of cheering the Canucks and hoping for the best led me to choosing this....Avs in 6
jimmi - Well... I did pick the Stars to beat the Long Term Indebted Knights in 6 games. Fortunately they stretched it to 7, to give us and the Nucks and extra day of rest. Unfortunately, I need a few weeks of rest and my hindsight field glasses to definitively pick this tilt. This could be an interesting series. If it wasn't about central div teams that I dinna care about until Round 3. In that spirit of ambivalence, going to say the Avs are too well rested and Stars are just beat up enough to win in 7 to 9 games... so Stars in 7, because it would be nice to see Gumby back in the ROG getting beat once again.
Kent- No surprise at all to see these two teams battling it out for the Central crown, and while it's definitely going to be a close series, I feel like one team has some advantages over the other, and that would be them thar Dallas Stars. Marginally better goaltending, and better depth overall for the Stars should help them to win out over the firepower of the Avs here. Colorado's still in their window, but it feels like they're in need of a couple upgrades to get back to the finals. Stars in 7
Game 1: Oilers at Canucks -- May 8, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, SN360, CBC, TVAS)
Game 2: Oilers at Canucks -- May 10, 10 p.m. ET (TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, SN360, CBC, TVAS)
Game 3: Canucks at Oilers -- May 12, 9:30 p.m. ET (TBS, MAX, truTV, SN, SN360, TVAS)
Game 4: Canucks at Oilers -- May 14, TBD (ESPN, TVAS)
+ Game 5: Oilers at Canucks -- May 16, TBD (TBD)
+ Game 6: Canucks at Oilers -- May 18, TBD (TBD)
+ Game 7: Oilers at Canucks -- May 20, TBD (TBD)
Westy -
Such a weird narrative to occur from the actual results from the year. The Oilers did suck at the start of the year and then changed coaches and had a long winning streak, like Nashville, so I guess that's enough for the pundits to see for them to choose Edmonton. I do realize that the Oilers have a 50-goal scorer and two 100-point scorers, plus a deadly PP and good PK....but fuck Edmonton. They are perennial chokers. The Canucks need to stay out of the box and play the boring style of hockey and pounce on mistakes. Van in 7
jimmi - This series is going to fun! It is! We're right back where we've been so comfortable for so long. The Underdog team. Sure, we may have won the division, but now that we're playing our 3rd goalie and 5th (or is it 6th) narrative, all the pressure is back on the tOilers. Where it belongs. All the 'experts' are picking the Oil to win. Just like they picked them to win right at the start of the season. Be hilarious if the Nucks could bookend the season...
There's only a couple things the Nucks need to do to win the series. Score moar goals! And not do. DO NOT take stupid penalties. Or any penalties. The other thing is... Millsie, Lindy, Bluesey and our Big-D need to hound, frustrate and pound McD, his DrySadler and his Hyman maneuver. If those uberistas are frustrated, Pete can compete with 3 to 5 points a game. Simple.
With that simple formula in place, it will simply be the Nucks in 7. Hockey is a simple game, with simple plays to entertain the simpleminded.
Kent- Oh, the toxicity! *makes wanking gesture* I think the most overrated thing about this matchup is the fan bases. Seriously, who gives a shit about whose fans are worse, like every fan base isn't filled with obnoxious online assholes you'd cross the street to avoid acknowledging? So much bandwidth is being pumped into talking how awful Canucks and Oilers fans are, and the majority of it comes from the rest of the country who find themselves having to take Boston Pizza's horrible ad campaign's advice and pick a team to cheer for. Here's my advice: Don't like the Canucks or Oilers? Cry harder. Seriously, after the shit people spewed in 2011 (and since), I couldn't possibly care less about what other fan bases have to say, especially when it comes to the Canucks. Pick the Oilers to win. Some might get upset about that. I'll just add you to the list of those who were made to look foolish for thinking this was all some kind of fluke.
So, what's this going to boil down to: the Canucks needing a miracle to somehow beat a year-long Cup favourite, or do the Canucks really have the Oilers number, as they showed during the regular season? I'm not gonna troll and say that the Oilers didn't look impressive against LA, but at the same time, LA's game plan was so easily countered by Edmonton, it's a shock they didn't sweep. The Kings weren't the tough opponent everyone thought, and the Oilers showed that.
The Canucks will need some miraculous work in the crease from Arturs Silovs, and they'll need their defensive corps to continue the strong work they did against Nashville. They were outstanding against McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman this year, and this team's defensive mindset was built to counter the Oilers and their attack. They must get more offensively from damn near everyone on this team, but since we don't expect the Oilers to trap the shit out of every game the way Nashville did, expect more scoring. Also, Stuart Skinner may be a good story, and a decent enough goalie, but he's not Juuse Saros. If the Canucks vastly improved PK can keep the Oilers relatively in check, they can pull off the (slight) upset. I think it's a coin toss, honestly, but I believe that Cinderella's time at the dance is far from done. Canucks in 7
