Round 1 - Vancouver Canucks (P1) vs Nashville Predators (WC1)

[Slegr]

If Lindholm starts as 3rd center, I’d say the biggest weakness on the team is Suter on the Miller line. That guy is not quite top-6 material, and frustrating at times.

[Chickenspear]

3 minutes ago, Slegr said:

If Lindholm starts as 3rd center, I’d say the biggest weakness on the team is Suter on the Miller line. That guy is not quite top-6 material, and frustrating at times.

I want to see Podz up with Miller. Send Suter to the 4th.

[Heretic]

Go Canucks GO! 

Look what I found from the last time we played them:

 

[24K]

Canucks in 5.

Preds are a good team but looking at all aspects of the teams, the Canucks have a slight advantage in everything except for chance generation per advanced stats and maybe experience. 

 

All those slight advantages should build up if Canucks play to their potential. 

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[Redhdlois]

I hope the Canucks do a zoom interview with Kesler.   Would be fun to reminisce about that series. 

[brilac]

Canucks in 6!

 

Kesler out of retirement - no. 
 

Why? It’s too early for me to explain things at 9:30am. I’m still drinking my coffee. 1st cup.

Edited April 18 by brilac

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[Darius]

Just now, Redhdlois said:

I hope the Canucks do a zoom interview with Kesler.   Would be fun to reminisce about that series. 

 

 

[bh90]

56 minutes ago, HKSR said:

I'm just so glad we're not playing LA.  I waited a decade for this, and I'd be so pissed if we had to watch boring ass LAK hockey and possibly get eliminated in the 1st round.

No matter what happens, these games against NAS should be entertaining.

 

Teams are built so much like each other, but I give the Canucks a slight edge:

 

Miller and Hughes > Forsberg and Josi

Pettersson = O'Reilly

Demko > Saros

Hronek > Mcdonagh

Garland > Evangelista

Joshua > Sissons

Boeser = Nyquist
Hoglander = Novak

Mikheyev < Zucker

 

Overall, it should be a close series.   With the league having so much parity, the 1st round could come down to the team with the lucky bounces.

 

EDIT:  Notice no Lindholm mentioned above... he's really the X-Factor for this Canucks team.  If he finds his game, this team is gonna do some serious damage these playoffs.

 

 

Go canucks go!

 

My main worry with the predators is that their top guys are all well season playoffs vets that have performed.

 

As for your assessment I just need to say that I don't think Mcdonagh gets enough love he is one of my favorite defenseman. Tampa was never the same defensively since they traded him.

 

I'd take him over Hronek in a heart beat for this season and playoffs (not long term).

[Steamer4GM]

Went Canucks in 6 but wouldn't be at all surprised if we dispatched them sooner just based on how well things seem to have come together here at season's end. I haven't watched enough Preds games to have much of a take on them however so who knows? Maybe it goes 7.

 

Either way, I just don't see us falling in a best of 7 to anyone as long as we stay healthy and don't fall prey to any goofy league nonsense like suspensions or heavily biased officiating.

 

Makes me curious as to how we stack up vs Nashville in terms of penalties taken

 

Oh and what the hell is the NHL doing stalling on giving us a set day and time of play? Evil voodoo dolls and magic elixirs don't cook themselves up overnight y'know?

Edited April 18 by Steamer4GM

[Strawbone]

41 minutes ago, Mr Wrong said:

Canucks need to score first. In all games. And win da turds. Great goaltending. We should be fine. Come on let’s gooooooo!!!!

 

I'm more concerned that they score last in every game.

[Strawbone]

5 minutes ago, brilac said:

Canucks in 6!

 

Kesler out of retirement - no. 
 

Why? It’s too early for me to explain things at 9:30am. I’m still drinking my coffee. 1st cup.

 

Maybe just because he's an old man now! He'd be terrible lol.

[VegasCanuck]

Going to be a fun series! I think Canucks in 6.

 

 

[flickyoursedin]

1 hour ago, HKSR said:

I'm just so glad we're not playing LA.  I waited a decade for this, and I'd be so pissed if we had to watch boring ass LAK hockey and possibly get eliminated in the 1st round.

No matter what happens, these games against NAS should be entertaining.

 

Teams are built so much like each other, but I give the Canucks a slight edge:

 

Miller and Hughes > Forsberg and Josi

Pettersson = O'Reilly

Demko > Saros

Hronek > Mcdonagh

Garland > Evangelista

Joshua > Sissons

Boeser = Nyquist
Hoglander = Novak

Mikheyev < Zucker

 

Overall, it should be a close series.   With the league having so much parity, the 1st round could come down to the team with the lucky bounces.

 

EDIT:  Notice no Lindholm mentioned above... he's really the X-Factor for this Canucks team.  If he finds his game, this team is gonna do some serious damage these playoffs.

 

Lindholm has to find his touch in front of the net again! Garland is creative and will find his guys in front of the net with a nifty pass. I think Garland is the perfect line mate for Lindholm the only downside is if Lindholm doesn’t get going then you’re kind of wasting Garlands generated offence on a guy that can’t finish.

[Roger Neilsons Towel]

I’m glad some people are taking the Kesler poll question seriously. It was clearly a 100% serious question. 

[RJCF96]

I hope the Canucks would invite Ryan Kesler to one of the home playoff games to crank up the noise to cheer up the team and get the building going.

[Rip The Mesh]

[NoCupSyndrome]

1 hour ago, Roger Neilsons Towel said:

I went Canucks in 5. The Predators are a good team but the Canucks are just too much for them. We dominated the season series but the games were closer than they looked. I think the Preds win at least one but ultimately fall. 

 

Same, if Canucks play their game, the series is theirs. All about mental strength this series. 

 

[MattJVD]

Would love to see Kesler on the panel between periods in this series. His dominance of the Preds back in 2011 is such a fond memory. I was on a field exercise in Shilo MB for most of the series, but I manages to watch games 5 and 6 after I got home.

[Reg]

Question: What is the format? First two games in Vancouver, this Sunday and Tuesday, then play 3 in Nashville, and back to Vancouver for the final 2 games if necessary.

[EternalCanuckFan]

31 minutes ago, Chickenspear said:

I want to see Podz up with Miller. Send Suter to the 4th.

Wouldn't mind Podz with Miller-Boeser but I actually don't entirely mind Suter on that line.

 

He's the safe option - solid defensively and knows where to be in the offensive zone to at least be an option for possession. Doesn't provide as much as far as play creation is concerned however and he obviously won't disrupt with size, but he is a decent finisher and is willing to go to the dirty areas. Suter is almost literally a Swiss Army knife, albeit one of the more simple ones.

[Redhdlois]

Nvm - Wrong topic

Edited April 18 by Redhdlois

[c00kies]

3 minutes ago, Reg said:

Question: What is the format? First two games in Vancouver, this Sunday and Tuesday, then play 3 in Nashville, and back to Vancouver for the final 2 games if necessary.

I think that's the AHL format to reduce travel.

 

For the NHL it is 2V-2N-1V-1N-1V

[Sergiomomesso]

1 hour ago, Slegr said:

Is this thing starting Sunday? Trying to get my weekend sorted with relatives in town. 
 

Time to use the “emergency work road trip” excuse from Sunday to Wednesday next week.