Expectations and the Western Road

Vol. I, No. 59

The Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks face off tonight for game six of their Western Conference semi-final series.  Chicago can close out the series with a win on the road. Expectations are insanely high for both teams.

Chicago has been shut out from possessing the Stanley Cup for 59 years. They are alone in despair among the Original Six NHL teams.  Their misery had been shared by the New York Rangers, but in 1994, the Blue Shirts were able to end their own 54 year drought.  For Chicago fans, the Hawks echo an even longer drought suffered by the baseball Cubs, who have not won a championship in 102 years.  The Hawks have gotten to the Stanley Cup finals three times since 1965, losing to the Montreal Canadiens twice, and most recently losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992.

Vancouver, an expansion club which joined the NHL in 1970, has never won Lord Stanley's chalice.  They have been to the dance twice, losing to the New York Islanders in 1982 and the New York Rangers in 1994.  It seems that teams in the Big Apple have the Canucks' number. But the team from the Second City on the shores of Lake Michigan, does it have Vancouver's number this year?  Not yet.

In the regular season, these teams played four times and split the series 2-2. Chicago finished second in the Western Conference with 112 points, followed by Vancouver in third place with 103 points.  Then came the 2009-10 playoffs.

In the quarterfinals, both teams continued their comparable play. The Canucks defeated Los Angeles in a 4-2 series.  Chicago handled the Nashville Predators, also winning in six games.  They entered the Western Conference finals with no clear favorite.

Before this year, Hawks netminder Antti Niemi had never appeared in an NHL playoff game. He entered the league one year ago, playing three games before being sent down to the Rockford IceHogs minor league affiliate. In 2009-10, he played 39 games, with a respectable 2.25 GAA and 0.910 Sv%.

Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo has had more experience, but played 68 games this year before the playoffs (not counting his games in the Olympics).  Some goalies can take the extra long seasons, others can't. Luongo's playoff performance in front of the home crowd has been leaky. He has been better on the road.

Home ice is supposed to confer an advantage on teams, playing in familiar venues without travel, and with the support of raucous home crowds.  In three of the semi-final series, the home team has won 11 games, and the road team has won 5 times.  The home ice edge has held up in both eastern series.  The San Jose-Detroit contest had only one road win, when the Sharks took game three at the Joe (Louis Arena).

In this series, Chicago entered with home ice advantage. But, somehow, the Chicago/Canucks experience has been different. Vancouver has won two road games in Chicago.  The Hawks returned the favor in Vancouver.  The only home ice win was in game two, when Chicago managed to grab a 4-2 victory in front of the home crowd. Tonight's game is in Vancouver.  Can the Canucks finally win one game in front of their own fans?

Expectations on the Canucks are complicated by the fact that Vancouver is located in British Columbia, a province of Canada.  Hockey franchises north of the border have an insecurity complex against the American (US) teams, mainly due to economics. The Canadian dollar has had a disadvantage against the greenback for years. 

One year ago, one Canadian buck was worth about $0.85 US.  That meant that the Canadian teams had less to spend on their salaries, and that all other things being equal, better players would prefer to make bigger bucks south of the border.  This, and the fact that Canada looks at hockey as its national sport, creates an expectation or desire for all Canadian teams to beat their US counterparts.

In net tonight, Chicago's Niemi has been strong in these playoffs, after prior game losses. His record over the past two weeks is 3-0 in that situation.  On the opposite side of the rink, team captain Bobby Loo is undoubtedly desperate to perform well in front of the Canuck faithful.  If Vancouver loses tonight, it will be eliminated.  The team, the city and the country will remember.

Vancouver's backs are against the wall.  Can Luongo find the magic to prolong the series? It will be an intense game.  

On the other hand, Chicago has 59 years of disappointment to deal with.  If the Hawks are forced back to the Windy City for a game seven, one more Vancouver road victory will just prolong the six decade drought and years of disappointment.

The Hawks are one game away from a Conference final.  Only Vancouver, Bobby Loo and Canadian pride stand in the way (not to mention the Sedin twins).  Meanwhile, the Sharks are circling in the pool, awaiting their next victim.

Hockey Rules.

P.S. Five Chicago players come from BC, including Troy Brouwer, one of tonight's scorers. Kris Versteeg, another Chicago goal scorer comes from neighboring Alberta, as does Brent Sopel, a veteran who played for the Canucks for seven seasons.  It is a small hockey world.

P.P.S. Injuries are taking their toll on the Canucks. Alexander Edler is out, crunched by the Big Buff. Sammy Salo is back, but may be playing hurt. In the middle of the second period, Bobby Loo had his bell rung by the goalpost.  Pipes 1, Loo's noggin 0.

P.P.S. Chicago has a three goal lead with one period of play left. The third goal was a shorthanded breakaway on a Vancouver PP.  That kind of thing can seal the deal.  Niemmi has a shutout going, on top of two other shutouts in this year's playoffs.  Unless the Canucks can strike fast, Niemmi breaks a franchise record for most playoff shutouts, Chicago wins another road game and the Black Hawks are one step closer to a Stanley Cup.