Second round -- possible opponents

Here's something I thought of doing while I wait for yet another physical therapy appointment... a little breakdown of who's next for the Canucks.

If the higher seeds win out (SJ def ANA, DET def CBJ) we get Detroit. The defending champs. Home ice falls to Detroit in this series, meaning the Canucks would have to win one time in the Octopus Tank. Not bad, considering the Canucks won a regular season game in Detroit and lost by one with Sanford in goal against -- you guessed it -- those Red Wings. Then again, the last meeting these two teams had was in 2008 and so much has changed since then. I don't have to say it, but this would be the toughest test for the Canucks -- trying to beat the champs when most of the games will be played out east.

If the Ducks beat the Sharks OR the Blue Jackets beat the Red Wings (hahahaha oh I am funny) the Canucks would face either Chicago or Calgary.

The Flames: Boooooooooooooooo. Canucks won the season series 4-2 against CGY -- with their only two losses having been when Sanford and Schneider were netminders --  and would have home-ice advantage. Considering Calgary's not solved Luongo this year, on paper this looks like the desired matchup. However, Calgary's probably going to play down and dirty hockey all series trying to prove Vancouver's soft. Rick Rypien has something to say about that.

Chicago: Vancouver split the series with the Blackhawks during the long march known as the regular season. Chicago is notable for having a hard-hat night on a night when Jonathan Toews scored a hat trick -- hilarity ensued. I see Chicago as a more skilled St. Louis -- lots of good building blocks that ARE there as opposed to being maybe a year or two away from being there. It'd be quite a tough battle, I am sure,

If all hell breaks loose (The Ducks beat the Sharks AND the Blue Jackets beat the Red Wings) the Canucks are the one seed and face... The Ducks! Vancouver has split the series with the Ducks but has not been able to solve them recently, as the last two meetings went beyond the 60 minutes of regulation (one L, one SO-L). My high school English teacher had a song about ducks that went like this:

"The Duck song"
I love Ducks...
They quack and fly so high...
Quack, quack, fly HIGH.

If this series were to get down hopefully the Sedins could blast some Ducks out of the sky with slap shots... however, since Columbus is woefully overmatched against Detroit, no more internet will be wasted on this matchup.

So many outcomes, so much to think about... hopefully the rest of the playoffs sorts itself out so there can be less time thinking and more time drinking... and watching the Canucks.

--GoodKeith