Welcome back to Northern Exposure, your weekly NHL Canadian tour. Join me as I make a stop in each of the six (soon to be seven?) Canadian NHL cities, discussing stories of interest in each.
What a difference a week makes! One week after my spouting off about a potential All-Canadian Stanley Cup final, the two Canadian teams have gone a combined 0 for 6. Good thing I don’t believe in jinxes, or I would be worried about some disgruntled Habs or Canucks fan tracking me down.
Fans of Canadian hockey have gone from voiciferous bravado to sitting on their hands to avoid chewing their nails, as the thought of a Canadian based team not even advancing to the second round becomes an ever-increasing possibility. Meanwhile, some of those who didn’t make the playoffs are preparing for a second chance at the IIHF World Championships.
So prepare for takeoff, your 8 stop weekly tour is about to begin….
Vancouver has wasted away their 3-0 lead in their series with the Blackhawks, and hosting game 7 in a building that will be filled with nervous energy. Fans will be loud and boisterous, but if something negative happens early to the Canucks, the crowd will be very be quick to turn on their team. The biggest target might be Roberto Luongo, who has stumbled again and a loss at this point might ruin him permanently, at least in Vancouver. Combine that with his untradeable contract and Cory Schneider’s potential, and things could get very messy on the West coast this summer. I can’t think of a player who has ever had more pressure on him than Luongo does in Game 7 on Tuesday night.
Although not as dramatic as the meltdown out West, the Montreal Canadiens have some work to do as they try to bookend the two wins to start the series with a pair to finish it off. At least their effort has been valiant, as they have fought to the end in every game and if they should lose this series they can still hold their heads high. However, a win at home and forcing a deciding 7th game in Boston will put the Bruins fans in the same boat that the Canucks’ fans find themselves now. Carey Price has been cool and collected and given Habs fans a chance to forget Jaroslav Halak ever existed in Bleu, Blanc et Rouge. They are still in this series, and have made Tim Thomas look almost human.
The Ottawa Senators‘ AHL affiliate completed a startling comeback against the Manchester Monarchs (LA Kings’ affiliate) in their first round playoff series. The Binghamton Senators came back from a 3-1 series deficit by winning 3 straight overtime games. The B Sens have 9 players who saw significant time in Ottawa this season, and will be facing the Portland Pirates, who are the affiliate of the rival Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Potulny, who was acquired in the Chris Campoli trade earlier in the season, scored 8 goals and 14 points in the series.
Not much activity this week in Leafland, as neither the Leafs or the AHL Marlies qualified for the post-season. The Leafs are gearing up for the upcoming draft, and cheering for Boston to fall to Montreal as they have Boston’s pick in the draft. Leafs fans have to enjoy seeing Thomas Kaberle‘s invisibility as he patrols the blue line for the Bruins, not having much impact. The power play was supposed to be where he excelled, but his unwillingness (or inability) to shoot has left his one-dimensional play exposed. Meanwhile, the bounty they got in return for him has to give Leafs fans a lot of excitement for the future.
Calgary Flames‘ players voted captain Jarome Iginla as thier nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The trophy is awarded to a leader on and off the ice who makes a significant contribution to their community. I am surprised he hasn’t won the award already. Also, the Flames fired two of their assistant coaches last week, Rob Cookson and goaltending coach Jamie McLennan. McLennan bounced back and was a guest on the TSN hockey panel on Sunday.
The Oilers‘ afilliate the Oklahoma City Oil Barons fell 4 games to 2 to the Hamilton Bulldogs (affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens.) The Oil Kings’ power play contributed to the demise of the team as it went 1 for 30 in the 6 games. Martin Gerber was the best player for the Oil Kings, but couldn’t do anything to help the offense, which scored only 11 goals in the 6 games.
With the Phoenix loss tot he Red Wings, the movement to return the Coyotes to the franchise’s original home, Winnipeg. Nothing was announced immediately, but various sources say it is only a matter of time. One player who likely won’t be making the transfer with the team is star free agent goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who had nothing good to say about the city or its people. He professed that he would rather return to Russia than to play in the midwestern city, citing a lack of Russian culture and the weather. So the first order of business for the Jets when/if they return to Winnipeg will be to find a new goalie. Maybe one who can win a playoff game.
Team Canada assembled in France for its first exhibition game in preparation for the World Hockey Championships, to be held in Slovakia. Canada downed the French 3-2 in a game that saw poor ice conditions level the field. Columbus forward Rick Nash was named team captain, with Dion Phaneuf, Andrew Ladd, Jason Spezza and Travis Zajac alternating as alternate captains. The tournament starts with a game against Belarus on Friday afternoon, followed by a match against the French on Sunday. Expect 2 or 3 more players to be added as the NHL first round comes to a close. There are currently only 5 defensemen and 2 goalies on the 19 man roster. Teams can carry a total of 22 players.
So ends our Canadian Tour for this week. Please return your tray tables and seat backs to their upright positions and fasten your seatbelts for landing! Thanks for flying with Too Many Men On The Site!
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Jared Crozier is also a contributing writer for SenShot on the Fansided Network. He can be reached on twitter @alfieisgod.