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Vancouver Media already playing "wings too old" card

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Fish or wings, either are just hors d’oeurves ahead of the main course that is the Stanley Cup final.

Still, what to recommend?

The wings are seasoned nicely, but the meat can be old and chewy, the bones brittle; the fish looks good in the display case, but always seems off by the time your plate arrives.

A Western Conference final matchup with the San Jose Sharks, a franchise as disappointing in the playoffs as the Canucks in recent history? Or a date with the Detroit Red Wings, veterans who know how to win but whose creaking bodies may not be able to obey their willing hearts?

Especially after a gruelling seven-game series.

Based on the Canucks’ season series with both, and hoping for an all-out war in Game 7 (preferably stretching into quadruple overtime), it’s a toss-up who the Canucks match up best against.

But historical performance, as your financial adviser will tell you if she’s honest, is no guide to future returns.

Ryan Kesler, for instance, in the regular season against the Predators had zero goals, zero assists and was minus-5 in four games.

Your provincial government-fronted bookie would have taken a kicking basing its props bets on that information, given Kesler’s 5-6-11 Round 2.

So it’s more complicated than saying the Canucks were 3-0-1 against the Sharks or that Vancouver was 2-0-2 against Detroit; because at the same time San Jose was 1-2-1 against Vancouver and Detroit 2-2-0 against the Canucks.

That’s Gary Bettman’s math.

So ignore the fact Kesler failed to score against San Jose this season (0-3-3), just as he failed to score against Detroit (0-7-7).

Kesler loves to play the Wings, the team he grew up cheering against in suburban Livonia, Mich., and most of his teamates feel the same way, since Kesler’s Detroit roots are just one of many ties the two teams have. There’s also the prominent Swedes on each side; Mikael Samuelsson’s connection; even Jeff Tambellini and Kevin Bieksa have ties to Joe Louis Arena through their college days.

A Sharks-Canucks final?

One team gets to keep wearing the choke collar, the other finally escapes its 21st century underachieving.

Here’s a look at some of the matchups either way.

Kesler vs. Clowe/Kesler vs. Datsyuk

Sportswriters love hyperbole to describe the depths to which teams will go to hide injuries in playoffs.

But in this case it’s literally true: It was easier to discover Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts than it is to find out if a player is healthy.

So who knows if Ryan Clowe will be ready to suit up by Sunday or just how badly Pavel Datsyuk is hurting (and just think if he wasn’t)?

Clowe is to the Sharks and Datsyuk to the Wings what Kesler is to the Canucks in these playoffs.

But when the Sharks showed up to fly to Detroit for Tuesday’s Game 6, Clowe was a surprise no-show.

And Datsyuk can’t take faceoffs.

The twins vs. the big three/twins vs. Lidstrom

Todd McLellan has juggled his high-priced regular-season superstars like bowling pins, but, as usual in the playoffs, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Heatley aren’t living up to their salaries.

Neither, of course, have the Sedins to date.

You can’t say the same about Nick Lidstrom.

But does Mike Babcock put him out against the Sedins, or against Kesler?

Arch-Niemi

We have seen the enemy and he is Antti Niemi.

The former Zamboni driver out-duelled Roberto Luongo last season.

In these playoffs he’s been inconsistent — he was chased by Nashville.

But Niemi also had a couple of awful games against the Preds two years ago when he was with Chicago.

He finds ways to bounce back.

As does Luongo.

Jimmy Howard is more inconsistent than either, and travel issues aside, most Canucks would probably rather face him.

D is for depth

The Canucks are better one-through-eight than San Jose is one-through-four.

Lidstrom is still one of the best in the league, even at 41, and the depth behind him is as deep as the Canucks’ blueline — in the Detroit zone, anyway.

Special teams

Power plays should be about equal, but give the Canucks’ PK the edge.

Intangibles

The collar has to be feeling really, really tight in San Jose, even if they win Thursday.

All three teams excel when they control the puck and forecheck hard. That might sound like Hockey 101, but these three are just about the best at that kind of game overall in the NHL.

Injuries to Clowe and Johan Franzen are more worrying for the Sharks and Wings than Samuelsson’s injury is to the Canucks.

And, while all three teams are used to a travel grind, being host of Game 7 is an important ace to hold.

Season stats

Kesler vs. Sharks: 0-3-3, plus-2, 3 hits, 5 blocked shots

Luongo vs. Sharks: 1-0-1, 0.96 GAA, .975 (Cory Schneider started both games at San Jose)

D/H Sedin vs. Sharks: 3-8-11, plus-5

Kesler vs. Wings: 0-7-7, plus-7, 11 hits

Luongo vs. Wings: 2-0-2, 2.66 GAA, .925 save percentage

Sedins vs. Wings: 6-7-13, plus-5.

gordshockey@hotmail.com

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Sharks+Wings+stand+between+Canucks/4761108/story.html#ixzz1M4XdtiH6

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Yeah, that one extra game the Wings will have played if they're fortunate enough to advance will be just too much to overcome. (/sarcasm) This coming from the team that has already played 13 games in these playoffs compared to our 10. How did that 7th Game OT exactly hurt them for the next round?

Lastly, I couldn't hear the comments to well over the muffled sounds of the 4 Cups Detroit has won while being too old.

Basically, this is just the media trying to calm the nerves of scared Canucks fans.

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Too old... sigh...

Okay, Vancouver. The numbers, again.

Average age of Wings who played at least 1 game in the regular season: 30.21 as of this second.

Regular season points by players:

Players 25 and under accounted for 8.2% of the point total.

Players 26-30 accounted for 34.55% of that total.

Players 31-35 accounted for 25.28% of the total.

Players 36-40 accounted for 23.31% of the total.

Lidstrom's the only over-40, accounting for 8.7% on his own.

Nice bell curve with a skew to late 20s and 30.

In the playoffs:

Under 25 players account for 6.82%.

26-30 players account for 35.23%

31-35 players account for 27.27%

36-40 players account for 21.59%.

Lidstrom accounts for 9.09%.

Same bell curve, if anything pulled a little further to the younger guys.

Wings, old? Nah.

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A co-worker played the old card today. I just laughed and asked him if he said the same thing in 2002 & 2008.

If I were a Canucks fan i'd be more concerned about the Sedin twins.

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Same old same old.

I'm more interested in which page the Stanley Cup parade route is on. Will they use the same one as last year? These are the things I'd want my paper telling me instead of Wings old/Sharks choke rehashing.

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It's the only thing people have to cling to when they have nothing else. It will never go away as long as the Wings have any player older than 35. They were saying that s*** because of Chelios one season and he was our 7th man. :blink:

Edited by Broken 16

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Hope they didn't already order confetti. This is why I have a big problem with Canucks fans, and the Canadian media for that matter. It all started in August when The Hockey News picked them to win it all, and the barrage hasn't stopped. They are making Habs fans look good.

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Jimmy Howard is more inconsistent than either, and travel issues aside, most Canucks would probably rather face him.

Interesting...

Mr. Smile in June: 10 games played, 10 started, 2.44 GAA & .925 Sv%

Niemi: 12 GP, 12 GS, 3.1 GAA & .901 Sv%

Bobby Lou: 13 GP, 12 GS 2.25 GAA & .917 Sv%

I'm thinking Jimmah is looking pretty damn consistent compared to the other two.

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But Niemi also had a couple of awful games against the Preds two years ago when he was with Chicago.

He finds ways to bounce back.

As does Luongo.

Jimmy Howard is more inconsistent than either, and travel issues aside, most Canucks would probably rather face him.

Jimmy is more inconsistent than Niemi and Luongo BAHAHAHAAHAHAHA :lol:

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Who's Gordon McIntyre? I'm struggling to figure out how he came up with any of the conclusions he reached in that piece. Talk about propaganda.

Pseudo-media... I really don't consider bloggers to be actual media...

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The Vancouver media should be more worried about the lack of scoring from the Sedin's, the "Sedin Sisters" as they're called on the FAN590 in Toronto. Luongo needs to be a lot better too. I think both the Wings and Sharks can beat the Canucks.

The Canucks played 13 of a possible 14 games against the 8th and 5th seeds to get to the Conference Finals. Next round they're playing a real team.

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I loved the part where he said Datsyuk didn't take faceoffs. I saw him take a couple last night.

I'm pretty sure i read somewhere that Kesler was a Red Wings fan growing up in Michigan.

The Vancouver Province paper is a bit of a rag. I agree with the above poster, if I were a Canucks fan i'd be a lot more concerned about the fact that Kesler is the only guy scoring right now. The Sedins who rack up the goals and points in the regular season have all but disappeared in the playoffs. Game 5 against Nashville they were a combined -7.

I also heard on CBC radio on Monday morning, that it was better for the Canucks to play on the road then at home because there is "too much pressure". Isn't that why you work to win the presidents trophy, so you can have home ice advantage all the way through.

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I'm seeing an awful lot of very confident Canucks fans on several hockey boards the last few days. As for the article?

Especially after a gruelling seven-game series. Hey the Wings should they win will have played 11 games thus far and had 9 days off in between the first and second round. The Canucks have already played 13 games and made the maximum number of cross continent road trips.

Edited by Jersey Wing

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You guys get worked up way too easily over a sports column.

Columnists often use a hook the same way songwriters do. It's something to centre everything else around. McIntyre is using food, and he's not doing it all that well. I don't ever want to go to a restaurant that has fish in display cases. But having said that the rest of his article isn't bad the way he examines match-ups. Yes even the "gruelling seven-game series" part. The Canucks have 5 days off between games after a 6 game series. Either the Wings or Sharks will have 2 days off after a 7 game series. I don't know how anyone can have a problem with that statement.

I also think the Sharks will need a miracle tomorrow night. The Wings are clearly in the driver's seat.

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You guys get worked up way too easily over a sports column.

Columnists often use a hook the same way songwriters do. It's something to centre everything else around. McIntyre is using food, and he's not doing it all that well. I don't ever want to go to a restaurant that has fish in display cases. But having said that the rest of his article isn't bad the way he examines match-ups. Yes even the "gruelling seven-game series" part. The Canucks have 5 days off between games after a 6 game series. Either the Wings or Sharks will have 2 days off after a 7 game series. I don't know how anyone can have a problem with that statement.

I also think the Sharks will need a miracle tomorrow night. The Wings are clearly in the driver's seat.

The more time the Canucks have to sit around and listen to the fans and Canadian media talk about how great they are, the better for the Wings (or Sharks). I hope they soak it ALL up.

Edited by Broken 16

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I heard the Vancouver media was worse then Calgary's, but had never read anything. Now I know, there way worse. Boy do I want to win tomorrow night :ph34r:

Seriously? That was bad? :huh:

And Calgary and Edmonton media are worse than Vancouver's -- at least when it comes to the Canucks. The rise of the Canucks the last couple of years and the fall of the Oilers and Flames during the same time period has fueled incredible hatred in Alberta.

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The more time the Canucks have to sit around and listen to the fans and Canadian media talk about how great they are, the better for the Wings (or Sharks). I hope they soak it ALL up.

Didnt seem to hurt them against the Hawks or Preds, or ALL SEASON LONG for that matter (being predicted to take the Presidents trophy).

And I'm not sure how you see a team being confident as a BAD thing...cocky or overconfident yes, but this team has never given any reason to show that they buy their hype, and if perhaps they did after game 3 vs Chicago, thats long since been washed away by that humbling game 4-6 scare. The fans/media are not the players, and all season long its been "one game at a time, we're playing a great team tonight, etc).

Edited by henriksedin

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