Vancouver
Post-season Stats
Roster |
Two words: Power play. The Canucks impressive unit became downright lethal against the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference final. Vancouver destroyed the Sharks with the man advantage, converting nine goals on 24 chances (37.5 per cent), which was almost half of the team's 20-goal output in the series. Dormant through most of the Nashville matchup, Henrik and Daniel Sedin finally came alive in the West final, combining for 18 points, with 11 coming on Vancouver's potent power play. |
Vancouver needs to do a better job of limiting the opposition's scoring damage in the third period. Of the 44 regulation goals they've allowed through the first three rounds, the Canucks have surrendered 16 tallies during the third period. Only the Sharks have given up more goals in the third (24). The 5-on-5 unit remains a mild concern. Vancouver has scored just two more goals (30-28) than its allowed at even strength -- a worrisome thought if the power play goes south in the Stanley Cup final. |
The pressure is squarely on the shoulders of Roberto Luongo, but the Canucks goaltender has been up to the challenge so far. Aside from his maddening penchant for turnovers while handling the puck, Luongo is getting better with each passing series. During the last two games against San Jose, Luongo turned away a whopping 87 of 91 pucks that the Sharks fired his way. But he saved his best post-season performance for Vancouver's series-clinching Game 5 contest, stopping 54 of 56 shots, including 20 in the two pulsating overtime periods. |
Boston
Post-season Stats
Roster |
The Bruins have far and away been the best 5-on-5 goal-scoring team in the regular season and the playoffs. They don't have high-end talent at forward comparable to the Sedins, but they match well against the Canucks in terms of forward depth. Led by Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, the Bruins are usually strong on the draw. Goalie Tim Thomas is a favourite to win his second Vezina, and while he let in some ugly goals against Tampa Bay, he also arguably stole three of the wins for the Bruins. The team's road record since the start of the season is a strong 29-15-5, including a Feb. 26 win in Vancouver. |
For whatever reason, the Bruins tighten up with the man advantage. They didn't score a power play goal until the 10th game of the playoffs, following a season of average performance from the unit. Mental fragility and doubt still creep into Boston's game, especially when the opponent rallies from a multi-goal deficit. They also can be sleepy to start -- they've been scored on within the opening 12 minutes nine out of 18 playoff games. |
When it comes to Boston's power-play futility, Bruins fans have mostly picked on the new guy passing the puck, Tomas Kaberle. But what about the guys not burying their shots, particularly Milan Lucic? Lucic had nine power-play goals to lead the team this season but has none in the playoffs, with an overall mark of just three goals and six assists. He'll need to step up for the Bruins to win. The B.C. native and former Vancouver Giant should be motivated playing the Canucks: he had a goal and two assists in the 3-1 win in Vancouver this season. |
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