Drought expected
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – If there is one thing the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars agree on heading into their playoff series, it’s that goals will be hard to come by.
“If you get two in a game, you’d be pretty lucky,” Canucks center Brendan Morrison said Tuesday as both teams prepared for Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinal series tonight. “It’s not going to be a series with line rush after line rush or odd-man rushes.”
Given their status as two of the stingiest and lowest-scoring teams in the NHL, and also the fact that they split the season series (both teams were 2-1-1) with all four games decided by a 2-1 score, it’s likely there won’t be a lot of goals in this series. They managed five goals each in regulation during the regular season matchups, and two came in the final minute of play.
“It’s going to be a bit of a chess match out there,” said Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell, who finished last season in Dallas before signing with Vancouver.
Dallas finished with 107 points, two more than Vancouver, but the Stars still have to open on the road as the sixth seed because the Canucks’ 105 points were enough to win the Northwest Division and the No. 3 seed.
Both teams struggle to score – they finished tied for 21st with a 2.65 goals-per-game average – and both make up for it with strong team defense and great goaltending. Dallas was third in the NHL in giving up 193 goals, while the Canucks were fifth after allowing 197.
“These teams play a similar style of game,” Stars coach Dave Tippett said. “Both teams have very good goaltending.”
Both teams were also among the top three in the NHL in one-goal games this season, with the Canucks trailing only New Jersey at 30-11-7 and the Stars close behind at 28-8-7. Both finished the regular season on hot streaks, with the Stars going 12-2-2 down the stretch and the Canucks finishing a league-best 37-8-7 since Christmas.
A lot of attention will fall to the goaltenders. Roberto Luongo and Marty Turco were teammates at both this year’s All-Star Game in Dallas and on the 2006 Canadian Olympic Team in Turin, Italy.
Both are coming off impressive regular seasons, but both still have something to prove in the playoffs.
This series is Loungo’s first taste of the postseason after seven years in the NHL, the first six of which were spent with the then-struggling New York Islanders and Florida Panthers. Acquired from the Panthers in a five-player trade last summer, he quickly became the Canucks most valuable player – and perhaps the NHL MVP – by finishing among the leaders in all goaltending statistics.
Loungo’s 47 wins matched Bernie Parent’s record and trailed only New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur. His .921 save percentage was fourth and his 2.29 goals-against average sixth.
Blackhawks win draft lottery
Chicago won the NHL draft lottery in New York, giving the Blackhawks a reason to celebrate after missing the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons.
The Blackhawks, who will pick first in the June 22 draft, had the fifth-worst record and an 8.1 percent chance to come out on top in the lottery.
The Philadelphia Flyers, who had a league-low 56 points in the worst season of their 40-year history, own the second pick, followed by Phoenix, Los Angeles and Washington. Edmonton is sixth before Columbus, Boston, St. Louis and Florida. Carolina is No. 11, followed by Montreal, Toronto and Colorado.