Today marks the start of the second round and—oddly enough—will also be the conclusion of the first round. The Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars face off in game seven of their series, while the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes will play the first game of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The first round has brought some great hockey and dramatic storylines, the most captivating concluding last night at TD Garden. The Toronto Maple Leafs lost their seventh game seven in a row after coming back from a 3–1 series deficit. It looked as though William Nylander was going to will the Leafs to the second round over their rivals, but instead, they joined the Winnipeg Jets as the other Canadian team facing a first-round exit.
The Colorado Avalanche handled the Jets in five games, exposing Winnipeg’s lack of playoff experience. The short-lived series set the Avalanche up for a date with the winner of tonight’s game seven between Dallas and Vegas.
The other second round Western Conference matchup will feature the two remaining Canadian teams and Flames rivals, the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers.
The Canucks went six games with the Nashville Predators, closing out the series on the road featuring an end-to-end goal from former Flame Nikita Zadorov. The Canucks put an end to the Preds’ underdog narrative despite losing Vezina finalist Thatcher Demko.
Meanwhile, the Oilers took on the Los Angeles Kings for a third straight postseason. The Kings’ heavily discussed 1–3–1 wasn’t enough to stop Edmonton. In five games, the Oilers scored 22 goals, nine of which came on the power play.
With the only Canadian teams remaining in the playoffs being divisional rivals of the Flames, we wanted to know who fans were rooting for in the upcoming Western Conference semifinal. We asked, you answered.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @wincolumnCGY. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @wincolumnCGY. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Pick your poison, Canucks or Oilers?
We presented the below poll to our readers: Who would you rather see win the Round 2 series? The options being the Canucks and Oilers.
Edmonton Oilers
It comes as a surprise to almost no one that our Flames-centric fans did not side with our provincial nemesis. The Oilers garnered a measly 11% of TWC fan support in this week’s poll.
Although the Oilers may not have fan support, they enter the series as heavy favourites in Vegas. The Canucks are +205 to win the series, making them the biggest underdog in the second round (excluding Colorado vs Dallas/Vegas).
The Oilers have every reason to feel confident, if I’m being honest. They went 9/20 on the powerplay in the first round, converting at a 45% clip. Beyond their phenomenal powerplay, rookie head coach Chris Knoblauch made some good adjustments during the series, and Stuart Skinner looked solid in the net, recording a shutout in game four.
The Oilers look poised to make a deep run this season, and although Vancouver looks like a good matchup, they will need to play flawlessly to knock off Edmonton.
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks were handsome winners in the poll this week, with 89% of the vote from our respondents. Former Flames Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm showed up in big moments for the Canucks in the first round, both recording goals over the six games.
The Canucks looked shaky at times during the first round, and some of the games were far from exciting contests. Despite the adversity of losing Demko, and Casey DeSmith, Vancouver found a way to pull out victories. Big names stepped up, like Brock Boeser, who had a hat trick in a 4–3 game five win, but the team also got major contributions from some unlikely heroes.
Dakota Joshua had a two-goal, three-point, and six-hit performance in game one, propelling Vancouver to its first playoff victory since the bubble in 2020.
Arturs Silovs stepped in the final three games of the series, getting two wins. Although Silovs played well in round one, Edmonton’s high-powered offence facing a goaltender who spent the majority of his season in the AHL sounds like a recipe for disaster if you’re a Canucks fan.
Vancouver will need to play smart hockey, as Edmonton’s powerplay will be absolutely crucial to deciding the series. Although the Canucks were 90.2% successful on their first round penalty kills, they took 22. Not a sustainable play style for them heading into the second round.
The Canucks have the support of the vast majority of our respondents and, unfortunately, will need as much help as they can get.
Although, the Canucks have been resilient this season and have continued to prove their willingness to win. Rick Tochett, a Jack Adams finalist, has the team playing 180 degrees from 2022–23, and their new identity could fair them well in the second round.
The Canucks have a high-powered offence as well; they just haven’t quite found their stride yet. If Vancouver can stay out of the box and their superstars get going again, it could be a great series.
Then there was one…
The Canucks and Oilers are the only Canadian teams remaining in the NHL playoffs, and one of them will be heading home after this series. The two divisional rivals will face off in the playoffs for the first time since 1992 and the third time in the league’s history.
Flames fans (expectedly) would rather see the Canucks come out on top of the second round matchup. Anybody but Edmonton, am I right? The series is expected to start Tuesday in Vancouver.
You must be logged in to post a comment.