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| Vancouver Canucks 40th Anniversary Pin and Puck |
vs.
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| Boston Bruin Original Six Magic Gloves...marked down to $2 |
Let the Hockeyandhighheels.com Swag Off begin!!!!
Not sure if I am the first to dub the Vancouver Canucks as forty year old virgins because they haven't won a cup yet, but it seems to fit the bill. Especially with the Boston Bruins 38 year cup drought...talk about two teams not getting any action...haha!
First I need to address all combo Bruin/Canuck fans, and I know they are out there. I actually know a guy named Tom who is originally from Boston, but has lived in Vancouver for many years. He is a serious hockey fan, and a serious fan of both teams. Talk about Karma for these types of combo fans. Think about it...in the 2010 Playoffs, both the Canucks and the Bruins exited the playoffs in the most embarrassing ways ( with the Bruins rating higher on the blushed cheeks embarrassed scale). Now look at where they are....both in the Stanley Cup Final!!!
But...I'm not crazy about this match up. It is a little too familiar for me and Canuck nation: Seventeen years ago the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, that version of the Vancouver Canucks faced another Original Six team in the New York Oilers,er, I mean the New York Rangers. The Rangers had also been languishing in a cup drought...54 freakin' years!! The Canucks lost in Game Seven, and the rest is history.
So, as you can see, I am antsy about this. The Bruins Cup drought has lasted almost as long as my home team, the Vancouver Canucks have been in existence. However, I will say, today's version of the Vancouver Canucks has the best shot at winning the goose bump inducing silverware for first time, so I just gotta deal with it. And one other thing...
Colin Campbell
As a fan you really don't want to have to think about this sort of stuff, but it is hard not to considering the high stakes involved for both the Canucks and the Bruins. If it were up to me, I'd temporarily relieve the duties of Senior VP and Director of Hockey Operations, Colin Campbell for this final round of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and have him sit in the stands like all the other players' parents so he can cheer on his son, Gregory, who happens to play for the Boston Bruins. That should be the only position Colin Campbell should be in to support his son for the upcoming best of seven series.
The cloud that surrounded the man in charge of the league's officiating earlier this season is too close for comfort. It wouldn't take long for things to get ugly if there is any hint at all of certain actions benefiting the Bruins and the fact they are at their best during five on five play. And on a slightly more wacky front....
Don Cherry
Since 2008 I have had a regular playoff feature titled The Don Cherry Suit Watch. Just a simple little bit consisting of showcasing what the Canadian Hockey Icon wears during his Coach's Corner segment of Hockey Night in Canada.
But during this Canucks 2011 run, I began to notice a pattern which developed into a statistic: When Cherry sports the loud, patterned jackets the Canucks often win, and when he adorns himself in subdued one tone, or one color jackets the Canucks lose more games. We all know how much Don Cherry loves the Bruins...well if you follow his threads, his Bruin ensembles lean towards the more subdued. I am wondering how much "Bruin" has Grapes packed in his garment bag? Enough for seven possible games?
Don Cherry must not find out about this stat, and possibly influence the outcome of the series with his jacket selections. Let the jacket lay where it falls. However, the Canucks are improving on the "subdued suit" side of things - the win column gained some ground in Round Three with the San Jose Sharks.
This is the latest win/loss stat leading into the Final..
Big, bold pattern Canucks are 9-2
Cool and Subdued Canucks are 3-5
There, I got a few things out of my system...
GO Canucks!!
When the Canucks appeared in the cup finals in 1982 and 1994 they faced against much stronger teams at the time - the Isanders and the Rangers. This time around they are the stronger team and if they have a strong power play and penalty killing they should defeat the Bruins in 5 games.
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