POFA's Western Conference Quarterfinals preview begins with the matchup between the Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings. The Canucks are the NHL President Trophy winners and are looking to begin their road back to the Stanley Cup Finals in hopes of a better fate than last year's cup run. The Los Angeles Kings are looking to pull a huge upset after acquiring key players during the offseason and right before the trade deadline.
#1 Vancouver Canucks 51-22-9, 111pts vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings 40-27-15, 95pts
Game 1:April 11 At Vancouver 10:30pm EDT-NBCSN
Game 2: April 13 At Vancouver 10:00pm EDT-NBCSN
Game 3: April 15 At Los Angeles 10:30pm EDT-NBCSN
Game 4: April 18At Los Angeles 10:00pm EDT-NBCSN
*Game 5: At Vancouver TBD
*Game 6: At Los Angeles TBD
*Game 7: At Vancouver TBD
The two teams met four times during the regular season and each team won two games a piece. Three out of the four games were one goal games including the season finale where the Canucks won a 1-0 shutout.
The Canucks enter the playoffs taking points in 9 of their last 10 games. The Kings have lost two straight to the San Jose Sharks in a shootout and overtime.
Forwards
The Canucks have the edge in this department, even without their top goal scorer Daniel Sedin (30 goals) who has been sideline with a concussion. This series could hinge on whether Daniel can come back from his concussion and be a part of that top line, that often is tough to shut down. Maxim Lapierre has been taking Daniel's place on the top line. The second line has been having chemistry issues late in the season and is centered by Ryan Kesler who is flanked by David Booth and Mason Raymond on the wings. If this line can provide secondary scoring then the Canucks should have no problem getting past the Kings in the first round.
Canucks Leading Scorer: Henrik Sedin 14G 67A 81PTS.
The Kings seemed to struggle offensively before the trade deadline, but their top guns Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown have picked up the slack since, and led the Kings into the postseason. Mike Richards and Jeff Carter add some scoring depth, and Richards is very proficient on the penalty kill and will be a factor in shutting down Vancouver's power play.
Kings Leading Scorer: Anze Kopitar 25G 51A 76PTS
Edge: Vancouver. Daniel practiced two days before the puck drops and the second line will add to the secondary scoring
Defensemen
Vancouver's défense is a big part of which got them to the brink of becoming Stanley Cup Champions a year ago, and this year's group may arguably be stronger. Kieth Ballard has been out with a concussion but has returned to practice. Their top four of Alexander Edler, Kevin Bieska, Sami Salo, and Dan Hamhuis are good as any top four in the league.
Los Angeles shipped off a major segment of their blue line in Jack Jonhnson this year, but they still have Drew Doughty, who had a very lackluster year, but has turned it up come playoff time before. Rob Scuderi has been paired with Doughty and deployed to shut down opposing teams' top lines. Those of us from Pittsburgh know what the Piece brings to the table.
Edge: Vancouver. Their blue line was essential last year during their cup run, and will be a major reason the Canucks can get past the kings in the first round. Their top four will give the Kings headaches, especially since this LA team has had struggles putting pucks in the net.
Goal Tending
This is a matchup of two huge studs between the pipe.
In Vancouver Robert Luongo will get the start but has a questionable history in the playoffs. Luongo boasted a 31-14-8 record, with a .911 save percentage, 2.41 goals against and 5 shutouts.
For the Kings Jonathan Quick had a stellar season with a record of 35-21-13, with 10 shutouts. He has a stellar .929 save percentage and 1.95 goals against average.
Edge: Kings. Jonathan Quick will steal a game or two for the Kings in this series and could push the Canucks to the brink by himself.
Special Teams:
Power Play
Vancouver enters the postseason with the leagues fourth best power play (19.8%) and the leagues 6th best penalty kill (86 %). The Kings power play was only ranked 17th in the league (17%) and their penalty kill was ranked fourth (87%).
If Daniel Sedin is healthy, the special teams battle will go to the Canucks, because he will score a big goal or two on the man advantage.
POFA's Prediction
Even though Quick will keep the Kings in the series, the Canucks are too deep in back and will get their secondary scoring that they have been missing, but it hasn't hurt them during the regular season. Canucks in 6
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