Vancouver Advances to Second Round

It was supposed to be easy, a forgone conclusion. When the Canucks were matched up with the Ducks in the opening round of the EHE playoffs not many gave Anaheim a chance. Some people were even calling for a sweep.

Instead, the Ducks pushed the Canucks to the brink, forcing them to a game seven where the Canucks narrowly escaped with a 2-1 victory. It's a valuable lesson for any team that enters the post season with too much confidence. It's sports, and anything can happen.

"We certainly weren't under-estimating them," said GM Travis Fleming following game seven. "They played us tough all season and we knew this was going to be a tough series. That being said, it ended up being even closer than I thought it would be. Too close for my liking, but we're moving on and that all that matters."

The Canucks are entering round two in a similar situation to round one. The LA Kings played spoiler in the opening round, eliminating the heavily favoured Edmonton Oilers in just five games, meaning they'll play Vancouver in round two. On paper this looks like another mis-match, but given LA's dominant performance over Edmonton, and Vancouver's struggles against Anaheim, this series is far from a gimme.

"We're not taking anyone lightly in the playoffs," said Fleming when asked about the Kings. "They beat a really good team in Edmonton, so we're taking them seriously. Anything can happen. Just look around the league. The Bruins were eliminated, the Capitals were eliminated. Our guys are staying focussed and aren't getting complacent."

The Canucks entered the playoffs with many experts picking them as Cup favourites. On top of that, GM Fleming has been extremely vocal about how his goal for the season is nothing short of the Stanley Cup. The pressure is certainly on this team to succeed. They stumbled a bit in the first round. Will they crack under the pressure? Only time will tell.