2011 Western Conference Final

As game one of the Western Conference Final came to a close last night it appears to be clear that this series will come down to whomever comes to play the full sixty minutes. With momentum swinging both ways throughout the first two periods, combined with solid goaltending at both end of the ice, it was fitting that the third period would provide the most entertainment as the Canucks built off Kevin Bieksa’s tying goal to see Henrik Sedin tally the winner about a minute and twenty seconds later.

If I was Sharks coach Todd McLellan I would break the results down this way; focus on the positives that came from the game, work on maintaining a balanced attack over the sixty minutes and avoid getting drawn into playing Vancouver’s game. The Sharks got off to a decent start, were able to score the game’s first goal and take the lead again on the power play midway through the game, both positives that I am sure the coach will use. Areas that would need to be addressed are staying out of the penalty box, better support in the defensive zone and again focus on playing a complete game. It was a few lulls during the first two periods which almost cost the Sharks if not for Antti Niemi bailing his club out on numerous flurries the Canucks brought his way, something that seemed to give the Canucks confidence as the game progressed and forced San Jose back on their heels.

Credit to the Vancouver Canucks for not losing focus after a broken play resulted in the opening goal of the series by Joe Thornton and then rendering a power play goal to Patrick Marleau in the second shortly after Max Lapierre tied things up. When the Canucks are rolling and getting the contributions needed from all of their lines, they are a tough team to play against although can find themselves in a bind when sidetrack by an opponent who has the ability to do so. If Alain Vigneault is going to keep the Canucks on track he will have to continue to preach that his club not stray from the team objective of achieving their goal. Players like Raffi Torres, Max Lapierre, as well Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa are known for having a short circuit at the wrong times. If they can focus on the task at hand and save any shenanigans for the future it will help the Canucks greatly.

This series should be a battle, as it was last night, to the final buzzer. The key will be the performances from both clubs top end players, anything less will put either of these clubs behind the eight ball. In game one San Jose was able to get production from Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, while Vancouver picked up a huge goal from Henrik Sedin, received another solid performance from  Kesler and Bieksa as well.   In the end it will be the club who maintains the focus, stays out of trouble and maintain a consistent presence in the offensive zone while limiting their opponent at the same time.

Three Points for the Sharks to focus on....

1)      Get in Luongo’s kitchen as much as possible

2)      Get under the skin of anyone in a Canucks uniform – but be disciplined

3)      Cut Vancouver’s ice in half – force them to play on their side of centre

Three Points for the Canucks to focus on...

1)      Neutralize San Jose top lines

2)      Win the battles on the walls and down low

3)      Stick to the game plan

There are a ton of other factors both clubs will harp on as the series progresses but it will be interesting to see which come to the forefront and which take a backseat, that can be said for the players in this series too. It is time for the Thornton’s, Marleau’s, Sedin’s and Luongo’s to show they can finish what they started. This has the possibilities of being a great series, time will tell if that will be the case.