Sigh
I know it. It happens every year. Everyone I know who enjoys hockey and supports the Vancouver Canucks in the play-offs, inevitably spends time in mourning this time of year.
And this is odd, because they tend to do so well in the regular season. They have won their division two of the last three years, and over the last decade have had an impressive win-loss record. Every play-off season, we all hope that this year is going to be different, and the Canucks will figure out how to win when they are behind. Last year they bowed out to a brilliant Chicago Black Hawks in the second round. That they lost three out of the four games having had a three goal cushion was like a kick in the gut.
This year they are playing the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. The Kings' line-up is comprised of young, fast, strong, committed players that had a wonderful regular season. The Kings are now up 2-1 in a best of seven series that might just go seven games. The two teams are very close.
There are many variables in hockey. The play-offs are long and gruelling, and the eventual Stanley Cup winners will have played at least 16 games, and possibly 28 games to win it. It is a contact sport that is played at a dizzyingly fast pace. Inevitably there will be injuries to key players, and the good teams are those with enough depth at every position to see them through.
However, since their entrance into the NHL in 1971, the Canucks have made it to the finals only twice, in 1982 and 1994, and lost both times. A Stanley Cup is a good idea, nothing more. Given their 39 year track record of mediocrity, there is one thing we can count on: the Canucks will break peoples' hearts.
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