I’m still recovering from what could be the most intense two-and-a-half hours of hockey I have experienced in a long while. The Vancouver Canucks went into their first round NHL playoff series against the Dallas Stars very evenly matched and although they were up three games to one after game 4, that was not indicative of how the games went up until that point. Marty Turco and Roberto Luongo — both of whom were rocking 95% or better save percentages in this year’s playoffs — put up quite the show and tonight’s game 7 was no exception.

People looking at the stat sheets a few years from now will see that the Canucks won 4-1, but two of those were empty-netters. Sure, the ‘Nucks got four goals tonight, but they were shut out for the previous 100-some odd minutes before that. I guess this is where the whole home ice advantage thing comes into play (although the Canucks lost game 2). I am also very thankful that we didn’t have to suffer through another quadruple overtime.

The one person that I do feel sorry for is Marty Turco. He has had a “can’t perform in the playoffs” dark cloud hovering over him for years and it seems like it will continue to hang over him… though that is far from fair. Turco arguably outperformed Luongo: the three wins by the Dallas Stars in this series were a result of three Turco shutouts. Three shutouts and you still lose the series. That’s gotta hurt.

Recapping my Western conference playoff predictions, I said the Canucks would win in six. So, I was right, but it took one extra game.

For the other three first-round matchups in the West, I said the Detroit Red Wings would eliminate the Calgary Flames in six (100% correct), the Anaheim Ducks would sweep the Minnesota Wild (it took five games), and the San Jose Sharks would defeat the Nashville Predators in six games (it also took five). What this means is that I am four-for-four in terms of choosing the right team, and I’m off by a total of three games. I guess this means that I know the West a little better than better than the East. *shakes fist at NYR*

Anyways, I’m tired, so I’m just going to conclude by saying… Go Canucks Go! Bring on the Ducks! I’ll have my 2007 second round NHL playoff predictions ready later today.

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