This is a playoff matchup very few people would have ever expected before the season. Few thought the Calgary Flames would make the postseason, and to some degree, even the Vancouver Canucks have surprised after missing out last season.
Instead, one of these two clubs will reach the second round, which absolutely no one would have called back in September.
The two Western Canadian rivals haven't met in the playoffs since 2004, when the Flames prevailed in seven games en route to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Calgary hasn't been in the playoffs since 2009, and were expected to be competing in the Connor McDavid sweepstakes, not the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Each team won two games in a tightly contested regular-season series, so expect much of the same in their playoff set.
Fancy stats
Neither club excelled in the advanced stats department, as Vancouver finished 19th in the NHL in shot attempt percentage (49.53), while it was well-chronicled that Calgary was really lousy in this department, placing 28th (44.43 percent). They are the two lowest-ranked Western playoff teams in this category. But Calgary enjoyed proving the advanced stats community wrong, underlining the fact that there are other ways to win games in this league, particularly in eliminating the NHL's No. 1-ranked possession team -- the defending champs in L.A. Talk about proving a point there.
Here's a stat Calgary owned: No. 1 in the NHL with 1,557 blocked shots this season. Granted, the fact that Buffalo was second in this category further illustrates Calgary's puck-possession woes. But it also illustrates the blue-collar, willing-to-sacrifice attitude of the hard-working Flames.
Both clubs are so closely matched up in goals per game, placing seventh and eighth in the NHL in goals per game (Calgary with 2.89, Vancouver with 2.88); and they were close in goals against per game, as Calgary ranked 17th (2.6) and Vancouver 19th (2.68).
They were also similar on the power play, as Vancouver ranked ninth (19.3 percent) and Calgary 13th (18.8 percent).
Where the two clubs differed, however, was on the penalty kill: the Canucks ranked second with an 85.7 percent kill rate while Calgary ranked 20th (80.6 percent), worst of the eight Western playoff teams and 15th among the 16 playoff teams overall (only the Islanders were worse).
Gut check
This is what the Flames are about, right? They proved everyone wrong this season in making the playoffs. They were left for dead in late February when team MVP Mark Giordano went down with a torn biceps injury, but instead went 12-6-3 without him to end the season. Simply amazing. Coach Bob Hartley, who one assumes will win the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year, has pushed all the right buttons in making believers out of his blue-collar outfit. Work, work, work -- that's all the Flames do. There's an incredible team concept and commitment with these guys.
But let's not underestimate the work of Canucks coach Willie Desjardins. The Canucks missed the playoffs last season and made sweeping changes, hiring a new GM and coach. The Canucks are rebuilding on the fly after several seasons as a true Cup contender. Desjardins has absolutely maximized what the roster has to offer, blending the veteran, holdover talent from those contending years with the youth that's come on board. Really, he's done a terrific job. And just when the Canucks' season would appear to be going south at times, they would rebound with big wins over very good teams. They had a knack for that all season long.
MVP
Well, for the Flames it would have been Giordano, who was well on his way to a Norris Trophy-caliber season before his injury in late February, which required surgery. (It was announced at the time he could return in 3-4 months, which would be late May ... you never know?) In his absence, we present Sean Monahan, the 20-year-old sophomore center whose game has grown incredibly in just one season, putting up 31 goals, playing the most minutes of any forward on the team ... in short, doing it all for the Flames. He's got the potential to be a series-changer.
For the Canucks, maybe they've just been around too long, but it seems like what the Sedin twins have done this season has really gone under the radar league-wide. They once again led their team in scoring (76 points for Daniel Sedin and 73 points for Henrik Sedin) and elevated their games down the stretch. They're still world-class players of which the Flames will need to pay special attention.
Secret weapon
Forward Lance Bouma, 25, quietly put up 16 goals in 78 games this season -- fourth on the Flames. There's a feeling he's got a few goals in him for this playoff series.
Similarly, Shawn Matthias was a solid force providing secondary scoring for the Canucks this season, scoring 18 goals, which tied him for third on the team. It was a career high for the 27-year-old, who seems to have found his niche in Vancouver.
The skinny
This series, like many, frankly, is just so tough to call: two real closely matched clubs. It's got seven-gamer written all over it. The Flames have been written off all season but kept responding. Just have a feeling they've got one last statement left in them.
Flames in 7 (double-overtime in the seventh game).
