With five of seven Canadian franchises about to enter the postseason, I'm surprised that we haven't seen the usual media outlets scrambling to declare "Canada's Team."
I guess the big house-cleaning in Toronto has generated enough news angles to keep the writers and broadcasters at the centre of the universe busy in their own backyards.
As the Canucks and Flames face off in Game 1 at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night, I've been searching around the internet to see how outsiders are looking at this series.
Ex-Canuck goalie Kevin Weekes and former Calgary netminder Jamie McLennan do a pretty good job with their take for the NHL Network:
Due to the Eric Church concert at Rogers Arena tonight, Canucks are practicing out at UBC today.
Yesterday, Brad Richardson returned to the mix, replacing Linden Vey as third line centre. He is expected to play in Game 1. Still no sign of Zack Kassian, who's now the only injured Canuck.
As for the Flames, the big news out of their camp today is that captain Mark Giordano has started skating on his own as he recovers from his torn biceps tendon. He's only about seven weeks into a recovery timetable that was originally estimated to be at least four months, so he's hoping for a long playoff run for his team, according to
Aaron Vickers at NHL.com.
I feel like hopefully the rehab is going better than expected, but it's still a bit early for that.
I really have to start gaining my strength and stuff back. Hopefully we go really deep and then we have a decision to make afterwards.
With the announcement that Patrick Kane will be good to go for Game 1 over in Chicago, its seems that superhuman injury recovery is becoming a run-of-the-mill occurrence in the NHL. I think it's safe to say that Giordano's still far enough away that he won't be appearing in this series.
The Flames do have a few other injuries worth noting. From
their website:
Ladislav Smid - upper-body injury (neck) since Jan. 20 - out for season
Paul Byron - lower-body injury since Mar. 29 - has missed seven games - day-to-day
Raphael Diaz - lower-body injury since April 3 - has missed four games - day-to-day
Karri Ramo - lower-body injury since April 4 - has missed three games - day-to-day
Lance Bouma - upper-body injury since April 7 - has missed two games - day-to-day
Ramo's back with the team this week, so Bouma's injury is probably the most significant of this bunch. Though they're playing it close to the vest, it sounds like he might be out for awhile:
Before he was hurt, Bouma had become one of Calgary's most important forwards. In just his second full NHL season, the 25-year-old had taken an impressive jump from 5-10-15 in 2013-14 to 16-18-34 this year, as well as providing good size at 6'1" and 210 pounds and a scrappy intensity that made him hard to play against.
He has been replaced in the Flames lineup for the team's last couple of games by Brandon Bollig, a grinding role-player who won a Stanley Cup with Chicago back in 2013, and Michael Ferland, a 6'2", 215-pound 22-year-old in his first NHL season. Ferland, in particular, drew praise for his high energy as the Flames closed out the year.
Eighteen-year-old Sam Bennett also remains an option for the Flames. He hasn't played much this season after undergoing surgery earlier in the year, but the fourth-overall pick from 2014 was recalled by Calgary after his junior club, the Kingston Frontenacs, was eliminated from the OHL playoffs. He tallied his first assist last Saturday on his very first NHL shift.
Bob Hartley's not showing his hand just yet, but Bennett skated with Joe Colborne and Mikael Backlund on Monday in what looks like it could be a second line for the Flames.
Here's a handy chart that projects the line combinations for both teams, and shows the mismatch in playoff experience—which would become even more pronounced if Bob Hartley goes with Bennett over Mason Raymond. That's one area where Vancouver really stands out.
A couple of other Calgary lineup notes...
After Sean Monahan and Kris Russell missed practice on Monday:
Both players hit the ice today, but Monahan sounded some alarm bells when he left practice early. Hartley's sticking to his guns—says it's not a problem.
Monahan played in every game except the Flames' season-ender last Saturday, when the team rested most of its key players. He's the straw that stirs the drink on Calgary's first line, so it's a huge deal if the 20-year-old is less than 100 percent.
Other than the case of the missing Zack Kassian, the Canucks are calmly going about their business, as they tend to do this year:
One more sleep!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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