I like this matchup.
Goal - If both teams are playing backups, Hiller wins with .932 lifetime playoff percentage--what's Lack's playoff record? He doesn't have one. Plus their media and fan base turn on their goalies in a heartbeat.
Coaching--I'd take Hartley over their rookie coach any time. Defense? Without Gio in this they might match up evenly but they have Sbisa who is one of the most brain dead d-men under pressure in the league. Nobody on their d scares me.
Forwards? Their top line features two guys who've proven to be playoff vanishing acts, and Burrows who can be counted on to do something stupid at inopportune moments. Flames definitely have the speed advantage up front. These two teams played all their games early--I'd argue Gaudreau and Monahan are better now than when the Canucks last saw them.
This series will be the changing of the guard--we've had the diving cartorchers shoved down our throats when they were winning their president's trophies (and then choking when things got real) by all the Canadian media. They're older, slower and soon to be less relevant. This should be fun.
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