[Fire of the Phoenix]

[QUOTE=Meers;5243502]I'd say the Flames are most reminiscent of the 2012/13 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2013/14 Avalanche - the two teams from recent seasons to experience surprising regular season success despite horrible underlying statistics in 5v5 Corsi For (CF)% and Fenwick For (FF)%. (And let's not kid ourselves, the Flames are bottom three in the league when it comes to possession.)

Those two statistical anomalies went up against strong possession teams in the first round, and both lost in seven games.

Now, fortunately, the Canucks aren't world beaters in the possession department, but they're still stronger than the Flames - ranked 20th in CF% at 5v5.

So, I'd guess the Nucks have an ever so slight advantage - but it's going to be close, with most games being decided by one goal (just like the regular season series) and it'll probably go to 7 games. So, it's a coin flip one way or the otherand will likely be decided by a flukey bounce.

But, no matter what team wins this series, you can rest assured they will get killed in the next round.

And neither of these teams makes the post-season next year.[QUOTE]

Why do you think neither team will make the playoffs next year? 3 spots for sure up for grabs in the Pacific next year. Are you assuming the 3 cali teams make it? The oilers and yotes won't make it so.....

I can see one of Van or Cgy missing but probably not both. That would actually be a pretty dumb bet to make given this year's results. No reason to think SJ will be better than either team. A case could be made for LA but even then it's a toss up at best. Unless you're just assuming Cgy's young stars are all going to get worse and Bennett is going to bust....