(Great comic by Earl Sleek of BoC. Check out this hysterical post for more goodness.)
Oh, Canada. You haven’t won a Cup since 1993 when Patrick Roy lead the Montreal Canadiens to their last of a billion (rough estimate) Stanley Cups. The last Canadian team to make the Stanley Cup finals were the Ottawa Senators, whose high-end offensive attack was smothered by the Anaheim Ducks in 2006-07.
Year after year, the question above the border is: will a Canadian team finally break the “curse” and bring the silver chalice to its “rightful home”? This time around, the three teams who can fulfill that wish are the Vancouver Canucks (third seed in the West), Ottawa Senators (fifth seed in the East) and Montreal Canadiens (eighth seed in the East). To me, it comes down to the Canucks, but let’s break down the chances for each Canadian team. Eh? (Ugh.)
Vancouver: Like I said, they have the best chance of the Canadian teams. In fact, they have a pretty good shot, period. While they lack the flash of the Blackhawks and the firepower of the Sharks, the Canucks have all-world goalie Roberto Luongo, scoring champion Henrik Sedin along with his twin(ger) Daniel and some great rugged players such as Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows. Still, the West is brutal - they might not even make it to the second round (and the sick thing is, it wouldn’t be all that shameful if that happened)..
Ottawa: If you didn’t pay attention to the 2009-10 season, you’d say that the Senators have the toughest task of any first round team: they must beat defending champions Pittsburgh. Still, the Penguins aren’t at their height right now, so you never know. And, if the Capitals are upset, then there aren’t really many “scary” teams left in the East ...
Montreal: Which brings us to the Habs. Honestly, I don’t think they have a chance at all. Sorry.
That being said, if the Canadian teams can make it to the second round ... well, you never know. Overall, though, my bet is that if a team wins one for Maple Syrup Land, it will be those plucky Canucks.