After a quick four game sweep of the St. Louis Blues, the Canucks have been on a extended break waiting for the second round to begin. In the meantime the Blackhawks have been in a tough and physical series with the Calgary Flames which went 6 games and was filled with emotion, hits, fights and bruised bodies. Although many picked these two teams to be first round combatants with about a week to go in the regular season, the Canucks surged past Calgary to win the division and have home ice both in the first round and now in the second against the Hawks as well. And after the Hawks going 1-2 on the road and the Canucks 2-0 at home in the first series, home ice may be the difference between these two teams.

Canucks 45-27-10 (3) vs. Hawks 46-24-12 (5)

Ever since the Canucks wrapped up their first round series against the St Louis Blues, all the talk has been about the very realistic chance that the Canucks wont hit the ice for their second round series for about 10-12 days. Yes the Canucks do have their fair share of bumps and bruises, as do all playoff teams, but when does the line between rest and rust get crossed.

The talk around the team was that both Sundin and Salo would be ready to go if there was a Game 5, so either their injuries weren't that serious, or the Canucks PR team is just twisting the story to make it seem that way. Even after the game 4 win, goaltender Roberto Luongo needed 40 minutes of treatment before he came out to address the media. No one on that team is going to admit that they are in fact injured, as no injuries are ever disclosed during the playoffs, but all the players agree that a quick sweep of the Blues is a good thing and will allow them to be fresh and healthy for the second round.

With a 4 game sweep of the St Louis Blues, many see this as a lop sided series where the youth of the Blues showed and the great goaltending of Luongo propelled the Canucks into the second round, while creating Canucks history of the first 4 game sweep the franchise has ever had. But for the many that watched every moment of every game they all know this was a battle until the end, and alhtough the stats show otherwise, this was a very close series, and if it wasnt for a early whistle this series could easily be back in Vancouver for game 5, and even back to St Louis for game 6. By no means am I saying the Blues could pull off the improbable 3-0 come back to win four straight, but this series was a lot closer than many may think from an outside view looking in.

Although it wasn't the most hard hitting, bone shattering or physcially demanding series such as the Flames/Hawks, Pens/Flyers, it still had its fair share of big hits, scrums after the whistle and a general hate on for the other team. But in every game as every shift became more imporant, each penalty becoming more costly, we saw less and less of the borderline hits and less scrums after the whistle. This is not to say that these teams didnt have the general hate for each other, rather it seemed as if the players quickly realised that they could not be in the box for a game ending goal, as all the games, even the 3-0 shutout, were close all the way to the final horn. Only one game, game 4, went into overtime, but all of the third periods had that sudden death feeling, and everyone had that feeling of next goal wins, or the next goal may shift the momentum one way.

With the way this series is going it looks as if the Canucks will be able to move past the Blues and head straight into Round 2 and await their opponent. With the Canucks having the Blues in a 3-0 stranglehold, it is more of a matter of how many games then if the Canucks will finish off the Blues. With tomorrows game in St Louis the Canucks have an oppurtunity to have a clean 4 game sweep on the Blues on thier home ice, but keep in mind the Blues are going to come out gunning and put on a solid effort as there backs are against the wall and may play like a team with nothing to lose, which can be very dangerous in professional sports. Add in the Canucks never being able to sweep a team during a seven game series and game 4 will be a great one for hockey fans.

Mats Sundin battling with some St Louis BluesThe Canucks on the other hand are playing great defensivley, are getting great goaltending from Roberto Luongo and have been fantastic on the power play and have killed 3 seperate, very long, 5 on 3's that could have changes the whole landscape of this series. Offensivley the Sedins have 9 points in 3 games, and have gotten secondary scoring from the likes of Burrows, Bernier, Sundin and a number of defensemen as well. Although the team is playing well, the Canucks still have some adversity to overcome in the form of an injury to the 10 million dollar man Mats Sundin.

With the playoffs right around the corner the Canucks have matched up against the St Louis Blues and both teams have been red hot in the last two months of the season. The season series has been pretty even and all the games have been very entertaining, and we cant forget the Backes-Bernier offer sheets that were handed out this summer. Along with a couple players returning to their previous team, Johnson and Demitra, this is shaping up to be a very interesting matchup. Here is a breakdown of how each of the teams match up against each other:

Canucks 45-27-10 (3) vs. Blues 41-31-10 (6)

With the last two games left against the Kings and the Avs do the Canucks rest a few bodies and give the likes of Davison, Vannanen, Hansen and Labarbera a couple of games? Or is the division and home ice that important that we go all out and push for the division while risking both fatigue and injury to a couple of our top guns, especially Roberto Luongo. With the Flames having their last two games against the Oilers, who will definatley be playing spoiler but will also be playing their backup goalie along with giving a couple of kids a shot in the last couple games, the Canucks need some help when it comes to the division titile.

So do we forfiet a division title and start on the road against the Blackhawks, who we may match up better against, or do we want to push for that division banner and face the Blue Jackets in the first round and maybe run into the hottest goalie in the league in Steve Mason. If we dont beat the Kings on Thursday I guarantee we see a couple new faces in the lineup for the season finale, but if it comes to that last game versus the Avs it will be a tough choice as all we may need is a win to clinch the division. Either way the next couple of days will be very interested and both fans and players will be keeping a close eye on the Battle of Alberta.

With the Vncouver 2010 Olympics less than a year away, most fans will be cheering for Canada to take home the gold, but their will also be some fans rooting for their "hometown" boys. With the tournament being held in thier backyard, there is a handfull of Canucks who are hoping to make an impact for thier respective countries while playing in front of many fans who cheer them night in and night out as Vancouver Canucks.

With the Canucks having a top tier goaltender in Roberto Luongo, it is basically a sure thing that we will have atleast one Canuck on Team Canada. But the rest of our team will be dispersed throughout the tournament, and obviously most of our talent will be with Team Sweden. Here is how each player breaks down for his country.

Well before the season began I wrote a blog about the 10 reasons the Canucks would make the playoffs this year. No I didnt predict the horrible January the team had, or Luongo being hurt, nor did I ever think Burrows and Kesler would play this well. I did however see a few things that occured this season, and here is my original list and a look how many of my predictions came true, or how wrong I actually was.

10. Young Talent Contributing