1st Round Matchup: (1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings

[JesRey]

The first place (Presidents Trophy winning) Vancouver Canucks (51-22-9) will be battling the eighth place LA Kings (40-27-15) in the first round of the 2012 NHL Playoffs.


On Thursday, the Kings were sitting in 3rd place and the division lead. That was until the San Jose Sharks swept the Kings in the final two games of the season. The Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks jumped the Kings in the standings and put them as the 8 seed in the Western Conference.


Vancouver locked up the first seed and Presidents Trophy on the final day of the season by defeating Edmonton 3-0. The pressure was on when the St. Louis Blues defeated the Dallas Stars earlier in the day.


Both teams are evenly matched despite the 16 point difference in the standings. Each team won 2 games against each other during the regular season.

Regular season series (Series tied 2-2)
Nov 10, 2011 Vancouver 3, Los Angeles 2
Dec 31, 2011 Vancouver 1, Los Angeles 4
Jan 17, 2012 Los Angeles 3, Vancouver 2 (Shootout)
Mar 26, 2012 Los Angeles 0, Vancouver 1

Here's the playoff schedule:

Game 1

Wednesday, April 11th (7:30 PM PST)
Los Angeles @ Vancouver


Game 2
Friday, April 13th (7:00 PM PST)
Los Angeles @ Vancouver


Game 3
Sunday, April 15th (7:30 PM PST)
Vancouver @ Los Angeles


Game 4
Wednesday, April 18th (7:00 PM PST)
Vancouver @ Los Angeles


*Game 5
Sunday, April 22nd (TBD)
Los Angeles @ Vancouver


*Game 6
Tuesday, April 24th (TBD)
Vancouver @ Los Angeles


*Game 7
Thursday, April 26th (TBD)
Los Angeles @ Vancouver


*If Needed

Photo credit: Associated Press

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[schwood]

I absolutely hope I am wrong, and the Kings can dominate the Canucks, but I am saying Canucks in 6.

[chris_brown]

im thinking Canucks in 5,the Kings will struggle to score outside of Carter