NHL's Second Season Begins

On Swedish twins, the ageless Tim Thomas, and the decidedly aged Don Cherry.

Only two Canadian teams made the NHL playoffs this year, but Bruce Arthur of the National Post thinks the Vancouver Canucks give the country its best chance at winning a Stanley Cup in 18 years. “They were the first team since expansion to lead the league in goals scored and goals allowed, plus they were the league’s best team on the power play, third-best on the penalty kill,” says Arthur. Granted, the 'Nucks still have to get by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, but aiding them in that battle “are the habits of a dominant season, the confidence and chemistry that was forged over 82 games, the expectations.”

The goaltending duel between the Boston Bruins' Tim Thomas and the Montreal Canadiens' Carey Price will make for another landmark series in the teams' nearly 90-year rivalry, writes Dave Stubbs in the Montreal Gazette. “For most of the past six months, Price has been floated as a candidate not just for the Vézina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender, but also the Hart, as most valuable player ... In Boston, they’re equally proud of Tim Thomas, the ageless – okay, he’s 37 – surgically repaired sheet of plywood who gets the job done with a gosh-awful, fish-out-of-water style that, on the scoresheet, is a masterpiece of grace.” And that's not even taking into account the minor matter of these two teams tangoing just one month after Zdeno Chara broke Max Pacioretty's neck.

Don Cherry, at 77 years old, isn't getting any younger, but the CBC needs him at his best to keep viewers from flicking the channel over to TSN, says The Globe and Mail's Bruce Dowbiggin. “With the clock ticking on both Cherry and the CBC’s hegemony over playoff hockey, the pressure is on for vintage playoff Coach’s Corner,” Dowbiggin writes. “Where TSN has panels to distribute the load, Cherry’s a solo act with a high bar to hurdle each appearance. Goofy ties and Dos Equis parodies may work on a weekly basis, but they get a little stale on a nightly basis.”