I take the Canucks game last night, a 6-2 loss to Minnesota, as a good omen going into tonights game against the Hawks. This early in the season playing in back to back nights should only prove to warm up a team that has yet to play to its potential. There is no shortage of bad blood between these two hockey clubs and the questionable performance from Luongo doesn't represent anything other than where his minds was; focused solely on shutting down the Hawks in the United Center. The Chicago team that is facing the Canucks tonight however is not the same one that prevailed over Vancouver in the last two Stanley Cup Playoffs. Perpetual pests Burish and Ladd have moved on, and so have two players who seemed to always overreach their abilities in the meetings between these two teams: Kris Versteeg and Bfuglyen.
The players the Hawks do have remaining for their cup winning team last year are the ones who the Canucks had less difficulty controlling *outside of Patrick Kane. Marian Hossa, the leagues current leading scorer, was held to 1 goal and 3 points in last seasons 6 game playoff series, and matches up poorly against the Canuck's Ryan Kesler who is still searching for his breakout game of the year. The recent statistical history in the regular season also favors the Canucks, or anyteam recieving the greater odds for that matter. Home advantage can basically be thrown out the window in this series as in both of the last two seasons the record between these two clubs have been split evenly both at home and the road. Not to mention the players brought in by the Canucks, most notably Dan Hamuis, who looked like the strongest player on the ice for the Predators during their matchup against Chi. in the first round last year.
Considering the motivational factors, and the odds, the Canucks figure to be a strong bet at +140 to win the game. Betting the underdog in this Series has been a profitable proposition in both the playoffs and reg season for the past 2 seasons, look for the Canucks to continue this trend and get a statement win tonight on TSN.