Stanley Cup fever taking new forms

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2015 (3898 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five takes about the Winnipeg Jets, the Anaheim Ducks and the Stanley Cup playoffs as the marathon begins…

 

1. One of the oldest axioms in playoff hockey is for the team travelling to open a series desperately searching for a split of the first two games. If the Jets win tonight they’ll be talking about coming home up 2-zip, but if they lose all we’ll hear for a couple of days is the importance of winning Game 2 to come home 1-1.

Well, here’s a stat that stresses why winning the opener is critical: according to the NHL, the winner of Game 1 of a seven-game set captures the series 63 per cent of the time. And if the home side wins Game 1, the percentage of teams that continue on to win the series jumps to 70.

Further to that, two numbers that really stick with me about the Ducks: they were 33-1-7 in one-goal games this year but, countering that, in nine of their 24 losses they gave up six goals or more. That’s why their goal differential of +10 was just 17th-best in the NHL this year.

 

2. Hard not to wonder what Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau might have been thinking Wednesday when word filtered west from Boston that the Bruins had tied the can to GM Peter Chiarelli. All the Bruins did under his watch was go 386-233-85, win the Stanley Cup in 2011, go to the Final in 2013 and win a President’s Trophy in 2013-14.

And Boudreau? He enters the postseason tonight with three consecutive Pacific Division titles on his resume, but with this black cloud hovering above: in six trips to the playoffs with the Ducks and Washington Capitals his teams haven’t advanced past the second round.

Pressure? Yeah, maybe a little bit.

Consider this coach from Ducks GM Bob Murray in conversation with Helene Elliott in today’s Los Angeles Times:

“This is our third year with this group making the playoffs where there’s some sort of expectations. I am going to watch very carefully not only the coaching staff, but how certain players play in the playoffs this year. This is the third year and it’s time.

“It’s not just Bruce. This guys that have been here, it’s time for some of them to step to the plate. I’m watching everybody. There’s guys that haven’t had good playoffs. It’s time. They’ve got experience now. They’ve been there. It’s time to step up.”

To read Helene’s entire piece click here.

And if you want to follow her on Twitter, go to @helenenothelen

 

3. I have no explanation for this, other than it seems like a good idea: the cooks at an establishment in Montreal, Bar Brutus, have made a replica of the Stanley Cup out of bacon. Brunch anyone?

 

4. We’re all swept up in Stanley Cup fever, what with a National Hockey League playoff game to be played in Winnipeg for the first time since 1996. But it’s becoming a national story, too. And here’s the evidence: the Jets will have to try and accommodate over 100 media in their press box for Games 3 and 4, including writers/broadcasters from the Globe and Mail, the National Post, ESPN, Yahoo, Sportsnet, TSN’s Hockey panel and, of course, Don Cherry and Ron McLean.

To hear Grapes’ shout-out to Winnipeg (at the end of the segment) click here.

 

5. And, finally, we asked yesterday for some examples of Jets playoff fever – signs, banners, anything.

We saw a few, but our favourite came from Angelo (@Angelo_Domingo)

Barber: How do you want your hair?

Kid: The Jets are in the playoffs, fam!

Barber: Say no more.

 

Keep those pics and tweets coming, either to my email address or Twitter handle.

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait