It’s Time To Believe
14 years ago
On Saturday April 10th the Canucks beat the Flames 3-7 in a game that completed the regular season for both teams. After the game GM Place was echoing with the sound of jubilant Canucks fans chanting MVP at the top of their voices, for newly crowned Art Ross Trophy winner Henrik Sedin.
Those same fans will now be focusing on a rather different contest, that will see nails bitten on each and every finger and evenings will be spent on the edge of their seats. Could the faithful members of Canucks Nation witness their dreams unfold in front of their very eyes or will they spend the summer nursing more heartbreak?
If the Canucks can grant wishes the team will first have to overcome the LA Kings. The Kings have a roster that consists of a young and talented team. Six of the current players have never danced under the spotlight of the Stanley Cup playoffs; the Kings haven’t made the post season since 2002. LA on paper may look the weaker team, but could prove to be a dark horse. The Kings and their supporters will be hoping that they can cause an upset by beating the Canucks.
Players like Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown or even Wayne Simmonds could all cause problems for a Vancouver team that has dealt with quite a few injury problems of late. Gold medal winning defenseman Drew Doughty will also try his best to irritate the Canucks. Unlike Vancouver, The Kings have a healthy roster; will LA be able to extinguish the Canucks playoff hopes?
In recent years Vancouver have not progressed past the second round of the playoffs and have only reached the final on two occasions. The last time the team achieved this was sixteen years ago in 1994. Could this be third time lucky? In 1994 the club had great players like Pavel Bure (The Russian Rocket) Trevor Linden and Geoff Courtnall. This years version has The Super Sedin’s, Burrows Kesler, Samuelsson, and Luongo to name but a few. Luongo may have had his difficulties recently but for him and his teammates it’s do or die!
When LA faces Vancouver both teams regular season’s play is history, game one this Thursday will signify a new battle, of skill, grit, determination and perhaps a little luck. Will this playoff series be the start of a fruitful journey that ends when the pride of British Columbia are crowned Stanley Cup Champions?
If this is the clubs’ time for glory the streets of Vancouver, Chilliwack, Kamloops and even the sleepy English town of Bromsgrove will again be echoing with the sound of joyous fans shouting at the top of their voices, but this time they shall be chanting different words. We Are The Champions! Do you believe?
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