Ohlund looks to contain Iginla
Vancouver did an adequate job of containing the Calgary sniper through the regular season, limiting him to three goals in six games.
VANCOUVER (CP) -- By the time the series is over, Mattias Ohlund might even know what kind of gum Jarome Iginla chews.
The Vancouver Canuck defenceman will probably spend a lot of time up close and personal with the Calgary Flames' leading scorer when the two teams meet in their NHL Western Conference quarter-final playoff.
"He's so strong and very skilled, he's tough to defend," Ohlund said Tuesday. "He's not like a small guy where you can play him physical. He's so strong."
The best-of-seven series opens Wednesday at GM Place (CBC, 10:30 p.m. EDT). Game Two will be played Friday before the series heads to Calgary for games Sunday and Tuesday.
Iginla packs power and deceptive speed into a six-foot-one, 208-pound package. His 41 goals during the season left him tied for the NHL goal-scoring lead with Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk.
But against Vancouver he managed just three goals in six regular-season games and only one of those came at even strength.
"Iginla said paying too much attention to him could backfire for the Canucks.
"If it's more attention, so be it, we'll try to compete through it," he said. "But the other guys will be jumping up and scoring big goals. Maybe it's more room for them."
Ohlund leads a Canuck defence that includes Ed Jovanovski, Brent Sopel and Sami Salo. Marek Malik finished the year with a plus-35 rating, leaving him tied with Martin St. Louis of Tampa Bay.
The six-foot-two, 220-pound Ohlund averaged over 25 minutes a game, the most of any Canuck skater, and finished with a plus-14 rating. He's mobile, can hit and had career-high 14 goals this season.
The Flames, making their first playoff appearance in seven years, have happily wrapped themselves in the underdog role for the series although some people have picked them to upset the Canucks.
Vancouver captain Markus Naslund said the Flames are a team that can easily burn you.
"It's going to be a battle," said Naslund, who led the Canucks with 35 goals and 84 points. "We have a lot of respect for that team. They are a hard-working team but they also have a lot of skill. We know we have our work cut out for us."
The Canucks finished third in the Western Conference and won the Northwest Division with 101 points from a 43-24-10-5 record.
The Flames finished sixth with 94 points from a 42-30-7-3 mark.
If the Canucks are a high-priced Italian sports car -- smooth lines, lots of speed but finicky to start sometimes -- the Flames are like an old clunker, nothing fancy, but get the job done.
Of the two teams, Calgary had a better record since the all-star break going 16-10-2-0. Vancouver was 12-9-3-2.
Vancouver won the season series between the teams 3-2-1 and outscored the Flames 16-13.
The Canucks went into a tailspin following Todd Bertuzzi's season-ending suspension for attacking Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche, winning just one of seven games. They pulled out in time to take a six-game win streak into the playoffs.
Much of the Flames' scoring punch rests in the hands of the line of Iginla, centre Craig Conroy (eight goals, 39 assists) and Chris Simon (17,11).
The loss of Bertuzzi resulted in Matt Cooke being moved up onto Vancouver's top line with Naslund and Brendan Morrison. The unit combined for eight goals and 10 assists in the final six games.
After that Vancouver has three lines all capable of scoring.
Calgary comes into the series with injuries to Dean McAmmond (back), Steven Reinprecht (shoulder) and Oleg Saprykin (concussion).
Canuck defenceman Bryan Allen has been sidelined with a shoulder injury but could return as the series progresses.
If the series boils down to goaltending Calgary might have the edge in Miikka Kiprusoff, who the Flames acquired from San Jose in mid-November.
The stringy Finn finished the year with a 1.69 goals-against average, a modern-day single-season NHL record. He had a 24-10-4 record and only three times in 38 starts allowed more than three goals. He has appeared in just four playoff games with a 1-1 record.
Vancouver's Dan Cloutier had a 33-21-6-2 record, the third consecutive season he's won 30 or more games. Cloutier has struggled in the playoffs before and a soft goal could dent Vancouver's confidence.
The two teams have history in the playoffs.
Back in 1994 the Canucks won the last three games in overtime to beat Calgary in seven games, then advanced to the Stanley Cup final.
In 1989, Calgary needed seven games to defeat the Canucks, then went on to win their only Stanley Cup.
Cheers,
Aquaman
Vancouver did an adequate job of containing the Calgary sniper through the regular season, limiting him to three goals in six games.
VANCOUVER (CP) -- By the time the series is over, Mattias Ohlund might even know what kind of gum Jarome Iginla chews.
The Vancouver Canuck defenceman will probably spend a lot of time up close and personal with the Calgary Flames' leading scorer when the two teams meet in their NHL Western Conference quarter-final playoff.
"He's so strong and very skilled, he's tough to defend," Ohlund said Tuesday. "He's not like a small guy where you can play him physical. He's so strong."
The best-of-seven series opens Wednesday at GM Place (CBC, 10:30 p.m. EDT). Game Two will be played Friday before the series heads to Calgary for games Sunday and Tuesday.
Iginla packs power and deceptive speed into a six-foot-one, 208-pound package. His 41 goals during the season left him tied for the NHL goal-scoring lead with Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk.
But against Vancouver he managed just three goals in six regular-season games and only one of those came at even strength.
"Iginla said paying too much attention to him could backfire for the Canucks.
"If it's more attention, so be it, we'll try to compete through it," he said. "But the other guys will be jumping up and scoring big goals. Maybe it's more room for them."
Ohlund leads a Canuck defence that includes Ed Jovanovski, Brent Sopel and Sami Salo. Marek Malik finished the year with a plus-35 rating, leaving him tied with Martin St. Louis of Tampa Bay.
The six-foot-two, 220-pound Ohlund averaged over 25 minutes a game, the most of any Canuck skater, and finished with a plus-14 rating. He's mobile, can hit and had career-high 14 goals this season.
The Flames, making their first playoff appearance in seven years, have happily wrapped themselves in the underdog role for the series although some people have picked them to upset the Canucks.
Vancouver captain Markus Naslund said the Flames are a team that can easily burn you.
"It's going to be a battle," said Naslund, who led the Canucks with 35 goals and 84 points. "We have a lot of respect for that team. They are a hard-working team but they also have a lot of skill. We know we have our work cut out for us."
The Canucks finished third in the Western Conference and won the Northwest Division with 101 points from a 43-24-10-5 record.
The Flames finished sixth with 94 points from a 42-30-7-3 mark.
If the Canucks are a high-priced Italian sports car -- smooth lines, lots of speed but finicky to start sometimes -- the Flames are like an old clunker, nothing fancy, but get the job done.
Of the two teams, Calgary had a better record since the all-star break going 16-10-2-0. Vancouver was 12-9-3-2.
Vancouver won the season series between the teams 3-2-1 and outscored the Flames 16-13.
The Canucks went into a tailspin following Todd Bertuzzi's season-ending suspension for attacking Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche, winning just one of seven games. They pulled out in time to take a six-game win streak into the playoffs.
Much of the Flames' scoring punch rests in the hands of the line of Iginla, centre Craig Conroy (eight goals, 39 assists) and Chris Simon (17,11).
The loss of Bertuzzi resulted in Matt Cooke being moved up onto Vancouver's top line with Naslund and Brendan Morrison. The unit combined for eight goals and 10 assists in the final six games.
After that Vancouver has three lines all capable of scoring.
Calgary comes into the series with injuries to Dean McAmmond (back), Steven Reinprecht (shoulder) and Oleg Saprykin (concussion).
Canuck defenceman Bryan Allen has been sidelined with a shoulder injury but could return as the series progresses.
If the series boils down to goaltending Calgary might have the edge in Miikka Kiprusoff, who the Flames acquired from San Jose in mid-November.
The stringy Finn finished the year with a 1.69 goals-against average, a modern-day single-season NHL record. He had a 24-10-4 record and only three times in 38 starts allowed more than three goals. He has appeared in just four playoff games with a 1-1 record.
Vancouver's Dan Cloutier had a 33-21-6-2 record, the third consecutive season he's won 30 or more games. Cloutier has struggled in the playoffs before and a soft goal could dent Vancouver's confidence.
The two teams have history in the playoffs.
Back in 1994 the Canucks won the last three games in overtime to beat Calgary in seven games, then advanced to the Stanley Cup final.
In 1989, Calgary needed seven games to defeat the Canucks, then went on to win their only Stanley Cup.
Cheers,
Aquaman