Kings just wanted it more than Nucks
Back in 2005-06, coming out of the NHL lockout, Jarret Stoll distinctly remembers his teammates on the No. 8-seeded Edmonton Oilers staring down the barrel at the runaway Presidents’ Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings. And not quaking in their boots. Did he really think that team had a chance?
“Yeah, because we didn’t think we were a No. 8 seed,” Stoll said last week when the Los Angeles Kings led the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 in their first-round playoff series, and were hoping to close them out in four straight.
“We knew we were a good, tough-checking team and a lot of times, those are tough teams to play against, doesn’t matter who you are — if you’re Detroit or Vancouver, or whatever. You gotta find ways to create chances and not give up too many, and your goaltender has to be good. He’s going to have to make big saves, because they’re a good team, and they have skill.”
Fast forward to Sunday evening.
A No. 1 seed on the ropes against a No. 8.
Not the same sort of disparity this time as when the Red Wings finished with 124 points, the secondhighest point total ever, and the Oilers 95 — not, as Stoll said, “almost a checking team versus an all-star team — but all the rest of the ingredients were there.
On one side, a team full of accomplished, decorated players comfortable with their ability to flip the switch when challenged, even though the regular season hadn’t been much of a stretch. On the other, an underdog that had to scratch and claw to get into the post-season, that lived and died on hard work and defence and goaltending, whose switch was already in the “on” position when the regular season ended.
One team needing to be roused, the other raring to go out of the gate.
And by the time the Canucks awoke in Game 3, the series was gone.
The winning/losing goal, when it came in overtime of Game 5 Sunday, is sure to be parsed to death — did Trevor Lewis half-tackle Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis as he tried to carry the puck out of the zone . . . where was everyone else when the puck spilled over to Jarret Stoll, who now had a 2-on-1 with Dwight King?
“I knew I had a 2-on-1, but I didn’t even look twice,” said Stoll. “I was pretty much shooting all the way there, and found a little room up top.”
“I’ve been waiting about four months for Jarret Stoll to take that shot,” said coach Darryl Sutter.
He got the unfancied Calgary Flames all the way to Game 7 of the Cup final in 2004 based on tenacity and great goaltending.
Jonathan Quick was the best player in the series, and as good as Cory Schneider was in relief of Roberto Luongo starting in Game 3, Quick was just that tiny bit better.
“They didn’t play like an eight seed,” said Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa. “They’re a good team. You know, (Dustin) Brown had a good series for them, Quick had a good series, Willie (Mitchell) played well, they’ve got some good players.”
In the end, it probably came down to playoff readiness. The Kings were in gear, the Canucks were idling.
“You know, it was such a battle just to make the playoffs, and you’re always weighing that: what do you have left?” Sutter said.
Enough, it turns out. They didn’t have to re-start their engines, and the game schedule let them get all the rest they needed.