All-Canadian Cup final not as ridiculous as it seems

Hockey Betting Lines

05/04/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time two Canadian teams met in the Stanley Cup final, George Bush the elder was president of the United States, Brian Mulroney was prime minister and the Berlin Wall was still a few months from tumbling down.

That would be 1989, when the Calgary Flames defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games and Lanny McDonald won the first and only Stanley Cup of his brilliant, mustachioed, 16-year career.

Canadian teams were in the Stanley Cup final in 2004 (Calgary lost to Tampa Bay), 2006 (Edmonton lost to Carolina) and 2007 (Ottawa lost to Anaheim), but the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was 1993, when the Habs edged out Wayne Gretzky and the Kings, coached by Barry Melrose and his mullet.

All of this is prelude to mentioning that there are two Canadian teams left in the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, and it's not unthinkable that they could end up facing each other for all the marbles.

In the West, the Vancouver Canucks put down the hometown Blackhawks with extreme prejudice in Game 1 by a 5-1 margin.

As tired, lame and overused as the theme of revenge is in pro sports, it's clear the Canucks had last spring's six-game loss to Chicago in the conference semi-final on their minds last week in the Windy City in Game 1.

Last spring, the Canucks blew a 2-1 series lead by losing the next three games to the Hawks.

This time around, fresh off a gold medal win in Vancouver, Canucks goalie and captain Roberto Luongo seems more focused than usual. And his teammates are playing with a confidence not usually associated with the hapless Canuckleheads of years gone by. Having Daniel Sedin battle brother Henrik for playoff scoring supremacy only elevates the Canucks' offense, but the hugely pleasant surprise, of course, is the play of Mikael Samuelsson, who has seven goals and 11 points in seven games.

In the East, just when you thought the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens' Cinderella story was about to come to an abrupt end against the Pittsburgh Penguins, goalie Jaroslav Halak comes up with another stellar performance and his teammates continue their block party, frustrating the defending Stanley Cup champs again and again in a Game 2 win to knot the series at one game each.

Montreal can't compete with the Penguins on firepower, but that's OK. They couldn't compete with Washington on firepower in the first round either, and yet it's Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals who are booking tee times.

Having said that, the Canadiens are not without scoring prowess. Michael Cammalleri is having a monster playoffs so far, with eight goals and 13 points in nine games. This is the first time in his seven-year NHL career that Cammalleri, 27, has been to the second round of the playoffs and he looks like he's having a lot of fun out there, despite the ridiculously unrealistic expectations of Canadiens fans each and every season.

Yes, San Jose, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will have a lot to say about whether there's an all-Canadian final, but for Canadian lovers of the game, there is still plenty of reason to have the audacity of hope.

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