LGHL PSN Round 1 Western Conference Preview Feat. NickyP and Silky: Calgary vs Vancouver

MASSIVE DISCLAIMER, we've broken up the league into conferences, and decided to break up the posts into 1 per series. These are written as full articles, so there will be 8 articles for round 1. The west should be completed today, the East will be completed tomorrow. Also, as both Nicky and myself are playing in this series I will make mention our predictions might be a tad biased, so you can skip those.

Well, round 1 of the playoffs is less than a few days away. As the 8 playoff teams in the Western Conference get set to do battle; @nickyP1999, @SilKyy_96 and myself got together and discussed the keys to each series and what we're looking forward to seeing. Down below we have the Western Conference champions, the Calgary Flames taking on a team most thought wouldn't make the playoffs in the Vancouver Canucks.

Calgary Flames vs Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks’ Roster

Bak - HJ - Nic
Clark - Bon - Ghost
Owen - Ringy - Benny

Jrascia - Beefy
Glex - Mamm
Stamkos - Boots

Nasty
Tabbs


Calgary Flames’ Roster
Polska - Nicky - Smurf
Ragoo - Bstie - Jkap
Venom - Keeps - Toslick

Foote - Huot
Sobo - Gary
Montoni - Matty

Domi
Seth

Offense

This series on paper isn't as one sided as most would think in a 1 v 8 scenario. NickyP(ing) and StreetSmurf both had fantastic seasons, finishing in the top 10 in league scoring to pace the Flames attack, but the depth on this roster produced every week. Keeps, Ragoo, and Toslick all did a solid job on cheap contracts, and along with Nicky and Smurf, Venom came in after the Gui fiasco and produced, finishing on a 60 point pace over the course of the year. While Bstie might be a tad overpaid at 2.75, he fits on this roster, and will continue to be one of the best 3C's at grinding out wins. Polska, while not an elite player, didn't bring his team down and was able to carve out his role in helping his team win on the ice.

Now, over to Vancouver and this team offensively is much deeper now than it was at the beginning of the year. While HJ under-performed at times throughout the season, there is no question he comes into this series as one of the key players to watch for Vancouver, as they look to upset the Flames. Bak was one of the key acquisitions made by Vancouver management throughout the year (Beefgod doing beefgod things) to give the top line some punch. The real key is the depth that was built, as Bon has flourished after moving to C, while Ghost, 5thline, Ringy, Benny, and Clark are all capable of scoring when they're on. From week 4 - week 8 this Vancouver team was playing at a 100 point pace, but this team was a train wreck in week 9 and will have to regain their form in order to make this a series.

Defense

While both offenses come into this series quite good, the defense of Calgary has remained consistent and effective all year, while Vancouver's hasn't. Calgary's overall defense corps is strong, from Foote and Huot, Sobo and Gary, to the bottom pair of Matty and Montoni there isn't a huge hole. Just an overall strong defense group that can, and has shutdown Vancouver over the course of the season.

Where Calgary has overall consistency and top end talent, Vancouver's defense has struggled to remain consistent throughout S9. Jrascia was one of the steals of this draft, going 26th to Vancouver and blossoming into a first pair guy over the course of the year, being mentored by Beefy throughout. Glex is another underrated player after starting his year on Pittsburgh, and has slotted himself nicely into the number 3 role. Mamm has had weeks where he's been great, and weeks where he's been awful, but slots in at the number 4 spot. While Stamkos and Boots have questions attached to them, they have the ability to step up and perform. However, unlike Calgary, there are too many question marks for this defense to be labeled good, and Calgary has the advantage on the blue line.

Goaltending

Another absolute deadlock in the roster construction of both these teams is goaltending. Both starting goaltenders in this series have cups to their name (Albeit Domi has his while he played D), and both are fully capable of winning this series by themselves. Nasty's ability to play on west is also a huge boost for Vancouver. Both Tabbs and Seth are paving their way, with Seth doing well and not costing Calgary games, where as Tabbs was a week 6 pickup who's trying to establish himself for a full time back up position next year. All 4 goaltenders in this series are solid, both starters are borderline elite.

Keys To The Series

Calgary Flames

- StreetSmurf: StreetSmurf has destroyed Vancouver this season, and will be one of the keys for the Flames in the series. With fantastic performances in 3 of the 4 games against the Canucks, he'll be looked upon to continue forcing his will on Vancouver to help the Flames top line take down whichever Canuck group is thrown at him.

- Will Nicky Win?: NickyP had himself another good season as he tries to shed "needing his ping" and be credited as a top player, but the only way that happens is if he proves he can win in the playoffs. Nicky hasn't been able to do that, and will be relied upon to win in order for Calgary to advance.

- Keep Up The Good Work: Calgary won all 4 games against Vancouver, and rolled all 3 of their defense pairs at one point or the other to get the job done. Even if this is a different Vancouver team, they should have all the confidence in themselves to win the series and move on. Can't let the pressure get to their heads.

Vancouver Canucks

- Defense Needs To Step Up: The biggest thing for Vancouver has to do to win this series is play well in their own end. While Jrascia and Beefgod have consistently done a good job all year, the bottom 2 pairs need to play at their highest level. As stated above, consistency was an issue for this group, and either Boots or Mamm needs to really take control of themselves and play at a 2nd pair level. If one of those 2, or both are successful in stepping up, Canucks have a shot at knocking off the Western Conference Champs.

- Top Line Needs To Win: The Canucks went out and spent 8.5M on HJ out of bidding, and decided against moving him even when the team wasn't good. HJ didn't have the greatest season, however none of that matters as we head into round 1. There's no question, that HJ is still one of the better C's on PSN, and his defensive acumen will be instrumental in Vancouver winning this series. Bak will provide the scoring help HJ might need, and the ultimate wildcard is Nic. While not a true 1st line player, Nic has his moments, and with the GWG in the clincher for Vancouver, he'll look to step up in the clutch.

- Win A Game: This seems like a redundant point for a team looking to win a series, but winning a game early could mean everything for Vancouver. They lost to Calgary in all 4 games, and didn't look good in 3 of them. An early win in this series could send the Canucks confidence through the roof, and help propel the 8 seed to an upset victory.

Predictions

Silky's Pick: Calgary in 6, but 3 of the 4 wins are OT victories for Calgary. Also Nicky’s connection destroys Vancouver’s locker room.

Nicky's Pick: Calgary in 4, Nicky has belief that the depth will do their job, and Canucks can’t find an answer to Smurf.

Mamm's Pick: Vancouver in 7, Mamm has belief that Canucks will regain their form and shock the conference champs. HJ clamps the Calgary attack in 2 games including game 7.

Thanks again for the read through, last one should be up soon.

 

If Mamm's predictions is correct ill retire and not play next season (It has to be vancouver in 7).

 

Flames in 4 lol someone tell nicky the regular season is over. Mans gonna water damage his controller in a few days

 

Id worry about getting past Edmonton if you can... LOL

 

Sums up your LG ownership

@Polska_B0SS_780

One of us hasn’t lost a series in 2 seasons and the other hasn’t won one in 4

 

who cares about NHL 17 and 18 it's NHL 19 dude lol

 

Once a choker always a choker

 

lol just like you choked winning the west when you told me in discord for a week that your finishing 1st

 

ya 2 cups everyone knows who cares though ? You aren't getting past Edmonton round one man lol. When you don't get past them that's all you're gonna say is cup check x2

 

Preview of me vs nicky on west if you make the WCF.

 

Bruh you have to make it there and trust me Edmonton has your ticket the pacific is no joke like the central.

 

Can’t wait to see who can hit up on the right stick better, Clark or myself

 

Bottom def pairing, go fuck yourself.

 

fLaMeS iN 4 @nickyP1999