BT's 2011 NHL Western Conference Final Preview

People have announced that this is Joe Thornton’s re-birth.

The man who has had so much trouble being successful in the playoffs, hasn’t earned any sort of positive reputation during springtime hockey, and he put up with so much criticism that it would make your head spin. 

Now Jumbo Joe is finally getting getting the credit that is long overdue.

Thornton’s playoff career had been spotty before he crossed paths with a similarly unfortunate May team (the San Jose Sharks), as he had played more than 10 playoff games just once in five trips to the post-season with Boston.

The first time he tasted the Stanley Cup playoffs? Sure. Thornton left a lot to be desired with no points in six games. That was 1997-98, his rookie season, where he had just seven points in 55 games. The following year, Thornton was second to Jason Allison and Ray Bourque in team scoring with nine points in 11 games, and was instrumental in a first-round upset of the third-seeded Carolina Hurricanes. Although Boston fell in the second round to eventual East-Champs Buffalo, there were a handful of positives for Boston, including two of Thornton’s three goals ending up as game-winners.

Boston would miss the playoffs the next two years, and then face three-straight first round exits. The first was in 2002, when the top-seeded Bruins lost 5-2 to Montreal in the series opener, and ended up losing the series in six games. Overall it was the Bruins lack of offense and poor defense that cost them the series, surrendering at least four goals in the first three games (two of them losses), while the offense accounted for just two goals in their last two games. Both totals were  shocker for a team that averaged the 11th-fewest goals allowed-per-game and averaged the seventh-most goals-per-game.

If you’re wondering about Thornton, he finished with six points in those six games. Not monumental, but he would tie Bill Guerin for the team lead. A huge coup, considering leading scorer Sergei Samsonov (70 points in the regular season) had just four points, 35-goal man Glen Murray had just one in the series, and Jozef Stumpel (54 points) recorded just two assists.

The following post-season Thornton left a little more to be desired with just three points in five games against the New Jersey Devils. The Bruins were shut out in their final two losses and only scored more than two in their only win of the series in Game Four, 5-1. Thornton’s lone point in that game was a goal, as he assisted on two of Boston’s three tallies in games one and two. After a 92 point season from Glen Murray and 50-point seasons from Stumple, Mike Knuble and Brian Rolston, you know who tied Thornton for the team lead in points? Veteran defenseman Dan McGillis who had just one point in ten regular season games for Boston (19 points between three teams overall) and would play just two more seasons after that.

It was the 2003-04 playoffs though that this hate-on for Thornton took a very strange turn. The Bruins lost out on a Conference title by just two points to Tampa Bay, setting up a 2 vs. 7 matchup with Montreal. The series started out well for Boston as they won the first two games in Boston and then split the matchups in Montreal. A 3-1 series lead meant that the second round was pretty much a certainty right? Wrong. Boston would go on to lose three-straight games and the scapegoat was pegged, pretty handily, as Thornton. He hadn’t recorded a point the entire series, and was a minus-six combined in those three Montreal losses.

There were some scathing remarks written about Thornton and his leadership ability during and after that series, but what people didn’t find out until later, was that Thornton was never 100% that series. He had played the entire time with torn rib cartilage, and injury that would make it impossible for many to live their every day lives, let alone dig in the corners and fight for position in the NHL playoffs.

The rest of the Joe Thornton story is pretty well documented: The lockout would follow, as would a trade to perennial post-season flop San Jose, where the two would find an unwieldy partnership. Thornton would enjoy spectacular regular seasons, recording at least 85 points in every year as a Shark until this past season, but always suffered through a curious post-season slump. He never finished a playoff run at a point-per-game average (He had 47 points in 56 games as a Shark in the playoffs before this year which is by no means terrible), is a career minus-13 in the playoffs as a Shark, and just one Conference Final appearance.

But yet again, you have to wonder if that’s Thornton “under-performing”, or just an unfortunate case of team-wide struggles being hung on one man’s shoulders. Of the five playoff seasons previous to this one, Thornton led the Sharks in scoring three times and their power play has been sixth or better amongst playoff teams three of those five times. While you can argue that it’s the play-making centre’s job to make sure his wingers get opportunities to score goals, isn’t it also the play-making centre’s job to keep the powerplay going and capitalize on those all-important man advantages in the playoffs.

So congratulations to Joe Thornton on shedding most of the weight from that “playoff underperformer” label. There’s still a ways to go, but at least people are starting to come around. Even if it’s been hanging off you a little too long.

1. Vancouver Canucks v. 2. San Jose Sharks

What Vancouver has going for them: The Canucks were able to ride their emotional wave of the first round to a win against Nashville in the second round, and the rest will do them good. Back-to-back series like that may have been too much, so the rest is a huge advantage when looking at their path to get here. The Sedin’s will get on the scoresheet in bunches this series, but stopping Ryan Kesler will be the first thing on everyone’s mind.

What San Jose has going for them: They’re riding high after their win over Detroit and have four players with at least ten points, so San Jose is striking with a balanced attack. The biggest thing is getting Ryan Clowe back in the lineup, but the depth this team has at centre makes them a solid match for Vancouver. Did you know the Sharks have the best team-faceoff percentage in the playoffs? That could easily be where this series is won or lost.

Who wins: The Vancouver Canucks are hoping for a birth in the Stanley Cup finals and they may have a pretty good shot at it. While San Jose has scored more on a per-game basis than Vancouver, they’ve also allowed more goals too. In fact, they’ve allowed the most goals out of any team in the playoffs, eliminated or not. Although both teams have depth, Vancouver has done it with spotty production from the Sedins. They’ll get way more in this series.

Vancouver wins 4-2.

What San Jose needs to prove me wrong: Antti Niemi needs to pretend that the team ahead of him is the Chicago Blackhawks and give Vancouver a carbon-copy of their first-round opponent and the team that’s haunted their dreams. He’ll need plenty more show-stopping performances, while San Jose needs to establish a physical imposition on Vancouver’s defense.

What’s not so great about the playoffs: Ridiculous sensations. Yes the shirtless kid chest-thumping at Bruins games is funny, and the green guys at the Canucks’ games are oddly athletic, but I hate it, mostly because I’m jealous. I wish I had come up with the idea to wear a unitard to a hockey game and do handstands. Doesn’t everyone want to be a folk hero? Or at least insult professional athletes through a pane of glass that’s pretty good at protecting you?