NHL playoffs set

There have been a few e-mails that ask an obvious question: "Why is it important about whether Canadian teams make the NHL playoffs? Shouldn't it just be about which teams are the best?"

Theoretically, it shouldn't matter. But it does. One obvious reason is that Canadians have a certain pride in their sport. Canadian teams used to dominate, but now they don't. Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto entered this week begging for the worst seed in the playoffs. Edmonton would need a high-powered flashlight just to see 9th place in the conference.

The other reason is that Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner, has a strong anti-Canadian bias. Every Canadian team that squeaks in is once less American team, and if that makes Bettman shed a tear, the world is a better place. Besides, Edmonton barely made it as the 8 seed and came one game away from truly making Bettman cry: having to present the Stanley Cup to a Canadian team. He hasn't had to do it yet, but there is hope.

On Saturday night, Toronto eliminated Montreal 6-5 from playoff contention. Unfortunately, the Maple Leafs were eliminated on Sunday by the Islanders shootout win.

In the Eastern Conference, the lone Canadian representative is Ottawa at the #4 seed with 105 points. A far cry from last year's #1 seed mark, the Senators will play the upstart Pittsburgh Penguins.

In the Western Conference, Vancouver won the Northwest Division with 105 points, gaining the #3 seed (division winners get the top 3 seeds regardless of how many points). Calgary gets the #8 seed with 96 points.

Playoffs start Wednesday. I might even be able to see the first couple of games on the CBC, thanks to the preview package of MLB and NHL. Schedules are posted above; keep it here at Canadian Corner for all the updates.

Last Stanley Cup win

	Team	Year
	Montreal	1993
	Edmonton	1990
	Calgary	1989
	Toronto	1967
	Vancouver	Never
	Ottawa	Never

So here are the Canadian-based teams, the seeds, and who they will play:

Eastern Conference

	Team	Seed	First-Round Opponent
	Ottawa	4	Pittsburgh

Western Conference

	Team	Seed	First-Round Opponent
	Vancouver	3	Dallas
	Calgary	8	Detroit