Now that the Canucks have exorcised the demons, can they avoid a letdown in Game 1 vs. the Predators?
In theory, the Canucks thrilling overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night, would inject the Vancouver team with a fair amount of confidence heading into their series with Nashville.
The demon has been slayed and Roberto Luongo has exonerated himself. It should be smooth sailing from here.
However, if I had to bet money on Game 1 of the Canucks-Predators series, I would choose to side with Nashville.
Vancouver fans, before you throw your Japa Dogs and Triple-O sauce at me, remember two things:
1. I grew up in Vancouver and have a soft spot in my heart for the Canucks. The 1994 run coincided with my last year in high school, so I really don't have any grudges against Vancouver.
2. I'm coming at this with some significant statistical evidence.
Teams that win a Game 7 in overtime have shown a remarkable trend towards having a letdown in the opener of their next series.
Perhaps it's fatigue from having gone through a seven-game series, plus overtime. Or maybe teams have a false sense of accomplishment from winning such a thrilling game.
But whatever the reasons, teams seem to come out flat after winning a series-clinching game in overtime.
Let's use the most recent history as a barometer.
In the 15 years prior to Canucks winning their series, there have been 10 other cases where a team has won a Game 7 in overtime.
And strangely enough, nine of them lost the opener of the next series. Here's a complete list of the 10 teams who won a Game 7 in OT and how they fared in Game 1 of the next series:
2009 Hurricanes: Lost 3-2 vs. PIT
2008 Philadelphia: Lost 4-3 vs. MTL
2003 Minnesota: Lost 4-3 vs. VAN
2001 Pittsburgh: Lost 3-1 vs. NJ
1999 St. Louis: Lost 3-0 vs. DAL
1997 Buffalo: Lost 5-3 vs. PHI
1997 Edmonton: Lost 5-1 vs. COL
1996 Detroit: Lost 3-2 vs. COL
1995 San Jose: Lost 6-0 vs. DET
Only the Calgary Flames in 2004 were able to carry over the momentum of a Game 7 overtime win into the opener of the next series, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 2-1.
The Oilers rode the wave of Todd Marchant's overtime goal against Dallas in 1997, to a 5-1 loss in Game 1 of the next series against Colorado.
And after San Jose shocked Trevor Kidd and Calgary in 1995, they got pasted 6-0 by the Red Wings in the opener of round two.
But let's be honest, these Canucks are much better than those plucky Edmonton and San Jose teams of the 1990s.
So this might be a better comparable stat: The last President's Trophy team to in a Game 7 in overtime was the 1996 Red Wings, when Steve Yzerman took that memorable slap shot that went over the shoulder of Grant Fuhr.
In theory, you would think the Wings would carry that momentum right into their next series with the Avalanche. Instead, they lost the opener - and ultimately the series in six games.
For the record, I don't think the Canucks will lose this series. But I do think they will lose the opener.
And we should brace for a little more west coast panic.
