Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

The pressure is on Canucks' Daniel Sedin, left, as well as Dan Boyle's Sharks.

Examining five 'Burning Questions' ahead of the Vancouver Canucks-San Jose Sharks series.

The Vancouver Canucks have been to Conference final just three times in their existence, while San Jose has been this far in three of the past seven seasons.

The Canucks, however, have never lost a Round 3. San Jose? Well, they’ve never won one.

There are no Nashville’s left anymore, with their plodding style and reliance on 2-1 games every night. This series pits hockey highest scoring team -- Vancouver -- against a Sharks team that led the NHL in shots per game this season.

It’s the regular season's best power play (Canucks, 24.3 per cent) against No. 2 in the NHL (Sharks, 23.5 per cent); the gold medal-winning goalie (Roberto Luongo) against the reigning Stanley Cup champion (Antti Niemi).

And, of course, these are the two best teams in the Western Conference, with San Jose racking up 105 points in a far tougher Pacific Division compared to the Canucks, who rolled through the North-worst with 117 points.

So, what’s going to decide this series? We bring you, "Five Burning Questions" on the Western Conference final:

Q: San Jose just came out of a run-and-gun series, while Vancouver hasn't been scoring much. Can the Canucks adjust?

A: Vancouver averaged 3.15 goals per game in the regular season, but has dropped production to 2.31 per game in the post-season. The Detroit-San Jose series averaged fewer than five goals per game in regulation time, while Vancouver-Nashville came in at just under four.

The Canucks -- yes, the Sedins in particular -- are going to have to ramp up the offence to find that extra goal per night that could beat San Jose.

"I think our team fits this style of play, with the way our defence moves the puck," Henrik Sedin said of the upcoming series. "You don’t have to be the fastest skaters to play fast. You have to be able to move the puck and know where to move the puck when you get it.

"We showed we can win in different ways. We showed we can play against Chicago. We showed we can play against Nashville."

Q: When, if ever, will the Sedins become the Sedins?

A: Let’s call a spade a spade: The Sedins haven’t been good enough through two rounds. Not when the last two Art Ross Trophy winners, Henrik and Daniel, have stalled offensively since Game 4 of the first round.

Daniel has six playoff goals, but only two of those have come after Game 4 against Chicago. Since Game 3 of that series, Daniel has been a plus player only once.

Henrik has but one playoff goal, and though he’s added eight assists, strangely Henrik has points in just five of the Canucks' 13 playoff games. Contrast that to the fact he was pointless in just 22 of 82 regular-season games, and you see a games-with-points ratio of 73 per cent in the regular season fall to 38 per cent in the post-season.

At minus-8, the brothers are tied for the worst plus-minus ratios of anyone in these playoffs. That’s right -- anyone.

If the Sedins don't start to lead, chances are we won't be talking about the playoff reps of Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton two weeks from now.

Q: Is Ryane Clowe this year's Dustin Byfuglien?

A: You thought Ryan Kesler had a nice Round 2? Conn Smythe material with 11 points, right?

Well, Ryane Clowe had two more points -- four goals and 13 points in Round 2 against Detroit. He's become the beating heart of this Sharks team, giving San Jose a huge boost when he walked out of the dressing room to play Game 7 Thursday, after missing Game 6 with an injury.

"Just his presence out there means so much," defenceman Dan Boyle said. "He’s been one of our rocks all year long. On the ice, you just feel safer with him out there. We needed him."

Clowe’s physical, drive-to-the-net game gives every defence corps trouble. But his style has proven particularly difficult for a Canucks Top 6 that simply could not handle the similarly styled Byfuglien a year ago.

Q: Who Wins: Thornton vs. Kesler?

A: In this corner, the big, 6-foot-4 distributing San Jose centreman. He went 54.5 per cent in the faceoff circle this season with 49 assists, and just had his best game of the playoffs in an epic Game 7 against Detroit.

And in this corner, the man who carried Vancouver through Round 2 against Nashville, getting in on 11 of Vancouver’s 14 goals in the series. Kesler finished seventh among NHL faceoff leaders to Thornton’s 22nd, with a 57.4 per cent mark, and after a 41-goal regular season he leads the NHL in scoring (5-10-15) through two rounds.

Both centres raised their game on key occasions this spring. Thornton has the size, Kesler the speed. Thornton is an elite passer, Kesler the elite goal scorer.

"I’m the shutdown centre for our team. He’s the shutdown centre for their team," Thornton said. "Should be a good match."

Q: Is this the year the Sharks finally make a Cup final?

A: Name a better regular-season team over the past decade that has never made it to the Stanley Cup final?

Washington? The Caps have made the playoffs for four straight seasons. San Jose has been in the dance for 11 of the past 12 post-seasons.

San Jose won the Pacific Division this season for the fourth straight year. They’ve won it six of the past nine seasons, yet made it to just three Conference finals along the way, losing their first two before this one.

You can say what you want about these Sharks, but you can’t say this is an organization that hasn’t paid its dues.

It has to happen some time. Doesn’t it?

Prediction: Not this time. Canucks in seven.