The Chicago Blackhawks. As it should be.
In a year when the Vancouver Canucks are touted as Stanley Cup front-runners, it is only fitting that their first-round opponent be Chicago, their Waterloo in each of the last two postseasons.
The Blackhawks twice eliminated Vancouver in six games in the second round, but just snuck into the 2011 proceedings Sunday as the eighth and final qualifier in the Western Conference.
The conference quarter-final series, which deliciously pits the defending Stanley Cup champion against the current Presidents' Trophy winner, begins Wednesday at Rogers Arena.
The top-seeded Canucks had a day off Sunday, and for several weeks have been saying that they have no preference with regards to playoff opponent. Earlier this season though, players acknowledged that a playoff meeting with Chicago represented a form of competitive justice, a foe they had to slay if they wanted to win the conference.
"We were talking a lot in the room and nobody's really mentioned a favourite match-up," said winger Daniel Sedin, who won the Art Ross Trophy as the leading scorer in the 2010-11 season. "We'll take anything."
Sedin emerged from Saturday's regular-season finale against Calgary as the NHL's only 100-point scorer, and had two assists in a 3-2 comeback victory in overtime. Sedin finished with 104 points for the season to secure the first scoring title of his career, succeeding brother Henrik, who won the Art Ross last year.
The Sedins become only the second brother act in history to win the NHL overall scoring title, after Doug and Max Bentley managed it in the 1940s, and the first to do so in successive seasons. "It feels good," Sedin said. "Seeing what Hank did last year, I think we realized if we play the same way this year and were consistent enough, we'd have a chance again this year."
Last summer, Canucks general manager Mike Gillis specifically set out to shore up weaknesses based on the team's failures against the Blackhawks. Gillis added size, nastiness and depth to the lineup, especially on defence. He acquired the likes of Dan Hamhuis, Keith Ballard, Raffi Torres and Manny Malhotra, who will miss the playoffs with an eye injury, and Vancouver finished first in the overall league standings.
Now, the Canucks' master plan will be tested.
The Blackhawks put themselves in a precarious position Sunday, losing 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings on home ice. It left them on the brink of joining a dubious list of four teams that failed to make the playoffs in defence of their championship: the 2006-07 Carolina Hurricanes, the 1995-96 New Jersey Devils, the 1969-70 Montreal Canadiens, and the 1967-68 Toronto Maple Leafs.
Chicago's result meant the Dallas Stars needed a regulation or overtime victory against the Minnesota Wild, and they would claim the final playoff berth based on a better head-to-head record. Dallas beat the Blackhawks in three of four meetings this season, but blew a 2-1 second-period lead against the Wild, and lost 5-3 at the Xcel Energy Center.
With files from Eric Duhatschek in Calgary