How Do They Match Up???
We now know who the top teams are in the Island Division. Victoria, Cowichan and Nanaimo will battle it out in the first two rounds, and that it’s quite likely Victoria will have the bye while the other two go toe to toe.
The first round schedule really is a grind this season with five games scheduled in six days. Fatigue will be a factor if it does go the distance, and consider this. If the first round does go to a game five, the winning team would then play seven games in nine nights before getting two days off prior to Game 3 of the Division Final.
Here’s how I would rank some of the key areas for the three playoff teams:
Offense:
1 Victoria
2 Cowichan
3 Nanaimo
Playoff Experience:
1 Nanaimo
2 Victoria
3 Cowichan
Defense:
1 Victoria
2 Nanaimo
3 Cowichan
Depth:
1 Victoria
2 Cowichan
3 Nanaimo
Goaltending:
1 Cowichan
2 Nanaimo
3 Victoria
Coaching:
1 Nanaimo
2 Cowichan
3 Victoria
Power Play:
1 Cowichan
2 Victoria
3 Nanaimo
Team Toughness:
1 Cowichan
2 Nanaimo
3 Victoria
Penalty Killing:
1 Victoria
2 Nanaimo
3 Cowichan
Intangibles:
1 Nanaimo
2 Cowichan
3 Victoria
