Canucks to start Stanley Cup playoffs on Wednesday

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      The road to the Stanley Cup begins Wednesday (April 11) for the Vancouver Canucks when they host the Los Angeles Kings in the opener of their best-of-seven first-round series.

      The National Hockey League has released the full first-round schedule, and the Canucks will play the first two games of the series Wednesday and Friday (April 13) on home ice before the series shifts to Southern California.

      Because the Kings share their building with both the L.A. Lakers and L.A. Clippers, availability for playoff hockey at Staples Center is difficult. That is why there will be a two-day break between Game 3 (Sunday, April 15) and Game 4 (Wednesday, April 18).

      And because of a pair of Coldplay concerts at Rogers Arena, the Canucks and Kings will be forced to take a three-day break before Game 5, which is scheduled for Sunday, April 22. Game 6, if necessary, would go Tuesday, April 24, in Los Angeles, with a deciding seventh game slated for Vancouver on Thursday, April 26.

      Wednesday’s series opener will begin at 7:30 p.m.—a half-hour later than the usual puck drop at Rogers Arena. Friday’s Game 2 is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

      The start times for the final three games of the series have yet to be determined. The entire first-round NHL playoff schedule is available here.

      This matchup is a repeat of the opening round of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, when the Canucks crowned the Kings in six games. This season, the Canucks had a pair of wins, one loss, and one shootout loss against L.A., scoring just seven goals and giving up eight.

      Their most recent contest was a 1-0 Canucks' victory at Rogers Arena on March 26. Roberto Luongo played every minute of all four games this season against Los Angeles and will be the Canucks' starter in Wednesday’s playoff opener. Backup Cory Schneider has never seen a minute of action against the Kings in his NHL career.

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