So I made my BetOnline.com wager and turned on the Canucks/Hawks game last night. Picked Chicago, of course. Midway through the third period…

BAM!

Willie Mitchell hops out of the box and brutalizes Jonathan Toews, goes Gambino Family on him. Massive hit but it was crisp and clean, so it was nice to see that Mitchell wasn’t indicted by the league and coaches. The BetOnline.com odds of that happening are usually pretty slim — seems every big hit these days is “dirty” in someone else’s mind.

All the big hits today show a weird trend; it used to be that only blatant cheap shots started big brawls. Now, any big hit gets you jumped by the other team and you end up with the post-whistle scrum you usually see in NFL betting after a fumble. What gives?

I long for the olden days — even 10 years ago — when the answer to a good clean hit was another good clean hit. I totally understand that teams have to respond in some way to show they can’t be pushed around — but why not answer hits with hits?

Anyone who likes to bet on March Madness or any other online betting phenomena knows that you can’t pick ‘em all, right? Well, that includes hockey. If you bet on NHL, you probably saw the Vancouver Canucks ride a beautiful four-touch pass goal on the rush to victory over the Dallas Stars. I can’t seem to find a video of that damn goal, but that’s the not the point anyway.

My point is that I underestimated the Vancouver Canucks. I’m not saying I’m driving the bandwagon now — they’re good but not 10-home-wins-in-a-row good, not 15-3-1-since the start of February good — but they have a chance to make a legit splash in the Stanley Cup odds now.

For the first time in several years, the Canucks have — dare I say it — depth. Their usual NHL betting staples remain intact, as Roberto Luongo keeps standing tall and the Sedins remain reliable point-per-game contributors. But the Canucks really do have secondary scoring right now. Mats Sundin and Pavol Demitra aren’t being counted on as the guys, which is fair given their advanced age. They’re better suited to second-line duty now and they’re thriving, helping the Canucks dominate at the sportsbook of late. The more intriguing development may be the rise of young power forwards Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows. They’re great all around players who excel on the penalty kill and should really crank up their play in the NHL betting playoffs.

I’m not saying “Canucks for the Cup!” but I’m admitting I was wrong when I said Vancouver had no shot at glory several months ago while analyziing Sundin’s potential destinations. If the Stanley Cup betting playoffs started today, I’d definitey pick them to beat Chicago. Who knows? Luongo is good enough to steal the second round too, even if it could be against Detroit or San Jose.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; this year’s NHL betting playoffs will be unbelievable — the best since 1994.