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And then there were none (Canadian teams, that is)

Sens lose

For the first time since 1996, there won’t be a single Canadian team in the second round of the playoffs. Or to put it another way, there are the same number of Canadian teams still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup as Mexican teams. (Mexico: also very disappointed.)

It’s not a huge surprise, really. Only two of the seven Canadian clubs – the Senators and Canucks – actually qualified for the postseason. Ottawa wasn’t expected to take out the Rangers and, according to Canucks GM Mike Gillis, Vancouver had a nervous breakdown (or something) after beating Boston in January.

In some ways, though, what happened in 1996 was worse for hockey fans north of the border. That year, five of the seven Canadian teams made the playoffs, with none of them advancing past the first round.

Plus, 1996 was the Jets’ final season in Winnipeg before moving to Phoenix.