Vancouver entered the NHL in 1970 and the hockey-obsessed city's Cup dreams have yet to become reality, having lost in the championship round in 1982 and 1994.
San Jose won the Pacific Division the last four seasons and made the playoffs in seven straight years but have not advanced to the title round, stumbling twice in the Conference final, including last year to eventual Cup champion Chicago.
That weighty history of playoff failure will hang over the best-of-seven series when it begins on Sunday in Vancouver with the winner advancing to the Cup finals to face either the Boston Bruins or Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Canucks and Sharks could even consider themselves lucky to still be in the playoffs having both been forced to record nail-biting victories in decisive seventh games.
In the opening round, the top-seeded Canucks jumped out to a commanding 3-0 series lead over their playoff nemesis Chicago but were then forced to a seventh game that was not decided until Alex Burrows scored in overtime.
The Sharks also narrowly avoided a stunning collapse when Patrick Marleau scored a game-winning goal in the third period to beat the Detroit Red Wings in a decisive seventh game after also squandering a 3-0 series lead in the semi-final.
"It felt good to be on the score sheet and be able to get the game-winner," said Marleau, who has come under intense criticism for his lack of production during the playoffs. "But we still have a long ways to go here and another month to play. We're just going to get better."
With both teams displaying the steely resolve needed to shed the label of underachievers, the West final is shaping up as a potential classic between the conference's top two seeds packed with some of the NHL's finest talent.
OFFENSIVE SPARK
The spotlight in Vancouver is not likely to stray far from All-Star netminder Roberto Luongo, who has looked both fabulous and flustered in the post-season.
A Vezina Trophy finalist for top goaltending honors, Luongo has admitted that the pressure to win a Stanley Cup has at times been greater than the pressure to win Olympic gold for Canada at last year's Vancouver Games.
San Jose netminder Antti Niemi may not possess Luongo's resume but the Finn did backstop the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup in 49 years last season.
The Sharks can also send out an entire line of Canadian Olympic gold medal winners in Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley.
While the trio have not hit their stride in the playoffs, combining for just eight goals, rookie Logan Couture and Devin Setoguchi have provided the offensive spark potting six each.
"Last year after we beat these guys (Red Wings), I think we got a little too happy and didn't focus on our next goal and that was the Blackhawks," said Couture. "They took it to us and swept us.
"We haven't won anything yet. We've made it past the second round. Now we have to get ready for the Canucks."
The Canucks are led by Swedish twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin, whose trophy cases each contain Art Ross trophies as NHL regular season scoring champions and Olympic gold from the 2006 Turin Games.
Daniel, who captured the scoring crown this season, leads the Canucks with six goals but brother Henrik, winner of the NHL's most valuable player award last season, has scored just once in 13 playoff games.
Ryan Kesler has emerged as the Canucks' offensive threat and is tied for the league lead in post-season scoring with 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists). Two of his goals game winners, one in overtime.
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