Known for its natural scenery that features the Coast Mountain Range and water on three sides of its border, Vancouver is home to one of Canada’s mildest climates.

The city provides opportunities for outdoor sports such as hiking, water sports and mountain biking, while its economic stability allowed a glamorous host site for the 2010 Olympic Games.

Like most major cities in Canada, Vancouver is a proud representative of a National Hockey League (NHL) organization.

Along with the still-prominent Buffalo Sabres, the Vancouver Canucks joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1970. Since, the Canucks have made three trips to the Stanley Cup Finals (1982, 1994), including their current run which will culminate with a Game 7 against Boston on Wednesday night.

Wednesday’s tilt in Vancouver will offer the Canucks a chance to win hockey’s ultimate prize for the first time in franchise history. Through a series that is deadlocked at three games apiece, the home team has not lost.

The Canucks earned a ticket to this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs by way of a staggering 54-19-9 record, securing the President’s trophy which is awarded to the league’s best regular season team.

Some of Cleveland’s most notable Monsters have ties to the Vancouver area. Rookie center Mark Olver was born in suburban Vancouver (Burnaby, B.C.), while captain Ben Walter spends some of his offseason months in the city.

Forward David van der Gulik was born in Abbotsford, B.C.,  just over 40 miles from Vancouver, while Luke Walker and Travis Gawryletz are also from southern British Columbia.