Tuesday, December 30, 2003
CANUCKS 3, AVALANCHE 2
I saw the late SportsCenter last night and was able to catch the highlight reel for this game. It was quite a treat. They showed the goal by Mike Keane (former Avalanche) that went off the skate of John-Michael Liles. They showed an amazing sprawling stick save in close by Av goalie David Aebischer that eventually was #1 on the Top 10 Plays of the night. Also in the Top 10 was a save sequence by Dan Cloutier. Also shown in the highlight was a moment toward the end of the 3rd period where Ed Jovanovski was by his own net and Peter Forsberg grabbed his jersey and they separated. Right in front of the official, Forsberg then appeared to go after Dan Cloutier and punch him in the nuts. John Anderson, Stuart Scott, and myself couldn't believe what we were seeing. Forsberg got a two-minute roughing penalty.
The Canucks were down 2-0 to the Avs after ex-Capital Steve Konowalchuk (just another near-unfair addition to the Yankee-like get-whatever-they-want moves that the Avs have amde over the years) scored his second goal of the night at 15:11 of the first period. Yes, this is probably were my patience would near its end and I would call for Cloutier's head, even though it's Colorado.
2:18 after the Konowalchuk goal, Vancouver was trying to kill off a Todd Bertuzzi slashing penalty when Matt Cooke put one past Aebischer to cut the lead in half.
The Canucks' top line got some well-needed action on the power play in the 3rd period, as Todd Bertuzzi got his 10th goal of the year to tie the score.
With 4:35 left in the third period, the Canucks got the off-the-defender's-skate goal by Mike Keane for the go-ahead goal.
The two teams meet again in Vancouver on Friday. This is a big win and an encouraging win, especially on the road, for the Canucks. It also pads their division lead over the Avalanche, which is a very good thing. The Canucks face the Blackhawks in Chicago on Wednesday.
Ben Kuzma describes the game, namely the patience of Dan Cloutier, who in the past would have lost his head and snapped in this game. He also points out that the Canucks had killed off four straight penalties before the Cooke shorthanded goal, and that they held the third-ranked power play in the NHL scoreless on seven tries.
The Canucks were down 2-0 to the Avs after ex-Capital Steve Konowalchuk (just another near-unfair addition to the Yankee-like get-whatever-they-want moves that the Avs have amde over the years) scored his second goal of the night at 15:11 of the first period. Yes, this is probably were my patience would near its end and I would call for Cloutier's head, even though it's Colorado.
2:18 after the Konowalchuk goal, Vancouver was trying to kill off a Todd Bertuzzi slashing penalty when Matt Cooke put one past Aebischer to cut the lead in half.
The Canucks' top line got some well-needed action on the power play in the 3rd period, as Todd Bertuzzi got his 10th goal of the year to tie the score.
With 4:35 left in the third period, the Canucks got the off-the-defender's-skate goal by Mike Keane for the go-ahead goal.
The two teams meet again in Vancouver on Friday. This is a big win and an encouraging win, especially on the road, for the Canucks. It also pads their division lead over the Avalanche, which is a very good thing. The Canucks face the Blackhawks in Chicago on Wednesday.
Ben Kuzma describes the game, namely the patience of Dan Cloutier, who in the past would have lost his head and snapped in this game. He also points out that the Canucks had killed off four straight penalties before the Cooke shorthanded goal, and that they held the third-ranked power play in the NHL scoreless on seven tries.
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