Saturday, January 03, 2004
CANUCKS 3, FLAMES 1
The difference in this game was the second period, where the Canucks exploded for their three goals: Markus Naslund (20th of year), Magnus Arvedson (2nd), and Brent Sopel (4th)
The Canucks were "struggling to find their legs," according to play-by-play man John Shorthouse, in the first period, and it was Canuck minor-league callup goalie Alex Auld who kept the Flames out of the net until the Canucks hit their stride. Auld stopped 31 shots to get his record to 2-1-1. He also faced his first NHL penalty shot. I didn't say "stopped" because it turned out that Jarome Iginla never put the shot on the net because he tripped.
Naslund's goal was his 250th as a Canuck, putting him at 4th all-time on the Vancouver goals list, passing Tom Tanney. Pavel Bure is 3rd on the list, and Naslund is three goals away.
An encouraging moment came early in the game, when Kryszstof Oliwa of the Flames fought with the Canucks' latest acquisition Wade Brookbank. Brookbank dropped Oliwa with a right to "win" the fight, per se, but the big thing here is that the Canucks may finally have their enforcer. The guy's like 6'4" and 220, and if he can answer the bell like he did tonight, then maybe the Canucks (namely the Sedins) won't get pushed around so much.
Some little tidbits here: the Canucks are 8-1-1 in their last 10 road games. They have a nine-game unbeaten streak going in Calgary, dating back to December of 2000. The Canucks got their Northwest Division lead back to 6 points over Colorado and eight points over Calgary.
Next game for the Canucks is back at the Garage against San Jose on Monday.
The Canucks were "struggling to find their legs," according to play-by-play man John Shorthouse, in the first period, and it was Canuck minor-league callup goalie Alex Auld who kept the Flames out of the net until the Canucks hit their stride. Auld stopped 31 shots to get his record to 2-1-1. He also faced his first NHL penalty shot. I didn't say "stopped" because it turned out that Jarome Iginla never put the shot on the net because he tripped.
Naslund's goal was his 250th as a Canuck, putting him at 4th all-time on the Vancouver goals list, passing Tom Tanney. Pavel Bure is 3rd on the list, and Naslund is three goals away.
An encouraging moment came early in the game, when Kryszstof Oliwa of the Flames fought with the Canucks' latest acquisition Wade Brookbank. Brookbank dropped Oliwa with a right to "win" the fight, per se, but the big thing here is that the Canucks may finally have their enforcer. The guy's like 6'4" and 220, and if he can answer the bell like he did tonight, then maybe the Canucks (namely the Sedins) won't get pushed around so much.
Some little tidbits here: the Canucks are 8-1-1 in their last 10 road games. They have a nine-game unbeaten streak going in Calgary, dating back to December of 2000. The Canucks got their Northwest Division lead back to 6 points over Colorado and eight points over Calgary.
Next game for the Canucks is back at the Garage against San Jose on Monday.
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