Sunday, February 22, 2004
OILERS 4, CANUCKS 3 (OT)
The Canucks got outplayed. However, they did have the lead after two periods. They had leads of 2-1 and 3-2 before the Oilers tied it in the third to force OT. And in the OT, Eric Brewer skated toward the net in (Tom Larscheid's words) a parting of the Red Sea by the Vancouver defense. The Canucks were outplayed (and outshot 37-21) by a more hungry Oiler team, but did get the point, so at least there is some positive out of this.
That said, the Canucks closed out their little three-game road trip with a 1-1-0-1 record, netting two points out of a possible six. They are now within three points of Colorado.
The effort of the Canucks was better in this game than in the putrid Minnesota game, but it still wasn't anywhere close to what the team is capable of. The Oilers basically had a must-win game tonight if they wanted any chance at all to make the playoffs.
In another weird anomaly, the NHL's worst power play (Oilers) has managed to burn the NHL's best penalty killing unit (Canucks) on multiple occasions, including 2-for-5 tonight. The Canucks chipped in to further exhibit their futility on the power play, going 0-for-3.
Todd Bertuzzi continued his enigmatic season, tallying two assists, but also committing a stupid slash penalty which indirectly led to the Adam Oates goal (his first one in forever) that tied the game at 2. Fedor Fedorov had a decent night, originally scoring a goal, but then having it given to Artem Chubarov after the game. Dan Cloutier had some of his best saves of the season tonight, but also had a combination of bad defense (the OT goal) and the puck sitting under him (Oates goal) that contributed to some badness.
Canuck goals: Marek Malik (2), Daniel Sedin (12), Artem Chubarov (7)
In short, the Adam Oates/Ales Hemsky/Ethan Moreau line sunk the Canucks tonight, and in Larscheid words again, Moreau "skated like the wind" tonight.
The schedule gets brutal for the Canucks. They have the Red Wings at home Tuesday. The upcoming schedule brings San Jose, Saint Louis, at Colorado, at Detroit, at Columbus, Colorado, Minnesota, at Edmonton, Ottawa.
This is where the Canucks willl hopefully show us what they can do.
That said, the Canucks closed out their little three-game road trip with a 1-1-0-1 record, netting two points out of a possible six. They are now within three points of Colorado.
The effort of the Canucks was better in this game than in the putrid Minnesota game, but it still wasn't anywhere close to what the team is capable of. The Oilers basically had a must-win game tonight if they wanted any chance at all to make the playoffs.
In another weird anomaly, the NHL's worst power play (Oilers) has managed to burn the NHL's best penalty killing unit (Canucks) on multiple occasions, including 2-for-5 tonight. The Canucks chipped in to further exhibit their futility on the power play, going 0-for-3.
Todd Bertuzzi continued his enigmatic season, tallying two assists, but also committing a stupid slash penalty which indirectly led to the Adam Oates goal (his first one in forever) that tied the game at 2. Fedor Fedorov had a decent night, originally scoring a goal, but then having it given to Artem Chubarov after the game. Dan Cloutier had some of his best saves of the season tonight, but also had a combination of bad defense (the OT goal) and the puck sitting under him (Oates goal) that contributed to some badness.
Canuck goals: Marek Malik (2), Daniel Sedin (12), Artem Chubarov (7)
In short, the Adam Oates/Ales Hemsky/Ethan Moreau line sunk the Canucks tonight, and in Larscheid words again, Moreau "skated like the wind" tonight.
The schedule gets brutal for the Canucks. They have the Red Wings at home Tuesday. The upcoming schedule brings San Jose, Saint Louis, at Colorado, at Detroit, at Columbus, Colorado, Minnesota, at Edmonton, Ottawa.
This is where the Canucks willl hopefully show us what they can do.
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