Thursday, April 01, 2004
CANUCKS 2, MIGHTY DUCKS 1
YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!
Before the puck was dropped for tonight's Vancouver/Anaheim tilt, the Colorado Avalanche were down 4-2 with 8:31 left in the 3rd period at Minnesota. Unfortunately, Peter Forsberg (2nd game back from injury) and John-Michael Liles had something to say about that, scoring late goals (tying goal occurred with 1:09 left) to force overtime and get at least one point in the standings. This put the Avalanche two points ahead of the Canucks for the Northwest Division lead, with a possibility for a three-point lead. Luckily, it took only 53 seconds of play for Marc Chouinard to put a Stephane Veilleux past Tommy Salo. Chouinard not only gave his team their first overtime win of the year (that is just a stick stat), he did the Canucks a favor.
With the Avalanche sitting only two points ahead of the Canucks heading into the game tonight, the Canucks could retake the Northwest Division lead with a win tonight, because they had the tiebreaker (more overall wins) over the Avalanche. The Canucks standing on top of the Northwest Division was something that seemed near impossible to me after the Todd Bertuzzi incident on March 8th overshadowed a thorough 9-2 ass-whooping of the Canucks on home ice at the hands of the Avalanche. Also, with the Colorado loss, Vancouver controlled their own destiny -- if they ran the table for the final three games, the Northwest Division would be theirs. Of course, if the Avalanche stumble at Columbus or against Nashville, the Canucks won't have to run the table. But it'd be nice if they did.
The Canucks came out strong in the first period, outshooting the Ducks 9-2 (the Ducks didn't get off a shot until halfway through the period), keeping the pressure on and testing Duck backup goalie Martin Gerber.
The Ducks came out a step faster to start the second period (outshot the Canucks 17-12), and were rewarded when Ruslan Salei put a shot off Sami Salo's right shoulder that got Dan Cloutier really couldn't do anything about. A fluky goal, yes, but a goal nonetheless that put the Canucks down 1-0 on a night when they needed two points. Still sluggish, four minutes later the top line of Markus Naslund/Brendan Morrison/Matt Cooke was playing sloppily, failing to clear the puck from their own zone on multiple occasions. Play-by-play man John Shorthouse commented, saying it was "a horrible shift" for the line, when suddenly the guys got control of the puck and Naslund deked to the backhand and put the puck past Martin Gerber to tie the game. It was sudden, and it was key. The hockey phrase here is "against the run of play."
As an aside, both goalies were solid. Dan Cloutier ended up stopping 22 shots (and stopped Rob Niedermayer on a few chances), while Martin Gerber was peppered all nighy, stopping a staggering 41. The Canucks tallied a season high 45 shots a couple days ago against Phoenix, and had 43 tonight.
The third period came. Vancouver dominated on both ends of the ice, and outshot the Ducks 22-4 (!!!). Like I mentioned, though, Gerber was stellar. He was fending off everything the Canucks threw at him. The only aside to the solid goaltending was an incident where Dan Cloutier rushingly stopped a 150-foot screened shot off the stick of Vitaly Vishnevsky, which made color commentator Tom Larscheid's heart jump into his throat. Other than this scare, it appeared that both goalies were stopping everything, the Canucks would take at least their one point, and it was headed to overtime. Martin Gerber had stopped 21 shots in the period alone for the Ducks. After a few rapidly successive faceoffs, a faceoff in the Anaheim zone with 22 seconds left was won by Brendan Morrison, who passed off to Sami Salo, who put a shot (screened by Matt Cooke) just over the shoulder of Gerber (he never saw the shot) and just under the crossbar a second later to end his personal 22-game goal drought (last goal was Feb 11 at Calgary). Jubilation ensued. All the Canucks had to do was skate around and play keepaway for 20 seconds and the Northwest Division lead was theirs once again, after losing it back in mid-January. With their 22nd and final shot of the third period, and their final shot of the game, the Canucks took the two points and their fourth straight win. I think this win may have been better than the Dallas win last Saturday, and I got to see that one.
Canuck goals: Markus Naslund (34), Sami Salo (7)
Here's what Dan, Tom, and John thought about it...
Dan: That was exciting. Colorado scored two late goals in their game and the Canucks scored on their 22nd and final shot of the 3rd
John: The Canucks were determined to win this game. They gambled on a few plays and made me uneasy, but came through. This game proved the importance of faceoffs. Good job by Matt Cooke to screen on the Salo shot
Dan: My show would get hours of calls if Cloutier let in the 150-foot shot
Tom: Clouts had a very good night tonight. Gerber had a great game too. These types of games are important for Clouts. Everything was on the line, they control their destiny, and he has to be solid in games like this
John: Cloutier has only allowed 4 goals in winning streak
Dan: Was it Vishnevsky who screened the long shot?
John: I don't know...my head was down
Dan: Salo may have been hurting when he put the shot through
Tom: Cooke going to net was the key on the goal. He provided the screen. I don't think Gerber saw the shot, which went right under the crossbar over the shoulder
John: It went over his left shoulder. It's Salo's first goal in 23 games
Dan: I liked Brendan Morrison tonight. He had a great pass on the Naslund goal
Tom: Naslund has a 2 game goal streak. The pass to Naslund to tie the game was a beauty. The Cooker is stepping up too, right now he has an opportunity to play with two highly-skilled players on the top line. He has a high hockey IQ
Dan: The 1-1 goal came against the run of play
John: I had slammed the line for a poor shift, but then they made a great 3-way passing play
--
Dan: 3 stars...Naslund, Salo, Gerber in the arena; Gerber, Jovo, and Salo on the TV telecast
Tom: I like 'em all...Jovanovski is starting to show signs of coming around with his crazy legs and body checks. Salo had the winner with seconds left. Naslund worked hard, though we've seen better games from him, but has scored in 2 straight. Gerber was fantastic. Cloutier could have hit the three stars too
Dan: Rob Niedermayer would think so
John: Clouts had his number tonight. Marek Malik had a very steady game with four shots and had a chance that went off Gerber's shoulder.
Tom: Malik has been brilliant on blueline for the last 2 weeks. He makes a good initial first pass. He's in a zone and is a better hockey player than people give him credit for
John: Malik is a plus or even in all of the last 17 games
...
Dan: Do the Canucks need to run the table? They might not have to; Colorado can't win!
Tom: We watched a lot of the COL/MIN game. You get the feeeling that this may have been Colorado's big game. I felt Minnesota had to win or tie because I don't see Colorado losing any more games. Nashville is going to have a tough game in Denver, especially because of their travel
John: The Canucks can clinch on Friday in San Jose if Colorado loses in regulation in their next game
Dan: It's wild. The Edmonton win is big for them. Calgary is in the postseason for first time in seven years
Tom: I like Darryl Sutter for coach/executive of the year. Miikka Kiprusoff was a great trade...he's been the Flames' MVP
Dan: It's a great night for the Canucks
Canucks Friday at San Jose. Canucks Saturday against Edmonton.
Before the puck was dropped for tonight's Vancouver/Anaheim tilt, the Colorado Avalanche were down 4-2 with 8:31 left in the 3rd period at Minnesota. Unfortunately, Peter Forsberg (2nd game back from injury) and John-Michael Liles had something to say about that, scoring late goals (tying goal occurred with 1:09 left) to force overtime and get at least one point in the standings. This put the Avalanche two points ahead of the Canucks for the Northwest Division lead, with a possibility for a three-point lead. Luckily, it took only 53 seconds of play for Marc Chouinard to put a Stephane Veilleux past Tommy Salo. Chouinard not only gave his team their first overtime win of the year (that is just a stick stat), he did the Canucks a favor.
With the Avalanche sitting only two points ahead of the Canucks heading into the game tonight, the Canucks could retake the Northwest Division lead with a win tonight, because they had the tiebreaker (more overall wins) over the Avalanche. The Canucks standing on top of the Northwest Division was something that seemed near impossible to me after the Todd Bertuzzi incident on March 8th overshadowed a thorough 9-2 ass-whooping of the Canucks on home ice at the hands of the Avalanche. Also, with the Colorado loss, Vancouver controlled their own destiny -- if they ran the table for the final three games, the Northwest Division would be theirs. Of course, if the Avalanche stumble at Columbus or against Nashville, the Canucks won't have to run the table. But it'd be nice if they did.
The Canucks came out strong in the first period, outshooting the Ducks 9-2 (the Ducks didn't get off a shot until halfway through the period), keeping the pressure on and testing Duck backup goalie Martin Gerber.
The Ducks came out a step faster to start the second period (outshot the Canucks 17-12), and were rewarded when Ruslan Salei put a shot off Sami Salo's right shoulder that got Dan Cloutier really couldn't do anything about. A fluky goal, yes, but a goal nonetheless that put the Canucks down 1-0 on a night when they needed two points. Still sluggish, four minutes later the top line of Markus Naslund/Brendan Morrison/Matt Cooke was playing sloppily, failing to clear the puck from their own zone on multiple occasions. Play-by-play man John Shorthouse commented, saying it was "a horrible shift" for the line, when suddenly the guys got control of the puck and Naslund deked to the backhand and put the puck past Martin Gerber to tie the game. It was sudden, and it was key. The hockey phrase here is "against the run of play."
As an aside, both goalies were solid. Dan Cloutier ended up stopping 22 shots (and stopped Rob Niedermayer on a few chances), while Martin Gerber was peppered all nighy, stopping a staggering 41. The Canucks tallied a season high 45 shots a couple days ago against Phoenix, and had 43 tonight.
The third period came. Vancouver dominated on both ends of the ice, and outshot the Ducks 22-4 (!!!). Like I mentioned, though, Gerber was stellar. He was fending off everything the Canucks threw at him. The only aside to the solid goaltending was an incident where Dan Cloutier rushingly stopped a 150-foot screened shot off the stick of Vitaly Vishnevsky, which made color commentator Tom Larscheid's heart jump into his throat. Other than this scare, it appeared that both goalies were stopping everything, the Canucks would take at least their one point, and it was headed to overtime. Martin Gerber had stopped 21 shots in the period alone for the Ducks. After a few rapidly successive faceoffs, a faceoff in the Anaheim zone with 22 seconds left was won by Brendan Morrison, who passed off to Sami Salo, who put a shot (screened by Matt Cooke) just over the shoulder of Gerber (he never saw the shot) and just under the crossbar a second later to end his personal 22-game goal drought (last goal was Feb 11 at Calgary). Jubilation ensued. All the Canucks had to do was skate around and play keepaway for 20 seconds and the Northwest Division lead was theirs once again, after losing it back in mid-January. With their 22nd and final shot of the third period, and their final shot of the game, the Canucks took the two points and their fourth straight win. I think this win may have been better than the Dallas win last Saturday, and I got to see that one.
Canuck goals: Markus Naslund (34), Sami Salo (7)
Here's what Dan, Tom, and John thought about it...
Dan: That was exciting. Colorado scored two late goals in their game and the Canucks scored on their 22nd and final shot of the 3rd
John: The Canucks were determined to win this game. They gambled on a few plays and made me uneasy, but came through. This game proved the importance of faceoffs. Good job by Matt Cooke to screen on the Salo shot
Dan: My show would get hours of calls if Cloutier let in the 150-foot shot
Tom: Clouts had a very good night tonight. Gerber had a great game too. These types of games are important for Clouts. Everything was on the line, they control their destiny, and he has to be solid in games like this
John: Cloutier has only allowed 4 goals in winning streak
Dan: Was it Vishnevsky who screened the long shot?
John: I don't know...my head was down
Dan: Salo may have been hurting when he put the shot through
Tom: Cooke going to net was the key on the goal. He provided the screen. I don't think Gerber saw the shot, which went right under the crossbar over the shoulder
John: It went over his left shoulder. It's Salo's first goal in 23 games
Dan: I liked Brendan Morrison tonight. He had a great pass on the Naslund goal
Tom: Naslund has a 2 game goal streak. The pass to Naslund to tie the game was a beauty. The Cooker is stepping up too, right now he has an opportunity to play with two highly-skilled players on the top line. He has a high hockey IQ
Dan: The 1-1 goal came against the run of play
John: I had slammed the line for a poor shift, but then they made a great 3-way passing play
--
Dan: 3 stars...Naslund, Salo, Gerber in the arena; Gerber, Jovo, and Salo on the TV telecast
Tom: I like 'em all...Jovanovski is starting to show signs of coming around with his crazy legs and body checks. Salo had the winner with seconds left. Naslund worked hard, though we've seen better games from him, but has scored in 2 straight. Gerber was fantastic. Cloutier could have hit the three stars too
Dan: Rob Niedermayer would think so
John: Clouts had his number tonight. Marek Malik had a very steady game with four shots and had a chance that went off Gerber's shoulder.
Tom: Malik has been brilliant on blueline for the last 2 weeks. He makes a good initial first pass. He's in a zone and is a better hockey player than people give him credit for
John: Malik is a plus or even in all of the last 17 games
...
Dan: Do the Canucks need to run the table? They might not have to; Colorado can't win!
Tom: We watched a lot of the COL/MIN game. You get the feeeling that this may have been Colorado's big game. I felt Minnesota had to win or tie because I don't see Colorado losing any more games. Nashville is going to have a tough game in Denver, especially because of their travel
John: The Canucks can clinch on Friday in San Jose if Colorado loses in regulation in their next game
Dan: It's wild. The Edmonton win is big for them. Calgary is in the postseason for first time in seven years
Tom: I like Darryl Sutter for coach/executive of the year. Miikka Kiprusoff was a great trade...he's been the Flames' MVP
Dan: It's a great night for the Canucks
Canucks Friday at San Jose. Canucks Saturday against Edmonton.
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