Saturday, April 03, 2004
CANUCKS 4, SHARKS 1
Heading into the game tonight, the Canucks stood two points behind the Colorado Avalanche, who had beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 earlier in the night. They needed a win over the West's 2nd-seeded San Jose Sharks to keep pace with the Avalanche, and that's exactly what they got, ending the Sharks' 5-game losing streak.
The Canucks came out very sharp in the 1st period, which was something they had to do considering the Sharks are probably the best first-period team in the NHL. Bucking a trend from the latter part of the season, the Canucks were the first to score in the game, and they did so only 89 seconds into the game on a wrister by Mattias Ohlund. Of course, the Sharks are good in the first period, and kept some pressure on the Canucks. San Jose eventually tied the game with 8:34 left in the period when Scott Harvey pounced on a juicy rebound of a Niko Dimitrakos shot and put it past Dan Cloutier, who was near-prone on the ground. The key goal of the game came when Matt Cooke scored quickly, 31 seconds after the Sharks tied the game. That would be all the Canucks needed as Dan Cloutier was very sharp in net tonight, occasional rebound problems and the one goal aside. Henrik Sedin scored 1:52 into the second period, giving the Canucks an important insurance goal, and goals early or late in periods are somewhat demoralizing to opposing teams. Artem Chubarov put the game on ice with a shorthanded empty-net goal.
Dan Cloutier looked good, and all Canuck fans are hoping his play in the last 5 games will carry over to the playoffs. Dan has given up 5 goals over that stretch. Brendan Morrison notched two assists and has a four-game point streak. Tonight's win was Cloutier's 100th win as a Canuck.
The Canucks collected their 22nd and final road win of the regular season, and this win was their fifth straight, their third 5-game win streak of the season. With tonight's win, the Canucks have clinched home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs, meaning they can be seeded no lower than fourth. A win tomorrow against Edmonton clinches the Canucks' fourth division title in franchise history and the first one in 11 years. If something other than that happens, then the Canucks have to hope that Colorado (facing Nashville on Sunday) ends up with the same number of points as the Canucks or less. But let's just hope the Canucks close it out the right way with a win against Edmonton.
Canuck goals: Mattias Ohlund (13), Matt Cooke (11), Henrik Sedin (11), Artem Chubarov (12)
Only one gripe stat -- the Canucks went 0-for-2 on the power play tonight and are 8-for-102 on the man-advantage since the All-Star break. Just store this away and remain optimistic.
Now, the postgame notes with Dan, John, and Tom.
Dan: CGY beat LA 3-2
John: CGY will finish no lower than 6th as a result of that
Tom: I'm impressed. This game says so much about the Canucks' readiness for playoff run. Everyone is on the same page. The work ethic is great on their play without the puck. They got great goaltending from Cloutier. This was a great test. San Jose started out extremely well (15 shots in the first period). The Canucks hung in and scored big goals. The third period was not exciting, but Vancouver kept the San Jose shots long and far from the net. They had to have this win
Dan: San Jose was interested when they had the puck but were not interested when they didn't have the puck
Tom: This is a very good Shark team. San Jose knew couldn't advance in the standings, so they might not have been there all the way
Dan: Cloutier was strong tonight
John: If Cloutier let the long goal in last time, this might have all been for naught. He was very solid, even with the rebound problems. Any team needs a good goaltender for playoff success
Dan: We know his playoff travails, but he is 35 games over .500 in a Canuck uniform
Tom: Cloutier will have 2nd-most playoff experience if Manny Legace starts for DET
Dan: But is it good experience (haha)?
John: Cloutier was 34 below .500 before joining Canucks
--
Dan: three stars...Cloutier, Morrison, Malik (TV)/Ohlund (building)
Tom: Ohlund and Malik were great on the blue line. Malik is impressive, he's playing with so much confidence. He makes good simple decisions with the puck, and uses his big reach to perfection
John: It's plus-35 for Malik, if he is a plus tomorrow, he breaks Pavel Bure's franchise record
Tom: Mattias is great. He's scored more goals than any Vancouver defensemen and he's scored big goals this year
Dan: the Vancouver Giants won their playoff game over Everett. On Saturday, both Edmonton and Everett are in Vancouver. The Canucks will have a chance to win the title
Tom: Players don't think about the tiredness, or the 82nd game, or the third game in four nights, just try to play the best you can. It means so much to get the division
John: It's a much different feeling than last year. Last year, they lost in Anaheim, then blew a lead in Phoenix last year. They are surging this year, and have a chance to win the division if they win and post their longest streak of season.
Canucks against Edmonton tomorrow. It's on the CBC for all you western Washington residents with Comcast cable.
The Canucks came out very sharp in the 1st period, which was something they had to do considering the Sharks are probably the best first-period team in the NHL. Bucking a trend from the latter part of the season, the Canucks were the first to score in the game, and they did so only 89 seconds into the game on a wrister by Mattias Ohlund. Of course, the Sharks are good in the first period, and kept some pressure on the Canucks. San Jose eventually tied the game with 8:34 left in the period when Scott Harvey pounced on a juicy rebound of a Niko Dimitrakos shot and put it past Dan Cloutier, who was near-prone on the ground. The key goal of the game came when Matt Cooke scored quickly, 31 seconds after the Sharks tied the game. That would be all the Canucks needed as Dan Cloutier was very sharp in net tonight, occasional rebound problems and the one goal aside. Henrik Sedin scored 1:52 into the second period, giving the Canucks an important insurance goal, and goals early or late in periods are somewhat demoralizing to opposing teams. Artem Chubarov put the game on ice with a shorthanded empty-net goal.
Dan Cloutier looked good, and all Canuck fans are hoping his play in the last 5 games will carry over to the playoffs. Dan has given up 5 goals over that stretch. Brendan Morrison notched two assists and has a four-game point streak. Tonight's win was Cloutier's 100th win as a Canuck.
The Canucks collected their 22nd and final road win of the regular season, and this win was their fifth straight, their third 5-game win streak of the season. With tonight's win, the Canucks have clinched home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs, meaning they can be seeded no lower than fourth. A win tomorrow against Edmonton clinches the Canucks' fourth division title in franchise history and the first one in 11 years. If something other than that happens, then the Canucks have to hope that Colorado (facing Nashville on Sunday) ends up with the same number of points as the Canucks or less. But let's just hope the Canucks close it out the right way with a win against Edmonton.
Canuck goals: Mattias Ohlund (13), Matt Cooke (11), Henrik Sedin (11), Artem Chubarov (12)
Only one gripe stat -- the Canucks went 0-for-2 on the power play tonight and are 8-for-102 on the man-advantage since the All-Star break. Just store this away and remain optimistic.
Now, the postgame notes with Dan, John, and Tom.
Dan: CGY beat LA 3-2
John: CGY will finish no lower than 6th as a result of that
Tom: I'm impressed. This game says so much about the Canucks' readiness for playoff run. Everyone is on the same page. The work ethic is great on their play without the puck. They got great goaltending from Cloutier. This was a great test. San Jose started out extremely well (15 shots in the first period). The Canucks hung in and scored big goals. The third period was not exciting, but Vancouver kept the San Jose shots long and far from the net. They had to have this win
Dan: San Jose was interested when they had the puck but were not interested when they didn't have the puck
Tom: This is a very good Shark team. San Jose knew couldn't advance in the standings, so they might not have been there all the way
Dan: Cloutier was strong tonight
John: If Cloutier let the long goal in last time, this might have all been for naught. He was very solid, even with the rebound problems. Any team needs a good goaltender for playoff success
Dan: We know his playoff travails, but he is 35 games over .500 in a Canuck uniform
Tom: Cloutier will have 2nd-most playoff experience if Manny Legace starts for DET
Dan: But is it good experience (haha)?
John: Cloutier was 34 below .500 before joining Canucks
--
Dan: three stars...Cloutier, Morrison, Malik (TV)/Ohlund (building)
Tom: Ohlund and Malik were great on the blue line. Malik is impressive, he's playing with so much confidence. He makes good simple decisions with the puck, and uses his big reach to perfection
John: It's plus-35 for Malik, if he is a plus tomorrow, he breaks Pavel Bure's franchise record
Tom: Mattias is great. He's scored more goals than any Vancouver defensemen and he's scored big goals this year
Dan: the Vancouver Giants won their playoff game over Everett. On Saturday, both Edmonton and Everett are in Vancouver. The Canucks will have a chance to win the title
Tom: Players don't think about the tiredness, or the 82nd game, or the third game in four nights, just try to play the best you can. It means so much to get the division
John: It's a much different feeling than last year. Last year, they lost in Anaheim, then blew a lead in Phoenix last year. They are surging this year, and have a chance to win the division if they win and post their longest streak of season.
Canucks against Edmonton tomorrow. It's on the CBC for all you western Washington residents with Comcast cable.
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