Saturday, November 26, 2005
GAME 24: COYOTES 2, CANUCKS 1
Coyotes 2, Canucks 1
[posted in full Sat 3 Dec ~3p]
The Phoenix Coyotes (or the Fighting Gretzkys/Gretzkies) came into this tilt having won five of their last six games. In other news, their red tops remind me a lot of the sweaters they had the Soviet team wear in the movie Miracle.
1st period
A pass to Sean O'Donnell in the high slot led to a one-timer that was lasered into the net on Alex Auld's stick side. It was O'Donnell's first goal in 63 games and marked the ninth time in 11 games and the 11th in the last 14 games where the Canucks had surrendered the first goal of the game.
»» 1, PHOENIX, Sean O'Donnell 1 (Mike Johnson, Ladislav Nagy) 2:05
»» COYOTES 1, CANUCKS 0
Jamie Lundmark blasted a slap shot from the right point that was deflected into the net low on Auld's glove side by Ladislav Nagy.
»» 2, PHOENIX, powerplay, Ladislav Nagy 8 (Jamie Lundmark, Paul Mara) 11:30
»» COYOTES 2, CANUCKS 0
Later, Jarkko Ruutu stole a puck and centered to Richard Park on the doorstep, but he fired wide. Lundmark hammered Brendan Morrison after the final horn, and pleasantries were exchanged between various players on both teams before heading back to the dressing rooms. Vancouver outshot the Coyotes 13-9 in the period. The Canucks were 0-for-2 on the power play while Phoenix was 1-for-2.
2nd period
With 16:46 to go, Ed Jovanovski was wiped out in front of the Phoenix net, and Curtis Joseph made one of many crazy stops, the main shot being by Sami Salo, and maybe another off a rebound attempt. At the 13:56 mark, Keith Ballard was crushed behind his own goal line by Jarkko Ruutu on a penalty kill. Just over six minutes into the period, Richard Park moved with the puck across the blue line but had his head down, and Keith Ballard absolutely creamed him. A punishing clean hit, yes, but afterward, Bryan Allen started throwing a bunch of rights at Ballard and Jarkko Ruutu pinned Shane Doan to the ice after Ruutu had originally gone after Ballard. With 9:24 to go, Ed Jovanovski flew into Denis Gauthier deep in the Phoenix end. With about 6:53 to go, Gauthier took the puck behind his own net but was taken down by Ruutu. Ruutu got the puck out front to Ryan Kesler, who was absolutely robbedf by Joseph, and Ballard came back out front to stop a shot off the rebound by Park. The Canucks outshot the Coyotes 13-5 in the period and had a 26-14 lead in that department after 40 minutes of play. The Canucks were 0-for-2 on the power play (0-for-4 overall) while Phoenix was 0-for-3 (1-for-5).
3rd period
At 5:34 into the period, Shane Doan was tripped up on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot, but was held out by Auld on a five-hole attempt. Past the halfway point of the period, Anson Carter intercepted a pass in the Phoenix end and streaked down the left side, putting the puck past Joseph's glove side.
»» 3, VANCOUVER, Anson Carter 7 (unassisted) 10:57
»» COYOTES 2, CANUCKS 1
Two late penalties on Henrik Sedin (trip at 13:51, the third straight time Vancouver had taken themselves off a power play with a penalty) and Markus Naslund (hook at 18:17) really did not help the Canucks' chances of getting the equalizer. Phoenix outshot the Canucks 10-9 in the period (Vancouver 35-24 overall). The Canucks were 0-for-2 on the power play while Phoenix was 0-for-4. Vancouver finished 0-for-6 on the power play while Phoenix was 1-for-9.
Three stars -- (1) Phoenix's Sean O'Donnell, (2) Phoenix's Curtis Joseph, (3) Phoenix's Keith Ballard
[The NHL.com scoresheet has the stars flipped from what I heard on the radio broadcast, but either way it's bull because Curtis Joseph should have been the first star.]
skater, goals-assists-points
Carter 1-0-1
The Canucks once again suffered a slow start. The Phoenix Coyotes stayed red hot, winning their sixth of seven games, this time on the back of Curtis Joseph, who definitely has something left, stopping 34 shots, quite a few of them great shots.
In the faceoff circle, the Canucks were 22-for-50 (44%). Brendan Morrison was 6-for-14, Trevor Linden was 2-for-5, Ryan Kesler was 5-for-12, Henrik Sedin was 8-for-14, and Todd Bertuzzi was 1-for-4. Ed Jovanovski led the team in shots with five. Bertuzzi dished out a whopping six hits while Jarkko Ruutu followed along with four. Bryan Allen blocked three shots.
Bryan Allen and Daniel Sedin were the only plus skaters for the Canucks, both at plus-1. Mattias Ohlund and Markus Naslund were the only minus skaters for the Canucks, both at minus-1. All other skaters were even.
The Canucks are now down to 15-7-2, still good for 32 points and a one-point Northwest Division lead with a game in hand over the Calgary Flames. A win over these Coyotes in this game coupled with a San Jose win over Detroit would have tied the Canucks and the Red Wings for the Western Conference lead with 34 points, and the Canucks have beaten the Red Wings twice. There's no rest for the Canucks, however, as they travel to Denver for a game on Sunday night.
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