Tuesday, January 24, 2006
GAME 50: BLUE JACKETS 6, CANUCKS 5
Blue Jackets 6, Canucks 5
[posted in full Sat ~9:55a]
The Canucks looked to split a back-to-back set against two of the worst teams in the NHL by beating the Blue Jackets after losing to the Blues the night before. Surely it'd be a better way to kick off a seven-game road trip than with two losses. There was a catch -- Columbus was much healthier here than earlier in the year.
1st period
Vancouver got off to a bad first shift the night before in Saint Louis that didn't set a good tone for the rest of the game. This game was different, however, as the Canucks got some good jump off the opening faceoff. However, that was nullified after Todd Bertuzzi got a bit lax on the boards after Columbus got control of the zone. Ron Hainsey's shot from the left point went off the post, and Jason Chimera pounced on the rebound, putting it into a near wide-open net to Alex Auld's glove side.
»» 1, COLUMBUS, Jason Chimera 10 (Ron Hainsey, Manny Malhotra) 1:14
»» BLUE JACKETS 1, CANUCKS 0
Rostislav Klesla shot from up high on the right side and had his shot stopped. Auld steered the rebound in front of himself to Jan Hrdina, who had skated untouched from the right-wing corner to the front of the net. Funky Cold Hrdina scooted the puck past the stick side on Auld, who was down on a knee. The Canucks were down 2-0 barely four minutes into the contest. The Canucks had 26 seconds left to kill before Brendan Morrison was to come out of the penalty box (hooking), but he came out early.
»» 2, COLUMBUS, powerplay, Jan Hrdina 6 (Rostislav Klesla, David Vyborny) 4:13
»» BLUE JACKETS 2, CANUCKS 0
Todd Bertuzzi next to the trapezoid passed through traffic in the crease and found Sami Salo from inside the left circle, where he wristed the puck past goalie Marc Denis on the short (stick) side with only 38 seconds gone in the power play.
»» 3, VANCOUVER, powerplay, Sami Salo 10 (Todd Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund) 13:54
»» BLUE JACKETS 2, CANUCKS 1
Rick Nash was serving a double-minor for a blood-drawing high-stick. Ed Jovanovski left the game with five minutes remaining in the period and never returned for what was later revealed to be a reaggravation of his groin injury that had kept him out of action for 11 games. In the final minute, Nolan Baumgartner's straightaway blast from the blue line found its way over Denis' right shoulder and into the net, erasing Vancouver's two-goal deficit from early in the period.
»» 4, VANCOUVER, powerplay, Nolan Baumgartner 5 (Daniel Sedin) 19:06
»» BLUE JACKETS 2, CANUCKS 2
Vancouver outshot the Blue Jackets 17-15 in the period. The Canucks were 2-for-3 on the power play, and Columbus was successful on their only chance.
2nd period
With Bryan Allen in the box for a high-stick, Sergei Fedorov and Nikolai Zherdev skated side-by-side to the left side when Fedorov threaded a pass between Sami Salo and Mattias Ohlund onto Zherdev's stick. Zherdev found some room over a sprawling Auld.
»» 5, COLUMBUS, powerplay, Nikolai Zherdev 15 (Sergei Fedorov, Bryan Berard) 7:14
»» BLUE JACKETS 3, CANUCKS 2
Daniel Sedin had a huge cushion in the attacking zone and skated straight in on Denis, putting it in just past Denis' toe. Daniel Sedin couldn't believe it wasn't called a goal. At first, play was whistled dead to indicate a save, but the powers that be on video replay goals gave this one a go, and the Canucks had tied the game again. Denis had made the toe save, but not until the puck had crossed the goal line. Thus, Daniel Sedin ended a 15-game goal drought.
»» 6, VANCOUVER, D Sedin 12 (Henrik Sedin, Baumgartner) 9:31
»» BLUE JACKETS 3, CANUCKS 3
Zherdev and Berard passed back and forth, but the final pass ended with a one-timer in the high slot off of Berard's stick that beat Auld low to the glove side. Allen, again in the penalty box in the period, spent only 12 seconds in the penalty box serving his high-stick penalty.
»» 7, COLUMBUS, powerplay, Berard 11 (Zherdev, Vyborny) 14:21
»» BLUE JACKETS 4, CANUCKS 3
After being tied up by a defender for a few seconds, Bertuzzi took the puck from behind the net and powered out into the slot, where he put a backhander through the five hole on Denis.
»» 8, VANCOUVER, Bertuzzi 17 (Naslund, Brendan Morrison) 17:53
»» BLUE JACKETS 4, CANUCKS 4
Vancouver was badly outshot 14-7 in the period (29-24 overall). They were 0-for-1 (2-for-4) on the power play. Columbus was 2-for-4 (2-for-5).
3rd period
Morrison went to the box for a slash. Vyborny's shot from the left side was stopped, but Auld couldn't corral the rebound and Hrdina was right in front to stick it through to Auld's right.
»» 9, COLUMBUS, powerplay, Hrdina 7 (Vyborny, Duvie Westcott) 12:16
»» BLUE JACKETS 5, CANUCKS 4
Kevin Bieksa passed to Ryan Kesler near the slot, who put a quick shot onto Denis that was nicely stopped, but Alex Burrows fished out the rebound from in front and shifted to the backhand to stuff it into the net.
»» 10, VANCOUVER, Alexandre Burrows 4 (Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa) 13:15
»» BLUE JACKETS 5, CANUCKS 5
A former Canuck did the final damage. Trevor Letowski along the goal line on the left side put a move on Bertuzzi and blew past him, skating untouched to the net and putting it through the five hole on Auld.
»» 11, COLUMBUS, Trevor Letowski 6 (Chimera, Berard) 15:23
»» BLUE JACKETS 6, CANUCKS 5
Ohlund had a shot stopped on Vancouver's final power play of the game, and Columbus nearly took it back the other way for a goal, but Nash hit the post. Vancouver managed a final scurry with six attackers and Auld pulled from the net, but it was to no avail. Vancouver again was outshot, 14-9 in the period (43-33 total). They were 0-for-2 (2-for-6) on the power play. Columbus was 1-for-4 (4-for-9). Auld stopped 37 in the Vancouver net.
Three stars -- (1) Columbus' David Vyborny, (2) Columbus' Jan Hrdina, (3) Columbus' Trevor Letowski
skater, goals-assists-points
Baumgartner 1-1-2
Bertuzzi 1-1-2
D Sedin 1-1-2
Naslund 0-2-2
Burrows 1-0-1
Salo 1-0-1
Bieksa 0-1-1
Kesler 0-1-1
Morrison 0-1-1
H Sedin 0-1-1
Vancouver never led in this game, though they tied the game four times and came back from a two-goal deficit in the first period. Their penalty killing left a lot to be desired, which is the case when you give up four goals in such situations. The game also featured common Canuck bug-a-boos, namely the schizophrenic play of Todd Bertuzzi and the rebound control adventures of Alex Auld in net. It's almost a cinch that they're going to ride Auld for as long as they possibly can since they're right up against the cap and probably can't trade for a top-name goalie without giving up a lot, so they're stuck with Auld, which is good and bad. Dan Cloutier's still under contract for a couple more years, but Auld is getting some valuable experience as a number-one goalie this season at the NHL level. The rebound control, though, that could use work.
The Canucks were 34-for-66 (52%) in the faceoff circle. Brendan Morrison was 14-for-21, Trevor Linden was 2-for-4, Ryan Kesler was 7-for-17, Henrik Sedin was 8-for-17, and Todd Bertuzzi was 2-for-5. Sami Salo, Morrison, and Daniel Sedin led the team with five shots each. Kesler dished out five hits. Morrison recorded three takeaways. Mattias Ohlund blocked three shots.
Minus-skating Canucks included Bryan Allen as the lone minus-2 and Linden, Josh Green, Bertuzzi, and the injured-again Ed Jovanovski as minus-1s. Plus Canucks included Alexandre Burrows, Kesler, Daniel Sedin, Kevin Bieksa, Henrik Sedin, and Jarkko Ruutu at plus-1 and Ohlund and Nolan Baumgartner at plus-2. All other Canuck skaters were even.
The loss made the Canucks wholly unsuccessful in their back-to-back set against Saint Louis and Columbus. They are now 28-17-5 (1-3 shootout, two overtime losses), two points back of the Calgary Flames (who have a game in hand) for the Northwest Division lead. Colorado is close by, trailing by only two points. Edmonton is five back.
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