Saturday, March 25, 2006
GAME 72: OILERS 3, CANUCKS 2
Oilers 3, Canucks 2
[initial partial post]
The Canucks had come off two must-win games against the Oilers, away and at home. They had one more home game on the docket against the Oilers, and a sweep by Vancouver would put them in great position to solidify their playoff hopes. They had to win the first two games just to survive in the playoff picture as everyone around them in the Western Conference standings got hotter. The Canucks had been searching for weeks for some jump in their step and some results to go with a sense of urgency that absolutely had to be there by this point. Why it took this long is a mystery, but the Tuesday win in Edmonton gave a launch pad for some possible goodness in the remaining games of the schedule.
First, however, this game.
1st period
»» 1, EDMONTON, shorthanded, Ryan Smyth 32 (Shawn Horcoff) 9:48
2nd period
»» 2, VANCOUVER, Ryan Kesler 9 (Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi) 0:22
»» 3, EDMONTON, powerplay, Sergei Samsonov 20 (Ales Hemsky, Chris Pronger) 9:54
3rd period
»» 4, EDMONTON, Steve Staios 7 (Rem Murray, Fernando Pisani) 2:07
»» 5, VANCOUVER, Brendan Morrison 15 (Naslund, Bertuzzi) 4:11
Three stars -- (1) Edmonton's Ryan Smyth, (2) Naslund, (3) Edmonton's Sergei Samsonov
skater, goals-assists-points
Bertuzzi 0-2-2
Naslund 0-2-2
Kesler 1-0-1
Morrison 1-0-1
The Canucks won two of three games against the Oilers in their three-game miniseries, capturing four points of a possible six. The Oilers grabbed three of a possible six. Vancouver's record of 38-28-6 (4-3 shootout, three overtime losses) is good for 82 points and the eighth slot in the Western Conference. The Oilers and Canucks have the same number of points, but Edmonton has played one less game. Vancouver is three behind Colorado for sixth in the West and second in the Northwest Division. Both teams are four points back of Calgary for the division lead and the third seed in the West. Colorado has a game in hand on Vancouver while Calgary has two games in hand on the Canucks. Vancouver has a one-point lead on Los Angeles, who sits in ninth place in the West, but with a game in hand. San Jose is a point behind the Kings in tenth. The Canucks have a big game in Los Angeles on Monday (televised in the USA by OLN), then have back-to-back home games against Minnesota on Wednesday and Friday.
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