Tuesday, February 03, 2004
RANGERS 4, CANUCKS 3
Hopefully the Canucks got that one out of their system. It wasn't the worst loss they could have had, and I know this is a long, five-game road trip, but man...THIS WAS THE FRIGGING RANGERS!! I know I consider myself a Seattle sports fan, and this team's from Vancouver and all, but having my team get beat by a crappy team reminds me a lot of the Mariners getting swept at home by the Tigers in 2000. Ugh.
Todd Bertuzzi quickly said after the game that the loss wasn't Markus Naslund's fault. That play in the 3rd period didn't help -- instead of bouncing the puck off the boards to clear it from the Vancouver zone, Naslund decided to send a cross-ice pass (i.e., from one side of Dan Cloutier to the other) over to Sami Salo. That pass never got to Salo. A few ticks later, Bobby frigging Holik roofed the game-winner over Cloutier's shoulder.
Yep, the frigging Rangers. The Canucks blow a golden chance to pick up two points on an idle Colorado team. Back when Toronto was reeling early in the season, they beat the Canucks and got a whole new lease on their season because the Leafs got red hot afterward. We'll see what this does to the Rangers, but to their credit, their top line actually did something tonight.
The Canucks blew some power-play chances in the first period, failing to convert on three Ranger penalties, including 26 seconds of a two-man advantage. The Canucks also blew two power play chances in the second period, but their penalty-killing unit got burned two of three times in the period, by Holik and the where-is-he-now Alexei Kovalev.
The Kovalev goal seemed like a backbreaker, but the Canucks do have a ton of points when trailing after two periods. Down 3-1, the top line damn near took over the game. Markus Naslund scored at 2:40 of the period, and Todd Bertuzzi was given the tying goal on a deflection with 11:02 left in the game. The final Holik goal came with 2:41 left. The first Holik goal came with about 12 seconds left in the second period.
Ugh.
Canuck goals tonight: Brendan Morrison (15), Markus Naslund (30), Todd Bertuzzi (16); that's seven points for the top line tonight. Unfortunately, there was only one point (Brent Sopel) by the rest of the team.
Islanders tomorrow.
Todd Bertuzzi quickly said after the game that the loss wasn't Markus Naslund's fault. That play in the 3rd period didn't help -- instead of bouncing the puck off the boards to clear it from the Vancouver zone, Naslund decided to send a cross-ice pass (i.e., from one side of Dan Cloutier to the other) over to Sami Salo. That pass never got to Salo. A few ticks later, Bobby frigging Holik roofed the game-winner over Cloutier's shoulder.
Yep, the frigging Rangers. The Canucks blow a golden chance to pick up two points on an idle Colorado team. Back when Toronto was reeling early in the season, they beat the Canucks and got a whole new lease on their season because the Leafs got red hot afterward. We'll see what this does to the Rangers, but to their credit, their top line actually did something tonight.
The Canucks blew some power-play chances in the first period, failing to convert on three Ranger penalties, including 26 seconds of a two-man advantage. The Canucks also blew two power play chances in the second period, but their penalty-killing unit got burned two of three times in the period, by Holik and the where-is-he-now Alexei Kovalev.
The Kovalev goal seemed like a backbreaker, but the Canucks do have a ton of points when trailing after two periods. Down 3-1, the top line damn near took over the game. Markus Naslund scored at 2:40 of the period, and Todd Bertuzzi was given the tying goal on a deflection with 11:02 left in the game. The final Holik goal came with 2:41 left. The first Holik goal came with about 12 seconds left in the second period.
Ugh.
Canuck goals tonight: Brendan Morrison (15), Markus Naslund (30), Todd Bertuzzi (16); that's seven points for the top line tonight. Unfortunately, there was only one point (Brent Sopel) by the rest of the team.
Islanders tomorrow.