Monday, March 29, 2004
CANUCKS 6, COYOTES 1
Midway through the second period of this game, it was apparent that the LA Kings had not held up their end of the bargain, losing to the Avalanche by a score of 2-1 under the watch of Steve Moore, who was in a press conference before that game.
Either way, the Canucks had to win and pick up some steam. They took it to the Coyotes from the very start, outshooting them 16-5 in the opening period, but Phoenix goalie Brian Boucher, he of the NHL modern era-record shutout streak from earlier in the year, looked game, turning away all the shots and looking sharp with the glove.
Then came the second period. Matt Cooke was the first to score (on the 23rd Canuck shot to Phoenix's 5), and the floodgates opened as Markus Naslund (first goal in ten games), Daniel Sedin (second goal in two games), and Brent Sopel scored to blow the game wide open. Artem Chubarov and Jason King (first point since Jan 15, first goal since Nov 25) added goals for good measure in the third period.
Quite frankly, this was a game Vancouver should have won anyway, because Phoenix is terrible. The Dogs have won one game in their last twenty overall, and that was an overtime win, and they'd played the night before. The Canucks never let up in the game, with the shots registering at 16-15-14 (by period), outshooting Phoenix by a 45-17 margin. In a weird twist of fate, Brian Boucher stopped 39 shots for the Coyotes and lost. That isn't something that happens often. Dan Cloutier, though his shutout was spoiled with just over two minutes left in the game, notched his 30th win of the year, making him the only Canuck goalie to get three 30-win seasons (no, not even the great Kirk McLean did that), consecutively in this case. The only other goalie to do that: Marty Brodeur. Or that's what the SportsLine recap says anyway.
The Canucks keep pace, still one point behind Colorado, but now with three games remaining, at Anaheim, at San Jose, and against Edmonton. Not as easy road to hoe there.
And now, postgame notes of Dan Russell, John Shorthouse, and Tom Larscheid...
Dan: It looked like a shooting gallery out there
John: Boucher looked up to the task, but the Canucks wore him down. They worked hard and punched some goals through. We've seen a few games where they'd come out, play well, and don't have anything to show for it, then they thought they had to change their game plan and play differently. Tonight, they played pedal to metal.
Dan: The best part was that they were held scoreless after one, but kept on the gas
Tom: the Canucks were able to use the third period against DAL to know how to play with intensity. This was an impressive win against a not-very-good Phoenix team. I liked how they finished them off. The Coyotes play more like Coyote Ugly
John: It was an appropriate result. The Canucks played well for 60 minutes. Coach Crawford has a good feel for the team in pregame predictions, and said the Canucks were ready to turn it up an extra notch and play playoff-type hockey
Dan: These three homestand wins were baby steps. They have flow in their game now
Tom: They look good off the rush. The Sedins like working with Geoff Sanderson, who handles puck well. Matt Cooke on the top line also looks like a brilliant move by Crawford. Thirteen different players recorded points in this game
Dan: There's no more freebies though. The schedule is tougher now
Tom: We don't know which Anaheim team will show up, but we know what we'll get with San Jose, then Edmonton, who could be playing for a playoff spot
--- (commercial)
Dan: The three stars...Sanderson, Naslund, Salo
John: Boucher might have been Phoenix's best player. He stopped 39 shots
Tom: Novoseltsev was plus-1 and scored a goal
Dan: It was nice to see Naslund score. This might warm him up
Tom: That's what everyone was hoping. It was a typical Naslund goal (pushing puck in while falling down)
John: It was Naslund's worst slump since March of '98. He is finally second all alone on the all-time Vancouver goal list ahead of Stan Smyl (behind Trevor Linden)
Dan: Sanderson had another nice game
Tom: He's becoming a crowd-pleaser. The fast skaters can lift the whole arena as they go down the ice. I like the way he handled the puck, and if you combine this with an above average shot, you get a pretty good hockey player. There could be some good chemistry brewing between the Sedins and Sanderson
Dan: The power play's still off
John: They only had one chance tonight. 0-for-15 overall you can complain about, but not tonight alone
Canuck goals: Matt Cooke (10), Markus Naslund (33), Daniel Sedin (18), Brent Sopel (10), Artem Chubarov (11), Jason King (12)
Last note: Martin Rucinsky seems to get a lot of shots off that are just barely missing (so says Larscheid). He hasn't scored a goal since his second game as a Canuck, on the 12th at Edmonton.
Canucks Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, at Anaheim, at San Jose, and against Edmonton, respectively
Either way, the Canucks had to win and pick up some steam. They took it to the Coyotes from the very start, outshooting them 16-5 in the opening period, but Phoenix goalie Brian Boucher, he of the NHL modern era-record shutout streak from earlier in the year, looked game, turning away all the shots and looking sharp with the glove.
Then came the second period. Matt Cooke was the first to score (on the 23rd Canuck shot to Phoenix's 5), and the floodgates opened as Markus Naslund (first goal in ten games), Daniel Sedin (second goal in two games), and Brent Sopel scored to blow the game wide open. Artem Chubarov and Jason King (first point since Jan 15, first goal since Nov 25) added goals for good measure in the third period.
Quite frankly, this was a game Vancouver should have won anyway, because Phoenix is terrible. The Dogs have won one game in their last twenty overall, and that was an overtime win, and they'd played the night before. The Canucks never let up in the game, with the shots registering at 16-15-14 (by period), outshooting Phoenix by a 45-17 margin. In a weird twist of fate, Brian Boucher stopped 39 shots for the Coyotes and lost. That isn't something that happens often. Dan Cloutier, though his shutout was spoiled with just over two minutes left in the game, notched his 30th win of the year, making him the only Canuck goalie to get three 30-win seasons (no, not even the great Kirk McLean did that), consecutively in this case. The only other goalie to do that: Marty Brodeur. Or that's what the SportsLine recap says anyway.
The Canucks keep pace, still one point behind Colorado, but now with three games remaining, at Anaheim, at San Jose, and against Edmonton. Not as easy road to hoe there.
And now, postgame notes of Dan Russell, John Shorthouse, and Tom Larscheid...
Dan: It looked like a shooting gallery out there
John: Boucher looked up to the task, but the Canucks wore him down. They worked hard and punched some goals through. We've seen a few games where they'd come out, play well, and don't have anything to show for it, then they thought they had to change their game plan and play differently. Tonight, they played pedal to metal.
Dan: The best part was that they were held scoreless after one, but kept on the gas
Tom: the Canucks were able to use the third period against DAL to know how to play with intensity. This was an impressive win against a not-very-good Phoenix team. I liked how they finished them off. The Coyotes play more like Coyote Ugly
John: It was an appropriate result. The Canucks played well for 60 minutes. Coach Crawford has a good feel for the team in pregame predictions, and said the Canucks were ready to turn it up an extra notch and play playoff-type hockey
Dan: These three homestand wins were baby steps. They have flow in their game now
Tom: They look good off the rush. The Sedins like working with Geoff Sanderson, who handles puck well. Matt Cooke on the top line also looks like a brilliant move by Crawford. Thirteen different players recorded points in this game
Dan: There's no more freebies though. The schedule is tougher now
Tom: We don't know which Anaheim team will show up, but we know what we'll get with San Jose, then Edmonton, who could be playing for a playoff spot
--- (commercial)
Dan: The three stars...Sanderson, Naslund, Salo
John: Boucher might have been Phoenix's best player. He stopped 39 shots
Tom: Novoseltsev was plus-1 and scored a goal
Dan: It was nice to see Naslund score. This might warm him up
Tom: That's what everyone was hoping. It was a typical Naslund goal (pushing puck in while falling down)
John: It was Naslund's worst slump since March of '98. He is finally second all alone on the all-time Vancouver goal list ahead of Stan Smyl (behind Trevor Linden)
Dan: Sanderson had another nice game
Tom: He's becoming a crowd-pleaser. The fast skaters can lift the whole arena as they go down the ice. I like the way he handled the puck, and if you combine this with an above average shot, you get a pretty good hockey player. There could be some good chemistry brewing between the Sedins and Sanderson
Dan: The power play's still off
John: They only had one chance tonight. 0-for-15 overall you can complain about, but not tonight alone
Canuck goals: Matt Cooke (10), Markus Naslund (33), Daniel Sedin (18), Brent Sopel (10), Artem Chubarov (11), Jason King (12)
Last note: Martin Rucinsky seems to get a lot of shots off that are just barely missing (so says Larscheid). He hasn't scored a goal since his second game as a Canuck, on the 12th at Edmonton.
Canucks Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, at Anaheim, at San Jose, and against Edmonton, respectively