canuck
04-01-2004, 09:42 AM
how about that "Wild" anyhow? (figure I better rub it in a little now in case we choke on the next 2 games)
Bad memories forgotten
Players breathe sigh of relief as team climbs back into Northwest lead
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Forget the bewildering losses, the losing streak and Markus Naslund's slump.
Forget the desultory power play, the goaltending, Naslund's elbow and Brian Burke's contract.
Forget Steve Moore and his photo op, and, yes, forget Todd Bertuzzi. Forget all that because the Vancouver Canucks are back in first place and that's all they care about now. They have forgotten everything else.
What began as one of the most miserable, disheartening months in the National Hockey League franchise's history, ended stupendously Wednesday with a 2-1 victory against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks that lifted Vancouver back into first place in the Northwest Division.
With two games remaining, they are tied with the Colorado Avalanche at 97 points and ahead of them on wins.
"Holy sh--. I mean holy cow," veteran Canuck Trevor Linden said. "Despite the struggles, playing poorly, we had a lot of belief in what we were doing."
The Avalanche lost 5-4 in overtime Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild. The Dallas Stars, also passed by the Canucks in the Western Conference playoff race, were beaten 3-1 by the Edmonton Oilers.
The night was made perfect for the Canucks when Sami Salo's point shot glided through traffic and over Duck goalie Martin Gerber's left shoulder with 20.3 seconds remaining.
Salo, beaned in the chest by the puck on Anaheim's goal, said his heart was fine. So is the Canucks' ticker.
"Nobody expected this, except the guys in this room," Canuck winger Matt Cooke said after charging to the net to distract Gerber on Salo's winner. "We never quit. We were going through tough times, but we never gave up. It made us stronger as a team."
The Canucks, whose loss of Bertuzzi to suspension for his March 8 attack on Moore was the low point of a 2-5-3-1 plunge, have won four straight and can clinch their first division title since 1993 with victories Friday in San Jose and Saturday at home against Edmonton.
"This says a lot about our character," Naslund, the Canuck captain, said after scoring in his second straight game following a 10-game drought. "It has been a tough ride for a few weeks here but we found ways to get back to our game and start playing strong hockey again.
"We weren't really worried about catching Colorado. We were trying to get through a tough stretch and get going again."
Aware of the Avalanche's loss, the Canucks roared out the first few shifts and immediately began pouring shots on Gerber.
They couldn't, however, score. Daniel Sedin's shot from the slot was deflected over the net, and Gerber stopped Jarkko Ruutu and Linden from the high slot.
Canuck goalie Dan Cloutier faced only two first-period shots, neither of them on the good scoring chances that Steve Rucchin and Petr Sykora blew when they failed to connect solidly on passes to the front of the net.
Mighty Duck defenceman Ruslan Salei was shooting wide, too, at 2:38 of the second period when the puck -- destined for Palm Springs -- hit Salo in the chest and caromed right for a 1-0 Anaheim lead.
"I lost some feeling in my arm," Salo, who doubled over in pain, said after the game. "As the game went on, it was better."
So did the Canucks.
Naslund tied it at 6:15 of the middle period, finishing a beautiful 3-on-2 passing play that included Morrison and Cooke.
The Canucks were relentless in the third period, frantic to seize control of the division race.
They out-shot the Ducks 22-4 in the final 20 minutes. Gerber stopped the first 21 of them. He never saw Salo's shot, made possible when Morrison won an offensive-zone faceoff against Sergei Fedorov.
"When we lost that game to Columbus [5-4 on March 21], I think a lot of guys were unsure of the division," Morrison said. "It goes to show you never know what can happen. That's why you never stop playing. Now we control our destiny. Hopefully, we learned something from last year."
The Canucks held the division lead for 129 days last season before the Avalanche passed them on the final afternoon. Vancouver needs to hold the lead only five days this time.
Bad memories forgotten
Players breathe sigh of relief as team climbs back into Northwest lead
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Forget the bewildering losses, the losing streak and Markus Naslund's slump.
Forget the desultory power play, the goaltending, Naslund's elbow and Brian Burke's contract.
Forget Steve Moore and his photo op, and, yes, forget Todd Bertuzzi. Forget all that because the Vancouver Canucks are back in first place and that's all they care about now. They have forgotten everything else.
What began as one of the most miserable, disheartening months in the National Hockey League franchise's history, ended stupendously Wednesday with a 2-1 victory against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks that lifted Vancouver back into first place in the Northwest Division.
With two games remaining, they are tied with the Colorado Avalanche at 97 points and ahead of them on wins.
"Holy sh--. I mean holy cow," veteran Canuck Trevor Linden said. "Despite the struggles, playing poorly, we had a lot of belief in what we were doing."
The Avalanche lost 5-4 in overtime Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild. The Dallas Stars, also passed by the Canucks in the Western Conference playoff race, were beaten 3-1 by the Edmonton Oilers.
The night was made perfect for the Canucks when Sami Salo's point shot glided through traffic and over Duck goalie Martin Gerber's left shoulder with 20.3 seconds remaining.
Salo, beaned in the chest by the puck on Anaheim's goal, said his heart was fine. So is the Canucks' ticker.
"Nobody expected this, except the guys in this room," Canuck winger Matt Cooke said after charging to the net to distract Gerber on Salo's winner. "We never quit. We were going through tough times, but we never gave up. It made us stronger as a team."
The Canucks, whose loss of Bertuzzi to suspension for his March 8 attack on Moore was the low point of a 2-5-3-1 plunge, have won four straight and can clinch their first division title since 1993 with victories Friday in San Jose and Saturday at home against Edmonton.
"This says a lot about our character," Naslund, the Canuck captain, said after scoring in his second straight game following a 10-game drought. "It has been a tough ride for a few weeks here but we found ways to get back to our game and start playing strong hockey again.
"We weren't really worried about catching Colorado. We were trying to get through a tough stretch and get going again."
Aware of the Avalanche's loss, the Canucks roared out the first few shifts and immediately began pouring shots on Gerber.
They couldn't, however, score. Daniel Sedin's shot from the slot was deflected over the net, and Gerber stopped Jarkko Ruutu and Linden from the high slot.
Canuck goalie Dan Cloutier faced only two first-period shots, neither of them on the good scoring chances that Steve Rucchin and Petr Sykora blew when they failed to connect solidly on passes to the front of the net.
Mighty Duck defenceman Ruslan Salei was shooting wide, too, at 2:38 of the second period when the puck -- destined for Palm Springs -- hit Salo in the chest and caromed right for a 1-0 Anaheim lead.
"I lost some feeling in my arm," Salo, who doubled over in pain, said after the game. "As the game went on, it was better."
So did the Canucks.
Naslund tied it at 6:15 of the middle period, finishing a beautiful 3-on-2 passing play that included Morrison and Cooke.
The Canucks were relentless in the third period, frantic to seize control of the division race.
They out-shot the Ducks 22-4 in the final 20 minutes. Gerber stopped the first 21 of them. He never saw Salo's shot, made possible when Morrison won an offensive-zone faceoff against Sergei Fedorov.
"When we lost that game to Columbus [5-4 on March 21], I think a lot of guys were unsure of the division," Morrison said. "It goes to show you never know what can happen. That's why you never stop playing. Now we control our destiny. Hopefully, we learned something from last year."
The Canucks held the division lead for 129 days last season before the Avalanche passed them on the final afternoon. Vancouver needs to hold the lead only five days this time.