Canucks come back to beat Blackhawks
The Canadian Press
11/21/2003
VANCOUVER (CP) - Sami Salo says one of the goals of the Vancouver Canucks defence is to provide the team with solid secondary scoring. Right now, they're also providing great primary scoring.
Salo scored with 2:59 into overtime as the Vancouver Canucks came back from a two-goal deficit to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday.
The win not only continues Vancouver's home unbeaten streak, which now stands at 10 straight games, but also the offensive domination of the Canucks blue-line.
Defencemen have accounted for seven of the past eight Canucks goals, including all three in Thursday's win.
``All season long, we've been encouraged to jump into the play and that's what we're doing,'' said Salo. ``We want to produce secondary scoring from the defencemen.''
Salo's fourth of the season came after Bryan Allen sent the game into overtime with an early third-period goal.
The game-winner came when rookie Jason King sent a cross-ice pass to Salo at the point and he blasted a slap shot past goaltender Craig Anderson's glove and into the net.
Salo said in that situation, you ``just put your head down, close your eyes and hope for the best.''
``I got pretty good wood on it,'' he added. ``It's just one of those nights when the puck just seems to go in.''
Defenceman Ed Jovanovski, who scored twice in a 5-4 overtime win over Montreal two nights earlier, picked up his fifth goal of the season Vancouver (12-4-2-2), which was playing its fourth consecutive overtime game (2-2-0). The Canucks now have nine wins and one tie at GM Place this season.
Mark Bell and Bryan Berard scored for the Blackhawks (6-8-4-3), now winless in their past seven games (0-3-1-3).
Goaltender Craig Anderson, making his third appearance since getting called up from the minors earlier this month, finished with 24 saves, almost have of which came in the third period.
Anderson said Salo just hit ``the perfect spot'' in overtime. ``Three inches to the left and it hits my glove, three inches to the right and it hits me in the head,'' Anderson said. ``It was a great shot, tip your hat to him.''
Vancouver backup Johan Hedberg made 29 saves, including 25 through the first two periods and two in overtime. It was his first start since the Nov. 13 4-3 overtime loss against Philadelphia, after which head coach Marc Crawford described his performance as ``terrible.'' Hedberg's teammates jumped to his defence and Crawford apologized the next day.
Hedberg said it was important for him to rebound with a strong game.
``I don't think that I've been playing up to my standards,'' he said. ``I know I can get better so every night I get a chance to play I try to improve and get on top of my game. I think this was a step in the right direction.''
Chicago scored once in seven man-advantage chances while the Canucks were 0-for-6 on the power play.
The Blackhawks outshot Vancouver 31-27 overall but put only two pucks on Hedberg in the third period.
``It's a good point on the road but to be a good and successful team you've got to learn to play with the lead and keep the lead,'' said Berard. ``I thought in the third period we definitely sat back. That's something that we have to take a little bit more control of and go for that next goal. But it's tough when we're in a little bit of a slide like this, we don't want to make mistakes.''
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who joined the sellout crowd of 18,630 for the game, saw Chicago jump out to a 2-0 lead in penalty filled-first period.
Bell opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the game. Scott Nichol took the initial shot on Hedberg but the Canucks backup surrendered a long rebound that went right to Bell, who fired a slap shot into the open net.
Then the parade to the box began. Officials called 12 infractions in the last 12:19 of the frame, including three against Chicago in the final minute.
The Blackhawks, who had a trio of two-man advantages, eventually went up 2-0 with a man-advantage goal. With his team set up in the Canucks' zone, Berard teed up a slap shot from just inside the blue-line that got through a screen and past Hedberg.
Jovanovski started Vancouver's comeback 3:07 into the second period, just one second after the team's fourth power-play expired. Anderson stopped a shot from Brent Sopel on the point and the rebound went flying to the side boards. Jovanovski followed the puck, waited for it to bounce off the boards and one-timed it into the top corner of the net.
Allen tied the game with his first goal of the season 5:59 into the third period on a delayed penalty call. Todd Bertuzzi muscled his way to the top of the slot before being pushed off the puck. The puck squirted out to Allen, who took a shot that got past Anderson.
``I was just following up the play and supporting in case the puck came loose,'' said Allen. ``It was just one of those things that was meant to be. It was the right time, the right place and it went in.''
Notes: Canucks agitator Jarkko Ruutu faced off against his brother, Chicago rookie Tuomo Ruutu, for the first time in their professional careers. Their mom, Enna, flew in from Finland to watch her sons . . . Artem Chubarov returned to the Vancouver lineup after missing one game with a shoulder injury. Magnus Arvedson, meanwhile, missed his second straight game with a groin injury . . . Canucks captain Markus Naslund has now gone eight straight games without a goal.
Cheers,
Aquaman