Bertuzzi delivers for Canucks in OT
Associated Press
12/31/2003
CHICAGO (AP) - Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund are still the ones the Vancouver Canucks count on.
Bertuzzi scored a power-play goal off a rebound of Naslund's shot at 4:33 of overtime to lift Vancouver to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.
``Me and Markus have been talking about our power play, and trying to get him to shoot the puck low enough off the pads so I can get a chance to fight for it,'' Bertuzzi said. ``It worked tonight. It was a good shot. It went off the pads, I got it off my backhand and put it on my forehand and in.''
Despite the road victory and the two points, the Canucks were disappointed they let the Blackhawks rally from a two-goal deficit to tie the game.
``We got to understand that we have to put teams away early. We can't let teams stick around,'' Bertuzzi said. ``To let them back in the game was a mistake on our part, but we're fortunate to get two points out of it.
``We let them back a little bit. They worked hard to get back. too,'' Naslund said. ``We took a little bit of a step back in the third, but we found a way to win again.''
Vancouver improved to 21-9-6-2 and is 7-2-3 in its last 12 games.
Artem Chubarov, Henrik Sedin and Brent Sopel also scored for Vancouver.
``The only way we're going to win is to get goals from all kind of guys at the right time,'' Naslund said. It's good to see for them personally, too. Hopefully it will boost their confidence, too.''
Chicago has dropped three of four games and remains near the bottom of the Western Conference with 29 points.
One bright spot for Chicago was the return of Alex Zhamnov. The Blackhawks' captain returned after missing 35 games following back surgery to score his first goal of the season.
``It was a little tough in the first five minutes,'' Zhamnov said. ``It doesn't matter how hard you practice, a game situation is different. But after that it was fine. I think the second game will be much easier for me.''
Zhamnov tied it at 7:07 of the second period when he grabbed a loose puck in the high slot and beat Dan Cloutier from 25 feet.
``When I first had the puck, I saw big traffic. I just tried to shoot the puck,'' Zhmanov said. ``I don't think he ever saw it.''
Mark Bell and Tuomo Ruutu also scored for the Blackhawks.
Chubarov opened the scoring at 5:48 of the first period. After a pass behind the net from Mike Keane, Chubarov slipped a backhanded shot under Michael Leighton.
Sedin regained the lead for Vancouver with nine minutes remaining in the second. Sedin took a pass from twin brother, Daniel, at the blue line and drove to the net to beat Leighton low.
Sopel scored a power-play goal to give Vancouver a 3-1 lead with 7:05 left in the second period. Sopel's slap shot from the blue line deflected off the left post and got by a screened Leighton.
Bell cut the Vancouver lead to 3-2 with 34 seconds remaining in the second period. Left alone at the top of the left circle, Bell beat Cloutier high on the right side.
Ruutu scored a power-play goal with 7:38 remaining to tie it. From the left side of the crease, the rookie forward lifted the puck over outstretched goalie Dan Cloutier and into the right corner.
Cloutier made 29 saves in earning his 15th win. Leighton faced 29 shots and fell to 4-11-5. Notes: Referee Dean Warren was hit by a deflected puck and was cut by his left eye with 27 seconds left in the second period. He missed the third period. The Blackhawks assigned rookie forwards Igor Radulov and Mikhail Yakubov to Norfolk of the AHL. ... Leighton was chosen as the NHL's defensive player of the week last week when he went 2-1 with two shutouts. The Canucks tied the team record by reaching 50 points before Jan. 1.
Cheers,
Aquaman