Canucks hold on to edge Avalanche
Canadian Press
10/23/2005 12:04:13 AM
VANCOUVER (CP) - The Vancouver Canucks got a scare Saturday night, coughing up three late goals, but they hung on for an exciting 6-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
The Canucks seemed to have a comfortable 5-1 lead with just over three minutes left. Then Colorado's Brad May, Patrice Brisebois and Alex Tanguay, on the power play, made it 5-4 with 80 seconds remaining in the third period.
Trevor Linden finally sealed the win for Vancouver, scoring his first goal of the season into an empty net with just eight seconds left on the clock.
"We got lazy at the end and it almost bit us on the arse," said forward Todd Bertuzzi, who had an assist in his first game against the Avs since his March 8, 2004, attack on then Avs forward Steve Moore.
"We have to smarten up on situations like that. In this day and age, in this league, teams can come back. It's something we're going to have to learn."
Bertuzzi just shrugged when asked about playing the Avalanche again in the wake of his 17-month suspension for his hit on Moore.
"It's another hockey game," he said.
Avalanche captain Joe Sakic said the difference in the game was the Canucks were able to score early on their power-play chances.
"They captialized on their power plays early," said Sakic, after the Avs lost for the third time in four games.
"We didn't find a way to score. We had a couple of chances but it didn't go in. The difference in the game was their power play."
The Canucks finished the night 2-9 on the power play while Colorado was 1-6.
Daniel Sedin had a pair of goals, one on the power play, and defenceman Ed Jovanovski had a power-play goal and an assist for the Canucks, who extended their win streak to five games.
Brendan Morrison and Bryan Allen, with his first of the season, also scored for the Canucks whose record improved to 7-1-1. Henrik Sedin had two assists as Vancouver remained undefeated at home this season.
Antti Laaksonen scored the other goal for the Avalanche, whose record drops to 3-4-1.
Colorado was playing its second game in as many nights after a 7-1 win over Edmonton Friday night.
Avs coach Joel Quenneville said his team played better than the score suggested.
"At 5-1 I'm thinking `we don't deserve to be down by four,"' he said.
"It wasn't indicative of how close the game was."
Canuck captain Markus Naslund, who had two assists, said Vancouver was counting the two points before the final buzzer sounded.
"We weren't sharp," he said.
"It was like we had already won the game with five minutes to go and you can't let up on a team like Colorado. Hopefully it will be good for us. We have to play the whole period and finish them off."
Moore suffered broken bones in his neck and still can't play hockey because of concussion related symptoms after Bertuzzi punched him from behind, then fell on him, driving his head into the ice.
Bertuzzi served a 17-month suspension for the incident. He also was charged, then pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and received a conditional discharge.
Colin Campbell, the NHL's chief disciplinarian attended the game but, as players from both sides had predicted, there was no hint of retribution or antagonism. The game was fast paced with some good, clean hits from both sides.
The only boos from the crowd were directed at May, the one-time Canuck who signed a free-agent contract with the Avalanche over the summer.
Through a quirk in the scheduling, Vancouver and Colorado play five more times before the end of November, including two times next week.
NOTES: Canuck radio broadcasters John Shorthouse and Tom Larscheid split $20,000 after winning the 50-50 draw at Thursday's game. They plan to give some to charity. ...Linden's assist on Jovanovski's first-period goal was his first point of the season. ...Vancouver heads out on the road this week, playing in Minnesota Tuesday then in Denver Thursday and Saturday.
Cheers,
Aquaman
Canadian Press
10/23/2005 12:04:13 AM
VANCOUVER (CP) - The Vancouver Canucks got a scare Saturday night, coughing up three late goals, but they hung on for an exciting 6-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
The Canucks seemed to have a comfortable 5-1 lead with just over three minutes left. Then Colorado's Brad May, Patrice Brisebois and Alex Tanguay, on the power play, made it 5-4 with 80 seconds remaining in the third period.
Trevor Linden finally sealed the win for Vancouver, scoring his first goal of the season into an empty net with just eight seconds left on the clock.
"We got lazy at the end and it almost bit us on the arse," said forward Todd Bertuzzi, who had an assist in his first game against the Avs since his March 8, 2004, attack on then Avs forward Steve Moore.
"We have to smarten up on situations like that. In this day and age, in this league, teams can come back. It's something we're going to have to learn."
Bertuzzi just shrugged when asked about playing the Avalanche again in the wake of his 17-month suspension for his hit on Moore.
"It's another hockey game," he said.
Avalanche captain Joe Sakic said the difference in the game was the Canucks were able to score early on their power-play chances.
"They captialized on their power plays early," said Sakic, after the Avs lost for the third time in four games.
"We didn't find a way to score. We had a couple of chances but it didn't go in. The difference in the game was their power play."
The Canucks finished the night 2-9 on the power play while Colorado was 1-6.
Daniel Sedin had a pair of goals, one on the power play, and defenceman Ed Jovanovski had a power-play goal and an assist for the Canucks, who extended their win streak to five games.
Brendan Morrison and Bryan Allen, with his first of the season, also scored for the Canucks whose record improved to 7-1-1. Henrik Sedin had two assists as Vancouver remained undefeated at home this season.
Antti Laaksonen scored the other goal for the Avalanche, whose record drops to 3-4-1.
Colorado was playing its second game in as many nights after a 7-1 win over Edmonton Friday night.
Avs coach Joel Quenneville said his team played better than the score suggested.
"At 5-1 I'm thinking `we don't deserve to be down by four,"' he said.
"It wasn't indicative of how close the game was."
Canuck captain Markus Naslund, who had two assists, said Vancouver was counting the two points before the final buzzer sounded.
"We weren't sharp," he said.
"It was like we had already won the game with five minutes to go and you can't let up on a team like Colorado. Hopefully it will be good for us. We have to play the whole period and finish them off."
Moore suffered broken bones in his neck and still can't play hockey because of concussion related symptoms after Bertuzzi punched him from behind, then fell on him, driving his head into the ice.
Bertuzzi served a 17-month suspension for the incident. He also was charged, then pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and received a conditional discharge.
Colin Campbell, the NHL's chief disciplinarian attended the game but, as players from both sides had predicted, there was no hint of retribution or antagonism. The game was fast paced with some good, clean hits from both sides.
The only boos from the crowd were directed at May, the one-time Canuck who signed a free-agent contract with the Avalanche over the summer.
Through a quirk in the scheduling, Vancouver and Colorado play five more times before the end of November, including two times next week.
NOTES: Canuck radio broadcasters John Shorthouse and Tom Larscheid split $20,000 after winning the 50-50 draw at Thursday's game. They plan to give some to charity. ...Linden's assist on Jovanovski's first-period goal was his first point of the season. ...Vancouver heads out on the road this week, playing in Minnesota Tuesday then in Denver Thursday and Saturday.
Cheers,
Aquaman