Holik's pair stops streaking Canucks
Associated Press
2/2/2004
NEW YORK (AP) - Bobby Holik scored his second goal of the game with 2:41 remaining as the New York Rangers beat the surging Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Monday night.
The Rangers entered on a three-game losing streak and had won only once in their previous 10 games (1-7-2), but they stopped the Canucks' five-game winning streak after squandering a two-goal lead in the third period.
Holik took a pass from Brian Leetch, who had three assists, and let a shot go from the right circle that beat Dan Cloutier.
Jaromir Jagr and Alex Kovalev also scored while Mike Dunham made 27 saves for the Rangers, 10th in the 15-team Eastern Conference.
The Canucks are the only NHL team with 30 victories. Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi scored seven minutes apart in the third period to draw Vancouver even.
Naslund joined Columbus' Rick Nash as the NHL's only 30-goal scorers this season and Brendan Morrison added a goal for the Canucks, who won 10 of their previous 11 road games.
Holik ended New York's power-play drought at 18 consecutive without a goal when he gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 8:19 left in the second. Jagr made a backhanded pass to Holik, who ripped in his 13th goal - first in nine games.
It was the Rangers' first power-play goal since Leetch's tally on Jan. 22. New York hadn't led since its previous victory a week earlier against Florida. The Rangers were outscored 8-3 during their three-game slide.
Kovalev made a play most expected more of when he was reacquired last year. The flashy but frustrating forward deftly kept the puck in the Vancouver zone in the waning seconds of a power play and in the second period.
Once Kovalev regained his balance and turned so he was facing the net, he stickhandled around Artem Chubarov, wound up at the top of the left circle, and rifled a shot past Cloutier with just 13.9 seconds left in the period.
Kovalev also scored for the first time in nine games.
Jagr atoned for an earlier error and scored his 18th of the season and second in five games since the Rangers traded for him.
He carried the puck through neutral ice and then found Martin Rucinsky with a backhand pass. Rucinsky carried the puck down and slid a pass in front that Jagr redirected behind Cloutier at 10:13 of the first to tie it 1-1.
Just over four minutes in, Jagr shot wide while Cloutier was diving back into position in an attempt to cover the open side of the net.
Morrison staked the Canucks to a 1-0 lead at 8:15 when the NHL's leading scorer, Naslund, chipped a loose puck into the slot to Morrison, who ripped a shot past Dunham.<
Notes: Rangers D Tom Poti sat out for the third time in eight games due to back spasms. New York recalled D Lawrence Nycholat from Hartford of the AHL and had him in the lineup. ... The Canucks were without LW Magnus Arvedson, who returned to Vancouver after injuring his knee Saturday at Washington. ... The Canucks, 1-for-6 on the power play, have scored 11 man-advantage goals the past five games.
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