Canucks win eighth straight game
Associated Press
11/27/2002
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Vancouver Canucks seem to be getting all the right bounces lately,
The Canucks registered two soft goals and Daniel Sedin added the winner at 8:45 of the third for a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver's club-record eighth straight win.
"They are finding ways to win," Carolina defenceman Bret Hedican said. "They are getting the bounces, they are getting the calls and they are getting the breaks.
"But when a team works hard for an extended period of time like they have they are going to get those breaks."
Brent Sopel's shot from the point midway through the third hit several players in front of the net before Sedin found it and slapped it past Arturs Irbe for his second of the season.
Vancouver's power play was clicking at a 26.5 per cent clip in its last 10 games, but was 0-for-7 on Wednesday. Still, the Canucks broke their previous win streak of seven set in February 1989 by getting all the right bounces around the net - and some luck.
Dan Cloutier was huge in net over the final six minutes for Vancouver, notching his NHL-leading 13th win as the Canucks improved to 10-1 in November.
"We have worked hard to get the breaks so we deserve this, too," Sedin said. "We've been lucky the last two games, but Cloutier has been playing great and giving us a chance to win.'
Cloutier stopped 32 shots, including several key saves on Jeff O'Neill in the final four minutes.
"This is rewarding because we have been playing really well and now we get to say we have the longest streak ever," said Cloutier. "When teams are playing well they always seem to get the right breaks.
"That goes for every team, every goalie and every player. It just seems like when players are scoring a lot of goals the puck finds a way to get into the net. It seems to be like that for us in the last couple of games."
Irbe, trying to win for the first time at home since last year's Eastern Conference final against Toronto, let in a soft goal 12 seconds into the second, misplaying a 45-foot shot by Ed Jovanovski.
"Things like that don't happen very often," said Irbe, the team's former No. 1 goalie who was playing in just his fifth game. "I have to work my hand-eye (co-ordination) more because I let the team down.
"It cost us the game."
Added Carolina coach Paul Maurice: "I've seen that guy make so many good saves that I have a hard time questioning one that got away from him."
Carolina rallied for the second time to tie it 2-2 less than six minutes later as Rod Brind'Amour scored his team-leading 10th goal 39 seconds into a power play.
Carolina had a 5-on-3 power play for 1:10 late in the second after a hooking call against Jovanovski and a tripping penalty to Matt Cooke. But the Hurricanes failed to beat Cloutier despite several good chances.
Cooke's knee-to-knee hit on former Vancouver teammate Jan Hlavac sent the left wing to the locker room limping. Hlavac returned to start the third.
It was the first meeting between the teams since a Nov. 1 trade sent Hlavac and Harold Druken to Carolina for Marek Malik and Darren Langdon.
Vancouver's first goal midway through the first was reviewed after it went off Trevor Linden's skate and past Irbe. However, the video replay judge ruled Linden didn't intentionally kick the puck.
Carolina tied it with 4:55 left in the first and the teams skating 4-on-4 as Ron Francis set a nice screen for Hedican to beat Cloutier for his second of the season.
NOTES - Vancouver's Brendan Morrison had his seven-game point streak snapped . . . Sami Kapanen returned to Carolina's top line after missing six games with a groin injury . . . Josef Vasicek has missed 18 of Carolina's 23 games with back pain after playing in 78 last season . . . Vancouver's only other 10-win months came in November 1974 and January 2002.
Cheers,
Aquaman