There are some things to take care of before I get to last night's Vancouver victory. First off was a tough 'Nucks loss against the Ducks in overtime on a 3 on 3 breakaway, then we had a big win for the C's against the Grizz 102-92 to turnaround a quick two game losing streak, then we had UCSB drop their second round Big West tournament to my dad's alma matter (meanwhile, the women are on their way to the finals), and finally we get to the puck drop at GM Place last night. All in all, it has been an up and down couple of days, but at least a 4-2 win over the Kings of L.A. would help us come out on top.
Looking to rebound after getting swept in Southern California (sorry guys), the Canucks came prepared to stomp the Kings on Friday night action from the Garage. They came out hard, and finished the same way. The first goal was 10:39 into the game, and it was a dandy. Last week's mega goalie Jonathan Quick went back to play the puck off the boards, but the puck bounced hard and came out in front of the goal passed Quick. My boy Alex Burrows was skating crazy hard and was able to beat Quick to the puck, chipping the rubber into the twine for a beautiful opening marker. AB has a career high 21 on the year, and his placement on the top line continues to show how the Twins can elevate a good player to great. Plus, Quick really f'd up on that one. Just over 7 minutes later the 'Nucks had a two man advantage, and Mats Sundin was ready to play baseball slugger to get Vancouver ahead by dos. Pushing hard with the advantage, Kevin Bieksa took a shot that Quick saved but the puck flew up and behind Quick, and Mr. Torontonia connected with the puck in the air to bash it home and put Vancouver clear after 20. The second period was uneventful thanks to Quick and Luongo holding things down. Then, between 6:50 and 9:14 of the final frame, things got a little nuts. Alex Frolov scored against Luongo at 6:50, and just 26 seconds later Anze Kopitar sent a long shot from along the boards that somehow found its way into the net as well. Just like that it was tied at two. But hold onto your jerseys, Canuckleheads. It would be Ornskoldsvik, Sweden native Henrik "H-Bomb" Sedin coming to the rescue. At 8:44, on a two on one, Ryan Kesler feathered a pretty pass across to a streaking Hank for the one time goal to earn the lead back. Boom. 30 seconds later, it would be Henrik all by his lonesome getting the job done to put us up by two. With a pass from his brother, Henrik did a spin move around the his backhand, and then pulled a spin move back around to his forehand (a 180 spin and another 180 spin in the opposite direction) and fired a shot that baffled Quick and company. The sweet sassy molassy style goal put us ahead for good.
Outshooting the Kings 20-3 in the opening frame really did the trick to set the pace, and despite only getting 5 shots in the final period, the 'Nucks made it count. Factor in Sundin's power play marker (finally, we went 1 for 6) and a solid 26 save performance by Luongo, and it all adds up to a win. The media picked the three stars as: 1) Hank (2 goals and 1 assist), 2) Kesler (1 assist), and 3) Kopitar (a lucky wrister goal with the goalie screened?), which is almost right. The LSF underrated three starts roll off the tongue as 1) The aforementioned H-Bomb (obviously), 2) Willie Mitchell (led the world with a +2 rating, and an assist), and 3) Bromma, Sweden native Mats Sundin (he nailed 1 goal on his 6 shots, with the mad pressure from the shots being the main reason I add him to the list).
The win was crucial (especially with the Jackets beating the Blackhawks...what the hell?!), improving Van-Ca-Tesh to 35-32-9 (79 points). In the division, we're -7 on the Flames, but +7 on the Oil, +8 on the Wild, and +18 on the Avs (hahahahahaha). Bigger picture, we are now just -4 on Jon's Chicago Blackhawks (uh oh buddy), but only +1 on Columbus (uh oh Tommy), and +7 on Edmonton and Dallas (with Minnie and Nashville at #9 and #10 back 8 on Vancouver). As far as the rest of the LSF, Jon, Karen, and I are currently playoff bound, with Brandon and Andrew sitting -3 and -11 out of the East's #8 respectively. 15 more to go in Vancouver. The lowly Avs will be matching up with the 'Nucks at GM Place on Sunday night, with a chance for Vancouver to make things even nicer in the wild West. Whatever we do, we just can't lose any of the next four, right? I mean, Colorado, Dallas, St. Louis, and Phoenix? We need to roll, baby, roll.
Despite UCSB getting bounced from the Big West, I think we can all be proud of our new mascot. Meet: Ole!
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