sleddy2008
01-09-2010, 05:54 PM
From TSN.ca
A key Northwest Division battle is on tap tonight in British Columbia as the streaking Vancouver Canucks host the Calgary Flames at General Motors Place.
Vancouver and the Flames are tied atop the division with 55 points each and the clubs are just one point ahead of Colorado, which plays tonight in Buffalo.
Calgary has won two of three matchups with the Canucks this year, but Vancouver notched a 5-1 victory when the clubs met at the Saddledome on December 27. The Flames have won four of seven overall in the series, but they've also dropped two of three and five out of seven in B.C.
The Canucks come into tonight riding a four-game winning streak -- the club's longest hot stretch of the season. Vancouver's shutout victory Thursday against visiting Phoenix was also the club's seventh win in eight tries.
Alexandre Burrows notched a second consecutive hat trick and Roberto Luongo recorded his 50th career shutout behind 31 saves to lead the Canucks to the 4-0 triumph over the Coyotes.
Burrows garnered his third career hat trick and now has a staggering seven goals in his last three games coming off a three-goal game Tuesday versus Columbus. Burrows, who has 17 goals and 17 assists this year, is the first Vancouver player to record back-to-back hat tricks since Petri Skriko did it in 1986-87. He's also the first NHLer to pull off the feat since Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk did it November of 2007.
Meanwhile, Luongo posted his third shutout of the year in leading the Canucks to their eighth win in 10 home games. Vancouver, which is 18-6-0 as the host this year, will close out a four-game homestand Monday against Nashville.
Henrik Sedin registered three assists in the win to give him five goals and 12 assists over an eight-game point streak. Daniel Sedin added two helpers and Mikael Samuelsson had the other goal to give him four tallies and two assists during a six-game point streak.
Meanwhile, the Flames have lost consecutive games on the heels of a season- best, five-game winning streak. Calgary was handed a 4-1 setback Wednesday in Minnesota and was then dealt a 3-2 loss by visiting Columbus on Friday. Antoine Vermette had a goal and two assists to lead the Blue Jackets to the regulation victory at the Saddledome.
Mark Giordano and Rene Bourque each had a goal for the Flames, while Curtis McElhinney made 19 saves in the loss.
"What's frustrating for me is that we need more from everyone, bottom line, from our goaltender right on out," said Calgary head coach Brent Sutter. "We had a lot of inconsistency with a lot of guys here tonight."
The Flames are 13-6-3 as the guest this year and have dropped five of their last eight on the road.
A key Northwest Division battle is on tap tonight in British Columbia as the streaking Vancouver Canucks host the Calgary Flames at General Motors Place.
Vancouver and the Flames are tied atop the division with 55 points each and the clubs are just one point ahead of Colorado, which plays tonight in Buffalo.
Calgary has won two of three matchups with the Canucks this year, but Vancouver notched a 5-1 victory when the clubs met at the Saddledome on December 27. The Flames have won four of seven overall in the series, but they've also dropped two of three and five out of seven in B.C.
The Canucks come into tonight riding a four-game winning streak -- the club's longest hot stretch of the season. Vancouver's shutout victory Thursday against visiting Phoenix was also the club's seventh win in eight tries.
Alexandre Burrows notched a second consecutive hat trick and Roberto Luongo recorded his 50th career shutout behind 31 saves to lead the Canucks to the 4-0 triumph over the Coyotes.
Burrows garnered his third career hat trick and now has a staggering seven goals in his last three games coming off a three-goal game Tuesday versus Columbus. Burrows, who has 17 goals and 17 assists this year, is the first Vancouver player to record back-to-back hat tricks since Petri Skriko did it in 1986-87. He's also the first NHLer to pull off the feat since Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk did it November of 2007.
Meanwhile, Luongo posted his third shutout of the year in leading the Canucks to their eighth win in 10 home games. Vancouver, which is 18-6-0 as the host this year, will close out a four-game homestand Monday against Nashville.
Henrik Sedin registered three assists in the win to give him five goals and 12 assists over an eight-game point streak. Daniel Sedin added two helpers and Mikael Samuelsson had the other goal to give him four tallies and two assists during a six-game point streak.
Meanwhile, the Flames have lost consecutive games on the heels of a season- best, five-game winning streak. Calgary was handed a 4-1 setback Wednesday in Minnesota and was then dealt a 3-2 loss by visiting Columbus on Friday. Antoine Vermette had a goal and two assists to lead the Blue Jackets to the regulation victory at the Saddledome.
Mark Giordano and Rene Bourque each had a goal for the Flames, while Curtis McElhinney made 19 saves in the loss.
"What's frustrating for me is that we need more from everyone, bottom line, from our goaltender right on out," said Calgary head coach Brent Sutter. "We had a lot of inconsistency with a lot of guys here tonight."
The Flames are 13-6-3 as the guest this year and have dropped five of their last eight on the road.