gusman
04-24-2010, 05:43 AM
from NHL.com
VANCOUVER -- The Canucks are one win from their third trip to the second round of the playoffs in four seasons, and they got there with their most convincing victory of this postseason.
Vancouver's top line of Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and Mikael Samuelsson combined for 3 goals and 4 assists -- including Samuelsson's League-leading sixth and seventh of the playoffs -- and the Canucks blew away the Los Angeles Kings 7-2 on Friday at GM Place to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference Quarterfinal series.
Steve Bernier scored two goals, and Alexander Edler and Pavol Demitra scored for the Canucks. The Kings' goals came from Michal Handzus and Fredrik Modin, who both have three in the series.
Game 5 will be one Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick will need to forget quickly, with Game 6 set for Sunday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles. He allowed four goals on 21 shots before being yanked late in the second period. He returned later in the third period after Erik Ersberg allowed two goals on four shots.
Quick's second tour of duty went just as badly as his first. He allowed Bernier's second goal on the second shot he faced in his return to the ice and finished with 21 saves overall.
It was a microcosm of the series. The Canucks scored six of their goals at even strength, while the Kings' only mustered one at 5-on-5. Vancouver has outscored Los Angeles 15-6 at 5-on-5 during the five games.
Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo wasn't busy, but he was efficient. He made 24 saves and barely broke a sweat in stopping all five shots he saw during the second period.
Demitra was the spark plug on the Canucks' first goal, which came five seconds after an eight-second power play expired. He carried the puck behind Jonathan Quick's net and fed Kyle Wellwood all alone in front. His one-timer went wide on the short side, but the bounce off the back boards came right to Bernier, who gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead 11:10 into the game.
The Kings responded at 14:42 with their 10th power-play goal of the series. Handzus tried to the center the puck from behind the net, but it deflected off Canucks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and past Luongo. All three of Handzus' goals have come on the man-advantage.
The Canucks retook the lead with 2:28 left in the first period on Edler's first of the postseason. Edler found himself in the left circle and ripped a shot off the near post and into the net to make it 2-1. The Kings' Randy Jones, Anze Kopitar and Wayne Simmonds appeared to have some communication issues on the goal, as no one picked up Edler.
Daniel Sedin pushed the lead to two when he scored off a wraparound. More missed defensive assignments by the Kings -- this one between defenseman Sean O'Donnell and center Jeff Halpern -- allowed Sedin to get two whacks at the puck before putting it over a fallen and helpless Quick.
Samuelsson's goal with 6:29 left in the second period made it 4-1 and sent Quick to the bench for the remainder of the night. The goal was set up by a symphony of passing between the Sedin twins and Samuelsson, whose blast from just above the right circle beat Quick's catching glove.
Ersberg took over for Quick at that point, although he would not finish the game.
The Kings had a chance to get back in it late in the second period with a 28-second, 5-on-3 power play, but the Canucks' beleaguered penalty killers got the job done. A blast from the point by defenseman Jack Johnson snapped the stick of Canucks winger Alex Burrows, but he eventually cleared the zone by gloving the puck down the ice.
Demitra and Modin traded goals within a span of 24 seconds early in the third period. Demitra's long shot eluded Ersberg on the short side, and Modin's goal came off a net-mouth scramble.
Samuelsson's second of the game on a power play at 6:31 of the third was a beauty of a wrist shot over Ersberg's catching glove. It also ended the night of Ersberg, who returned to the bench in favor of Quick.
Bernier's second of the night came off a rebound of a shot by defenseman Andrew Alberts, who made his return to the lineup after sitting Games 3 and 4 after piling up 23 penalty minutes in the first two games. Alberts was plus-2 in 15:05 of ice time.
Shift of the Night: While killing a 5-on-3 power play for the Kings, Alex Burrows showed just how overrated a stick can be. The Canucks' forward blocked a Jack Johnson shot from the point that broke his stick. Still, Burrows clogged the shooting lane up top, and when the puck found him near the blue line, he went to his belly and gloved it out of the zone. The Canucks killed the 5-on-3 and subsequent 5-on-4 and maintained their 4-1 lead late in the second period.
VANCOUVER -- The Canucks are one win from their third trip to the second round of the playoffs in four seasons, and they got there with their most convincing victory of this postseason.
Vancouver's top line of Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and Mikael Samuelsson combined for 3 goals and 4 assists -- including Samuelsson's League-leading sixth and seventh of the playoffs -- and the Canucks blew away the Los Angeles Kings 7-2 on Friday at GM Place to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference Quarterfinal series.
Steve Bernier scored two goals, and Alexander Edler and Pavol Demitra scored for the Canucks. The Kings' goals came from Michal Handzus and Fredrik Modin, who both have three in the series.
Game 5 will be one Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick will need to forget quickly, with Game 6 set for Sunday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles. He allowed four goals on 21 shots before being yanked late in the second period. He returned later in the third period after Erik Ersberg allowed two goals on four shots.
Quick's second tour of duty went just as badly as his first. He allowed Bernier's second goal on the second shot he faced in his return to the ice and finished with 21 saves overall.
It was a microcosm of the series. The Canucks scored six of their goals at even strength, while the Kings' only mustered one at 5-on-5. Vancouver has outscored Los Angeles 15-6 at 5-on-5 during the five games.
Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo wasn't busy, but he was efficient. He made 24 saves and barely broke a sweat in stopping all five shots he saw during the second period.
Demitra was the spark plug on the Canucks' first goal, which came five seconds after an eight-second power play expired. He carried the puck behind Jonathan Quick's net and fed Kyle Wellwood all alone in front. His one-timer went wide on the short side, but the bounce off the back boards came right to Bernier, who gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead 11:10 into the game.
The Kings responded at 14:42 with their 10th power-play goal of the series. Handzus tried to the center the puck from behind the net, but it deflected off Canucks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and past Luongo. All three of Handzus' goals have come on the man-advantage.
The Canucks retook the lead with 2:28 left in the first period on Edler's first of the postseason. Edler found himself in the left circle and ripped a shot off the near post and into the net to make it 2-1. The Kings' Randy Jones, Anze Kopitar and Wayne Simmonds appeared to have some communication issues on the goal, as no one picked up Edler.
Daniel Sedin pushed the lead to two when he scored off a wraparound. More missed defensive assignments by the Kings -- this one between defenseman Sean O'Donnell and center Jeff Halpern -- allowed Sedin to get two whacks at the puck before putting it over a fallen and helpless Quick.
Samuelsson's goal with 6:29 left in the second period made it 4-1 and sent Quick to the bench for the remainder of the night. The goal was set up by a symphony of passing between the Sedin twins and Samuelsson, whose blast from just above the right circle beat Quick's catching glove.
Ersberg took over for Quick at that point, although he would not finish the game.
The Kings had a chance to get back in it late in the second period with a 28-second, 5-on-3 power play, but the Canucks' beleaguered penalty killers got the job done. A blast from the point by defenseman Jack Johnson snapped the stick of Canucks winger Alex Burrows, but he eventually cleared the zone by gloving the puck down the ice.
Demitra and Modin traded goals within a span of 24 seconds early in the third period. Demitra's long shot eluded Ersberg on the short side, and Modin's goal came off a net-mouth scramble.
Samuelsson's second of the game on a power play at 6:31 of the third was a beauty of a wrist shot over Ersberg's catching glove. It also ended the night of Ersberg, who returned to the bench in favor of Quick.
Bernier's second of the night came off a rebound of a shot by defenseman Andrew Alberts, who made his return to the lineup after sitting Games 3 and 4 after piling up 23 penalty minutes in the first two games. Alberts was plus-2 in 15:05 of ice time.
Shift of the Night: While killing a 5-on-3 power play for the Kings, Alex Burrows showed just how overrated a stick can be. The Canucks' forward blocked a Jack Johnson shot from the point that broke his stick. Still, Burrows clogged the shooting lane up top, and when the puck found him near the blue line, he went to his belly and gloved it out of the zone. The Canucks killed the 5-on-3 and subsequent 5-on-4 and maintained their 4-1 lead late in the second period.