Canucks still chasing division title
Canadian Press
3/28/2004
VANCOUVER (CP) - Despite struggling through a miserable month of March the Vancouver Canucks head into the final week of the NHL season with a chance to overtake Colorado for first place in the Northwest Division.
The Canucks come-from-behind, 3-2 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars on Saturday was just their fourth win this month (4-5-3-1) but gave Vancouver 93 points, one less than the Avalanche.
Colorado is winless in six games (0-5-1) and are in danger of losing the division crown for the first time in 10 years.
``It's funny how it works out some times,'' said Vancouver's Brendan Morrison, who scored 40 seconds into overtime against Dallas.
``There's lots of ups and downs and peaks and valleys. The key is to get out of those funks as quickly as possible and stay on an even keel.
``We've had to deal with a lot of adversity here. I'm not making any excuses. A lot of team go through it, but these last few games are a step in the right direction.''
Winning the division assurances a team a top-three seed in the playoffs and home-ice advantage.
Heading into Sunday night's play, the Canucks were fifth in the Western Conference, one point behind Dallas.
The Canucks play Phoenix at GM Place on Monday, then go on the road for games against Anaheim Thursday and San Jose Friday. They end the season at home Saturday against Edmonton.
Colorado, who have just two wins in their last 13 home games, host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. The Avs travel to Minnesota on Wednesday and Columbus Friday, before wrapping up their season in Denver against Nashville on Sunday.
Any hopes the Canucks had of catching the Avalanche looked to be shattered back on March 8.
Colorado rolled into Vancouver and whipped the Canucks 9-2. During the game, Canuck forward Todd Bertuzzi attacked the Avs Steve Moore, resulting in him being suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs.
The Canucks went into a funk, winning just one of their next seven games. The low point came when they blew a two-goal lead and lost 5-4 to Columbus last Sunday.
Investing in a few days of practice last week seemed to pay dividends for Vancouver.
They played a tight defensive game in a 1-0 victory over the Kings on Wednesday, then showed some grit in battling back from a 2-1, second period deficit against Dallas, a team that gone 69 games without losing when leading after 40 minutes.
``We did go through some tough stretches,'' said defenceman Ed Jovanovski, who recently returned to the lineup after missing 25 games with a separated shoulder.
``Teams go through that but unfortunately ours was probably a little bit longer than we wanted it to go,'' he said. ``I think we turned a corner. The playoffs are looming and this is where you want to pick your game up.''
Beating the Stars for the first time in four games this season was a huge mental lift for the Canucks. Dallas and Vancouver could still face each other in the first round of the playoffs.
``It's always important you get a little bit of confidence against a team you may face in the playoffs,'' said Coach Marc Crawford.
``We haven't played very well against them this year.''
The Canucks still have their problems.
The Dallas team they beat was missing eight regulars, including suspended goaltender Marty Turco and defenceman Sergei Zubov.
Canuck captain Markus Naslund, who is playing with a hyper-extended elbow, has gone 10 games without scoring a goal.
Vancouver's power play is three-for 40 over the last 10 games for a 7.5-per-cent success rate.
Defenceman Brian Allen (shoulder) and forward Brad May (knee) both left Saturday's game and are not expected to play Monday.
Cheers,
Aquaman