Canucks continue dominance over Oilers
Canadian Press
12/26/2002
EDMONTON (CP) - With three wins over the Edmonton Oilers in less than two weeks, it's no surprise the Vancouver Canucks enjoy playing against their Northwest Division rivals.
``It's a pride thing - we don't like Edmonton,'' Todd Bertuzzi said after picking up a goal and an assist in Vancouver's 4-2 win over the Oilers on Thursday.
``But in the same breath,'' he continued, ``they're a fun team to play. You know you're going to get a good quality game out of them.''
Vancouver won 6-3 in Edmonton on Dec. 14 and beat the Oilers 4-3 in overtime at home on Dec. 21.
``They're a very good club,'' said Canucks coach Marc Crawford. ``We've had their number this year and they had our number last year.
``It was kind of a seesaw battle right to the end,'' added Crawford. ``We had to stay strong. And we did.''
The Canucks' top line - Bertuzzi, Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund - has been instrumental in all three victories. Naslund scored four times in the 6-3 win, then netted the overtime winner a week later.
Naslund was held to one assist on Thursday, but Brendan Morrison matched Bertuzzi with a goal and an assist. Together, they're the second most prolific unit in the NHL, trailing only Mario Lemieux's trio in Pittsburgh.
``They've been real poised and patient with the puck,'' said Crawford. ``They're playing with a lot of confidence right now.''
Marek Malik added a third period short-handed goal and Mats Lindgren scored into an empty net for the Canucks (21-10-5-0), who are 5-2-1-0 in their last eight.
Mike York and Jason Chimera scored for the Oilers (16-12-4-3), who have lost a season-high five straight, two of them in overtime.
``What can go wrong is going wrong for us right now,'' said Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish. ``But we played a part in the outcome of this game in the way that we started it.''
With the score tied 1-1, Bertuzzi put the Canucks up with a power-play goal at 19:07 of the second period, his 17th goal of the season and eighth with a man advantage.
Morrison stopped Edmonton's clearing attempt at the blue-line and slid a pass across the point to Ed Jovanovski, whose shot was deflected in by Bertuzzi.
The Oilers nearly tied the game five minutes into the third when Anson Carter's shot bounced off the end boards, off Jovanovski and into the net. But after a video review officials concluded that the net _ pushed by a tangle of players _ was off its moorings.
Malik made it 3-1 at 9:46 of the final frame, finishing off a 2-on-1 with a nifty deke on Tommy Salo and backhanding his second of the season into an open side.
``It was a big goal,'' said Malik. ``It doesn't matter who scored it. It was kind of a bonus for me.''
Chimera trimmed the lead to 3-2 at 14:16, stripping the puck from Brent Sopel and snapping his sixth of the season past Peter Skudra.
Lindgren's first of the season, into an empty net, closed out the scoring at 19:47.
Morrison opened the scoring 9:49 into the first, completing a tic-tac-toe passing play with his linemates. Bertuzzi found Morrison in the slot and the centre slid a backhand between Salo's legs, his 12th of the season.
York evened the score with his 12th at 7:45 of the second, six seconds after Henrik Sedin returned to the ice to end Edmonton's four-on-three advantage.
Edmonton went 0-for-7 on the power play.
Skudra made big saves on Carter and Ethan Moreau in the third to help preserve the win, turning away a dozen Oilers shots in the final period and 24 in total.
``Even when we were up 3-1, they kept coming back,'' Skudra said about Edmonton. ``They never give up.''
Notes: Edmonton honoured franchise founder ``Wild'' Bill Hunter with a pre-game moment of silence and decals bearing his initials in the corners of the rink on Thursday. Hunter, who was also a co-founder of the World Hockey Association and long hoped to bring a pro team to his home town of Saskatoon, died on Dec. 16 at the age of 82 after being diagnosed with inoperable bone cancer in 1999.
Cheers,
Aquaman