Naslund scores twice to sink Habs
Canadian Press
1/3/2003
VANCOUVER (CP) - Markus Naslund is feeling pretty good about himself these days.
And no wonder. He's the NHL's leading scorer, adding two more - including the winner - Thursday night to give his Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens.
"I feel good about my game," he said after getting his 27th of the season, a pace that will net him well over 50 goals and 100 points this year.
"I don't feel overly good but I'm putting the pucks in the net when I get my chances and I know that I have to work to get my chances and be in the right spot.
"But I've got good enough players to play with who will get me the puck. It's just a matter of being ready."
Naslund, who finished second in the scoring race last season, was certainly ready when he answered after Richard Zednik had given Montreal a 2-2 tie late in the second period with his 18th goal of the season.
Naslund scores most of his goals with a lightning-quick wrist shot and the only wooden stick on the club, but he took goal scoring to a different level with his winner.
Brendan Morrison shovelled a pass ahead to Naslund in the Montreal zone and the slick Swede deked Canadiens goalie Jose Theodore one way then dived past him to put the puck in the net on the backhand.
But Morrison has seen this act before.
"He's pretty remarkable," said Morrison who assisted on Naslund's first goal and now has a seven-game points streak.
"To do it night in and night out, especially with teams keying on him and knowing what he's done to this point, for him to continue like that it's pretty special."
Rookie Bryan Allen kick-started a sluggish Vancouver offence by beating Theodore on a soft shot that bounced off the post and in. Naslund then gave Vancouver its first lead by converting a Todd Bertuzzi pass 18 seconds later.
"Two shifts and they scored two goals," said Montreal captain Saku Koivu who assisted on both Canadiens goals. "I thought we had the momentum at that point. We were able to get the offence going and we felt good about ourselves. After those two shifts, it was a different game."
The Canadiens just couldn't get their sticks on passes through the crease of Vancouver goalie Dan Cloutier, who rebounded from a sub-par effort Tuesday in a 5-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"We got the chances but we just didn't finish," said Koivu. "We're doing the little things wrong and it's costing us."
Theodore, who had allowed only 13 goals in his last seven games, said he didn't see Allen's shot until it was too late.
"A little wrister, if you see it, you're going to save it for sure but I looked on my left side (away from Allen) and as I was looking he shot it," Theodore said. "The next thing I knew it was in the net."
Theodore, who made 32 saves, half of them in the scoreless third period, said his team is still in games despite a lack of offence.
"The good thing is we're always in the game. We don't get outplayed, we don't get outscored by big numbers," he said. "It's a tight game but we need to change those 3-2 losses into 2-1 (wins)."
Cloutier faced only 19 shots but made two key saves on the same shift midway through the final period. He got a pad on a Jan Bulis shot, then foiled Zednik with his glove.
"I felt I didn't play that well against Toronto but tonight I felt pretty good," said Cloutier, who has played three games since missing three games with a knee injury. "You're not going to have games where you see the puck well every night."
The win was the fifth in seven games but the loss meant Montreal has only a tie to show for its last five games and is struggling to stay in the eighth and final playoff spot in the tight Eastern Conference.
"For sure, there's some concerns if you lose three or four in a row and you're not scoring the goals," said Koivu. "You wonder what you're doing wrong and how you can correct it."
NOTES: Montreal centre Doug Gilmour was out of the lineup with back spasms. ... Karl Dykhuis was back on the Canadiens blue line after being a healthy scratch Saturday against Calgary. ... forward Oleg Petrov has resumed skating with the Canadiens. ... he has missed seven games with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee but is hoping to return when the Habs conclude their seven-game road trip Tuesday in New Jersey.
Cheers,
Aquaman