Bertuzzi shines as Canucks drop Panthers
Canadian Press
1/5/2003
VANCOUVER (CP) - Todd Bertuzzi refused to be thrown off his game by the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Bertuzzi scored twice and set up Markus Naslund's winner midway through the third period as the Vancouver Canucks beat Florida 3-2.
The rugged power forward endured a cut on the temple from a high stick, a punch in the back of the head after scoring a goal and a hard bodycheck into the boards along his own bench.
But rather than retaliate, Bertuzzi simply turned up his offensive game an extra notch.
``It's fun to watch him when he plays like that,'' said Naslund, who scored his 28th goal of the season. ``Todd is playing as well as he's ever done. I think he's playing smart, too ... He uses his size to get the scoring chances and open it up for others.''
For Bertuzzi's first goal, his 21st of the season, Naslund set him up right on the doorstep and he waited for Roberto Luongo to go down to the ice before lifting the puck over his pads to tie the game at 1-1.
``I thought I had him on the first move,'' said Bertuzzi, blood still dripping from his face after the first-period high stick. ``(Luongo's) so big, he covers everything. I just pulled up and shot it in there.''
Bertuzzi gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal 3:37 into the third period. Ohlund took a shot from the point that was stopped by Luongo but Bertuzzi swept the rebound into the net as he was checked hard to the ice by Brad Ference. The Florida defenceman then punched Bertuzzi in the head as he tried to get up.
``We were a little ticked off,'' Bertuzzi said of his line with Naslund and Brendan Morrison. ``We were on for two goals and they were little mistakes and mistakes that could have been prevented. You don't want to be the scapegoat on plays like that. ...
``It's good to see us battle back and get those goals that we were on for.''
Dan Cloutier made 19 saves for Vancouver (24-11-5-0).
Ference scored and assisted on Marcus Nilson's goal for Florida (12-12-9-7), which wrapped up a six-game road trip. Luongo made 28 saves.
It was the first time Mike Keenan coached in Vancouver since he was fired by the Canucks in January 1999. Keenan expected loud boos from the sellout crowd of 18,422, but the ``Keenan sucks!'' chants didn't start until late in the third period with the Canucks leading 3-2.
Keenan, who brought Bertuzzi to the Canucks in a trade with the New York Islanders for Trevor Linden, is impressed with the winger's improvements.
``He's blossomed into a power forward and they're really hard to acquire in this league,'' said Keenan. ``His stick skills is as good as anybody's in the league.''
What didn't impress Keenan, though, was the officiating in what was an extremely physical game. The Canucks scored once in four power play chances while Keenan's Panthers failed to score on their only power play.
``I think the difference was that they had the edge in power plays,'' said Keenan. ``They're a good hockey club, they're an excellent hockey club, they're one of the best hockey clubs in the league. They can get it done on their own, not with the assistance of some of the calls that they received tonight.''
Ironically, Canucks head coach Marc Crawford wasn't pleased with the officiating either. He felt the Panthers were targeting Bertuzzi and the referees failed to call the infractions.
``(Todd's) a big guy at 6-4 and 245 pounds but it still doesn't give opposition teams the right to take the liberties that they take with him,'' said Crawford. ``I challenge the officials to really look at those.''
With the score tied 2-2, Bertuzzi took a shot that was stopped but Naslund grabbed the rebound, pulled the puck to his forehand and lifted it over the sprawling goaltender.
"The work of No. 44 (Bertuzzi) on the other side ... he's a great player and he's the reason they won tonight,'' said Luongo. ``We talked about that line before the game. They're the line that generates almost all their offence so we had to keep an eye on them. With Bertuzzi, you can't control him. He's just too strong.''
Cheers,
Aquaman