Kobasew nets winner against Canucks
Canadian Press
10/15/2002
VANCOUVER (CP) - Chuck Kobasew scored with 4:38 remaining in the third period as the Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 Monday for their first win of the season.
Kobasew got credit for the goal as teammate Marc Savard went hard to the net with the puck bouncing in front of Vancouver goalie Dan Cloutier.
Kobasew and defenceman Micki Dupont both got the first goals of their NHL careers as the Flames overcame a 2-0 deficit. Craig Conroy started the Calgary comeback.
Brendan Morrison and Brent Sopel scored for the Canucks who were outworked by the Flames over the final 40 minutes.
The Flames opened their 2002-03 campaign with a 3-0 loss to the Canucks on Thursday and dropped a 5-4 decision Saturday to the Philadelphia Flyers after squandering a 4-2 advantage.
Vancouver missed a chance to start the season with three straight wins for only the fourth time in the 33-year history of the franchise.
Morrison, with his second goal in two games against Calgary, and Sopel gave Vancouver a 2-0 lead in the second period after both goalies made tough saves to keep the opening 20 minutes scoreless.
Morrison, whose salary tripled to $2.1 million after an arbitration award this summer, scooped home his own rebound after Calgary netminder Roman Turek stopped a power-play point shot by Ed Jovanovski.
Sopel, who had a career-high eight goals last season, got his second in as many games by jumping into the play to bury a passout by Daniel Sedin.
However, the lead didn't last long as Conroy and Dupont beat Cloutier in a span of 41 seconds before the middle period ended.
Both goals were the result of Calgary working hard on the boards to control the puck in the offensive zone.
Conroy scored after taking Martin Gelinas's short pass from behind the net.
The goals ended the Vancouver netminder's shutout string of 92 minutes 42 seconds against the Flames this season.
NOTES: The Canucks increased their blue-line crew to seven by recalling Nolan Baumgartner from the AHL Manitoba Moose ... winger Jan Hlavac remained out of the Vancouver lineup after missing Saturday's home opener with a bruised left knee ... Mattias Ohlund, the Canucks' defenceman who is used to logging nearly half the game in ice time, says the new hurry-up face-off rule has made it tough to catch his breath ... both clubs have Boston as their next opponent as the Bruins are here Wednesday and in Calgary on Thursday.
Cheers,
Aquaman