Coulda called this Deja Vue All Over Again as last night’s game between the Stars and Canucks looked eerily similar to last spring's first round playoff series between the teams. The extremely tight 7 game series was more like a 10 gamer as 3 games went into OT, including game one which lasted until 18 minutes into the 4th OT period when Henrik Sedin finally beat Marty Turco.
That series was between two teams that mirrored each other to the Nth degree with 2 low scoring teams who basically relied upon a defense-first mentality backed by all-world goaltenders. Absolutely nothing has changed 8 months later. You don’t have to be a genius to know what to expect when these teams get together and last night was no exception.
The game started as if it was still April and they were still in the 1st round, as it couldn’t have been much tighter, although Dallas was certainly taking the play to the home side in the first 15 minutes. They weren’t able to generate a lot of quality scoring chances, but the puck was kept in the Canucks end the majority of the time and the good guys were doing all the chasing.
With about 5 minutes left in the first frame, the Sedins and Markus Naslund had some good shifts which started to change the momentum of the game. On the night, the O-Line was very dominant and played one of their best games of the year, and their second consecutive one after struggling on the recently completed road trip.
The Sedins were highly criticized last year going pointless in 5 of the 7 games against the Stars and they were obviously motivated to make amends. Daniel ended up with 2 of Vancouver’s goals in the 3-2 win, but it was their constant pressure in the Star’s end that was the story.
Dallas was praised for how they handled the twins last year but last night the Sedins, along with an excellent skating effort from Naslund, made them look as if they had absolutely no idea how to defend against them. The trio generated 14 shots on goal with another 5 attempts blocked, or missing the target. Their cycling and puck control created numerous scoring chances and they now have 11 points in the last two games.
It looked like Luongo was well on his way to trying to beat his own shutout streak of 212 minutes after shutting out Marty Brodeur and the Devils 5-0 two nights earlier and the Canucks holding a 1-0 edge heading into the 3rd. Luongo looks so perfect in everything he does when stopping the puck, making the phenomenal look like ho-hum-everyday stuff. His reading of the play and positioning allows him to make the miraculous look easy, save after save.
Unfortunately his 6th goose-egg of the year was not to be after he coughed up the puck behind the net after some miscommunication between himself and Aaron Miller leaving Jussi Jokinen all alone in front of an empty net. The Stars second goal was again a little bit soft as Luongo couldn’t control Brendan Morrow’s shot/pass in his feet with the puck bouncing to Antti Miettinen for a tap-in.
Soft goals aside, Luongo was still Luongo and looked in complete control throughout making 33 saves on the evening. The best goaltender in the game has now given up 3 goals in his last 6 games at GM place and has an out-of-this-world .975 Save Percentage in his last 10 at home while going 8-0-2. Not so coincidentally, that undefeated in 10 streak started after Nashville’s 3-0 win and the infamous Bronx Cheer Lui received from the ticket buyers that night.
Marty Turco and Mike Smith did their best to give one of the most motivated athletes ever a little more motivation by attaching cardboard “flaps” with a big“#1” to their pads for the Stars morning skate. The obvious insinuation being that Luongo’s pads are not conforming to NHL equipment rules. Luongo took it all in stride saying that he and Turco are friends and that there was nothing malicious about it, just Marty having some fun.
Mason Raymond only played 5:20 last night but certainly made very good use of his limited ice. His goal that gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 8 minutes of the second was something to see.
Picking up a loose puck in traffic just outside the Dallas blue line he took off like a rocket down the boards, instantly leaving guys in white in his wake. It wasn’t even fair the ease with which he left the others behind. Without slowing down a bit he circled behind the net and roofed a beauty from the redline that snuck under Turco’s arm and went in off the far post. Raymond’s speed is something special and he’s got the head on his shoulders to be able to use it. It’s gonna take some time for the 22 year-old to get used to the game at this level, but he is going to be a very good player in this league.
Raymond’s goal perhaps spurred his Moose and Vancouver line mate Jason Jaffray on as he made a phenomenal individual effort in scoring, what should have been, the team’s 4th goal only to see it waived off on a very dubious interference call on Taylor Pyatt. Pyatt collided with Sergei Zubov trying to gain position in front of the net and Turco took the opportunity to do his best Dominik Hasek impersonation flopping in the crease and drawing the call from the referee.
Pyatt rebounded from what I though was a poor outing against New Jersey with an extremely good game. Coach AV used him in many different spots throughout the game and he responded with 4 shots on goal. His best play, however, was 100 feet away from the Dallas net.
After both Alexander Edler and Willie Mitchell were caught up ice, Pyatt used his highly underrated skating skills to not only catch Mike Ribeiro on a partial breakaway, but completely strip him of the puck without taking a penalty. It was one of the best defensive plays we have seen by any Canuck this year and really goes to show how Pyatt is working hard to develop in all areas of the game. Not playing with the Sedins has affected his offensive performance (only slightly though!), but he has not let it affect him mentally … the guy works his butt off and has more than adequate skills to be a contributor most nights.
Lat year’s playoff series was a defensive battle that probably didn’t hold a lot of entertainment value for anyone other than Canuck and Stars fans, and last night was much the same. There may not be a lot of great action when these two teams hook up, but for some reason I always enjoy the games. Even though it’s tight, there still seems to be a lot of skating and pace to the games, and with Luongo and Turco between the pipes, you know you’re going to see top-notch goaltending.
The Grades …
A Luongo, Henrik, Daniel, Naslund
B Ohlund, Salo, Mitchell, Edler, Krajicek, Kesler, Pyatt, Linden
C+ Miller, Cooke, Burrows, Jaffray, Raymond, Ritchie, Brown
Next up is a short two-gamer on the road with a visit to Phoenix on Saturday and Colorado on Sunday before the Canucks hit the Xmas break. Gretzky has the Coyotes playing their best puck of the season right now and the rivalry with the surging Avalance will mean there will be no early Christmas gifts for the boys from Vancity.
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