Canucks 3 Senators 2 (SO)

Game Recaps: canucks.com . Vancouver Sun . ESPN
Statistics: Score Sheet . Stat Sheet

• The atmosphere at GM Place was electric. Very playoff-like right from when Mark Donnelly sang - and asked everyone to sing along with him - the O Canada to the end of the shootout.
• The Canucks came out flying. They drew two early penalties and Naslund scored on one of the ensuing powerplays, just one minute into the game.
• I was surprised that Dominik Hasek wasn't named one of the three stars. The Canucks outshot the Sens 38-23 - 28-15 after two periods - but Hasek kept his team close.
• It was amazing to see how quick and aggressive the Sens are.
• Ed Jovanovski played one of his strongest games of the season. I especially liked how he was active on both ends of the ice and tried to rush the puck all night. He ended with an assist and a couple of hits in 28:36 minutes of ice-time.
• Ditto for Todd Bertuzzi. He was physical with and without the puck and created some good chances as a result. He logged 25:40 minutes of ice-time and finished with 3 shots and 6 hits. He also put a puck past Hasek during the second round of the shootout.
• Much like the Westcoast Express did a couple of years ago, every time the Sedins are on the ice, you just get the feeling that they would at least create a good scoring opportunity. They do this with regularity now, regardless of whether they are on the ice in an even-strength situation, the powerplay or the penalty kill.
• Because much of the game was played on special teams, a lot of guys didn't see a lot of ice-time. Linden, Park, Goren, Brookbank and McCarthy all played for less than 10 minutes.
• Even before he played for just 3:33 minutes last night, Lee Goren seems to have slowed down quite a bit. Not sure if he is subject to the new waiver rules - I'm guessing he is as he is still with the big club - but he would probably benefit from some regular playing time with the Moose.
• Chris McMurty from Hockey Country posts about the game from an Ottawa fan's perspective.