Canucks 6 Oilers 7

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

• As in their two previous losses, the Canucks couldn't hang on to the lead. Last night, they held four different one-goal leads; each time, they let the Oilers tie the game.
• For what it's worth, the Canucks chased the Oilers' goalie for the second meeting in a row. Of course both times the Oilers came back to win the game.
• Rick Rypien played his first game with the Canucks last night and scored his first goal on his first shot. The goal gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead. This was the first time I've seen Rypien play and I thought he wasn't bad in his limited ice-time (6:31 minutes).
• Nolan Baumgartner left the game in the first period after blocking a shot. Mostly out of necessity, Kevin Bieksa logged 17:40 minutes of ice-time. I know Bieksa comes with some hype after a great first pro season in Manitoba last season; in his first couple of games however, he either seems lost or is slow to position himself on defense. I also haven't seen much of the physical aspect of his game.
• If Baumgartner is away for any length of time, the team's third defensive pairing may very well feature Steve McCarthy and Kevin Bieksa. Yikes.
• The Sedin line scored two goals and an assist to extend their point streak to nine games. Sedin, Sedin and Carter have combined for 26 points (12G-14A) in that span.
• Todd Bertuzzi has also been hot. He scored again last night and now has four goals in five games. More importantly, he is back muscling his way with the puck and creating scoring chances.