Canucks 4 Avs 3 (SO)

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

• The Denver Post didn't think well enough of Alex Auld to be one of the stars of the game, but he was one the biggest reason the Canucks won. Not only did he stop 40 of 43 shots in regulation and overtime, he also stopped all three Colorado shooters in the shootout. This doesn't happen in many Canucks games but I actually felt that a puck was not going to beat Auld. The two late goals that did were from in front of the net and resulted from a combination of Colorado's hard work and Vancouver's blown defensive coverages.
• Auld's win was his 21st of the season (tied for seventh in the NHL). He also moved into 6th place in the NHL in total minutes played for the season.
• The Canucks played with more heart and more grit than most of their recent games. They battled with the Avs all night and were even willing to scrap it out (Allen, Bieksa and Kesler all dropped the gloves). The Vancouver Province has more.
• I thought Brendan Morrison and Jarkko Ruutu stepped up quite nicely in Naslund's absence. Morrison logged 21:02 minutes of ice-time and was solid on both ends of the ice; he finished with one assist, two shots and a +2 rating. Ruutu, of course, was very prominent in his season-high 19:31 minutes of ice-time. Taking Naslund's spot on the big line, he scored two goals - including the game-winner in the shootout - and recorded two shots and two hits.
• Speaking of Ruutu, anyone else thought his shootout goal was eerily similar to Sidney Crosby's against Montreal?
• This is getting to be a common note in this blog: Ryan Kesler played a very good game. Even through the team's losing streak, Kesler had been one of the hardest-working Canucks and last night, the stats backed it up. In 16:50 minutes of ice-time, he recorded one goal, three shots, one hit, three blocked shots and a 60% faceoff win percentage. He was also game in a second period fight against Ian Lapperiere.
• Kevin Bieksa's poor defensive positioning cost him last night - he was on the ice for all three Colorado goals. I've mentioned this before and it's something he very much needs to work on.
• On the other hand, Mattias Ohlund had a great game. He recorded one goal (short-handed), four shots and six blocked shots in 28:21 minutes of ice-time.
• Steve McCarthy has also played better of late. He seems to be learning when to make the safe play, when to move the puck and when to pinch into the play. Good news for the Canucks defense if he can chip in similar 15 minute efforts the rest of the season.
• Thanks to the Colorado fans who proved that there are idiot fans everywhere. I won't blame them for booing Todd Bertuzzi, but cheering when he was slashed and injured, and throwing stuff at him on the ice is just stupid. On a minor aside, I was at GM Place during the Moore incident and I can tell you that Moore received a nice ovation when he was being wheeled out. We certainly didn't cheer the fact that he was hurt.