Canucks 2 Oilers 3

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

• Despite the loss, I thought that was one of the more entertaining games of the season. The game was rarely played in the neutral zone and there were lots of skating, lots of hits and lots of scoring chances. Both teams played aggresive games until the Oilers started to trap and defend their lead in the final half of the third period.
• Both goalies were great on this night. Alex Auld and Dwayne Roloson made some excellent saves to keep the game close for their respective teams. Auld finished with 26 saves on 29 Edmonton shots; Roloson stopped 23 of 25 Vancouver shots.
• One of the positives from this three-game series against the Oilers is how Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi seemed to be reinvigorated. For the third consecutive game, both were among the Canucks best players - Markus challenged the Oilers defense and had six shots on goal; Todd finished his checks and went aggresively to the net. Both recorded two assists and plus-2 ratings for the night.
• Ryan Kesler had another good game. He started the night on Naslund and Bertuzzi's line, recorded three shots on goal, threw a couple of hits and scored the Canucks first goal. Over the three-game series, Kesler had a total of four points (2G-2A) and a plus-3 rating.
• I liked how the defense joined the rush and jumped in on the play all night - basically how they played before the injuries to Jovanovski and Salo. This led to a few odd man rushes in the first period - I think the Oilers had a couple of 2-on-1's and at least a couple more 3 or 4-on-2's - but they adjusted after that and picked their spots more.
• The defense, however, had a hard time moving the puck up the ice when the Oilers started to trap. It really showed how much they miss Jovo and Salo. Will the Canucks sit Bieksa and play Baumgartner against the Kings?
• I thought Sean Brown played his best game as a Canuck. He logged 17:16 minutes of ice-time but was barely noticeable - a good thing for a defenseman.