Canucks 1 Wild 2 (SO)

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

• I thought Manny Fernandez was the story of the game. The Canucks came out flying and held the puck in the Wild zone for a good part of the first period. They had a 9-2 shot advantage over the Wild at one point, but Fernandez stopped everything that went his way and went into the first intermission without being able to capitalize. He stopped 28 of 29 Canucks shots plus all three Canucks shooters in the shootout period.
• I liked how the Canucks were able to create offense while playing down to the Wild's game plan. One thing that I've noticed in the last couple of games is how disciplined the Canucks have been, playing good team defense and patiently waiting for the offensive opportunities to materialize.
• You know how seriously the team's leaders are taking these games? How many times this season have you seen Markus Naslund diving for the puck to get it out of the zone and Todd Bertuzzi covering for his defense? You're right, these haven't happened a lot, but they happened last night. Naslund's play created Carter's breakaway chance, and Bertuzzi stayed back a few times when the Canucks defensemen jumped into the play.
• And the Canucks defense jumped into the play a lot. Of the team's 29 shots on goal, almost half of them (14) were from the defense.
• Sean Brown played a heckuva game. His line for the night: 20:06 minutes of ice-time (his highest total as a Canuck), five shots, one missed shot, one hit and one blocked shot.
• Ice-time among the Canucks' defensemen were again spread very evenly. Mattias Ohlund (26:30) and Keith Carney (23:56) led the way; the rest of the group logged between 18 and 20 minutes.
• More on the game from Terry Calvin and Mike Browne. State of Hockey News talks about the Minnesota side of things.