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CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Canucks 2 Ducks 4

Is 95 points enough? It has to be now. In one of the strangest games I’ve ever seen – and one with the worst puck luck for the boys in blue – the Vancouver Canucks outplayed the Anaheim Mighty Ducks but lost the game 4-2 and lost control of their playoff destiny.

The loss leaves the Canucks in ninth place, two points behind the Edmonton Oilers. They have 89 points and must now sweep their remaining games to reach the magic 95 number.

Game recaps: canucks.com . ESPN
Statistics: Score Sheet . Stat Sheet
My notes from the game:

  • The Canucks had a nice rush after the opening faceoff, only to have Scott Niedermayer go the other way immediately after and score the first Ducks goal 35 seconds into the game.
  • Not only did the Canucks throw 41 shots at Jean Sebastian-Giguere, they also recorded 25 missed shots. They controlled much of the play but simply couldn’t capitalize on them. 14 of 18 Canucks skaters recorded shots on goal, and all 14 recorded at least a couple.
  • Give the team credit. Going into the third period, despite a 33-10 shot advantage but being down 4-1 on the scoreboard, the Canucks, unlike in games past, didn’t give up and maintained good pressure on the Ducks. What killed their momentum were a couple of awful bad penalties to Eric Weinrich and Jarkko Ruutu. Weinrich took his while he initially had possession of the puck; Jarkko took his when he ran into the Ducks goalie during a Canucks rush. Jarkko didn’t play another shift after that.
  • It’s amazing how Jovanovski adds to the offensive style of this team. Part of the reason the Canucks were able to maintain offensive pressure on the Ducks was because of Jovo’s ability to jump into the play and keep the puck in the Ducks’ zone. In 22:09 minutes of ice-time, Jovo put up five shots on goal.
  • I can’t question the Canucks’ effort tonight. However, that means very little with the team’s playoff chances slipping away. Not only do they need to win three games in a row – the last time the Canucks won three games in a row was more than two months ago – they also need either Edmonton to lose one game in regulation or San Jose to lose three of their remaining four games.
Next up: San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

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Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

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posted by J.J. Guerrero, 9:58 AM

1 Comments:

At April 11, 2006 12:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Canucks outplayed the Ducks in the second period, but who cares if you outplay a team once you're down 4-0?

Losing 1-0 and having outworked the other team can be chalked up to bad luck. Getting behind that much and not burying all of those chances means something else.

This isn't the only game the Canucks and their "Captain" (great player, shitty captain) have dismissed as the bounces not going their way.

All this means is that if they get in, it's 4 and out to Detroit or Dallas.

 

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