Canucks 3 Kings 2

Somewhere in a reverse engineering class, someone should be studying the Vancouver Canucks.

They seem to be defying physics and the most basic laws of nature with their current pattern: No matter how poorly they play they can't seem to lose.

Nearing the end an abysmal final period, Kevin Bieksa scored off a feed from Markus Naslund to give the Canucks a 3-2 win. The goal went in at the 16:04 mark of the third period.

At the time, the Canucks were getting outshot 13-2.

"It was a game plan well executed in the third -- spend the whole period in our zone and make sure the goalie's cold on the other side so we can get one," Roberto Luongo deadpanned.

The Canucks insist all these one-goal games are not part of their master plan. They'd like to win big, but can't seem to put teams away until near the end of games.

"I don't think that's part of the plan," said captain Markus Naslund, who set up Bieksa's winning goal as well as an earlier one by Brendan Morrison. "I didn't think it was a well-played game, especially us taking way too many penalties, but it's another win and you have to be happy about that."

• Brendan Morrison's first game as a Vancouver Canuck was in March 2000 when he had a goal and an assist. He hasn't missed a game since, and last night, broke Trevor Linden's franchise record of 483 consecutive games played in a Canucks uniform. - Ed Willes (Vancouver Province)
• After Tommi Santala drew into the lineup last night - centering Markus Naslund no less - everyone is asking the same question. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• Vigneault's wishlist - and mine - includes another top-4 defenseman before the trade deadline. - Jason Botchford (Vancouver Province)
• Here's a postgame piece from La-La land's point of view. - Chris Foster (LA Times)
• Anze Kopitar, rookie superstar and new face of the Kings' franchise. Will forever be the comparison point for Luc Bourdon. - Brad Ziemer (Vancouver Sun)

About the game around the blogosphere

• The Chief Canuck and Waiting For Stanley give their postgame recaps.

My 3 Stars of the Game

1. Lubomir Visnovsky (LA): Loved the way he moved the puck. One goal and five shots.
2. Sami Salo (VAN): Solid, solid, solid especially on the PK.
3. Michael Cammalleri (LA): Won 66% of his faceoffs and was dangerous around the net. One assist and six shots on goal.

Official Statistics

• Scoresheet
• Stat Sheet
• Shift Chart

Labels: game recap, Kings