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Canucks use strong second period to douse Flames

Nov 9, 2007 - 6:23 AM CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- A second-period surge powered the Vancouver Canucks to their second straight victory.

The Canucks scored three goals in the middle session - including two in a 16-second span - en route to a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday in a battle of Northwest Division rivals.

Vancouver, which defeated Colorado, 4-3, on Saturday, won back-to-back games for the first time since sweeping Edmonton in a home-and-home series on October 12-13.

Canucks coach Alain Vigneault praised his team's effort - to a point.

"I thought we were excellent for 39 minutes - the first 39," Vigneault said. "They got their second scoring chance at exactly that. We were playing really well - the way we have to play - and obviously, we got into a bit of penalty trouble, and they got some big momentum off it."

Calgary scored goals 33 seconds apart in the third but failed to net the equalizer and dropped its fourth straight game.

Brendan Morrison opened the scoring 2:32 into the second period.

With Vancouver on the power play, Henrik Sedin controlled the puck behind the end line in the right corner and backhanded a sharp-angle pass to twin brother Daniel Sedin at the side of the net. Daniel Sedin then found Morrison, who banged it past goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff from the doorstep for his sixth goal of the season.

Morrison credits a simplified game plan to the team's turn in fortune.

"I think simplifying our game is the reason we won two straight now, and buying into our defensive system," he said. "We played a really good first and second and got into some penalty trouble in the third. Other than that, we played a really good defensive game."

Byron Ritchie, who played with the Flames the last two seasons, doubled the Canucks' advantage with his first goal of the campaign.

From the left faceoff circle, Ritchie fired a shot on net from a tough angle that Kiprusoff was unable to handle cleanly. As the netminder struggled to locate the puck, he fell backward, causing it to dribble across the goal line and give Vancouver a 2-0 lead with just under eight minutes expired in the period.

Alex Burrows stretched the advantage to three goals just 16 seconds later.

After the Flames turned over the puck in their own zone, Burrows fed a pinching Willie Mitchell in the right circle. While the defenseman was unable to register a shot on goal, Burrows gathered the puck and beat Kiprusoff just inside the near goalpost to give Vancouver a 3-0 bulge.

"People don't think we're going to get 20 goals, but every time we get a goal or one or two, it seems to win a game and make a difference," Burrows said.

Kristian Huselius put Calgary on the board midway through the third period.

The Swede accepted a feed from captain Jarome Iginla and beat goaltender Roberto Luongo from close range to close the gap to 3-1.

Just 33 seconds later, Owen Nolan halved the deficit by scoring his first goal as a member of the Flames.

Luongo could not handle Matthew Lombardi's shot from the right circle, creating a rebound that Nolan deposited into the net from a sharp angle.

"Obviously, we demonstrated a level of desperation in the third," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said. "When you're playing at a desperate level, you're competing very hard and you're getting results.

"We definitely expect our team to play with that kind of commitment right from the beginning. We expect to play inspired like they did in the third period, and to initiate hard play right from the beginning, and to do it for 60 minutes."

Luongo stood tall the rest of the way, finishing with 36 saves.

"We won two big games on the road in two hard buildings," Luongo said. "Our forecheck has been really good in the last two games. We created a lot of turnovers by being patient on the forecheck."

Kiprusoff stopped 21 shots for the Flames, who lost veteran center Daymond Langkow in the second period after he was on the receiving end of a hit by Matt Cooke.

"Daymond Langkow suffered a concussion on that particular hit by Cooke," Keenan said. "I thought it was a hard hockey hit. Daymond put himself in a position, to a certain extent. The problem was, he's a little bit short and he ended up hitting his head on the glass."