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Daniel Sedin leads Canucks over Predators

Dec 7, 2007 - 5:22 AM By Jim Diamond PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Daniel Sedin made the third period his own.

Sedin scored goals 4:15 apart midway through the third, snapping a tie and giving the Vancouver Canucks a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

Alex Burrows and Taylor Pyatt also tallied and captain Markus Naslund and Henrik Sedin each had a pair of assists for Vancouver, which has won five of its last six games.

With the game even at 2-2, Daniel Sedin took a pass from twin brother Henrik in the slot and beat goaltender Dan Ellis with a quick backhand-to-forehand move before lifting the puck into the net for his 10th goal of the season.

"He made a pretty nice pass on that one," Daniel Sedin said of his brother's feed. "The first period, we just didn't have our legs, but the second period, we played better. And in the third, we just took over."

Daniel Sedin doubled the lead with a power-play goal at 12:26 of the third, and Trevor Linden clinched the win with a shorthanded empty-netter in the final minute.

"We had a really strong first period, but in the third, we got away from what was giving us success in the first period," Ellis said. "They were able to find their game and lull us to sleep a little bit, and we didn't take advantage of our chances in the second and third."

Jed Ortmeyer opened the scoring at 3:08 of the first period, giving the Predators an early edge.

Just four seconds after a penalty to Naslund expired, Ortmeyer carried the puck into the offensive zone on the right side. He pulled up at the top of the faceoff circle and fired a slap shot over the right shoulder of netminder Curtis Sanford for his second tally of the season.

Burrows tied the game 1-1 midway through the session, unleashing a wrist shot from the right faceoff dot through traffic that found its way between Ellis' pads at 10:19.

Martin Erat put the Predators ahead with 1:48 left in the first, scoring on a one-timer from the high slot off a pass from captain Jason Arnott.

But Pyatt forged a 2-2 deadlock at 7:48 of the second with a power-play goal. With Alexander Radulov serving a tripping penalty, Brendan Morrison found Pyatt all alone in front of net for an easy tap-in.

After allowing 16 shots in the first period, the Canucks tightened up defensively in the middle session, yielding just three against Sanford, who finished with 26 saves.

"(The Predators) always seem to come out flying in the first period," Sanford said. "It was good that we were able to respond in the last two periods, especially the third, which was our best one. Once we started clogging up the neutral zone, we were able to neutralize them."

"He did what a lot of good goaltenders can do, and that is keep his team in the game when they weren't there," Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said of Sanford. "We got off to a very slow start in that first period, and Curtis enabled us to stay in the game."

Ellis turned aside 20 shots but suffered his first loss in seven decisions this season for the Predators, who lost for the fifth time in eight games.

"We had lots of chances, but we didn't bury our chances," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "We allowed them to be in the game late, and they were able to get a couple of goals on special teams."