Final
Kesler nets pair as Canucks win fourth straight
Feb 24, 2008 - 6:58 AM VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) -- Ryan Kesler scored two goals in the third period and All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo made 27 saves as the Vancouver Canucks recorded their season-high fourth consecutive victory with a 4-1 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.Defensemen Alex Edler and Sami Salo also tallied for Vancouver, which won four straight games for the first time since March 15-21.
"We had a real solid effort from our whole group, but obviously Kesler did a great job on the top line and was able to contribute offensively in the third," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "Roberto made the key saves he had to make, so it was an all-around solid effort."
Pavel Datsyuk scored the lone goal for Detroit, which is 1-7-1 in its last nine games. The Red Wings were playing without All-Star defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom (knee) and fellow blue-liners Chris Chelios (foot), Niklas Kronwall (collarbone) and Brian Rafalski (groin).
"We'd like to score a whole bunch more," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "That's very evident (that) we're not quite as smooth on the back end as we normally are and you don't get the puck going as good.
"Your forwards aren't playing with as much speed. It really affects your power play. Normally, we have three of the best defensemen in the world on the back end there, and right now, they're just not available to us."
With Vancouver nursing a 2-1 lead in the third period, Kesler used his considerable speed to give his team some breathing room.
After stripping the puck from defenseman Brett Lebda, Kesler raced up the left wing and - while staving off a backchecking Henrik Zetterberg - wristed a shot past rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard to give the Canucks a 3-1 advantage.
"It was a good power move," Howard said of the goal. "He battled very strong to the net and I didn't get my legs closed quick enough.
"That definitely gave them a boost. It definitely took the wind out of our sails. (A) two-goal lead for them at home is a pretty good cushion, especially with who they have back there at the back end in Luongo."
Kesler made it a three-goal bulge with exactly three minutes remaining.
The 23-year-old again used his speed to skate through the offensive zone before slapping the puck past Howard as he fell to the ice for his 16th goal of the season.
"I know first and foremost, my job is to shut down the other team's top lines for the guys," Kesler said. "To score a couple tonight is just a bonus. I jumped on a couple of loose pucks, had a couple of breakaways and scored a couple of goals."
Edler opened the scoring with 5:32 remaining in the first period. Fellow defenseman Mattias Ohlund set up Edler for a one-timer from the right point that sailed past Howard for his seventh tally.
Datsyuk leveled the contest just 2 1/2 minutes later. With Detroit on the power play, blue-liner Derek Meech received a centering feed from Tomas Holmstrom and fired a wrister that deflected off the All-Star Russian and trickled past Luongo for his 22nd of the campaign.
That was all the Red Wings could muster against Luongo, who was playing in his first game since recording 49 saves in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
"We are feeling good, better about ourselves and about the game right now," Luongo said. "We just have to make sure to bring out the effort every night. As soon as you take things for granted, that's when you start to slip up a little bit. It's just a matter of working hard, practicing and making sure that we have a big game here every night."
Salo regained the lead for the Canucks with 9:21 remaining in the second period. With Vancouver on the power play, Salo notched his fourth tally of the season when he blasted a one-timer past Howard.
- NHL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
DETROIT 1 0 0 1
VANCOUVER 1 1 2 4 FINAL
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: VAN - ALEXANDER EDLER 7 (MATTIAS OHLUND, DANIEL SEDIN) 14:26
DET - (PP) PAVEL DATSYUK 22 (DEREK MEECH, TOMAS HOLMSTROM)
16:54
2ND PRD: VAN - (PP) SAMI SALO 4 (HENRIK SEDIN, DANIEL SEDIN) 10:39
3RD PRD: VAN - RYAN KES
Feb 24 12:36 AM - NHL
DETROIT 1
VANCOUVER 4
3RD PRD: VAN - RYAN KESLER 16 (WILLIE MITCHELL) 17:00
Red Wings vs. CanucksFeb 24 12:33 AM - NHL
DETROIT 1
VANCOUVER 3
3RD PRD: VAN - RYAN KESLER 15 (UNASSISTED) 3:31
Red Wings vs. CanucksFeb 24 12:07 AM - NHL
END OF THE 2ND 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
DETROIT 1 0 1
VANCOUVER 1 1 2 END OF THE 2ND
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: VAN - ALEXANDER EDLER 7 (MATTIAS OHLUND, DANIEL SEDIN) 14:26
DET - (PP) PAVEL DATSYUK 22 (DEREK MEECH, TOMAS HOLMSTROM)
16:54
2ND PRD: VAN - (PP) SAMI SALO 4 (HENRIK SEDIN, DANIEL SEDIN) 10:39
SHOTS ON G
Feb 23 11:43 PM - NHL
DETROIT 1
VANCOUVER 2
2ND PRD: VAN - (PP) SAMI SALO 4 (HENRIK SEDIN, DANIEL SEDIN) 10:39
Red Wings vs. CanucksFeb 23 11:25 PM - NHL
END OF THE 1ST 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
DETROIT 1 1
VANCOUVER 1 1 END OF THE 1ST
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: VAN - ALEXANDER EDLER 7 (MATTIAS OHLUND, DANIEL SEDIN) 14:26
DET - (PP) DEREK MEECH 1 (TOMAS HOLMSTROM, HENRIK
ZETTERBERG) 16:54
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
DET 9
Feb 23 10:50 PM - NHL
DETROIT 1
VANCOUVER 1
1ST PRD: DET - (PP) DEREK MEECH 1 (TOMAS HOLMSTROM, HENRIK ZETTERBERG)
16:54
Red Wings vs. CanucksFeb 23 10:47 PM - NHL
DETROIT 0
VANCOUVER 1
1ST PRD: VAN - ALEXANDER EDLER 7 (MATTIAS OHLUND, DANIEL SEDIN) 14:26
Red Wings vs. CanucksFeb 23 10:42 PM
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