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Burrows helps Canucks salvage road trip

Feb 8, 2008 - 4:57 AM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Vancouver Canucks finally figured out a way to win a one-goal game.

Alex Burrows snapped a tie midway through the third period and Daniel Sedin netted his team-leading 24th goal to lead the Canucks to a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday, ending their four-game losing streak.

Roberto Luongo turned aside 27 shots for Vancouver, which finished its four-game road trip with a 1-1-2 record and improved to 2-19-1 when trailing after two periods.

"We had to dig deep for the third-period comeback," Canucks center Byron Ritchie said. "Both goals were huge for us, especially Burrows' goal. We needed a win desperately, and we came in and got it."

Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault was pleased with the victory but believed his club should have fared better on the road trip.

"I'm happy with the win," said Vigneault, whose team suffered a pair of shootout losses on the trek. "I'm happy that we finished .500 on this trip, but I think we could have won all four games."

Pascal Dupuis scored and Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves for the Thrashers, who have lost seven of their last 10 games.

"We're not playing well enough to win, to deserve to win," Atlanta captain Bobby Holik said. "We're not doing enough of whatever it takes to win this time of the year."

Prior to their visit to Atlanta, the Canucks have had difficulty winning tight games, dropping each of their previous four contests and eight of the last 11 by one-goal margins.

Burrows finally helped Vancouver put an end to that streak.

With the contest tied at 1-1, the 26-year-old Burrows beat Lehtonen with a backhander from the slot at 11:14 of the third period, giving the Canucks the lead.

"We needed that win tonight," Burrows said. "We really wanted to find a way to win. After that second period, we got together and played a really strong third period."

Vancouver took advantage of an out-of-position Lehtonen, who fell to the ice after being hit just below his collarbone by the stick of teammate Eric Perrin. While down in the crease, the puck sailed over his left shoulder.

Lehtonen originally thought Canucks center Ryan Kesler was the one who inadvertently hit him.

"I went down on my butt there and couldn't get up as fast as I could," Lehtonen said. "I was complaining because I thought it was their player's stick. I was wrong."

The Canucks were the beneficiaries of the strong play of Luongo, who stopped all nine shots he faced in the third period.

"He is the best in the world," Ritchie said of his netminder. "He's an awesome goalie and an awesome competitor."

Holik, however, was not as impressed.

"I wouldn't say he was amazing," the Czech said. "I've seen better performances by a goaltender, but he was good enough to win."

Both goaltenders were especially stingy until Dupuis snapped a scoreless tie in the middle period.

Rookie defenseman Tobias Enstrom laced a one-timer from the left faceoff circle, which dribbled off the glove of Luongo and right onto the stick of Dupuis. The 28-year-old wristed the puck into the net from the right side at 7:58 for his 10th goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.

Sedin tied the contest during a power play at 6:32 of the third. The 27-year-old Swede tipped a shot by defenseman Mattias Ohlund from above the left circle past Lehtonen to make it 1-1.

Ohlund, who missed Tuesday's loss at Dallas after flying back to Vancouver to attend to a family issue, arrived in Atlanta on a red-eye flight early Thursday morning.

"For him to take the red-eye last night to come here and play says so much about that individual and how much he cares about his teammates and his team," Vigneault said. "I think that was a huge lift for us."

The contest was a physical one despite the fact the two clubs had met just seven previous times since the Thrashers joined the NHL in 1999-2000. Atlanta enforcer Eric Boulton battled Vancouver's Jeff Cowan in the first period, and Thrashers center Chris Thorburn exchanged punches with Canucks defenseman Nathan McIver in the third.

With the loss, Atlanta fell to 15-2-2 when leading after 40 minutes.