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Daniel Sedin's goal lifts Canucks over Oilers in fight-filled game

Feb 17, 2008 - 7:33 AM VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) -- The Vancouver Canucks' top line made the difference once again.

Daniel Sedin and captain Markus Naslund each scored a goal and set up another and Henrik Sedin added three assists to lead the Canucks to a 4-2 triumph over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night in a battle of Northwest Division foes.

"Right from the first shift, I thought it was a playoff atmosphere," Naslund said. "It's fun to play when the crowd is into it and it's a battle. I think they were trying to send a message, and I think we answered it. We're here to win games, and that's what we did."

Roberto Luongo made 24 saves for Vancouver, which improved to 3-1-1 over its last five contests following a four-game winless streak (0-2-2).

"It was a tight game the whole way through," Luongo said. "We got a big goal in the third there, and we really shut them down after that. It was a nice way to win."

Daniel Sedin gave the Canucks a 3-2 edge at 7:45 of the third period, and that goal stood as the game-winner. Henrik Sedin drew the attention of the defense and goaltender Mathieu Garon toward him before making a perfect centering pass to his twin brother in the slot.

Daniel Sedin fired a wrist shot into the open side of the net for his team-leading 25th goal of the season.

"I tried to be in the high slot as the safety and I picked off the pass," Naslund said of the play that led to the goal. "I saw (Henrik) going down and just tried to feed him, and he made a great play to Danny."

"We had the puck a lot tonight, and that makes it easier," Daniel Sedin added. "It gets frustrating when you don't have the puck and you have to chase all the time. Tonight was a fun game to play."

Alex Burrows added an empty-netter with 39 seconds left and a melee ensued. While Burrows celebrated his eighth goal of the season, Oilers center Jarret Stoll delivered a slight check to him.

Burrows responded by hurling his stick around and slashing Stoll in the leg. All the players on the ice joined the scuffle, and Oilers rookie Sam Gagner fought Ryan Kesler.

"I think right off the get-go, when I shot it into the net, I think I got a good slash by (Edmonton defenseman Steve) Staios right on the glove," Burrows said. "I think that was a good thing it was on my glove, otherwise it could have broke my wrist or something.

"Afterwards, (I was) just celebrating and Stoll came over to cross-check me for no real reason. That's why I just reacted and slashed him on the shin pad. Hopefully, the league will look at it and reverse the call."

The fisticuffs did not end there, as the teams decided to brawl yet again with nine seconds left. Just five seconds later, all six players remaining on the ice engaged in separate fights.

"No, not at all," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said when asked whether he thought his team crossed the line at the end of the game. "Those things happen. I'm not going to apologize for it, that's for sure."

A total of 59 penalty minutes were handed out in the final 40 seconds of the contest. The teams also combined for 46 penalty minutes in the game's first 10 minutes, including 10-minute misconducts to Burrows and Edmonton's Dustin Penner just 21 seconds in.

"You got two gritty teams that wanted to get the win, and you know there's bound to be a very enthusiastic game when two teams come together like that," Zack Stortini said.

Naslund opened the scoring at 3:08 of the first period. Dashing down the right wing, Naslund fluttered a centering pass that deflected off Oilers defenseman Ladislav Smid and past Garon.

Edmonton tied the contest at 1-1 with 78 seconds remaining in the first. After the Oilers pinned the Canucks in their own zone for an extended shift, Gagner managed to wrestle away the puck from defenseman Alex Edler behind the net and sent a pass out to Marty Reasoner, who beat Luongo between the pads.

The Canucks got a scare moments earlier, when Reasoner cut across Luongo's crease and made contact with the netminder, slamming his right arm against the goalpost. Luongo doubled over in pain as play was stopped but stayed in the game.

Vancouver regained the lead during a 5-on-3 advantage just 54 seconds into the middle period, when blue-liner Sami Salo's slap shot from the right point deflected off Staios' stick - breaking it in two - and past Garon. Staios slammed what was left of his stick against the ice in disgust after the goal.

The Oilers drew even once again late in the period. Luongo made a nice save on rookie blue-liner Tom Gilbert's shot before stumbling over and lying sideways in the crease. He was able to make an awkward pad stop on Stortini's attempt, but Kyle Brodziak deposited the rebound into the vacant net.

"They were great," MacTavish said, referring to his team's fourth line. "They've been good for a while. I haven't seen a fourth line that good since (Mike) Peluso, (Randy) McKay and (Bobby) Holik (of the New Jersey Devils in the mid-1990s). They played great.

"They're one of the reasons we've won a couple of the last three games that we've played and certainly one of the reasons we were in the game. They did virtually everything you could ask of a line to do tonight in terms of playing within the rules largely, being a factor physically - a huge factor physically, all three of them - and then to get the offense."

Garon made 22 saves.