GAME OF THE NIGHT: St Louis Blues at Vancouver Canucks, Friday April 17, 2009, 10pm ET/7pm PT

St. Louis at Vancouver

10:00 PM ET, April 17, 2009
General Motors Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
TSN/Versus

Blues-Canucks Preview





Five-on-five more than a fair fight for Canucks

Thursday, April 16, 2009, Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - The last thing the Vancouver Canucks want is for their series against the St. Louis Blues to become a special-teams battle.
Game 1 turned out to be just that and the Canucks, who took seven minor penalties in the first two periods, felt somewhat fortunate to emerge with a 2-1 victory.

What the Canucks would prefer is to play as much of this series as possible five-on-five. They like to feel that the Blues, or most any other team in the NHL for that matter, can not beat them in five-on-five hockey.

"We want to play as much even-strength as we can," defenceman Willie Mitchell said Thursday. "We feel that's our identity, that's where we're a real good hockey team."

The regular-season stats bear this out. The Canucks' special teams were middle-of-the-road at best this season. Their power play was 17th in the league, their penalty-kill not much better at 16th.

So how did a team with such mediocre special teams manage to win its division?

Easy, the Canucks thrived five-on-five, outscoring their opposition 153-126.

The Blues are polar opposites. St. Louis leaned heavily on its power play (eighth in the NHL) and its third-ranked penalty kill. Five-on-five, the Blues were outscored 142-133 this season.

So the goal for the Canucks heading into Game 2 tonight at GM Place is to stay out of the penalty box and play as much of the game as possible at even strength.

"You look at our team and where we have had a lot of success and it has been five-on-five," Mitchell said. "Our special teams have not been really weak, but not our strongest point."

Wednesday night, however, Vancouver's special teams came up big. The Canucks killed a huge 5-on-3 in the first period and the Blues' power play managed just one goal in seven attempts.

Officially, the Canucks scored one power-play goal Wednesday night, but in actual fact Daniel Sedin's game-opening goal in the first period was a power-play marker.

It came with an extra skater on the ice on a delayed penalty call against St. Louis.
"To have our special teams rolling like they did last night was huge," Mitchell said.

"They won the game for us."

What has the Canucks feeling particularly good heading into tonight's game is the way they played the third period of Wednesday night's series opener.

The Canucks carried a one-goal lead into that period, but didn't simply fall into a defensive shell and try to protect their lead. They instead took the game to the Blues and outshot St. Louis 15-4. It should be noted the Canucks were not forced to kill any penalties in that third period. Most of it was five-on-five hockey and just as they did for much of the regular season, they thrived on it.

The Canucks would like to use that third period as a blueprint for playoff success.

Play smart, play aggressive, stay out of the penalty box.

"That's something we have really improved on the last month is playing with that third-period lead like it's a regular type situation," said defenceman Kevin Bieksa.

"Not tensing up and not shooting the puck up the boards and trying to survive. I think we played the same way as we did in the first and second and played in their end quite a bit. And defensively, we were rock solid."

No one appreciated that third period more than goalie Roberto Luongo, who hopes to see a lot more of that kind of hockey the rest of the way from his teammates.

"We had a lead going into the third and it would have been easy to just sit back and try and protect it, but I thought we played really strong and went after them and created a lot of offence," Luongo said. "We were in their zone for most of the period. So that's a good sign, you don't want to sit back, you want to continue doing the things you have been doing and put the pressure on them."

And of course stay out of the penalty box.

"Most of their chances came on the power play," Luongo said. "So as long as we stay out of the box, five-on-five we can carry the play."

Murray looks at bright side
By Jeremy Rutherford
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Apr. 17 2009

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Regardless of whether some of the Blues may have been jittery in their first experience in the NHL playoffs, a 2-1 loss to the
Vancouver Canucks in Game 1 on Wednesday night, Andy Murray wasn't using that as an excuse the day after.

"We had a number of other guys that have a lot of (playoff) experience that
didn't play well enough," Murray said. "Of the 18 skaters that played in the
game for us, I calculated seven that were below average. We had four that were
average. That means that we had only about seven players who I was really happy with their efforts. That means there's room for optimism."

On Thursday, the Blues were focused on having a better performance against
Vancouver tonight in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series. They weren't worrying
about a lack of playoff experience, which won't be any less of a factor 48
hours later.

The Blues were one of seven on the power play Wednesday, misfiring on several
close-range shots. They were outhit by Vancouver 25-23 and also lost the
face-off battle, losing 53 percent of the draws. In the third period, the team
was outshot 15-6 by the Canucks.

"I think the bottom line is we can play a lot better," Murray said. "We're a
team that has played solid hockey and we need to return to that. I didn't like
the structure of our game last night. I didn't like our 'compete' on the puck.
To me, we needed to be more efficient. We need better execution and better
effort."

A day after 11 Blues made their first postseason appearances, however, some
admitted their nerves were triggered in Game 1 against the Canucks. Rookie
center Patrik Berglund acknowledged Thursday that he was ineffective, and as a
result, played only 8 minutes, 41 seconds in the game.

"You have to earn your ice time," Berglund said. "I didn't do it at all, I have
to be honest. I told the coaches that, too. I just need to play harder. I saw
on a couple of clips that I took short cuts. It's not how I play hockey; it's
not how I get successful. I don't know what it comes from, but I need to play a
lot harder and be more consistent and do the stuff I'm good at."

Berglund wasn't the only Blue feeling that way.

"There was a little bit of hesitation from a few us ... you don't really know
what to expect as far as playoff hockey goes," Blues forward David Backes said.
"But it's a 60-minute game on the same sheet of ice, against the same players,
and we just need to elevate our game the way Vancouver did last night, match
their intensity and keep going at them."

The Blues failed to execute their game plan of getting traffic in front of
goaltender Roberto Luongo, who made a few dazzling saves but didn't have to
make many.

"We have to generate more shots, more guys going to the net, more second and
third efforts around the net," Blues forward Keith Tkachuk said. "We're playing
against a great goaltender and you're not going to score those perimeter goals
in the playoffs. The more traffic and second and third chances and willingness
to dig for second and third pucks is an area we have to get back at."

Blues forward Andy McDonald said even on rushes, the offense wasn't cohesive.

"We didn't do a good job coming up together," he said. "You've got to certainly
bring everybody together and support the puck. We didn't generate enough
through the neutral zone. We didn't really get in their zone and have any
cycles."

Former Blue Ryan Johnson, now a Canuck, said he expects a much more aggressive
Blues' team to show up tonight.

"Maybe some guys that were inexperienced, that had just a little hesitation ...
it doesn't take you two years of playoff experience, it takes one game,"
Johnson said. "You take in the atmosphere and you understand what the game is
all about in the playoffs. There's some smart people over there that will
adjust."

I'm torn here. I like both teams, but I think the Canucks are too much for the Blues.

Still, let's make it a good series Blues, come on!

Nucks D men are going to be a big challenge...especially Willie Mitchell and his loooong stick LOL.

A massive performance by Roberto Luongo...3-0.

Details to come.

:KKK:

I don't think the Blues are gonna win a game in this series to be brutally honest.

St. Louis 0, Vancouver 3

	1	2	3	T
STL	0	0	0	0
VAN	0	1	2	3

Final

10:00 PM ET, April 17, 2009
General Motors Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Sundin puts Canucks ahead to support Luongo's stifling performance vs. Blues

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Roberto Luongo is peaking at the perfect time for the Vancouver Canucks.

Criticized at times despite finishing second in the NHL with nine shutouts, and ranking in the top five in goals-against average and save percentage, Luongo has been brilliant in the playoffs.

Luongo made 30 saves in his first NHL playoff shutout, and the Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues 3-0 on Friday night to take a big lead in the Western Conference playoff series.

"Once you get into the playoffs, the adrenaline takes over," Luongo said. "It brings [my game] to that next level. It makes you quicker, sharper and more aggressive."
Mats Sundin put Vancouver ahead late in the second period, and Luongo did the rest, making many highlight-reel stops as the Canucks grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the first-round series that will continue Sunday in St. Louis.

"He was unbelievable," said Alex Burrows, who scored midway through the third period less than a minute after Luongo had bailed him out by making several saves while Burrows served a tripping penalty. "He made so many great saves."

Henrik Sedin, who assisted on Burrow's goal, scored into an empty net with 1:24 left. His twin brother, Daniel, added two assists, but the story was Luongo.

"Probably one of his best games of the year," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said.

After finishing the regular season with consecutive shutouts and making 25 saves in a 2-1 victory in Game 1 on Wednesday, Luongo made his first big save 24 seconds in.

Keith Tkachuk fed a pass out front to an open Dan Hinote, whose quick shot was turned away by Luongo's right pad. Four minutes later, Luongo sprawled and threw his blocker on Andy McDonald's deflection from the slot, getting enough of the shot to knock it off the crossbar. It was one of three shots McDonald sent off posts, though Luongo got a piece of two.

"We need to deny more sightlines, obviously when you don't score that means he sees too many pucks and there's not many pucks he won't stop if he sees them," Blues coach Andy Murray said.

Mason matched Luongo most of the way, making 24 saves, but was unable to prevent the Blues from losing consecutive games in regulation for the first time since mid-January.

"If you're shooting a puck at a goalie of that caliber, and he can see it, he is going to stop it," Mason said. "We're not getting there, we're not getting in front, we're not making it tough for him to see. It's no secret to beating any top goalie in the league, that's what you have to do and we didn't get there."

Sundin, playing his first playoff series in five years after signing with the Canucks in mid-December, opened the scoring with 1:56 left in the second period, cutting through the slot to knock Pavol Demitra's centering pass out of mid air, bouncing the puck between the legs of Mason and just over the goal line. Burrows battled out from behind the net and banged the puck in off Mason.

"Those are the kind of goals that win Stanley Cups," said Blues center David Backes, who was on the ice and accepted the blame on Burrows' goal "Not far from the crease and just getting bodies there and outworking other teams."

After a penalty-filled first game decided by special teams, both clubs came out playing in a physical fashion in the first. They played more than eight minutes of fast-paced action without a whistle and combined for 22 hits in the first 10 minutes.

The goaltenders took over in the second, with Luongo making a pair of improbable left-pad stops during a Blues power play midway through. He kicked out his leg to deny McDonald's deflection from the top of the crease, then extended it fully to turn aside Backes on the rebound to keep the game scoreless.

"A couple rebounds there where he gets his legs on it where he really has no business being on that side of the net and he still makes the save," Backes said. "I have to put that in the top part of the net. He doesn't have much hope on it, but I leave it on the ice and he makes a great save and they have the momentum.

"He's one of the best, if not the best, in the world."

Luongo made two more great stops with Burrows in the penalty box in the third period, sticking out his right pad to deny McDonald again. He flashed his glove to get a piece of T.J. Oshie's one-timed blast from the point as a power play expired. Burrows scored less than a minute after getting out of the box.

Luongo had a brief discussion with Brad Boyes, the only St. Louis player to beat him in the series after a Game 1 power-play goal, after robbing Backes.

"He was saying he was going to get one. I told him he got one last game, that's enough," Luongo said. "It was just some good-natured fun."

Game notes
The game ended with a full scrum as all five skaters from both teams dropped their gloves in the corner, and Murray screaming from the bench. "We had our young guys on the ice after they scored their 3-0 goal and I didn't like the (fourth) line that he sent out at that particular point," Murray said. "We could have sent out Brad Winchester and B.J. Crombeen, but we were instructed by the league there were no messages to be sent at the end of the game. ... The Blues, who came into the series with the NHL's eighth-best power play, were 0-for-4 after going 1-for-7 in Game 1.

FAST FACTS

• Roberto Luongo stopped 30 shots for his first career postseason shutout to help the Canucks move to a 2-0 series lead over the Blues.
• Mats Sundin, Alexandre Burrows and Daniel Sedin (empty net) each had goals for the Canucks. It was Sundin's 36th career postseason goal -- first since 2004 when he was with Toronto.
• St. Louis outshot Vancouver 30-27, but the Blues lost their fourth straight playoff game.
• Sundin's goal broke up a scoreless game late in the second period.
-- ESPN Stats & Information

Luongo is definitely making me look good right now as picking him for top goalie in DTR's question thread, keep it coming Lu.

Luongo was the master of the crease last night.

And Burrows was lethal.

The Canucks played very responsible team defense.

The Blues have the talent, and competed very well, but IMHO this second loss may have dented their confidence--see David Backes' comments above.

The way the Nucks are playing right now, this could be over in five...unless Andy Murray and John Davidson can get their guys going.

Take a deep breath Blues and play to have fun. Forget about the pressure, just have fun. No one expected them to come out of this really, they can get some experience here and loosen up a bit - they might be able to steal a game.

My Canucks in the Finals prediction still looks right now, but my playoff team is gonna be out pretty quickly.