Red Hot Canucks drop struggling Sharks

The Vancouver Canucks scored two quick first period goals and took advantage of the solid goaltending of Roberto Luongo to earn a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at the General Motors Place in British Columbia on Saturday night.  The win continued their excellent run which has propelled the Canucks into the middle of the pack among playoff teams in the NHL’s Western Conference.

Alexander Edler got the scoring underway just 3:05 into the game on a goal assisted by Mattias Ohlund and Ryan Kesler.  Mats Sundin tallied to make it 2-0 less than three minutes later, with assists on his goal to Pavol Demitra and Ryan Kesler. 

San Jose would score the only goal of the second period, despite Vancouver holding a 15-8 shots on goal advantage in the frame. Joe Thornton’s power play marker just three seconds before the end of the period from Jonathan Cheechoo and Rob Blake cut the Canucks margin to 2-1 heading into the final twenty minutes of action.  In the third period, the Sharks would hold a lopsided shots on goal advantage with a 15-4 margin, but it would be Vancouver to score the only goal when Kevin Bieksa put the puck in the net on the power play at 11:48 assisted by Sami Salo and Daniel Sedin. 

Luongo’s solid play in net earned him the games ‘second star’ as he stopped 28 shots and kept his team in the game when the defense broke down in front of the net.  Vancouver’s Keven Bieska said after the game that the Canucks were able to make a ‘statement’ against one of the NHL’s best team:

"I think it was a statement game. We've been winning for the last little while, but to beat a quality team like San Jose, a team we haven't beaten all season, is huge for us and definitely something we needed going into the playoffs."

 The Canucks have won eleven of their last thirteen games, which came on the heels of a season high eight game losing skid.  Bieska compared the team’s play then and now:

"It's night and day the way we were playing back then and now. Last time it was almost like hanging on and playing not to lose. Now we have a kind of different attitude. We're playing to win and not sitting back."

The Sharks, meanwhile, have lost their 4^th straight and are now in a virtual dead heat with the Detroit Red Wings for the Western Conference lead.  Coach Kevin McLellan said that his team had some work to do before the postseason begins:

"We weren't prepared to play at the level we needed to play at. We have to talk to the leadership, but they have to be prepared night in and night out to compete and if this happens in the playoffs you have no chance of winning so you better start learning some lessons quickly."