1 Total Update since November 26, 2010
over 2 years ago Update 0 comments
Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - Mikael Samuelsson scored two goals, Roberto Luongo made 32 saves and the Vancouver Canucks rolled to a 6-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
Jeff Tambellini, Raffi Torres, Alexandre Burrows and Keith Ballard also scored for the Canucks, who have won two straight on the heels of a four-game losing streak.
Luongo stopped all 25 shots he faced in the final two periods.
Dany Heatley scored the only San Jose goal in the first period and the Sharks dropped their sixth straight game on the road. Antti Niemi allowed all six Vancouver goals on 32 shots.
Tambellini opened the scoring for Vancouver on a wrist shot midway through the first period. Heatley tied it up, also on a wrister, with 4:38 remaining in the frame.
Torres snapped the 1-1 tie with his first goal in 10 games, receiving a Jannik Hansen pass in the slot for a one-timer at 2:36 of the second period.
Samuelsson scored less than two minutes later, making it 3-1 with a wrister from the right side that beat Niemi up top.
Niemi, who had stopped 14 of the 15 shots he faced in the opening period, allowed two goals on just six shots in the second.
The Canucks turned it on in the last 20 minutes, scoring three more times to put the game away. All three goals came during a 10-minute span.
Samuelsson got his second goal of the game -- and sixth of the season -- with a snap shot over Niemi's shoulder at the seven-minute mark. Henrik Sedin assisted on Burrows' one-timer at 14:50, finding him with a pass from behind the net.
Ballard finished the scoring at 16:38, picking up his first goal of the season on a slap shot.
San Jose is 5-2-3 in its last nine games, but hasn't won on the road since October 23 (0-4-2)...Luongo improved to 7-10-1 in his career versus the Sharks...The Canucks were without forward Ryan Rypien, who was granted an indefinite leave of absence for personal matters on Thursday. Rypien served a six-game suspension earlier in the year after grabbing a fan on the way to the dressing room in Minnesota on October 19.
over 2 years ago Update 0 comments
(Sports Network) - The San Jose Sharks seek their first road victory in over a month tonight when they visit the Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena for the first time this season.
The Sharks snapped a three-game slide (0-2-1) on Wednesday with a 5-2 home victory over the Blackhawks in the first meeting between the clubs since last season's Western Conference finals. San Jose improved to 5-1-3 over its last nine games overall.
Patrick Marleau had a pair of goals, Joe Pavelski scored the game winner and Joe Thornton notched two assists to reach 950 career points. Dany Heatley and Jamal Mayers also scored and Antti Niemi, who led the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup title last season, made 30 saves against his former club.
"It was definitely on our minds the way last season went," Pavelski said. "They still have their players, you can see their core is there, they play hard and they're a really good team over there. The game was about tonight, though, really about what we need to do to get back on track."
San Jose hasn't won on the road since Oct. 23 when it picked up its third straight road victory to begin the season. The club is 0-3-2 as the guest since and will play two straight and seven of its next eight on the road.
The Sharks' road-heavy run begins in Vancouver, where it has won four of its last six visits. San Jose took three of four from the Canucks last year and has won 10 of the last 12 meetings overall.
Niemi is 1-2-0 with a 2.59 goals-against average lifetime versus the Canucks, while Antero Niittymaki is 1-1-0 with a 1.70 GAA against them.
Vancouver netminder Roberto Luongo is 6-10-1 with a tie and 2.99 GAA in his career versus the Sharks. He made 21 saves in Wednesday's 4-2 triumph over the Avalanche that halted the Canucks' four-game slide (0-3-1).
Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa and Ryan Kesler all scored, with Kesler notching his 100th career goal, and Daniel Sedin finished with a goal and assist. Henrik Sedin added two helpers.
"We play well as a team and tonight we did a lot better job than we did the last few games," Burrows said. "So it's nice to score goals, but it's even nicer to get the win."
Vancouver began its current four-game homestand 6-0-1 as the host this year, but dropped the first two contests before Wednesday's victory.
The Canucks will be without forward Ryan Rypien after granting him an indefinite leave of absence for personal matters. Rypien, who has one assist in nine games this year, served a six-game suspension earlier in the year after grabbing a fan on the way to the dressing room in Minnesota on Oct. 19.