Dallas Stars slide into third spot routing Vancouver Canucks 5-2 -NHL Update
Dallas’ third straight victory against Vancouver got them the number three spot in the Western Conference atop the Pacific Division with 77 points now as Stars routed Canucks, 5-2, Tuesday night, March 6, 2012, at the sold-out Rogers Arena in Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada.
Vancouver is still far ahead of the Stars team as they hold on to number two below St. Louis Blues with 90 points, but being in the Pacific Division does have its advantages for Dallas.
Kicking off their seven-game home-stand against St. Louis Blues, Vancouver was able to win in a 2-0 shutout, but ever since, Canucks have not seen as much success. Buffalo Sabres dominated Canucks 5-3 in the following match and Vancouver showed an even worse
performance now against Dallas.
Mike Ribeiro dominated the scene with his three point performance which included two goals and setting up another.
Chris Higgins got the first of the night 6:45 into the second period followed by two straight from Dallas Stars as Loui Eriksson levelled it on the power play with less than four minutes remaining and Mike Ribeiro took the lead for his team with 23 seconds
remaining.
Dallas just got hotter entering the third period as Jamie Benn added another at 4:25 while Alexander Edler tried to kill off the momentum with Vancouver’s goal at 7:55 but Ribeiro answered with his second of the night and Stephane Robidas capped it off at
19:56.
Richard Bachman, the Dallas goalie, made some crucial saves for the Stars as they slide their way to the victory. He blocked 29 of 31 shots.
"He made some big saves for us," Dallas coach, Glen Gulutzan, said. "He's a real character kid and he handles pressure really well and we had no qualms putting him in here."
Looking at Bachman, one would think he was a real easy going goalie but only he knew how he was feeling.
"I guess I fooled you," Bachman said. "In the first period, I actually felt some jitters. It was the first NHL game I started in Canada and the atmosphere was amazing, and starting off with a penalty shot to warm up is never what you want. Once that was
done it helped me settle in and after the first period I was comfortable."
Dallas has the next at home against San Jose Sharks on Thursday while Vancouver Canucks host Winnipeg Jets on the same day.
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