Goalies shine but Colorado Avalanche fall 1-0 to Vancouver Canucks -NHL Update
Both Cory Schneider and Semyon Varlamov were aiming for a shutout but only one could emerge victorious as Colorado Avalanche fell to Vancouver Canucks in a 1-0 shutout on Wednesday night, March 28, 2012, at the sold-out Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada.
Varlamov shined with a 21 shots saved performance but fell short on one which cost them the matchup and the crucial two points in order to get back in the Western Conference playoff race.
Schneider went in full throttle and despite facing 43 shots, the young backup to Roberto Luongo did not flinch, blocking all that came his way for a perfect performance.
"We are trying to play a smart game, trying to play good defence. If we win these games 5-4 and in shootouts and give up a lot of odd-man rushes, we'd be getting criticized for that. Obviously, the guys in the offensive end want to score, but at the same
time we have done a good job of protecting leads and hanging on," said Schneider.
"Every chance they had they threw it at the net and that's what a desperate team does," Schneider added.
He gave Vancouver their second straight shutout, just two nights after Luongo performed brilliantly against Los Angeles Kings, 1-0.
It looked like Colorado was back on track and would level the score as Paul Stastny fired off from point blank range followed by a tip in attempt by Jamie McGinn but Schneider held on to keep Avalanche out.
Chris Higgins added the first and only goal of the night and his 16th of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season while Vancouver was shorthanded with Maxim Lapierre out for charging.
Vancouver, now on an impressive four-game winning streak, is only two points behind top Western Conference team St. Louis Blues. They have five more on the regular season schedule and with four of them being at home, the Canucks have a great chance of overtaking
the West’s top spot for another season.
Canucks have the next against Dallas Stars on Friday.
Colorado Avalanche have only three more to go with the next being in Calgary against the Flames on the same day.
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