NHL Match Roundup for Sunday March.27.2011 –Part 2
The Western Conference giants, Vancouver Canucks, continue to reach milestones in their club history. Playing one of their best seasons yet, they recorded their franchise high, 50 regulation wins, after blanking Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
On the other hand, Atlanta won a tough match against Ottawa Senators to move them two points closer to the elite-eight. But as the season nears its end, playoff positioning is becoming a dream rather than a reality for most teams including Thrashers.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver is trying to make its 40th anniversary a memorable one by continuously setting records in its first Stanley Cup stretch since 1994.
Canucks extended its winning streak to three on Sunday by beating Blue Jackets by 4-1 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Canucks gave its star goalie, Roberto Luongo, due rest, playing Corey Schneider in his place.
Schneider made a near shutout, making 39 saves out of 40. Columbus had 40 shot attempts, almost double of Vancouver’s 24.
Left wing Christopher Higgins had the last say and showed that he cannot be underestimated, scoring two goals and picking up an assist.
Christian Ehrhoff scored in the first to give Vancouver an early lead off a turnover pass from the right circle by Mason Raymond.
Mathieu Garon was able to make 20 saves including 12 in the second period alone. NHL leader in assists, Henrik Sedin, broke down Garon’s defensive mechanism early in the third by backhanding it into the net.
Higgins added his first since his trade from Panthers, nearly midway through the period, sponsored by Ryan Kesler, who picked up two assists as well.
R.J. Umberger seemed fed up with all the missed attempts and charged down the ice on the left side. He fired a hard shot which hit the post and Schneider’s head after slipping across the border line.
"We just couldn't score, couldn't bury it," Blue Jackets LW Umberger said. "We peppered them with shots from everywhere. We had a lot of rebounds. It's frustrating when you get those chances and don't score."
After Antoine Vermette caused a turnover for Columbus during the first which resulted in Ehrhoff scoring, he went out with a two-minute penalty, 16:06 into the final.
His penalty time gave Raymond another chance as he set Higgins up for his 13th of the season with a little over two minutes remaining.
Vancouver has a chance to set yet another record when it faces Predators in Nashville on Tuesday for the longest consecutive road trip win in its history which would be nine.
Atlanta Thrashers vs. Ottawa Senators
Ottawa was close to snapping its two-game losing streak but was unable to as it lost against Thrashers, 5-4, during a shootout at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
"We have put ourselves in a terrible position," Thrasher goalie Chris Mason said. "If we have any hope at all, we basically need to win every game and get some help along the way."
Atlanta’s hopes of making it to the playoffs are dying off.
It has only seven games remaining, which include some against teams like Rangers and Penguins. It would require winning all of those remaining games to be even anywhere near the elite-eight.
Blake Wheeler and Ben Maxwell each scored once and picked up an assist for Thrashers. Bryan Little and Mark Stuart both extended Atlanta’s lead during the second and third period, respectively.
Chris Neil and Mark Stuart helped decrease Atlanta’s lead as Marek Svatos scored the opening tying goal, and the final which forced an overtime extension later in the third.
Andrew Ladd scored Atlanta’s game winning goal on their last attempt during the scoreless shootout.
Ottawa had a chance on tying it for the final time but Ryan Shannon was blocked on the last attempt.
Ottawa’s goalie, Craig Anderson, had a tough time. He was faced with 47 shots of which 43 were deflected. It ended an eight-game winning streak for Senators which started back in December 2009.
Ottawa Senators faces Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, while the playoff thirsty Thrashers head out to Montreal to challenge the sixth-placed Montreal Canadiens.
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