NHL Thursday night Match Analysis: Vancouver Canucks vs. Carolina Hurricanes 4-3
After two disappointing losses by two high performing Canadian teams, the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs, back-to-back, Carolina was able to add a third one, bouncing back against probably one of the best teams up north, the Vancouver Canucks, on Thursday night, December 15, 2011, at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.
Carolina's rookie left winger, Drayson Bowman, who was picked up by the team as the 72nd overall pick during round-three of the 2007 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft, has played only 36 games in the major league with Hurricanes in the past three seasons, but tonight was special for the young player.
Bowman had only two goals throughout his entire career since being drafted, playing his first game back in the 2009-2010 season, but against Vancouver, the rookie forward shined brightly by matching his career stats and having the first multi-goal game of his career, in only four contests played so far.
If Carolina continues to invest in the player, it is easy to see him possibly having a breakthrough season which is crucial for the player as he continues to get older but does not have the sufficient stats to backup his career.
"If they looked that way, that's great," Bowman said smiling. "You're just doing the things you've been doing throughout your career -- just going to the net hard and shooting it as quick as you can. It feels really good. Hopefully it gives me some confidence going forward."
Aaron Rome of Vancouver got in a fight with Bryan Allen of Carolina, nearly midway through the opening period after tensions rose with Kevin Bieksa’s go-ahead goal for the Canucks, 5:19 in.
Mason Raymond extended the visiting team's lead with his second of the season, halfway through the mid period, which gave Vancouver a comfortable lead, moving into the second half of the contest but Carolina had a plan, which was to make a quick comeback and follow up with it in the third period.
"We talked about going out there and trying to make it happen," Carolina's goalie, Cam Ward, said. "We didn't sit back in the third period ... and showed that we were going to go for it."
Carolina made 12 takeaways in the match to have more control of the puck and attempted 41 shots on Vancouver’s net compared to their 36 chances, which ultimately became the reason they won, keeping the puck in Canucks' defensive end.
Drayson Bowman added his first of the night to bring Carolina on the scoreboard with less than five minutes to go, while Tuomo Ruutu levelled the match and brought his scoring into the double digits with his 10th at the 19:08 mark.
Bowman made the tie-breaking goal, 37 seconds into the third and final period of regulation, giving the nearly 16,000 home crowd a chance to roar with joy and the young player to take in some of the moment.
Jaroslav Spacek also inaugurated his scoring during a 5-on-3 man advantage with Keith Ballard and Alex Burrows facing different minor penalties, exactly a minute apart.
Burrows came back in on the ice to add another one for Vancouver at the 8:40 mark, which was the final goal of the match, but not enough to take the contest with Cam Ward blocking 13 of 14 Vancouver shots in the last 20 minutes alone.
Carolina has certainly gained some valuable momentum and hopes to continue using it when it faces the Panthers in Florida on Sunday, while the Vancouver Canucks will be looking to snap its two-game losing streak against Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, before returning home for the next four.
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