NHL Update: Vancouver Canucks nipped Dallas Stars, 5-2
Raffi Torres lit the lamp twice, including the game-winning goal to lead Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 victory over Dallas Stars on Saturday night.
Roberto Luongo turned away 22 shots for Vancouver, which outscored Stars by a 20-5 margin in four contests this season. Canucks also rebounded from Thursday's drop to Nashville Predators and opened a six-game home-stand. Daniel Sedin also netted
twice and had an assist, while Henrik Sedin had a goal in the win.
Andrew Raycroft surrendered all five goals on 38 shots for Dallas, which has dropped four consecutive play-offs. Brenden Morrow and James Neil both found the net in the losing effort.
"Right now we're just in a big funk here," Stars Captain Brenden Morrow said. "We're going to have to find things out, wait for some troops to get back, but we're running out of time."
Sedin got the scoring started to give Canucks a 1-0 lead just 2:46 minutes into the first period. He ripped a sharp-angle shot that caught Raycroft by surprise and went in off his skates.
Dallas responded to tie the game at 1-1 about two minutes later with a long wrist shot by Neil. Vancouver incurred two overlapping minor penalties midway through the period, creating 52 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage for Stars, but Stars were
unable to convert.
"It was a key moment in the game," Luongo said. "They had just tied it, and we were down a couple guys. So the three killers on the ice did a tremendous job. They didn't have much for the whole 52 seconds, and I think the team really fed off
that and took off afterward."
Torres put Vancouver back on top, 2-1, just 6 ½ minutes into the middle frame. During a Canucks counter-rush, he fired a shot from the top of the face-off circle past Raycroft.
Then, Sedin struck again to double the advantage, 3-1, nearly 7 ½ minutes into the final stanza. His twin brother Henrik held control of the puck in his own zone near the right boards, then rushed into the neutral zone and sent a perfect pass
between two defenders for Daniel, who wired a perfect far-side shot over Raycroft's shoulder for his 32nd goal of the season.
Morrow drew Stars within another goal to make it 3-2 game about six minutes later, but Henrik Sedin recovered the Vancouver’s two-goal edge, 4-2, with four minutes left in the game. Daniel Sedin set up a 3-on-1 after a turnover near the blue
line, and sent a cross-ice pass to Henrik, who knocked it home from the left side.
Torres notched his second goal of the game only 33 seconds later on yet another Vancouver rush, cementing the victory at 5-2.
Tags: