Vancouver Canucks edge Ottawa Senators 2-1 in overtime -NHL Match Update
Just about when Ottawa getting hot and looking to extend their three-game winning streak in the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season, the Vancouver Canucks came along and washed away their momentum by edging the Senators, 2-1, in overtime
on Sunday night, November 20, 2011, at the sold-out Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Just a day after the Senators managed to move up into the upper ranks of the Eastern Conference, their loss against the Canucks dropped them down to the eighth number position, tied with the Boston Bruins with 22 points.
Backup goalie, Cory Schneider, was in the net for Vancouver since their main goaltender, Roberto Luongo, is yet to make is comeback after going out with an undisclosed upper body injury last week.
Schneider made 28 saves and fell short on one for a near shutout while his counterpart in the Ottawa net, Alex Auld, faced 27 shots and blocked 25.
"You have to be sharp early, you can't get down, you can't fall behind quickly, and I had to make some saves early on to keep it at zero," said Schneider, after his second straight appearance. "A skill team like that is going to make plays, so you have to
make some skill saves and keep them at bay."
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Henrik Sedin fired off his seventh of the season during an early power play opportunity given by the Senators as Sergei Gonchar was booked for tripping with a minor penalty only 44 seconds into the second period.
Colin Greening made the equaliser for Ottawa 3:32 into the third period, which ultimately led both teams into overtime.
After a strong opening, Vancouver had possession of the puck midway through the overtime extension and seeing the lack of scoring during the 60 minutes of regulation, the crowd would not have been surprised if a shootout would have been announced but Christopher
Higgins deciding goal 2:18 in gave them the goal they needed for another two points.
Vancouver is slowly moving up in the West and hope to continue winning as they start their three-game road trip against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday while Ottawa has one more away match against the Pittsburgh Penguins before returning home.
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