VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Canucks center Bo Horvat set up Jannik Hansen's early goal and scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period in a 4-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Rogers Arena on Monday.
Nineteen-year-old forward Jake Virtanen, who found out Sunday he was staying with the Canucks instead of being sent back to junior, scored his first NHL goal on a pretty individual move on a 2-on-1 rush 8:28 into the third period to give Vancouver a two-goal cushion.
Defensemen Matt Bartkowski scored an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left and Ryan Miller made 27 saves for the Canucks (6-2-4), who have points in five straight games (3-0-2).
Claude Giroux scored and Steve Mason made 30 saves for the Flyers (4-5-2), who have lost four straight (0-3-1) and continue to struggle offensively.
Horvat put the Canucks ahead during a 4-on-4 situation after offsetting minor penalties to Giroux and Daniel Sedin. Horvat, 20, skated behind the net and out the other side, holding off defenseman Mark Streit up to right hash marks before spinning and sweeping a low shot past Mason's right pad and inside the far post.
Hansen opened the scoring 1:08 into the game on a 2-on-1, taking a pass from Horvat that caught Mason sliding to his left, and then cutting back across the other way.
The Canucks, home for two games after a three-game road trip, dominated early, outshooting the Flyers 8-1 and forcing Mason to make several great saves to keep it close.
Miller made three tough saves against Michael Raffl and robbed Vincent Lecavalier alone in the low slot late in the first period.
Mason stopped Horvat on a breakaway early in the second period and Giroux tied it with a pretty move 2:54 into the period. The Flyers captain fought off Bartkowski 1-on-1 to get in alone, pulling Miller off his right post then cutting back to it before lifting a backhand quickly over his right pad for his first goal in five games.
The Flyers almost tied it shortly after Horvat scored. Giroux got out of the penalty box and set up Wayne Simmonds in the slot, but his shot hit the left post behind Miller and bounced out.
Mason kept it close with a few more big saves and got some help from forward Chris VandeVelde, who swept a bouncing puck off the goal in a scramble late in the second period.
The Flyers, who came into the game second last in the NHL with 20 goals in 10 games, started the third period with 1:51 left on their third power play. Philadelphia had two shots, though, and is 0-for-13 over the past five games and converting at 11.4 percent this season, less than half of last season's 23.4 percent success rate.
The Canucks have blown four third-period leads already this season, but Virtanen, who along with fellow 19-year-old Jared McCann found out he was staying with Vancouver before practice Sunday, cut into the slot on a 2-on-1 rush and lifted a backhand under Mason's blocker-side arm.
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99
Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html
No comments:
Post a Comment