Thursday, November 20, 2008

Canucks 6 Rangers 3

Non-factor. That's what I said about Markus Naslund. The Canucks would focus on winning the game, and Markus Naslund would not make an impact on the game one way or another. And while he did have a strong 3rd period for the Blueshirts, Naslund was indeed a non-factor. To be fair, I don't think you could say any Ranger really played well last night, making you wonder if this team took the Canucks seriously at all. I love it when that happens, because those nights seem to see the Canucks score 6 goals. A strong start was what they needed and they certainly got it from Kyle Wellwood, who was sprung by Mattias Ohlund and made a beautiful deke to put it past Lundqvist. Alex Burrows showed he is a big game player, as he potted 2 in his first appearance at MSG. The star of the game in my eyes though was Mattias Ohlund. 3 assists and a +4, with all the trade winds swirling around him right now he went out and played his best game of the season, a classic Ohlund performance where he was strong defensively, a calming influence who seems to dictate the pace of the game. And he had a couple beautiful setups (especially the Wellwood goal). Roberto Luongo stopped 39 of 42, including 16 in the 3rd period, as the Canucks once again looked great on TSN. We really need to think about making them the official broadcaster, in spite of Pierre McGuire. Nice to see the fans really not given anything to work with last night, as the MSG crowd can be downright intimidating. Kudos to the coaching staff for getting everyone in the right mindset for the game. It's always a big deal when you take down one of the top teams in the league. Better yet, it's always good when you make people realize they were wrong, and YOU'RE one of the top teams in the league (and not just because you have the best goalie). Oh, and for the record, that was a goal. Not sure what is going on with the refs on this road trip, but we are certainly getting the short end of the stick on some calls that replays seem to show as being cut and dry. Finally, congrats to Ryan Johnson on getting his 1st as a Canuck. Now let's get Hordi set up, eh?

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