And that’s a wrap
The Vancouver Canucks finished the regular season with a solid performance, shutting down the Edmonton Oilers in a convincing 3-0 win Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada.
The Oilers held their own for the first half of the game but broke down shorthanded after both Ben Eager and Darcy Hordichuk took respecting roughing penalties in the second period.
The Hat Trick
Sedin Stays Strong
Henrik Sedin has been solid without brother Daniel Sedin on Vancouver’s top line, and the captain continued his pace with another clutch performance on Saturday, putting home a second period rebound to give the Canucks the lead.
Both Ben Eager and Darcy Hordichuk watched Sedin work the power play from the penalty box after a pair of foolish roughing calls, leaving Oilers fans to wonder what exactly they saw in Eager to afford a three-year contract.
Booth’s Beauty
David Booth was named the Canucks’ most exciting player previous to Saturday’s action against the Oilers and the forward didn’t disappoint during the game, streaking in on goal past Jeff Petry and slipping the puck past Devon Dubnyk for a fantastic finish.
The young goaltender got a piece of the puck but struggled to keep it beyond the red line, distracted by Petry’s equipment scattered across the Rogers Arena ice.
Luongo SO
Roberto Luongo responded to his critics with a calm and confident performance against the Oilers, keeping out all 17 shots generated by a passive Edmonton team.
Despite the aggression of Ben Eager and Darcy Hordichuk the Oilers lacked any energy in the offensive zone on Saturday, coasting without motivation in their regular season finale.
Canucks clinch Presidents’ trophy with 3-0 win over Edmonton. - (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)
Despite the shutout Luongo was arguably outplayed by Dubnyk, who was constantly under fire facing 42 shots from the home team.
Dubnyk’s save on Chris Higginsduring the third period was undoubtedly highlight of the night despite the early flash from Booth.
V’s Thoughts
The Canucks came through the all-important two points to clinch back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies on Saturday thanks in part to the help of Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
After the Rangers blew their chance to secure top spot in the league Roberto Luongo and the Canucks locked it down against the Oilers, limiting chances and dominating possession in a solid segway to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Quote
“The boys played the system to perfection tonight, barely any scoring chances, we had a ton of shots, a great game to finish off the regular season.” Roberto Luongo gave his teammates all the credit when it came to the shutout win over the Oilers on Saturday.
Three Stars
1st. Henrik Sedin - GOALS: 1| PTS: 1| ASST: 0 SOG: 1| PLUS/MINUS: 0
2nd. Alexander Edler - GOALS: 0| PTS: 0| ASST: 0 SOG: 1| PLUS/MINUS: 0
3rd. Devan Dubnyk - SAVE PCTG: 0.929
Recaps
BOXSCORE | Q’s POST GAME RECAP
Vancouver 3, Edmonton 0
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 7, 2012
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia
Referees: Kyle Rehman, Mike Leggo
Linesmen: Lonnie Cameron, Don Henderson
Attendance: 18890
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About Kevin Vanstone
