It seemed like there
were more broken
sticks on General
Motors Place's ice last
night than exciting
scoring chances for
either team.
Like the sticks, the
Vancouver Canucks' performance
was rather synthetic
against the defensive-
minded Minnesota
Wild until Canuck Anson
Carter scored the 2-1
game-winner on a power
play with 6.1 seconds
left.
Twins Daniel and
Henrik Sedin assisted
Carter's 30th goal as Minnesota's
Mikko Koivu
was serving a penalty assessed
at 18:26 of the
third period for hooking
Daniel Sedin in the Minnesota
zone.
Canucks' head coach
Marc Crawford reunited
forwards Markus
Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi
and Brendan Morrison
for the first shift of the
power play, but the West
Coast Express line failed
again to produce.
The game was scoreless
for precisely 27 minutes
until Daniel Sedin
had an unassisted second
period goal while three
Wild players feebly tried
clearing the puck from
goaltender Manny Fernandez's
crease.
Brian Rolston replied
for Minnesota just 40 seconds
later. Canucks' goaltender
Alex Auld saved
Rolston's shot with his
upper body, but allowed
the puck to trickle into
the net behind him. Wes
Walz and Pierre-Marc
Bouchard assisted.
Canuck Alexandre
Burrows, who had his
first hat trick against the
Los Angeles Kings on
Monday, could've had a
pair of goals had it not
been for outstanding leg
saves by Fernandez in
the first and third periods.
Canucks, with eight
games remaining, end
the homestand Friday at
7 p.m. against Minnesota
(CKNW/Sportsnet).
