Vancouver Canucks lose 4-3 to Dallas Stars after late rally
Daniel Sedin #22 of the Vancouver Canucks plays the puck in the air in front of Cody Eakin #20 of the Dallas Stars during their NHL game at Rogers Arena February 15, 2013 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images.
Vancouver Canucks still atop Northwest Division
Canadian Press By Monte Stewart
Brenden Dillon’s goal with just over three minutes left in the game gave the Dallas Stars a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night.
The Stars (8-6-1) posted their fifth win in six games. The loss ended Vancouver’s winning streak at six games as the Canucks saw their record fall to 8-3-2. The setback spoiled an historic night for captain Henrik Sedin, who became the franchise’s all-time scoring leader.
Reilly Smith, Cody Eakin and Antoine Roussel also scored for the Stars, who overcame a 3-1 deficit.
Dillon, a 22-year-old native of the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, B.C., playing his first NHL game in his hometown, gave Dallas the lead for the first time as he slid behind coverage from his defensive position and fired in Jamie Benn’s cross-ice pass.
Daniel Sedin, Chris Higgins and Alex Burrows replied for the Vancouver Canucks.
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Dallas backup goaltender Richard Bachman picked up the win in relief of injured starter Kari Lehtonen. After allowing three goals on the first six shots he faced, Bachman stopped 15 straight shots to finish with 21 saves.
Dallas outshot Vancouver 29-28. The Stars were blanked on four power plays, while the Vancouver Canucks could not convert on three.
Henrik Sedin became Vancouver’s all-time leading scorer as he earned two assists to surpass former teammate Markus Naslund. Sedin now has 757 career points, one ahead of Naslund. The former teammates hail from the same hometown of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden.
Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler played his first game since last spring’s playoffs after recovering from shoulder and wrist surgery. Kesler drew a loud cheer as he came out to take a faceoff on his first shift. He quickly made an impact drawing an interference penalty on Dillon just 1:16 into the game.
But the Vancouver Canucks could not capitalize on the power play, in part because a wide-open Kesler fanned on a one-timer of Henrik Sedin’s cross-ice pass. Kesler had another chance around the five-minute mark, but Lehtonen stopped him as he attempted a backhand while coming around the net.
Kesler had another excellent chance during another power play midway through the first period, but the puck hit Lehtonen’s blocker and the crossbar and bounced away. Lehtonen came up big a little while later as he got the shaft of his stick on a Jordan Schroeder wrist shot destined for the top corner of the net.
But Lehtonen left the game moments later during a TV timeout and was replaced by Bachman. Mason Raymond scored on the first shot Bachman faced as he stuffed in a pass from Jannik Hansen, but the goal was disallowed because of incidental contact.
Only 11 seconds later, Smith beat Vancouver goaltender Cory Schneider from a sharp angle.
Daniel Sedin drew the Vancouver Canucks even 3:21 into the second period when he roofed in a backhand from along the goal-line as his twin brother Henrik passed the puck from behind the net.
Higgins gave the Vancouver Canucks a 2-1 lead only 53 seconds later as he fired home a shot from the high slot for his third goal of the season. Kesler earned his first point of the season as he drew the second assist on the play.
Henrik Sedin took sole possession of Vancouver’s all-time points record midway through the second as he sent a cross-ice pass to Alex Burrows, who made no mistake as he one-timed the puck behind Bachman.
After Henrik Sedin broke the record, the crowd gave him an extended standing ovation _ even while he sat on the bench, then back on the ice and during a TV timeout. During the break, the Vancouver Canucks aired a video saluting him with Naslund offering his congratulations.
Sedin responded by raising his stick and clapping in support of the crowd.
Eakin brought Dallas to within a goal at 17:50 of the middle frame, jamming in the puck after it trickled down Schneider as he tried to squeeze a Trevor Daley shot.
Roussel drew the Stars even at 12:22 of the third period as he stuffed in a loose puck during a scramble.
Notes: Three fights occurred three seconds apart in the second period. In the middle bout, fellow Ivy Leaguers Aaron Volpatti of Vancouver and Ryan Garbutt of Dallas squared off. Volpatti and Garbutt were teammates during three seasons at Brown. … Dallas winger Ray Whitney, 40, sat out his seventh straight game with a foot injury. … Stars winger Jaromir Jagr turned 41 on Friday. … Canucks defencemen Andrew Alberts and Cam Barker were scratched for the 13th straight game. They have yet to play this season. Vancouver forward Andrew Ebbett was also scratched. … Friday’s game was the first of three meetings between Dallas and Vancouver this season. … Stars defenceman Aaron Rome played his first game against his former Vancouver Canucks team since leaving last summer as a free agent.
Category: Hockey
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