Late Rally lifts Canucks over Flames in Shootout

On Michael Jordan’s 46th birthday, the Vancouver Canucks visited the Saddledome in Calgary to take on the Northwest division leading Flames.

They trailed for much of the game, but in the final minute, defenseman Kevin Bieksa tied the score at 3 which forced overtime and the eventual shootout. Pavol Demitra was the only player to score in the shootout, as Vancouver came from behind again, beating the Flames by a final score of 4-3 in the shootout.

Ryan Kessler had a strong offensive performance scoring two goals for Vancouver, helping them win for the 6th time in their last 7 games. Roberto Luongo looked pretty solid, stopping 41 of 44 Calgary's shots.

Both of the teams are pretty hot: Calgary has recorded at least a point in each of their last five games, winning three of them. They seem to both be peaking at the right time as well, after going through a bit of a slump.

Calgary goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff was solid, making 40 saves, including one for the ages in the third period off Vancouver sniper Kyle Wellwood.

In what could be a preview of a first round matchup in the playoffs, both teams seemed to be evenly matched on this night, with their star goaltenders coming up big when called upon.

While the Canucks probably would prefer to be winning games in regulation, a three point game against the Flames probably doesn’t hurt them too much.  The Flames have a comfortable lead in the Northwest Division and it’s much more critical to at least secure a playoff spot in a very tight race. While it is still possible that the Flames could be caught, the Canucks did the most important thing they had to last night - getting two points.

The Canucks will head to the Nation’s Capital for their next game, squaring off against the Ottawa Senators.  The Sens, who are not really in playoff contention at this juncture, have been playing much better since Cory Clouston took over as coach for Craig Hartsburg a couple weeks back.