LOS ANGELES, Calif – Not a game for the faint of heart, the Vancouver Canucks managed to hold their reputation as the ‘comeback kids’ in game four against Los Angeles, tying the series 2-2.
The first and second periods saw a timid Vancouver team tormented by what has clearly been their greatest weakness in the series: the penalty kill. Drew Doughty opened the scoring on the Kings’ eighth power-play goal of the series, assisted by Alexander Frolov. The Canucks came back strong with their own man-advantage goal as defenseman Christian Ehrhoff scored on a tripping minor called on Los Angeles’ Michal Handzus.
As it goes, the Kings responded immediately on another power-play; this time with a ferocious slap shot from Dustin Brown, who would eventually amass four shots-on-goal and two points, making him the game’s second star.
The third period was tense and very much back and forth, and it was a two-on-one Sedin twin’s rush that produced the game winner (Henrik with the goal, Daniel the assist). The limited production of the Sedins has seen them widely criticized over the past three games, but much like Roberto Luongo’s performance in front of the net, they were redeemed in this very important game four.
The other two Kings goals were courtesy of Anze Kopitar and Wayne Simmonds, who have both been invaluable for the Kings in this series.
Despite Alain Vigneault’s nearly constant line juggling, Pavol Demitra, who has faced some criticism for his slow start to these playoffs, had a solid game and scored in the second period. Vancouver’s postseason goal-scoring leader Mikael Samuelsson produced yet another one, and Ryan Kesler sealed the deal with an empty netter at 19:43 in the third.
These first four games have exemplified where both teams are struggling.
The Canucks have improved on defense and Luongo seems to be rising to the occasion, but they simply cannot take penalties with their kill as weak as it is. The Kings have benefited from their young and fast stars, but confidence was not enough as they faced a taste of Luongo at the top of his game.
Because it is unrealistic to expect a perfectly disciplined 60 minutes out of the Canucks, they clearly need to continue to improve on their penalty kill. The Kings will need to focus on shutting down the Sedins, Samuelsson, Burrows, and Kesler while also keeping an eye on the offensive threats of Mason Raymond, Kyle Wellwood’s third line, and goal-scoring defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Sami Salo.
Luongo and his Canucks will be relieved to head home to Vancouver today, with game 5 set for Friday night at GM Place.
Contact the writer at gabrielle.pope@prohockeynews.com
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