Thu. Jan 18, 2007 4:30 PM
Scotiabank Place - OTT
GAME: Vancouver Canucks (26-19-1) vs. Ottawa Senators (27-19-2).
Even after spending the night sleeping upright and barely eating, Roberto Luongo earned his third shutout of the season.
The first half of the Canucks Eastern road-trip started off on a positive note with a win against the Leafs and Habs.
In those two games, the Canucks outscored their opponents 10-1, including six power-play goals.
The Canucks penalty kill shut down the second ranked Habs Tuesday night on five chances.
“I think it was our best effort of the year so far – just the way we competed and the way we jumped on them early,” said Kesler. “They just seemed to deflate as a team and we just kept it to them the whole game.”
The Canucks continue their travels East when they visit Ottawa Thursday night.
All eyes will be watching the first goal of the game on Thursday, which will set the pace for the rest of the matchup. The Canucks are 21-5-1 when scoring first and have a .889 win percentage when leading after the second. The Sens aren’t far behind at 20-5-2 when scoring first and .800 with the lead after two frames.
"We've been playing really well, especially since the holidays," Luongo said. "We just have to keep doing what we're doing, especially on the road. We're playing as a team and every game is important seeing how tight our division is right now."
With the two points on Tuesday Vancouver regains bragging rights in the Northwest with their ninth win in 10 games, improving their overall record to 26-19-1 and increasing their road win streak to five games.
It’ll be tough to break the Sens, who have won seven of their last nine at home with an overall 13-10-1 home record this year. Ottawa is 5-3-2 all-time against the Canucks when playing at home and 10-8-4 overall.
In their only meeting last year, the Canucks won 3-2 in a shootout in Vancouver.
A bonus for the Canucks, who are not only getting results from third and fourth line forwards, are receiving contributions from the blueline.
Canuck defenders have scored 10 of the team’s 37 goals in the last 10 games. Mattias Ohlund and Sami Salo have each scored four times while Kevin Bieksa leads Canuck defenceman with 11 assists.
The Sens are quickly and quietly re-establishing their reputation as one of the NHL's dominant teams.
Mike Comrie scored twice and Daniel Alfredsson had a short-handed goal and an assist as Ottawa extended its winning streak to a season-high five games with a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.
"I think the biggest thing that we're doing right now as a team is we're playing smart and capitalizing on our opportunities," Comrie said. "When you play hard every night, it's hard to play against you."
Comrie, acquired in a Jan. 3 trade with Phoenix, scored twice on Tuesday to help the Sens pull out the two points, moving them into second in the Northeast.
Ray Emery made 28 saves on the night for his 20th win of the season.
2-1 nucks!