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shushu
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11 Mar 2019 03:38 |
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VANCOUVER - Eddie Lack helped the Vancouver Canucks overcome a case of the blues Wednesday night. Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. The win was like sweet music to the Canucks (28-24-9) as they ended their losing streak at seven games while moving into sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference. The Blues (39-13-6) dropped their third straight decision to Vancouver this season as they were shut out for the first time in 2013-14. "It feels very good to be able to shut the door," said Lack. "It was very big for our team. "Its a big relief." The Canucks outshot the Blues 35-20, but Lack, Vancouvers backup who is in his first full NHL season, was forced to make many difficult saves. "I feel like I have been working on this start for a while and I was really excited to play, and Rollie (Melanson, Vancouvers goalie coach) has been bugging me for weeks saying we need to win these 1-0 games, so its huge," said Lack. Jannik Hansen scored the games only goal as he finally broke a scoreless deadlock at 11:13 of the third period. He took a backhand stretch pass from Tom Sestito from deep in the Vancouver zone just past centre ice, raced in on a breakaway and beat Halak with a high shot. It was Hansens first goal in just over a month, a span of eight games, after he last scored Jan. 26 against Phoenix. "Great play by Tommy, he could see I was taking off a little early and he fed me a nice pass, and I was able to get it through the goalie," said Hansen. "You dont have to look at the standings very long to see we need to win a lot of games here to make the playoffs, and its obviously a very strong opponent today, a playoff team. These are the teams you have to beat. We cant just beat the teams below us." Vancouver was blanked on four power plays while St. Louis failed to score on three. Lack drew the start after backstopping the Canucks to a pair of wins over St. Louis earlier this season. Three of his nine wins have come against the Blues, and he has allowed only three goals to them. The Canucks came out with the added aggression that coach John Tortorella has been seeking as they outshot the Blues 14-6 in the first period. But for most of the night, the hosts could not beat a steady Halak, who felt fresh after playing just two games for Slovakia in the Olympics and getting plenty of rest after arriving back in St. Louis last Thursday. "It was a pretty good pace for 60 minutes," said Halak. "It was just that we came up short. We couldnt score. "I tried to do my best. I tried to give the guys a chance to win. Id like to get (Hansens goal) back." St. Louis had nine players in Sochi and the Canucks had seven. But Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who served as an assistant with Canadas gold-medal-winning team, did not think post-Olympic fatigue was a factor. "It was a hard fought, well played game for the most part," said Hitchcock. "I didnt think we had the energy in the third period than we did in the end of the first and the second. We had a great second period. But weve had trouble beating (Lack.) We havent scored on him, and hes made some big saves and hes won a lot of the scrambles. We had all the penetration in the second period for all the scoring chances." Hitchcock lamented his teams inability to score on odd-man rushes in two losses in Vancouver this season. "When you get two-on-ones and three-on-ones on the road, youve got to capitalize," he said. "I think that was the difference in the hockey game." Lacks best moments came late in the second period as he denied Blues captain David Backes on a one-timer during a delayed penalty and Alex Steen on a deflection, and got his pad on a T.J. Oshie shot before defenceman Alex Edler blocked the puck as he attempted to put in the rebound. After the save, fans chanted "Eddie! Eddie!" But Oshie, who played for the U.S. in the Olympics, was not willing to give Lack too much credit. "He made some good saves, but I dont think we really tested him like we could have," said Oshie. "We let him see a lot of pucks." There was no denying Vancouvers desperation though. "Theyre a desperate team right now," said Halak. "For them, every game is a playoff game. They need to get every point that they can." Notes: Olympians from both teams were honoured in a pre-game ceremony. Blues defencemen Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo drew loud cheers from the crowd when they were saluted, along with Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis and goaltender Roberto Luongo, for helping Canada win the 2014 Olympic gold medal. … Tortorella worked his first home game since receiving a six-game suspension for storming the Calgary Flames dressing room area Jan. 18. … Canucks captain Henrik Sedin returned to action after suffering an undisclosed injury before the Olympics. He missed the past two practices while tending to a personal matter in Sweden, but returned Wednesday in time for the game. Defenceman Kevin Bieksa returned after missing five games before the Olympic break with a foot injury. … Vancouver centre Ryan Kesler sat out with a hand injury suffered while playing for the U.S. in the Olympics. Canucks defencemen Chris Tanev (thumb) and Andrew Alberts (concussion) remained out. … Blues defenceman Jordan Leopold missed the game due to an ankle injury. 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And once again, Team Homan emerged as the victor with the reigning national champions defeating Team Sweeting at the Pintys All-Star Curling Skins Game Friday night in the tournaments opening draw at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in beautiful Banff National Park.Chester, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Philadelphia Union made a pair of moves during Mondays half-day trade window, sending midfielder Amobi Okugo to expansion side Orlando City and acquiring striker C.J. Sapong from Sporting Kansas City. Sapong, 25, tallied 20 goals and nine assists over four season with Sporting KC. He has also appeared in 10 playoff matches, including all five en route to SXCs second MLS Cup in 2013. We are thrilled to add a player of C.J.s caliber to our roster, said Union technical director Chris Albright. C.J. is one of the most dynamic and versatile forwards in our league and he understands what it takes to win an MLS Championship. He will be an important part of our team moving forwward.dddddddddddd Okugo was the last remaining Union original having been drafted by the club in 2010. Okugo has split time between center back and defensive midfield and played in 117 games over his four seasons in Philadelphia, scoring five goals and adding six assists. In exchange for Okugo the Union will receive an undisclosed amount of allocation money as well as Orlandos 2016 second round selection in the SuperDraft. Everyone at the Philadelphia Union would like to thank Amobi for his contributions on and off the field over the last five years, said Albright. He continually represented the organization with class and we wish him all the best as he continues his career. ' ' '
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