It’s a shame the Western Conference games start so late for viewers on the East coast, because the hockey they miss while they’re sleeping is something else. After Buffalo and Montreal downed their first round opponents, the puck dropped at GM Place in Vancouver for the start of what, if the first game is any indication, will be a very entertaining series.Both Roberto Luongo and Jonathan Quick turned in great performances, and the Canucks needed overtime to down the upstart Kings, 3-2.
The game was noticeably physical even from the start and Vancouver, in particular made a point of playing the body at every possible turn. Alex Edler had a monster hit on Drew Doughty at one point, and Andrew Alberts threw his body around quite a bit, although he earned himself a game misconduct and a five minute penalty for his hit from behind on Brad Richardson in the 2nd period. Late-season acquisition Freddie Modin scored on that powerplay to tie the game at 2-2, which is where the score would stay until overtime.
All the game’s scoring was done in the 2nd frame, and the Kings’ powerplay got them on the board first, with Jarret Stoll opening the scoring less then a minute into the period. Just two minutes later though, Jack Johnson flipped the puck over the glass and was assessed a delay of game penalty. Mikael Samuelsson scored the Canucks’ first goal on the powerplay, and the Sedin twins worked their magic a few minutes later to give Vancouver a 2-1 lead. Daniel gathered the puck at the Vancouver blueline and spun around to backhand a breakout pass to his brother, Henrik, before jetting up the ice into the offensive zone. Henrik drew the Kings’ defenders to him before saucing it over to Daniel who flipped a perfect backhand into the top of the net. Modin scored his powerplay goal five minutes later, and the two teams battled through the next 35 minutes of play without scoring again.
In overtime, the combination of the Sedins and Samuelsson would prove to be too much, but not before Roberto Luongo got a chance to get on the highlight reels. Six minutes into the overtime period, Jack Johnson redirected the rebound from Ryan Smyth’s slapshot back through the crease, and the puck was less than an inch from crossing the goal line before Luongo somehow got himself twisted around to swipe it away with his glove. Three minutes later, Christian Ehrhoff walked the puck deep into the Los Angeles zone before pulling it back out, showing great patience before feeding it to Henrik Sedin behind the net. Sedin found Samuelsson streaking through the slot and gave him a perfect pass to bury for the win.