Arvedson nets pair in Canucks win
Canadian Press
1/28/2004
VANCOUVER (CP) - Magnus Arvedson's creaky back seems to be improving with his goal production.
Earlier this month, the Vancouver forward wondered aloud about his career prospects when a third herniated disc was discovered in his lower back.
But Arvedson has rebounded since suffering back spasms Jan. 9 and scored two goals, including the winner Tuesday night as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2.
``I work on the back every day, try to loosen it up and get stronger,'' Arvedson said after scoring his fourth goal in his last four starts to extend the Blackhawks' losing streak on the road to a club-record 18 games. ``The longer the games go, you're more loose and warm, the better you feel. I felt pretty good today.''
Arvedson, 32, was signed as an unrestricted free agent to a $1.5-million contract after spending the last six years with the Ottawa Senators where he had a history of back problems.
Since his return to the lineup Sunday against Nashville, he has been playing with the Sedin twins and getting power play time.
On Tuesday, he jump-started a Canuck offence with a second-period power play goal and gave Vancouver a 3-1 lead in the third period by burying a Daniel Sedin rebound.
``It's easier to get some chances on the power play,'' he said. The second goal ... sometimes the puck just comes to you and that's what happened.
``When you get goals, it makes it a little bit easier. Playing with the Sedins, it's a lot of puck control and so far, so good.''
Arvedson, expected to provide some scoring after 16 goals in Ottawa last year, struggled during the first half of the season and went 24 games without a goal during one dry spell.
Coach Marc Crawford said earlier that Arvedson is capable of playing better and the 6-foot-2, 198-pound Swede believes he can contribute more as the Canucks battle for playoff position.
``I hope so,'' said Arvedson. ``I didn't do much in the begining ... but right now the chances are coming.''
Todd Bertuzzi gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead with goal in the final minute of the second period.
Mark Bell opened the scoring for Chicago and Kyle Calder closed it with 6:39 remaining in the game.
The Blackhawks (12-27-7-5) are last in the Western Conference and haven't performed this poorly on foreign ice since losing their final 16 road games in 1953-54.
The Canucks (28-14-7-2) won their third consecutive game to stay in the hunt for first place in the conference. They have five straight wins over the Blackhawks.
Hawk winger Steve Sullivan said Bertuzzi's goal, where he came out of the penalty box, took Henrik Sedin's pass through the neutral zone and poked the puck past goalie Craig Anderson, just adds stress to the losing streak.
``It's harder because it's mentally tough,'' Sullivan said of suddenly falling behind. ``You're more stressed, so every shift is magnified. You're playing against the clock and that becomes another element that compounds the stress.
``We just need a win whether we're at home or we're on the road. We don't have many wins, period and we want to change that.''
Defenceman Nathan Dempsey said Chicago's 6-18 record in one-goal games has been the key to a disappointing season.
``For the most part, we battled hard,'' he said. ``We've battled hard all year ... our record doesn't indicate how hard we played. Those one-goal games are becoming harder and harder to take.''
The Canucks went primarily with five defencemen as Jaroslav Osbut, a call-up from AHL Manitoba to replace the injured Ed Jovanovski, did not play in the Canucks' final home appearance before a five-game road trip.
``It was a little bit challenging but everybody did a great job stepping up,'' said Vancouver defenceman Brent Sopel. ``All you want to do is play. When you have five guys out there it's a lot of fun. We wanted to have a complete game tonight. We wanted to take the two points and roll them into the road trip.''
NOTES: Jason King returned as a left-winger to the Vancouver lineup after missing two games ... the Blackhawks called up Shawn Thronton from the AHL Norfolk Admirals to replace centre Scott Nichol who missed Monday's practice with a groin injury ... the Canucks won the previous two meetings between the clubs, both in overtime ... the Blackhawks play four more road games - Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto - before the all-star break.
Cheers,
Aquaman