Stats don't do Bertuzzi justice
TSN.ca Staff
5/3/2003
Ed Jovanovski has been a pure impact player in the Canucks-Wild series, scoring a goal in every game so far. But there's someone else who's been an impact player as well, although you wouldn't know it from the statistics. The numbers have not been kind to Todd Bertuzzi.
In Game 4, he had no goals and no points, two shots on goal and was -1. In the entire playoffs, he has just one goal and five points with 24 shots and, with 56 minutes in penalties, he's putting his team at a disadvantage all over the place.
But you can't always believe in statistics. Bertuzzi did a great job in front of the net in Game 4, going at it with Willie Mitchell and screening Manny Fernandez. He took a beating in front and came back to lay a hit on Mitchell that knocked the Minnesota defenceman out of the game.
Then in overtime, Bertuzzi took a high-stick from Filip Kuba, leading to a four-minute double minor. On the resulting power play, he was a big presence in front, with Brad Brown and Fernandez unable to handle him as Brent Sopel's shot won the game.
So you can take the stats and get rid of them because in Game 4, he stepped up and was a monster in every way, shape and form. No statistics in the world will tell you what he did and what he meant in this game.
Cheers,
Aquaman