Not so fast: Wild thump Canucks
Canadian Press
5/6/2003
VANCOUVER (CP) - Cliff Ronning scored twice as the Minnesota Wild exploded for five second-period goals to beat the Vancouver Canucks 7-2 Monday night to show they are not going to disappear quietly from the NHL playoffs.
The Wild return to Minnesota for Wednesday's Game 6 trailing 3-2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal. If a seventh game is needed it will be back in Vancouver on Thursday night.
"We're going back home and who knows what will happen there," Wild defenceman Willie Mitchell told CBC. "The pressure will be sliding the other way a little bit. We knew had to come out tonight and get a big win and we did."<
Wes Walz scored shorthanded and had two assists for the Wild. Marian Gaborik, with his playoff leading ninth goal, Jason Marshall, Andrew Brunette and Richard Park also scored for Minnesota, who battled back from a 3-1 deficit against the heavily favoured Colorado Avalanche in the opening round of the playoffs.
No NHL team has rebounded from two 3-1 deficits in the same post-season.
"We were looking for breaks in this series and we got all of them today," said Wild coach Jacques Lemaire. "The puck was rolling for us."
Ronning, a member of the Vancouver team that lost the 1994 Stanley Cup final in seven games to the New York Rangers, scored his first two goals of the playoffs. His first came on a power play, the second when he intercepted defenceman Ed Jovanovski's pass and put his own rebound past Canucks goaltender Dan Cloutier.
"I'm not sure why we hurt ourselves today," said Cloutier. "This game's over, let's forget about it and move on to the next one."
Mitchell, who was a question mark for the game after injuring his right wrist Friday when checked into the boards by Todd Bertuzzi, also earned an assist for Minnesota, who outshot Vancouver 12-6 in the second period.
"He's not the biggest playmaker but he's a warrior," said Lemaire.
Brendan Morrison and Henrik Sedin scored for the Canucks.
"We lost our composure in the second period," said Canucks coach Marc Crawford. "We uncharacteristically lost our patience and when you lose patience against a team like that, they can exploit it."
It was brutal night for the Vancouver stars. Jovanovski, who has six goals in the playoffs, was on the ice all four even-strength goals in the second period goals. Markus Naslund was on the ice for three of the goals and was serving the penalty on Ronning's goal.
"We know that we have to play great to beat Minnesota and we didn't play great - not even close," said Crawford.
The simmering dislike between the two teams erupted after the second period. As the players were leaving the ice Wild goaltender Dwayne Roloson took a swing at Vancouver's Trevor Linden. While the players milled about Cloutier skated the length of the ice and took a punch at Roloson.
Cloutier was on the bench for the third period, replaced by rookie Alex Auld who made his first playoff appearance.
Early in the third period Vancouver defenceman Mattias Ohlund dropped Gaborik with an elbow. That resulted in Matt Johnson taking a charge at Naslund.
The towel-waving soldout crowd of 18,514 were primed to end the series. Even before the teams were on the ice fans chanted "Go Canucks Go" and only quieted to join Mark Donnelly in singing O Canada.
The tone for the game was set in the first minute. Gaborik was sent off for slashing but the Canucks couldn't muster a shot during the power play, even when Roloson was forced to play without a stick.
Park put the Wild ahead with 3:20 gone. Vancouver didn't get their first shot on net until 6:42, a lazy, long shot from Bertuzzi.
Morrison tied the game with less than two minutes left in the first but in the dying seconds of the period Naslund took an undisciplined penalty. That resulted in Ronning's first goal.
Notes: Heading into Game 5 six different Canucks had scored game-winning goals in the playoffs. ... Morrison was late for practice Sunday because he went to G.M. Place, where Stars on Ice was performing, instead of the Canucks practice facility in Burnaby. ... The Canucks have scored the first goal just once in the first five games of the series.
Cheers,
Aquaman