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Saturday, Mar. 18 10:00pm ET
Canucks on brink of playoff picture | |||||
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BOX SCORE
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Todd Bertuzzi wasn't focused on personal goals -- he just wanted to win. Bertuzzi scored two of Vancouver's four second-period goals as the Canucks moved within four points of a playoff spot with a 6-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. Bertuzzi scored 18 seconds into the second period, then added his second goal at 9:21 to give Vancouver a 4-1 lead. Bertuzzi's second goal was his 19th of the season and set a career single-season high for both goals and points (40). He had 18 goals and 39 points with the New York Islanders in 1995-96. "It's always good to get those things, but for me it's team stuff that's important," Bertuzzi said. "I've been playing for five years and I haven't been to the playoffs yet, so I'd take a playoff run instead of 20 goals any day." The Canucks improved to 5-1 in their last six home games and moved within four points of idle San Jose for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Markus Naslund made it 5-1 with 1:27 left in the second period and added two assists. Ed Jovanovski scored the only goal of the first period and Bertuzzi and Trent Klatt scored in the first 1:30 of the second period to give Vancouver a 3-0 lead. Mark Messier added two assists for Vancouver. The Senators dropped to 35-25-11-2 and fell to sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. Tom Barrasso, making his first start in net for Ottawa, surrendered four goals on Vancouver's first 10 shots. "There was a lot of good things and there were a couple of negative things," Barrasso said. "I feel like I'm physically in condition to play, but obviously there are some things you can't simulate in practice no matter how hard you try. The anxiety of preparing for a first game with a new team when you haven't played in a while." Barrasso, who was acquired from Pittsburgh for goalie Ron Tugnutt and defenseman Janne Laukkanen, dropped to 5-8-2 this year. The 34-year-old goaltender had skated just eight times in the month leading up to the trade because of injuries and the death of his father in Boston. "My first game in Pittsburgh was about the same, we got beat 7-2 in Toronto and it worked out okay from there," Barrasso said. "There's no need to panic. I've just got to focus on the things I need to work on and I know I'll be okay. I know I can be successful in this league. I've proved it for 17 years." Felix Potvin made 20 saves for Vancouver. Marian Hossa made it 3-1 with his 28th goal 6:05 into the second, but Bertuzzi and Naslund scored to give Vancouver a four-goal lead before the period ended. Harold Druken scored 3:23 into the third period. "When we got those two goals fairly quick there, I thought that changed the momentum of the whole game," Naslund said. "Once you can poke a hole in the defense of a team like Ottawa it's good because you know they have to score to come back and they will open it up a little more." | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Ottawa Clubhouse Vancouver Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 3 Pittsburgh 2
Vancouver 6
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