Times wires
Monday, May 9, 2011
NASHVILLE — Daniel Sedin and Mason Raymond scored first-period goals, and Roberto Luongo made 23 saves Tuesday night as the Canucks beat the Predators 2-1 to advance to the Western Conference final.
The Canucks, who had the league's best record this season, reached the conference final for the first time since 1994.
Raymond gave Vancouver the lead 7:45 into the game. Sedin made it 2-0 just 1:43 later. Luongo did the rest for the Canucks, who were outshot 24-19. Vancouver recorded only nine total shots in the first two periods.
David Legwand's goal 3:31 into the second period cut Vancouver's lead to 2-1, but the Predators couldn't avoid elimination again and force a Game 7.
After grabbing the early lead, the Canucks put the game away with defense. Nashville had 11 shots in the first period but only 13 over the final 40 minutes.
The Canucks got some help to get their offense rolling as Predators defenseman Ryan Suter turned over the puck to Ryan Kesler right next to the net. Kesler passed to Raymond, who backhanded a shot past goalie Pekka Rinne.
Sedin doubled the lead while Nashville forward Jordin Tootoo served an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for diving, after he was hit by Alex Edler. Sedin connected just 36 seconds into the power play.
| Canucks | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Predators | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
First Period—1, Vancouver, Raymond 1 (Kesler), 7:45. 2, Vancouver, D.Sedin 6 (Kesler, H.Sedin), 9:28 (pp). Penalties—H.Sedin, Van (high-sticking), :50; Kesler, Van (goaltender interference), 4:33; Bieksa, Van (roughing), 4:33; Weber, Nas (roughing), 4:33; Tootoo, Nas (unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:52; Edler, Van (cross-checking), 11:25; Erat, Nas (tripping), 11:54; Higgins, Van (slashing), 16:11.
Second Period—3, Nashville, Legwand 6 (Ward, Kostitsyn), 3:31. Penalties—Erat, Nas (interference), 8:09; Torres, Van (tripping), 17:43.
Third Period—None. Penalties—None. Shots on Goal—Vancouver 7-2-10—19. Nashville 11-7-6—24. Power-play opportunities—Vancouver 1 of 3; Nashville 0 of 5. Goalies—Vancouver, Luongo 8-5-0 (24 shots-23 saves). Nashville, Rinne 6-6-0 (19-17). A—17,113 (17,113). T—2:35. Referees—Steve Kozari, Stephen Walkom. Linesmen—Greg Devorski, Jean Morin.
Red Wings looking to push Sharks to limit
ROMULUS, Mich. — The Red Wings are confident they will beat the Sharks tonight for a third straight time and force a Game 7.
The Red Wings arrived home Monday after avoiding elimination in San Jose, and Detroit coach Mike Babcock was asked if he hoped to get back on the team plane one more time.
"We're getting on it," Babcock said.
The Red Wings must beat the Sharks in Game 6 of the West semifinal series to make a trip back to San Jose necessary on Thursday. The Sharks, of course, want to force the Red Wings to make other plans.
"You try to eliminate teams when you have a chance to," San Jose forward Joe Thornton said. "So we're going to go in there and try to eliminate them. That's the game plan."
