|
 Defenseman Matt Bartkowski scored twice and added an assist, and
right winger Jake Virtanen broke a 3-3 tie with a power-play goal
and earned an assist as the Canucks defeated the Ottawa Senators
5-3.
Vancouver right winger Emerson Etem also scored twice, once into an
empty net.
Ottawa led 3-2 after two periods, but the Canucks rallied for the
win.
If the Canucks (24-24-12) hope to keep their fading playoff hopes
alive, they will need more production from their depth players.
"I thought we played well as a whole," said Bartkowski, who has five
goals on the season. "There was a lot of ice out there, and we took
advantage of it."
Virtanen put the Canucks ahead at 10:59 of the third. Center Bo
Horvat took a shot that Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson stopped.
Virtanen found the rebound and drove it through a sea of legs for
his fifth goal of the season.
"It just came back to me and I saw an empty net there," he said.
It was the fifth goal of the season for the 18-year-old who has
struggled at times during his rookie season.
"It's nice for me with the things that have happened the last two
months or so," Virtanen said. "We're starting to roll a little bit.
We have to push for a playoff spot, and we're getting every guy to
buy in."
Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said, "At this time of year, teams
will key on your top lines. You are going to have to have scoring
from the other guys."
The first three-point night of Bartkowski's career comes at a time
when the 27-year-old has been mentioned in trade rumors.
"If I start paying attention to that, I am not focusing on playing
and what I need to be doing," he said. "I'll let the chips fall
where they may.
"I can't control it, so there's no reason to even think about it."
It was only the third time in 25 games this season the Canucks won
when trailing after two periods. It was also the first time since
December that Vancouver managed to win back-to-back games at home.
The Canucks, who remain eight points out of the final wild-card
playoff spot in the Western Conference, know they have little room
for error.
"It's a big mountain, but if we take it one game at a time, like we
are right now, then we can piece something together," Bartkowski
said.
[to top of second column] |
There was plenty of angst in the Ottawa room after the Senators saw
a four-game win streak snapped. The Senators, who are four points
out of a wild-card spot in the East, believed they let a win slip
away.
"It's obviously not what we wanted," defenseman Marc Methot said.
"With a team like this, it was up to us to get that extra goal or be
a little tighter in our own end at the start of the third period.
"You've got to demoralize a team that's in the kind of position
they're in, and we didn't do that."
Right wingers Mark Stone and Bobby Ryan and left winger Mike Hoffman
scored for Ottawa. Stone's goal was short-handed. Defenseman Dion
Phaneuf and center Jean-Gabriel Pageau had two assists each.
"It's very frustrating," Stone said of the loss. "We had a one-goal
lead on the road. You can't ask for much more."
In the tight Eastern Conference, the Senators can't afford to give
up points.
"We've got to win," Stone said. "I don't think we thought we were
going to win the next 20 games, but one game at a time. We need to
start winning.
"Other teams are winning. We've got to find a way to win, too."
NOTES: Vancouver RW Radim Vrbata, the subject of trade rumors,
missed the game with a lower-back injury. He could be out a week.
... C Markus Granlund, obtained in a trade from Calgary on Monday,
became the first player in Canucks franchise history to wear No. 60.
... There is a report that Chicago might be interested in obtaining
Vancouver D Dan Hamhuis in a trade. ... Canucks RW Adam Cracknell
and D Yannick Weber were scratches. ... Vancouver's next game is
Sunday at home against the San Jose Sharks. ... Ottawa's scratches
were D Patrick Wiercioch and LW Shane Prince. ... Of the Senators'
final 20 games, 14 are against Eastern Conference teams. ... The
Senators end their three-game road trip Saturday in Calgary.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
