Go Nucks Go!

BRING ON ROUND TWO

By Kyle Harland (article courtesy of Canucks.com Inside Edge)

Canucks 4 vs Stars 1 - Final

All Alain Vigneault asked for from his team was hard work.

He got it Monday night.

The Vancouver Canucks took game seven 4-1 and came out on top of a first-round playoff series that had more momentum shifts than the Grouse Mountain gondola in a winter storm.

The way they did it was as smile inducing as the final tally. A moribund power play scored twice, the Twins attacked with fangs, and the Canucks played with elephant-sized heart.

The Stars got an early goal from Joel Lundqvist in the first, but the way the Canucks were playing, there was no doubt they'd come back to take the lead. "I think it was just a matter of time after the first period that we would take over and win the game," said Markus Naslund. Henrik Sedin scored a goal in an unlikely situation: the power play. After game six, the Canucks must have had the whole CSI team look into the situation, because the power play mystery was solved for game seven. After failing to score 26 times in a row with the extra man, it was almost strange to see one end up in the back of the net. But when Daniel sent one to his brother who was all alone in the slot, Hank made no mistake.

In the third period, Linden proved the power play tally wasn't a fluke as he tipped home a Mattias Ohlund shot while Jeff Halpern was in the box. That gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead and would prove to be the game-winner. Linden played a monumental game that looked like he got a hold of the DeLorean from Back to the Future to travel back to his younger days. "It might have been his best game of the whole year," said Brendan Morrison.