COYOTES ARE SHUT OUT AGAINST CANUCKS
By: Damon Markiewicz
Last week, the Phoenix Coyotes were able to shutdown the Vancouver Canucks top line of Markus Naslund, Brendan Morisson and Todd Bertuzzi in their first meeting of the preseason, but couldn’t duplicate that performance Saturday night.
The Coyotes lost their third straight game Saturday falling to the Canucks 2-0 in front of 10,822 at America West Arena. Vancouver used goals from Naslund and Morrison, while goaltenders Johan Hedberg and Dan Cloutier shared a shutout combining for 19 saves. Phoenix concluded the preseason with a record of 2-4-0-1, while Vancouver finished their exhibition schedule with a mark of 5-5-0-0.
“Tonight was a tough game to eval uate because the guys were tired,” said Coyotes head coach Bob Francis. “We anticipated having a day off earlier in the week, but didn’t take it off because we were disappointed with our effort. We hit the point in training camp where I think the players need a day to rest and get back to work on Monday.”
The Canucks took an early 1-0 lead when Naslund scored on Vancouver’s first shot of the game only 1:48 into the first period. Phoenix goaltender Sean Burke, who finished with 25 saves playing the full 60 minutes, made the initial save, but Naslund was able to knock home his own rebound. Burke was voted the game’s third star and appears to be ready for the regular season.
“Sean (Burke) was in his vintage form tonight,” said Francis. “I know he wasn’t happy with his previous performance and he responded tonight with a solid effort. He was square to the shooter and appeared to be in mid-season form.”
Vancouver continued to apply pressure and almost took a two-goal lead midway through the second period when defenseman Mattias Ohlund ended up on a breakaway, but Burke made a nice pad save to keep the Coyotes deficit at one goal.
“You have to look at the positives, that’s a pretty good team over there and even though we limited their chances, they still ending up winning the game,” said Burke. “They gave us a couple of power plays and if we could have converted on them, it would have been a different game.”
The Canucks eventually took a 2-0 lead on a man advantage of their own when Morrison scored at 14:36 of the middle period assisted by Bertuzzi. It was Morrison’s first goal of the preseason.
The game got physical late in the second period when Coyotes right wing Branko Radivojevic and Canucks defenseman Ed Jovanovski each collected fighting majors with 3:13 remaining in the middle period. Just 35 seconds later, Phoenix right wing Landon Wilson and Vancouver left wing Matt Cooke each picked up 10 minute misconducts for their involvement in an altercation.
The teams played a scoreless third period with the Canucks outshooting the Coyotes 6-5 in the final period and 27-19 for the game.
The Coyotes willtheir 2003-04 regular season on Friday, October 10 against the St. Louis Blues at AWA. The game can be seen live on Fox Sports Net and also can heard on KDUS – AM 1060 and KDKB 93.3 FM.
“I will be excited and ready to go for the seasonr,” said Coyotes left wing Tyson Nash, who was acquired by the Coyotes from the Blues this summer and will play against his former team for the first time Friday night. “I am sure I will be anxious against my former teammates, but we have to turn our attention now to the regular season and start the season strong.”
NEWS AND NOTES
SAVAGE RESTS – Coyotes left wing Brian Savage missed Saturday’s game with a groin strain and is listed as day-to-day. Savage skated in the pregame warmup and sat on the bench in the first period, but never stepped on the ice. He held himself out of the game for precautionary reasons. Savage finished the preseason as the Coyotes scoring leader with 2-1-3 totals in five games.
GETTING HIS MINUTES – Phoenix defenseman Paul Mara led the team in minutes played (26:03) on Saturday night. Mara also was tied for the team lead in shots on goal against the Canucks with three.
STRONG UP THE MIDDLE – The Coyotes continued to be strong in the faceoff circle winning 35 of the 62 faceoffs that were taken Saturday night for a success rate of 56%. Center Chris Gratton led the team in draws taken winning 14 of 22 faceoffs.
FACEOFF LUNCHEON – The Coyotes annual Faceoff Luncheon to benefit Coyotes Charities will be held this Wednesday, October 8 at the Arizona Biltmore - MacArthur Ballroom. Call 480-563-PUCK for more information.
DAY OFF – Phoenix will take the day off on Sunday and resume practice on Monday morning at the ALLTEL Ice Den. The Coyotes will have prepare for the seasonr against the St. Louis Blues Friday night at AWA.
INJURY REPORT
The Coyotes have three injured players:
Brian Savage (groin strain – day-to-day)
Daniel Cleary (bruised heel – day-to-day)
Mike Sillinger (hernia surgery – 4-6 weeks)
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