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Canucks advance to Western finals
Source: Agencies |
May 11, 2011, Wednesday
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THE Vancouver Canucks took an early 2-0 lead and held on to beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Monday and advance to the NHL's Western Conference Finals.
Mason Raymond and Daniel Sedin netted first-period goals and Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo made it stand up as the Canucks clinched the best-of-seven series 4-2 to reach their first conference final in 17 years.
The victory enabled Vancouver, which had the best record in the National Hockey League this season, to avoid another Game 7.
The Canucks failed three times to finish off their first-round series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks after taking a 3-0 lead, before prevailing in the decider.
On Monday, Luongo finished with 23 saves in what was a hard-fought defensive series throughout with five of the six games being decided by one-goal.
"They're all tough series, it's never going to be easy," Luongo told reporters. "When things are looking down that's when you have to roll up the sleeves and go to work."
David Legwand scored Nashville's goal at 3:31 in the second period, for his third score in two games, but the Predators came up short in what was their first trip to the conference semifinals.
Nashville outshot Vancouver 18-9 through two periods, but Vancouver went into full clamp-down mode in the third and held Nashville to just six shots over the final 20 minutes. Vancouver will play the winner of the other Western semifinal between San Jose and the Detroit Red Wings.
Mason Raymond and Daniel Sedin netted first-period goals and Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo made it stand up as the Canucks clinched the best-of-seven series 4-2 to reach their first conference final in 17 years.
The victory enabled Vancouver, which had the best record in the National Hockey League this season, to avoid another Game 7.
The Canucks failed three times to finish off their first-round series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks after taking a 3-0 lead, before prevailing in the decider.
On Monday, Luongo finished with 23 saves in what was a hard-fought defensive series throughout with five of the six games being decided by one-goal.
"They're all tough series, it's never going to be easy," Luongo told reporters. "When things are looking down that's when you have to roll up the sleeves and go to work."
David Legwand scored Nashville's goal at 3:31 in the second period, for his third score in two games, but the Predators came up short in what was their first trip to the conference semifinals.
Nashville outshot Vancouver 18-9 through two periods, but Vancouver went into full clamp-down mode in the third and held Nashville to just six shots over the final 20 minutes. Vancouver will play the winner of the other Western semifinal between San Jose and the Detroit Red Wings.
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