Injury ravaged Canucks overpower Wild
Last Updated: Thursday, November 5, 2009 | 11:50 PM ET
By Jenni Dunning, CBC Sports
Canucks goalie Andrew Raycroft makes a glove save on a shot by Martin Havlat during a game Thursday. (Tom Olmscheid/Associated Press)Matt Pettinger scored his first goal with the Vancouver Canucks, helping lead the team to a 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Thursday night's kickoff to a five-game road trip.
Pettinger was signed Monday to bolster a depleted roster due to injuries.
Canucks left-wing Darcy Hordichuk grabbed an early goal in the first period. It marked his first of the NHL season and in 50 games.
"I haven't had a lot of shots this year, but it's not how many shots you have, it's how many you make count," Hordichuk said. "It was nice to have one go in."
It was the highlight of the first period, which had little offensive power. The Wild (5-10-0) only had three shots and the Canucks took six.
Vancouver (10-7-0) started the second period with a four-minute power play after Derek Boogaard got four minutes for cross-checking Henrik Sedin and for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Canucks took advantage and Mason Raymond scored the second of the night. He has five goals in his last seven games.
"You're not going to win with one line and you're not going to win with two lines," right winger Mikael Samuelsson said. "You're going to win with your whole team and that's what we did tonight. It's huge."
Vancouver kept the goals coming, despite being ravaged by injuries. Goaltender Roberto Luongo was missing again from play, still recovering from a broken rib.
Daniel Sedin (shoulder), Ryan Johnson (upper body), Alexander Bolduc (upper body), Michael Grabner (foot) and Pavol Demitra (shoulder) were also out.
Suspended for contact
Defenceman Shane O'Brien was absent after being suspended for one game for making contact with the New York Rangers' Sean Avery when they were on the bench during a game Tuesday.
Minnesota's Kyle Brodziak snagged both goals for the team on Thursday — one in the second period, the other in the third.
Sedin battled back with another goal for Vancouver.
Pettinger nailed one into the Wild's net at 14:52. He made his debut with the Canucks during Tuesday's win against the Rangers.
The third period started with a goalie changeup for Minnesota — Josh Harding came in for Nicklas Backstrom.
Harding was briefly pulled near the end, opening the net for Vancouver's Alexandre Burrows to score the final goal.
"All you have to do is look at the standings and see there's got to be desperation and urgency with every game we play," said Wild coach Todd Richards. His team is in last place in the Northwest Division.
