CANUCKS CRUISING
Vancouver now has the most road wins in the Western Conference
If the Vancouver Canucks end up making the playoffs this year, they will be able to say the road to get there was most pleasant.
For it’s been the road where this team has been making it happen, the Canucks now boasting the most road wins in the Western Conference and tied for the NHL lead with the Islanders at 15 after their solid 2-1 revenge win over Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers on Monday night.
And goalie Ryan Miller has been doing most of the hard driving for this travelling show, the 34-year-old goalie recording his fourth consecutive win away from home, although he finally gave up a goal 57 minutes into the game to create some drama at the end.
Before giving up that goal, he ran his streak to 200 minutes and 45 seconds of scoreless play, which beat his personal mark of 161:35 he set with Buffalo in the 2010-11 season.
Miller made a couple of outstanding saves in the third period in particular to keep the score 2-0 at the time and hence preserve the win, the best stop coming off Nick Bjugstad with about seven minutes to go. Brandon Pirri broke the shutout streak at the 17:28 mark of the third when Henrik Sedin lost a faceoff in his own zone to his old nemesis, Dave Bolland.
But no matter, this team is now guaranteed to come home with a winning record on this trip, which finishes Tuesday in Tampa against the Lightning.
Radim Vrbata got the Canucks off to a great start 3½ minutes into the game when he converted a superb Daniel Sedin goalmouth saucer pass to give the Canucks the lead they stretched to a two-goal advantage four minutes later.
Bo Horvat got that one as he was able to get his stick on a puck in Luongo’s crease and nudge it across the line, the young centre’s third goal of the season.