Memories worth the wait
David Booth savours being part of Canucks’ win in Detroit
DETROIT — An awful lot of fans at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday came to see Detroit homeboys David Booth and Ryan Kesler play for the Vancouver Canucks.
It was Booth’s first game in Detroit after six years in the National Hockey League. An although he didn’t score — stopped in the shootout and a partial breakaway late in regulation time — the 27- year- old from nearby Shelby said the atmosphere and memories were worth the wait.
There were robust cheers throughout the arena when Alex Burrows’ shootout goal gave the Canucks a 4- 3 win and ended the Detroit Red Wings’ record home- ice winning streak at 23 games.
“It was pretty special,” Booth said. “The most important part was winning on the road against a great team. The game lived up to expectations. I hope I get a lot more chances to play in this building.”
LOUIE LOUIE: Notoriously all- or- nothing in shootouts, Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo didn’t allow any of the Red Wing shooters to beat him, allowing Burrows to win it with the final shot of the third round.
Apparently, Red Wing goalie Jimmy Howard didn’t get the scouting report that Burrows loves to pump- fake a wrist shot before pulling the puck to his backhand and deking.
“Yeah, I know,” Burrows said. “I changed my angle a little bit; sometimes I’m more to the right. Maybe it threw him off. I decided [ on the move] as soon as Louie stopped that third one.”
Burrows is 5- for- 9 this season in shootouts, while Luongo is gradually improving a shootout save rate that is now .595.
BIG BERT: Former Canuck Todd Bertuzzi spent his Thursday morning media availability telling reporters how happy he was to sign a two- year extension in Detroit that should allow the 37- year- old to end his National Hockey League career as a Red Wing.
“That was the plan,” he said. “The body feels good. Playing with Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen has given me some jump in my step. It’s nice to get done, and now the main focus is getting ready for playoffs and going after the Cup.
“[ Winning the Stanley Cup] is the only thing. Getting the deal done was exciting and I’m happy, but my whole main goal here is just to win and this is the place to do it.”
The $ 4.15- million extension will push Bertuzzi’s career earnings to nearly $ 38 million — the same amount Steve Moore seeks in a lawsuit after his own career was ended by Bertuzzi’s suckerpunch in Vancouver eight years ago. WORKING THE BOARDS: Defenceman Kyle Quincey is happy about joining the Wings after Tuesday’s trade from the Colorado, via Tampa. But he sounded equally excited about leading a conservation exercise along the B. C. coast this summer.
Quincey and his family operate a company called Boardworks Surf Canada, which produces standup paddleboards, surfboards and skateboards. The business is based in Caledon, Ont., but the company warehouse is in Richmond.
Quincey and others will paddle along the North Coast and Haida Gwaii to raise awareness about the risks of oil tanker traffic in B. C.
“Hockey is obviously my job, but this is my passion,” he said of paddleboarding. “Just being on a board on the water, I love it.”
Quincey fell in love with the sport after undergoing back surgery with the Los Angeles Kings four years ago. Former player Chris Chelios inspired Quincey to use a paddleboard as a training tool.
“After the surgery, I couldn’t sit in a canoe or kayak,” he said. “I used the paddleboard to get core strength back in my back, and the business came out of that.”
SWEDE WISHES: Detroit’s Swedish players, and especially veteran Red Wing Tomas Holmstrom, were aware Thursday that former Canuck Mattias Ohlund was undergoing reconstructive knee surgery required for the defenceman to even have a chance at playing again for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Holmstrom and Ohlund are from the same town, Pitea, and go on annual fishing trips to Northern Sweden.
“For sure, it’s sad,” Holmstrom, 39, said. “It’s a tough injury. To reconstruct your knee and eight months recovery time, it’s going to be tough for him to come back. Hopefully, he can do it and he can quit on his own terms and not because of the injury. We’re good friends. I suffer with him, for sure.”
Ohlund, bothered by knee issues almost since he left Vancouver as a free agent in 2009, hasn’t played at all this season. The 35- year- old played 11 seasons for the Canucks, is the team’s all- time scoring leader among defenceman and arguably the best blueliner in franchise history.