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In Todd we trust Bertuzzi shoots down Stars with first career hat trickPosted: Monday March 17, 2003 11:38 PMUpdated: Tuesday March 18, 2003 2:59 AM
DALLAS (AP) -- Although the Vancouver Canucks have been struggling lately, it hasn't been Todd Bertuzzi's fault. Bertuzzi continued his recent roll with three goals, two on the power play, to tie for the league lead and set his career high in points as the Canucks beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 Monday night in a showdown between Western Conference division leaders. Pat Kavanagh added his first NHL goal and rookie goaltender Alexander Auld stopped 26 shots as Vancouver matched Dallas with 95 points, second to Detroit's 96. The Canucks hold the tiebreaker over the Stars because they have two more wins. "It was a desperate effort by us," said Bertuzzi, who has 12 goals in 13 games. "Even though we're at the top of the standings, we're still a desperate team." Bertuzzi has 42 goals this season, matching teammate Markus Naslund and Ottawa's Marian Hossa. His third career hat trick and first this season gives him 86 points, one more than he had last season. "I'm just trying to do anything to contribute to our team's success," he said. As a team, Vancouver also has one more point than last season. The Red Wings, who have won 15 of the last 17, still have the edge in the race for the top seed because they have one more game left than the other division leaders. The Stars and Canucks had been 1-2 in the West for months until losing their goaltenders. Now both are in a tight race for playoff positioning with only nine games left, including another head-to-head meeting in Vancouver on March 25.
Dallas has lost three straight in regulation for the first time since December. The Stars are 6-6-3-1 since All-Star goalie Marty Turco sprained an ankle; they're 0-4-1-1 against playoff teams in that span. This was the second straight game goalie Ron Tugnutt allowed four goals. "Right now, our team is finding ways to lose," coach Dave Tippett said. "We can't focus on the standings. If you play well, the standings will take care of themselves." The good news for the Canucks is that goalie Dan Cloutier could return from a sprained knee as soon as Tuesday in St. Louis. If he can't, Auld deserves another start after a second straight solid game. Auld, whose only previous career win was by the same score in the same building in January 2002, had 22 saves in a 1-0 loss to Toronto on Saturday. "I just want to keep it going," Auld said. "I'm loving every minute of it." Dallas played great in the first period, outshooting Vancouver 14-4. But only Scott Young, who was coming off a two-game suspension, could beat Auld, knocking in a backhander midway through the period. Bertuzzi's power-play goals came 4:30 apart in the second period, putting Vancouver ahead 2-1. His first goal came on a two-man advantage, when he caught Tugnutt leaning the wrong way and slid the puck under him. The next one came when he redirected a shot by Brent Sopel, flipping it over Tugnutt. "Penalties were the key," Tippett said. "When they went 5-on-3, that was the break that got them into the game. Unlike us, they took advantage of their power play." The Stars were 0-for-5 on the power play, and had the extra man for 2:27 longer than the Canucks. Vancouver stretched the lead when Kavanagh, called up Sunday and playing his second NHL game, put the puck into an open net after Tugnutt was knocked down. Bertuzzi's capper came on a breakaway; Dallas' Derian Hatcher dived to stop him at the blue line and missed. "Todd was outstanding tonight and we had other guys who also stepped up," Canucks coach Marc Crawford said. "We had everybody on board tonight." Notes: Naslund has one goal his last 10 games. ... Dallas had won the two previous meetings by a combined 8-1. ... Vancouver already was expected to be without left wing Brad May and center Mats Lindgren, both injured Saturday against Toronto. Defenseman Mattias Ohlund also was scratched with an injury. Three players were called up from AHL Manitoba to replace them and two (Kavanagh and Jason King) were used.
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