Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - Mikael Samuelsson extended his streak of scoring in every game in this series, adding his league-leading sixth and seventh goals of the playoffs to help the Canucks take the edge in this Western Conference quarterfinal set with a 7-2 win over the Kings in Game 5.
In Progress: Canucks And Kings Showdown In Game Five Matchup In Vancouver
Samuelsson added an assist and set a new career-high for goals in one playoff series for the Canucks, who have won two straight games to gain a 3-2 series lead and will look to oust Los Angeles on Sunday at the Staples Center. Steve Bernier also scored twice, Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist and Pavol Demitra registered a goal and two assists.
Alexander Edler found the back of the net, Henrik Sedin contributed two assists, and Roberto Luongo made 24 saves for Vancouver, which is attempting to win its third straight quarterfinal series.
Michal Handzus and Fredrik Modin both tallied for the Kings, who have given up seven goals in the last two third periods. Jonathan Quick allowed five goals on 26 shots and was pulled and re-inserted into the contest after Erik Ersberg yielded two goals on four shots.
Vancouver used a fortunate bounce to score the game’s first goal 8:50 into the first period. Bernier took a shot out in front that went wide, but the puck came back to him on the other side of the net after it bounced off the back boards, and he was able to put it into the net before Quick could recover.
The Kings, though, came back to tie the score with 5:36 remaining in the opening frame on Handzus' power-play tally, as he banked the disc off Canucks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff from behind the net.
With 2:28 to go in the first, Edler gave Vancouver the lead for good with a shot from the left circle that trickled past Quick.
The hosts widened their advantage with two goals in the second period.
Daniel Sedin made it 3-1 when he followed up his wraparound chance with another shot, lifting the puck over Quick's stick at 8:26. The cushion was extended to three on yet another Samuelsson tally, as he took a pass from Henrik Sedin on top of the right circle before rifling a slapshot past Quick, who was pulled from the game, with 6:29 left in the second.
With Ersberg in net for Los Angeles, Demitra’s slapshot from the top of the left circle tickled the twine for a 5-1 lead with 15:22 to play.
The Kings answered quickly with a tally from Modin, who corralled a rebound in the crease and tapped it into the net 24 seconds later. Samuelsson, though, restored Vancouver’s four-goal lead with a laser from the left circle that prompted Los Angeles to put Quick back into the game.
Bernier put the cap on the win with his second goal of the contest with 10:10 remaining.
Vancouver, which had been a dreadful 7-for-16 on the penalty kill coming in, allowed one power play goal on five chances...The Canucks' Ryan Kesler notched an assist and has a point in four straight games...With two points apiece, Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin have eight and seven points, respectively, in the series...This was the first game where the team that scored first won the game...Although the Canucks have won two straight quarterfinal series, they have not advanced to the conference finals since the 1993-94 season.
See More:
