Vancouver Canucks’ Razor-thin Win Over the Blue Jackets At Home

The first NHL game in March 2011 between the Vancouver Canucks and the Columbus Blue Jackets was a combination of intense offensive and superb goaltending on both sides. The Vancouver Canucks played the Columbus Blue Jackets at Rodgers Arena on Monday night.

Staging a comeback 

The Canucks came to the game poised to get the two points in order to maintain first place in the NHL, having lost to the Boston Bruins the previous weekend and with Philadelphia being just one point short of topping the table.

Despite having shown great performance in previous games, the Blue Jackets remained at the bottom of the table in 12th place, five points shy of securing a playoff spot.

In the first 20 minutes of the game, the Canucks were under intense pressure from a proactive Blue Jackets.

Despite being outplayed 13-8, the Canucks was the team to hit the scoreboard first, thanks to left-wing Mason Raymond’s goal capitalized on a brilliant side pass from center Ryan Kesler.

Entering the second period, the Blue Jackets continued to dominate with a series of breakaways, only to be saved by Canucks’ outstanding goalkeeper Roberto Luongo.

Consecutive defensive errors 

However, a number of failed attempts and poor defense by the Canucks allowed Scottie Upshall to score an equalizer for the Blue Jacket on his debut, beating Luongo with a brilliant wrist shot at 7:11 of the second.

The Blue Jackets could have taken the lead a few minutes later with left-wing R.J. Umberger’s clear-cut breakaway, only to be stopped once again by Luongo.

The protracted game proved to be exhaustive and frustrating for both teams, having seen a series of scuffles between players and the Blue Jackets down to four men at 8:17 of the second.

By the late second period, the Canucks were significantly outplayed by their opponent 25-13, with the game about to enter a power-play in the Jackets’ favor.

The score was 1-1

Toughing out a victory 

Despite outnumbering their opponent, the Canucks players were hesitant to shoot inside the offensive zone, much to the disappointment of the Canucks’ fans.

After a goalless power-play, the game entered a prolonged shootout that saw both teams struggling to outshoot the other in the first round.

Canucks left wing Raffi Torres scored the deciding goal that earned the precious two points to secure first-place for now.

The score was 2-1

Keywords
Razor-thin (adjective): ごくわずかの、僅差の
Offensive (noun): 攻勢
Poised (adjective): 用意が十分にできて
Equalizer (noun) 試合を五分五分にさせる得点
Outplay (verb): 競技で負かす
Prolonged (adjective): 延長した
Proactive (adjective): 率先した
Outnumber (verb): より数でまさる
Exhaustive (adjective): 消耗的な

Author 

Name: Brian Yap
Nationality: Canadian
Education :
M.A. in Pacific Asian Studies, SOAS University of London (SOAS: School of Oriental & African Studies)
Past Work Experience :
- Tokyo Correspondent - Bloomberg Industry Group (An affiliate of Bloomberg L.P)
- Asia Reporter (Hong Kong-based) - International Financial Law Review, UK-listed Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC
- General News Reporter (Internship) - Thomson Reuters Corporation
Areas of journalism :
Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Finance, Trade, Business. etc

著者:
Brian Yap ブライアン・ヤップ
学歴:
クワントレン工科大学の新聞学科 (バンクーバー、カナダ)
ロンドン大学東洋アフリカ学院の太平洋研究科 (ロンドン、イギリス)
職歴:
ブルームバーグBNAー東京特派員
ユーロマネー・インスティテューショナル・インベスターアジアレポーター (香港駐在)
トムソン・ロイター (インターン) レポーター
報道の経験/分野:
スポーツ、娯楽、政治、金融、貿易、ビジネス

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