THREE STARS
ONE – Jake Allen, Blues. Rookie netminder stopped 23 of 24 after first period and two more in the shootout to earn the victory.
TWO – Henrik Sedin, Canucks. One goal, one assist, five shots, plus one.
THREE – Alex Burrows, Canucks. One assist, six shots, two hits, plus-1.
PIVOTAL POINT – With the Canucks facing a regulation defeat, Blues defenceman Ian Cole took a holding penalty on Henrik Sedin with 3:21 to go in the third period and the Canuck power play, which had failed miserably on a 5-on-3 minutes earlier, came through with the game-tying goal by Mason Raymond.
BY THE NUMBERS – The Canucks’ record against teams outside the Northwest Division tumbled to 2-3-2… The Blues’ record when their opponents score first improved to 3-5-0… Roberto Luongo gave up more than two goals in regulation for the first time in his seven starts… The Blues beat the Canucks in the faceoff dot, winning 39 of 74 draws. David Backes was their best at 14-for-20. He had a lot of success against Henrik Sedin, who was a dreadful 6-for-19.
SAVE OF THE NIGHT: Blues rookie netminder Jake Allen, making just his third NHL start, made a stupendous OT glove stop on Canuck Alex Burrows, who went to his pet backhand move on a breakaway with 30 second left in the extra period. Allen said he was unaware it was Burrows’s top move. “Me? Personally? I didn’t know that, not really. I know that now. I just tried to wait and see which way he was going to go and tried to be as patient as I could.”
DID YOU NOTICE? Halfway through the first period, Roberto Luongo made a routine save and Blues captain David Backes arrived a little late on his doorstep. Backes nudged Alex Burrows into Bobby Lou, perhaps hoping to draw a reaction from the Canucks, but Burrows didn’t bite and neither did his teammates. In the second period, Backes simply ran Luongo over in his crease with no call.
HIT THE ROAD, JACK: The Canucks, who leave Monday on a four-game road trip that begins Tuesday night in Chicago, have played the fewest road games in the league – five – tying them with the Flames, Canadiens and New York Rangers. They’ve also played the most home games – nine – tying them in that category with five other teams.
QUOTABLE – “We had to get shocked into playing the right way after a homestand that was less than stellar. It was time to put up, or shut up, and the guys responded great. Jake Allen has been huge for us, making all the saves he’s supposed to make and then a few he has no reason making. He’s been up to the challenge.” – Blues captain Backes on his team’s third straight victory, all on the road, and all with Allen between the pipes.
IN THE PRESS BOX: The Canucks healthy scratches Sunday were Andrew Ebbett, Andrew Alberts and Cam Barker. Alberts and Barker have yet to dress for a game this season. The Blues scratched defenceman Kris Russell, winger Matt D’Agostini and goalie Brian Elliott. Veteran winger Jamie Langenbrunner is out for the season (hip surgery).
