The Gang from New York

In what began as a tight checking, defensive battle, the New York Rangers resorted to intimidation to try to best the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night at General Motors Place.

Intensity reaches boiling point in the third period - AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck

The Canucks managed to hold on to a 1-0 lead heading into the third period with some great goaltending by Andrew ‘Rayzor’ Raycroft and some tidy defense.  That changed, though, with the clash (pictured above) in the third period, which added some controversy to the game.  Ryan Kesler was left with an additional minor penalty from the scrum, which had 10 New York Rangers on the ice taking on 7 Canucks.  Naturally, coach Alain Vigneault couldn’t believe his eyes, especially considering Kesler got lynch mobbed by the NY gang.  The ensuing powerplay tied the game at the 6:24 mark.

Linesman Steve Barton does his best to keep Sean Avery and Shane O'Brien at arms length

The resilient, injury plagued Canucks wouldn’t go away, though, as Mikael Samuelsson recorded his 2nd goal of the night.  Both he and Mason Raymond slammed at a Ryan Kesler rebound on a powerplay of their own, and put the Canucks up for good.  Kesler, named the games’ 1st star, had 3 assists on the night, and now has 16 points in 16 games.  “This team has a lot of character, a lot of  grit, a lot of hard work.  We got beat pretty good in Anaheim but came right back and put our work boots on and didn’t get discouraged and came back for two pretty good victories.”

Mikael Samuelsson celebrates a first period goal with Ryan Kesler - The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck

The play of the night was a superb pass off the half boards by a circling Ryan Kesler to Rick Rypien just off the bench, who snapped a shot high over Henrik Lundqvist.  The Canucks would salt it away with an empty net goal by Henrik Sedin, taking an unselfish pass from Steve Bernier.

The Canucks now embark on a 5 game road trip that starts in Minnesota Thursday, continuing Friday in Dallas.  Roberto Luongo (ribs) should travel with the team and is expected to start one of the games on the road.