HAWKS BOX SEATS GIVE UP BIG LEAD, GAME IN SHOOTOUT

With an extra point available in the

shootout, the Vancouver Canucks turned to their captain to

secure it.

Markus Naslund scored the lone goal of the shootout and added

two assists in regulation to lead the Canucks to their third win

in four games, a 5-4 triumph over the Chicago Blackhawks that

completed a sweep of the four-game season series.

After scoring in each of Vancouver's first two games following

the Olympic break, Naslund led off the shootout with a

backhander that got past goaltender Craig Anderson, just under

the crossbar.

"I had to go back to basics," Naslund said laughing. "Anytime you come back from 3-0 and 4-2 deficit going into the third it's great. It wasn't the best of games but we stuck with it."

That was all the support netminder Alex Auld needed. He shut

down rookie Rene Bourque, Radim Vrbata and Mikael Holmqvist to

seal the victory and move the Canucks (35-22-5) into a tie with

idle Calgary atop the Northwest Division, one point ahead of

Colorado.

"I was trying to get out of the net early and gauge their speed," Auld said. "I got my feet set and got big early so they couldn't see to much of the net."

Trailing, 4-2, after two periods, Vancouver began its comeback

when Olympic gold medalist Henrik Sedin skated in from the right

corner and stuffed the puck between Anderson's pads for his

14th goal at 8:57 of the third.

Brendan Morrison tied the game with 6:56 remaining. During a

delayed penalty, Morrison unleashed a wrist shot from between

the faceoff circles that beat Anderson to the glove side for his

13th tally.

"We came out and started to work and win some puck battles forcing them to take bad penalties," Morrison said. "We got some momentum back with the power play. It hasn't been that great lately. This was a big win for us because we needed some points."

It took Bourque just 93 seconds to open the scoring when he

stopped the rebound of Mark Bell's shot from the right point

with his skate and fired the puck inside the left goal post.

Bourque added his second tally on the power play at 8:12,

deflecting rookie defenseman Brent Seabrook's wrister from the

top of the right circle past Auld for a 2-0 lead.

"It's frustrating being in control early then losing focus by giving Vancouver a chance to get back in the game with their power play. Five on three's killed us and we didn't play disciplined enough and that's why we lost the game," said Borque.

Just 26 seconds later, Matthew Barnaby batted down defenseman

Jim Vandermeer's shot from the left point and knocked the puck

between Auld's pads, widening the edge to 3-0.

Vancouver took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play at 9:29 of the

second, when Canadian Olympian Todd Bertuzzi put his stick

between his legs and banked the puck off the left post, cutting

the margin to 3-1.

Anson Carter brought the Canucks closer 78 seconds later, firing

the puck just inside the right post with the man advantage for

his 23rd tally.

However, Kyle Calder gave Chicago some breathing room,

converting a 2-on-1 rush with 14 seconds left in the second

session for a 4-2 advantage.

After a shaky first period, Auld settled down and finished with

26 saves to raise his record to 26-17-3 for the Canucks.

"You never want to give up four goals on thirty shots. It was a so-so game for me that turned out pretty good. That's the neat thing about the shootout," Auld said.

Anderson stopped 37 shots for Chicago, which has dropped four of

six shootouts.

"We deserved our share of penalties, but four goals for us is plenty to win. If you leave the game in the hands of the officials, you end up on the short end of the stick. Especially when you're a team that's not playoff bound," Hawks coach Trent Yawney said.

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