After a four goal outburst in the 3rd period of Game 4 tied the series at 2-2, the Vancouver Canucks picked up right where they left off in Game 5, taking control of the series with a dominating 7-2 win at GM Place in Vancouver. Mikael Samuelsson continues to thrive playing alongside the Sedin twins, scoring 2 goals and adding a helper, giving him 7 goals and 9 points on the postseason so far.
Steve Bernier opened the scoring midway through the first, grabbing a rebound and whiping it into an empty net with Jonathan Quick out of position, but the Kings were able to answer with a powerplay goal later in the period. Michal Handzus got a lucky bounce with his centering pass that hit off a Vancouver defenseman and trickled through Roberto Luongo’s pads, but the Canucks would score the next four goals to put a stranglehold on the game.
Alex Edler gave the Canucks a 2-1 lead heading into the 2nd period with his first playoff goal, sneaking a wrist shot through Quick on the short side. Daniel Sedin beat Quick on the short side again, flipping his own rebound over him after Quick made the initial save on his wraparound try. Mikael Samuelsson chased Quick to the bench with his 6th goal of the series, ripping a quick slap shot over Quick’s left shoulder and under the crossbar to put Vancouver up 4-1.
Veteran Pavol Demitra scored for the Canucks early in the 3rd with a drive that Erik Ersberg couldn’t get ahold of. Freddie Modin scored his 3rd goal of the playoffs, finding a loose puck in a scramble in Luongo’s crease and getting enough of it to smack it across the line. Samuelsson scored his 2nd of the night just a minute and a half later , though, wiring a perfect wrist shot in off the far post that sent Ersberg back to the bench after making just 2 saves on 4 shots. Steve Bernier scored his 2nd of the night in a near-perfect replica of his first goal, corralling a rebound and whipping it home to finish up the scoring for the night.
Roberto Luongo finished the game with 24 saves, more than Quick and Ersberg combined, and the Kings weren’t as far out of this one as the score made it seem. Unfortunately, Quick wasn’t on his game, and the Canucks’ snipers were, but he’ll have to shake this one off before an elimination game in Game 6 at the Staples Center on Sunday.