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Home sweet home: Canucks return to GM Place to battle Senators

Sat 13th, March 2010

(Sports Network) - The wait is finally over.

After playing 14 straight times on the road over a span of six weeks, the Vancouver Canucks finally return to GM Place for tonight's interconference showdown with the slumping Ottawa Senators.

That epic stretch -- the longest sequence of away games by any team in NHL history -- was necessitated by the city of Vancouver's hosting of the Winter Olympics. The Canucks played eight of those contests prior to the league's stoppage for the Games, then began their post-break schedule with a six-game trip that culminated with Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss at Phoenix.

"There were days when you woke up in another hotel and wondered Where are we now?' before you get it together a little bit," center Ryan Kesler recently told the Canucks' official site. "The last six we've played here on the other end of the Games, that hasn't been as bad, but those first eight were real tough. They took forever."

Vancouver acquitted itself well over the massive trek, compiling an 8-5-1 record over the 14 games. The team was especially successful over the second leg, winning four of five outings before coming up just short against the Coyotes.

Down 1-0 in the third round of the shootout, Radim Vrbata kept Phoenix alive by firing the puck past Canucks goaltender Andrew Raycroft. After Mikael Samuelsson missed for Vancouver on the ensuing attempt, both teams were successful in the fourth and fifth rounds before the Coyotes' Adrian Aucoin opened the sixth with a shot that beat Raycroft upstairs. The Canucks' Mason Raymond then misfired on a backhand try to give Phoenix the two points.

The Coyotes claimed a 3-2 lead on Lee Stempniak's goal 35 seconds into the third period, but Vancouver's Christian Ehrhoff scored less than a minute later to tie the score.

Samuelsson had a goal earlier in the game and has now lit the lamp in each of Vancouver's last five matchups, with seven tallies over that span. Kesler assisted on Ehrhoff's marker to extend his scoring streak to 11 games, with the U.S. Olympic team member having notched 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) during that span.

Canucks forward Daniel Sedin also has a notable streak going, as the standout Swede has registered an assist in eight consecutive tilts after getting one on twin brother Henrik Sedin's goal in Wednesday's loss. He has 11 helpers over that run.

Although a few Vancouver players, including Kesler, the Sedin brothers, Ehrhoff and goaltender Roberto Luongo, had the opportunity to play in their home venue while competing in the Olympics, tonight's clash will be the Canucks' first game at GM Place since a 3-2 decision over St. Louis on January 27.

The Canucks will attempt to build on their three-point lead over second-place Colorado in the Northwest Division when they take on an Ottawa squad that's gone just 1-3-1 since the break. The Senators were able to defeat doormat Edmonton in the opener of the team's three-game swing through Western Canada, but were stymied by Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff (33 saves) in Thursday's 2-0 loss to the Flames.

"I thought we worked hard and played well, we just couldn't get one past Kiprusoff," said Senators head coach Cory Clouston. "They did a great job of blocking shots. I'm not going to criticize any of our effort; we had the chances and had the opportunities."

Ottawa is presently two points back of Buffalo for first place in the Northeast Division.

The Senators have lost two straight games at GM Place since a 2-1 triumph there on March 13, 2004. Vancouver had won four straight in this series before a 3-1 defeat in Ottawa on February 4.