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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- It was a night of streak-breaking for the
Vancouver Canucks.
|  | | All heck breaks loose in front of the Vancouver net as the Blues' Mike Eastwood staggers backward past Canucks goalie Bob Essensa. |
Todd Bertuzzi had two goals and two assists to lead the Canucks to a 4-3 victory Tuesday night over St. Louis, snapping Brent
Johnson's seven-game winning streak and beating the Blues for the
first time in nearly four years.
"We knew (Johnson) had not lost and we played an excellent 60
minutes of hockey," Bertuzzi said. "This is huge for us because
we'll run into them in the playoffs. I guarantee it."
St. Louis lost to Vancouver for the first time in 14 games,
dating to Dec. 15, 1996, and the Blues were beaten at home for the
first time this season (8-1-1).
Johnson (7-1) put the blame on himself for the loss.
"I was not on the top of my game," Johnson said. "I wasn't
challenging the shooter and I've got to be better than that."
The Canucks were glad to catch the Central Division leaders on
an off night.
"It's nice for us to finally beat those guys," coach Marc
Crawford said. "We were pretty confident going into the third
period."
Bertuzzi scored his second of the game and seventh of the season
at 5:53 of the third period. He was left alone in front of the
Blues goal and beat Johnson over his right shoulder to make it 3-2.
The Vancouver forward had his ninth multiple-goal game and first
since March 24 against Anaheim. Jason Strudwick scored his first goal of the season for the Canucks.
Bertuzzi gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead at 14:04 of the second with a
power-play goal. He put a rebound of Markus Nasland's shot past
Johnson.
"I don't think there's anything positive about tonight," Blues coach Joel Quenneville said. "They played a great game, but we were looking for an easy game."
Pavol Demitra scored his second of the game and 10th of the
season, at 18:53 of the third, to get St. Louis within 4-3.
The Blues took the lead at 8:11 of the first period when Lubos
Bartecko beat Vancouver goalie Bob Essensa.
Vancouver tied it 1-1 when Ed Jovanovski scored on the power
play at 6:01 of the second. Jovanovski was on his stomach in the
goal crease and brushed the puck past Johnson on his second swipe.
Jovanovski's goal was the first on the power play for the
Canucks against St. Louis in their last 23 chances. Vancouver
scored a man-advantage goal for the fourth straight game. The Blues
killed 43 of 47 power-play chances before Jovanovski's goal.
Essensa made 30 saves and Johnson stopped 20 shots.
"We knew they had a young goalie who was playing well, but he
was not going to win every game," Essensa said.
Game notes
assist extends his point streak to four games.
... Blues forward Pierre Turgeon has 50 points in 35 games against
Vancouver. ... The Canucks have killed 23 of their last 24
power-play chances. ... St. Louis forward Mike Eastwood played in
his 500th career NHL game. ... Bertuzzi's last three-point game was
April 10, 1996, against Pittsburgh.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 3
NY Rangers 1
Ottawa 2
Boston 1
Florida 4
Montreal 1
Vancouver 4
St. Louis 3
Chicago 4
Phoenix 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi misses his first career hat trick by inches.
avi: 723 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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