Canucks Chase Kings Goalies Twice in Game 5 Blowout

It took them five games, but on Friday night the Vancouver Canucks finally put on a high-level, 60-minute performance to make their true believers feel a little bit better. In their dominant 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings, the Canucks looked like legitimate contenders for a place in the Western Conference final.

Of course, the Canucks need to take one step at a time. After falling behind two games to one, Vancouver now leads the first round series, 3-2, with Game 6 on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Mikael Samuelsson scored two goals for the Canucks, and now has seven in the series. Samuelsson is riding a hot hand, and playing on a line with Daniel and Henrik Sedin, he couldn't be in a better spot to cash in.

Canucks Lead Series, 3-2
Canucks 7, Kings 2: Recap | Box Score | Series Page

"He has a great shot," said Daniel Sedin. "Henrik and I try to get him the puck whenever possible."

The chemistry was evident on a Vancouver goal to make it 4-1 at 13:31 of the second period. Henrik Sedin carried the puck from the Canucks' blueline to LA's, dropped it back to Daniel, who slid it over to Samuelsson, who touch-passed it to Henrik, who gave it back to Samuelsson for the goal.

Kings rookie goalie Jonathan Quick was pulled after the goal, but backup Erik Ersberg did not fare any better. He allowed two goals on four shots before Kings coach Terry Murray benched Ersberg and put Quick back in the game mid-third period.

Alain Vigneault's team was in control from start to finish, getting first period goals from Steve Bernier and Alexander Edler. Bernier's goal opened the scoring at 8:58 of the first period. This was the first time in the series when the team that scored first won the game. Bernier also scored in the third period.

Pavol Demitra had a goal and two assists in Game 5 after getting only two points in the first four games of the series combined..

The only early blemish was another Kings' power play goal, this time by Michal Handzus with a little over five minutes left in the first. With Handzus' goal, Los Angeles improved at that point to an astounding 10-17 on the power play in this series.

"As long as we stay out of the box, we'll be fine," said Daniel Sedin, who had a goal and an assist.

In another sign that the Canucks have found their game, they killed off the Kings' last three power plays of the game.