It was a good night if you are a Vancouver Canucks fan. For two players associated with the franchise's recent past and current state, it was just as good. The day began with Matt Cooke scoring twice for Pittsburgh in Philadelphia and that was followed by Alex Burrows doing the same for the Canucks against the Maple Leafs.
1) Matt Cooke, Pittsburgh Penguins - Cooke can be an agitating type at times but the sight of him scoring two goals must have been annoying for Philadelphia fans. That's exactly what Cooke did during a 6-4 win. Cooke scored an unassisted goal early in the first period and then scored on a shorthanded breakaway while the Penguins were two men down late in the second. Cooke also assisted on Dustin Jeffrey's game-winner 37 seconds into the third, giving the agitator his first three-point showing since March 3, 2008 at Boston for the Canucks. James Neal scored his 30th, Jordan Staal added a shorthanded goal and Pascal Dupuis also scored for Pittsburgh, which has 71 points.
2) Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks - The Sedins were all over the ice making passes that Maple Leaf defenders and goaltenders could not stop. That would account for them combining for eight points (seven assists) in Vancouver's 6-2 rout of Toronto. Henrik had his seventh game with at least four points while Daniel had his fourth game with at least four points. It also was the third time that the twins collected at least four points in the same game. Alex Burrows took advantage of those nice Sedin passes for two goals, giving him eight career goals against the Leafs. Sami Salo added a power-play tally while Manny Malhotra and Kevin Bieksa also scored in Vancouver's 10th consecutive victory over Toronto.
3) Radim Vrbata, Phoenix Coyotes - That's 10-game winners and counting for Radim Vrbata. Vrbata scored the game-winner 1:15 into overtime in Phoenix's 2-1 victory over the Stars. Vrbata also has a career-high 28 goals, surpassing his previous high of 27 from 2007-08 during his first stint with the Coyotes. Mikkel Boedker also scored while Mike Smith stopped 30 shots as the Coyotes gained a point in their eighth straight game and stayed two points ahead of eighth-place Calgary.
Bobby Orr Impression of the Day
Jonathan Toews went soaring through the ice and scored the first of six Chicago goals in a 6-1 rout of the Blue Jackets.
Breakway of the Night
Steven Stamkos is really good but on this play he was really, really, really good. Not only did he score his 40th with a nifty breakaway, he set himself up with by forcing Matt Hendricks into a turnover. Then he finished it and became the first member of the Lightning to score 40 goals in three straight seasons.
Pass of the night
Remember those passes coming from the sticks of Daniel and Henrik Sedin we mentioned. Here's one of them that led to an Alex Burrows goal:
Number of the Night
44 - That is the amount of goals scored by the Canucks against Toronto since their last loss to the Maple Leafs on Nov. 24, 2003 in Toronto. Alex Burrows has eight of those goals.
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