e they'll realize one loss does not automatically kill their Stanley Cup hopes.Vigneault wants his team's leaders to stress that point, too, while realizing the importance of the games."They're all must wins in the playoffs,Martin Brodeur Black Ice Authentic Jersey," Vigneault said. "Playoffs is a different animal. The leadership group has to come in and make sure everybody is on an even keel, whether we win or lose and realize this is not a sprint. It's a long series. We know it wasn't going to be easy."But San Jose coach Todd McLellan, whose club lost the 2010-11 Western Conference final to Vancouver, believes that another win will put his club in good shape before the series shifts to San Jose for Games 3 and 4."Coming home with one (win) in the bank is good, but coming home with two in the bank is excellent — and that'll be the goal," said McLellan.Notes: The Canucks signed D Henrik Tommernes to an entry-level contract. ... McLellan declined to discuss F Martin Havlat's status for Game 2, other than to say he received treatment Thursday. Havlat left Game 1 after the first period. ... Vigneault defended the effort of F Ryan Kesler,Sidney Crosby Black Authentic Jersey, who did little offensively in the first game after missing the morning skate. Kesler, Derek Roy and Chris Higgins were reunited in practice after being separated in Game 1. They excelled together late in the regular season. ... Vigneault declined to say whether Schneider has suffered a setback in his recovery. ... Thornton said he and F Logan Couture cheated on face-offs in the first game,Marian Gaborik Authentic Blue Jersey, but Henrik Sedin and Kesler did likewise.
VANCOUVER - After sometimes getting lost on the road during the regular season the San Jose Sharks found a winning path in their first playoff game.The Sharks gained some momentum with a strong first-period power play, then scored three unanswered goals for a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Wednesday night. The victory gives the Sharks a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series."The road hasn't been too friendly to us all year," said Dan Boyle,Alex Ovechkin Red Jersey, who had a goal and an assist for the Sharks. "We played a very good road game."We weren't too cute, we weren't too fancy. We did what we had to do."The Sharks were killers at home this season, losing just twice in regulation time. On the road the Sharks were minnows, managing just eight wins. In a first-round series that everyone expects to be close, winning the opening game on the road is a bonus."To come in here and win Game 1 is huge," said captain Joe Thornton. "Hopefully we can grab some confidence on the road here on out."Boyle broke a 1-1 tie early in the third period during a wild scramble in front of the Canuck net. Four Canucks converged on centre Tommy Wingels but the puck squirted out to a wide-open Boyle who put a shot past goaltender Roberto Luongo."The puck found me there," said Boyle, who also assisted on Logan Couture's power-play goal."It could have gone any direction, off their forward's skate. It found its way through. I had pretty much an open net. The hockey gods were with me on that one