The Vancouver Canucks wouldn't go away quietly, leaving their imprint on a much more qualified playoff team.
Many experts predicted a Colorado Avalanche sweep, but no one thought the Avalanche would barely win three one-goal games before the Canucks wilted in the fourth, exhausted by their first postseason experience in five years.
The talented Avs got the job done last night, complete with bumps, bruises and abrasions. Colorado won 5-1, started by Chris Drury's slick power-play goal at 17:30 of the second period on a backhand, his fourth goal of the National Hockey league series.
Colorado put the series away midway through the third period when Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic and Eric Messier scored in a 38-second span.
The Canucks were tantalizingly close every game until the fourth, when they ran out of energy in the third period. Mattias Ohlund scored the final Vancouver goal of the season on a late power play.
Vancouver netminder Bob Essensa didn't play in the fourth game because of a knee sprain, replaced by inexperienced Dan Cloutier. Centre Brendan Morrison left the Western Conference battle in the third with an ankle injury.
"The pounding we're taking, you don't want to prolong it any more games than you have to," Avs defender Rob Blake said before the game.
Vancouver fans gave their team a standing ovation at the end.
Before the game, Vancouver coach Marc Crawford emphasized what the Canucks needed to accomplish to prolong their season against a higher-ranked team.
"These guys are playing a spirited game with a lot of passion," Crawford said of the playoffs. "It comes down to paying attention to detail. It's a work in progress, the learning curve we're on."
Canucks defenceman Ed Jovanovski, a workhorse all season, was convinced the Canucks were capable of taking games from the Avalanche.
"We were in this situation the last couple weeks of the [regular]season and the experience benefited everyone," Jovanovski said. "We're capable of stealing a game, maybe more."
Essensa joined injured teammates Markus Naslund, Andrew Cassels and Scott LaChance on the sidelines, while left winger Peter Schaefer returned to the lineup after missing the third game 3 because of a charley horse.
"We're a little snake-bit by the old injury bug, [but]it's just another curveball thrown our way," Essensa said. "The guys have done a great job of handling adversity."
Cloutier was solid in the goalless first period with 11 saves, including two brilliant grabs on bullets fired by Blake during Colorado power plays.
The Avalanche were even stronger in the second period, and Cloutier made two difficult stops on Forsberg to keep the game goalless -- the first with his catching glove and the second using a poke-check.
"Every inch is a battle to get," Forsberg said. "They have a physical team and hit every time. We've been lucky to win."
Forsberg was instrumental in setting up Drury's goal late in the second period. After Cloutier's slick poke-check, Forsberg collided with the goaltender and Forsberg's skate appeared to strike Cloutier in the helmet.
It was the Canucks who were penalized, however, when defenceman Drake Berehowsky pushed over Forsberg after the whistle, with Forsberg embellishing the fall in front of referee Dean Warren.
Drury scored on the ensuing power play, but only after Forsberg seemed to cross-check Jovanovski in the face after Jovanovski knocked down Joe Sakic.
"It's like a chess game," Avs coach Bob Hartley said. "You're waiting for the other team's mistakes.
"We were expecting a physical match-up and we got that. They're a young, promising club with lots of good skaters."
The Canucks didn't expect any favours from the officials after Crawford criticized the referees in the wake of the third game, drawing a $15,000 (U.S.) fine from the league. Snap shots The winner: Avalanche forward Chris Drury with four goals in the series, all on difficult-to-defend backhands, including the opener in Game 4. The loser: Canucks centre Brendan Morrison, suffering an ankle injury after teammate Bryan Allen ran over Eric Messier, with Messier falling on Morrison's leg. The goods: Colorado had too much skill for the injury-depleted Canucks to handle. Vancouver played hard to the end under difficult circumstances.