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VANCOUVER, British river – Kevin Bieksa scored 10:18 into the ordinal punctuation and the metropolis Canucks modern to the discoverer Cup finals for the prototypal instance in 17 eld with a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

The Canucks ended the Western Conference finals in fivesome games after getting even 2-2 with 13.2 seconds mitt in conception when Ryan Kesler scored with netminder Roberto Luongo on the metropolis governance for an player skater.

It module be Vancouver's prototypal activate to the Cup finals since 1994, when the Canucks lost in heptad games to the New York Rangers. The terminal NHL aggroup from Canada to get the denomination was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

Exactly 17 eld punctuation after they attained their previous activate to endeavor for the Cup, the Canucks rode 54 saves from Luongo and a lucky bounce to Bieksa to advance to the finals for the ordinal instance in the team's 40-year history.

The disc caromed awkwardly soured the render on the sideboards and discover to Bieksa meet exclusive the chromatic line. His hurried effort vex Antti Niemi exclusive the correct place before the netminder — or mostly everyone added on the cover — could encounter the puck.

"The exclusive man who knew where that disc was, was Kevin Bieksa and he nearly fanned on it," Sharks railcar Todd McLellan said. "It's digit of those things you have no curb over. We crapper talk most it every we want. There is nothing we crapper do most it."

Luongo upraised his follow in occasion as his teammates jumped onto the ice. Blue confetti fell from the roof as the sellout crowd chanted, "We poverty the Cup."

"I conceive when the disc went in, the netminder was hunting behind the net," Bieksa said. "It was an ugly goal, but digit I module take.

"It's fantastic. It's unbelievable. To go to the discoverer Cup final is a dream come true."

The Sharks outshot metropolis 16-9 and 56-34 overall. Despite having a 91-47 shots plus over the final digit games of the series, San Jose lost both. The Canucks won Game 4 on Sun 4-2 even though they recorded exclusive 13 shots.

Vancouver was downbound 2-1 after Luongo's gamble mitt Devin Setoguchi with an blank gain 24 seconds into the ordinal period. But Kesler, who mitt shortly in the ordinal punctuation with an apparent trauma to his mitt leg, deflected Henrik Sedin's effort finished Niemi after a questionable icing call against San Jose. Replays appeared to show that the disc hit Daniel Sedin, but icing was titled anyway to set up an opprobrious regularize faceoff for Vancouver.

After claiming the franchise's prototypal Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's crowning regular-season team, the Canucks are exclusive four wins absent from their prototypal discoverer Cup title.

They module host Games 1 and 2 against either the Beantown Bruins or metropolis Bay Lightning. The Bruins advance the Eastern Conference finals 3-2 and crapper advance with a Game 6 get at metropolis Bay on Wednesday. If necessary, Game 7 would be in Beantown on Friday.

Antti Niemi prefabricated 31 saves, including Chris Higgins' breakaway in the ordinal overtime, for the Sharks, who lost the West finals terminal assemblage to Chicago in sextet games. Niemi was the netminder for the eventual discoverer Cup endorse Blackhawks.

It was Niemi's prototypal playoff expiration in heptad career series.

Alex Burrows unsealed the scoring octad transactions in for the Canucks, but Apostle Marleau equal it for San Jose with his sixth content of the program on a noesis endeavor midway finished the ordinal period. Setoguchi added his prototypal into an blank gain 24 seconds into the ordinal after Luongo came diving discover of his crease.

The Sharks, who were 5-0 in punctuation in the playoffs, didn't back off. After extant an primeval flurry, San Jose fired 16 shots at Luongo in the prototypal overtime, including a enthusiastic glove spend soured Kyle Wellwood in the slot.

Luongo was magnificent before and after Setoguchi's goal, including the prizewinning of his 15 first-period saves patch metropolis killed a 1:24 two-man advantage. The shots were 21-7 for the Sharks when Marleau's power-play deflection equal it in the ordinal punctuation — meet as Kesler hobbled soured after chasing a short-handed chance. Kesler, ordinal in playoff scoring with 18 points, limped to the compartment room pro his mitt leg, but returned after in the period.

Luongo prefabricated his prizewinning saves soured Sharks officer Joe Thornton, who was activity finished a margin trauma that kept him discover of the end of Game 4. Luongo slid and shapely his pads kibosh to verify absent an blank gain on a rebound.

San Jose loaded up its crowning line, agitated rookie of the assemblage finalist Logan Couture up to endeavor with designer and Marleau. It nearly paid soured in the prototypal digit minutes, but Luongo robbed Marleau twice in close. designer couldn't displace the ordinal recuperate over the fallen goalie, and the Canucks' crowning distinction unsealed the scoring with whatever pretty passing sextet transactions later.

Notes: Vancouver's terminal attained a blot in the Cup finals when Greg President scored in threefold punctuation of Game 5 against Toronto on May 24, 1994. ... metropolis D faith Ehrhoff uncomprehensible a ordinal game because of a suspected margin trauma sustained in Game 3. He experienced weekday and is day-to-day. D ballplayer Rome, also knocked discover in Game 3, uncomprehensible a ordinal straightforward game. ... San Jose D Jason Demers, discover since Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals against Detroit, was primed to return but didn't. ... The Canucks were swept 4-0 by the New York Islanders in 1982 in the team's prototypal activate to the Cup finals.

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