NHL PLAYOFF ROUNDUP : Third-Period Push Gets Canucks Past Jets, 4-2

Trevor Linden put in a rebound at 12:16 of the third period to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a hard-fought 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in the opener of their Smythe Division semifinal Monday night at Vancouver.

Linden pounced on the rebound in the slot to break a 2-2 tie after Winnipeg goalie Bob Essensa kicked out a hard shot by Geoff Courtnall from the left circle.

Vancouver goalie Kirk McLean earned an assist on the play after stopping Darrin Shannon from close range on the previous rush.

Cliff Ronning added an insurance goal for the Canucks with 1:29 left.

Greg Adams and Murray Craven scored in the first period for the Canucks, but the Jets got within 2-1 when Thomas Steen scored late in the period. The Jets tied the score at 2-2 early in the third on a wraparound goal by Kris King.

The near-capacity crowd of 15,918 saw the Canucks shackle rookie star Teemu Selanne of the Jets, who tied for the NHL goal-scoring lead with 76 during the regular season.

Selanne got his first shot on goal two minutes into the second period, but he wasn’t a factor against the Vancouver checking line of Anatoli Semenov, Garry Valk and Tim Hunter.

Winnipeg was almost equally effective in stopping 60-goal winger Pavel Bure of the Canucks, although Bure assisted twice.

Detroit 6, Toronto 3--Steve Yzerman scored one goal and assisted on another as the Red Wings defeated the Maple Leafs at Detroit in the opener of their Norris Division series.

“We got our butts kicked. No doubt about it,” Toronto Coach Pat Burns said. “I think we were intimidated by their speed tonight. But I also thought Detroit played very well defensively.

“They took a few pucks away from us at the blue line and turned it up from there.”

The Red Wings, who finished the regular season with a five-game winning streak, had too much firepower for the Maple Leafs, who were making their first playoff appearance since 1990.

“I think we were having a lot of trouble adapting to their speed,” Toronto defenseman Jamie Macoun said. “We were letting them break out much too easily, and we’ve got to work on that for Game 2.”

Felix Potvin, the Maple Leafs’ 21-year-old rookie, made 27 saves in the Toronto goal. Tim Cheveldae had 20 saves for Detroit.

“I wouldn’t say Potvin played poorly,” Cheveldae said. “I know it was his first playoff game and all. But you have to remember we have a lot of good skaters.”