Vancouver Canucks' Lee Sweatt, left, celebrates after scoring his first NHL goal with teammates Henrik Sedin, right, and Daniel Sedin, back, both of Sweden, during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday January 26, 2011. The Canucks won 2-1. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl DyckDARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Prior to their game against the Nashville Predators, the Vancouver Canucks were in their dressing room chanting "Rudy" in the direction of rookie defenceman Lee Sweatt.
They also pulled a gag on the 5-foot-7 call-up from the American Hockey League, telling him he would lead the team into Rogers Arena for their pre-game warm up. Nobody followed, however, and the 25-year-old hit the ice by himself, turned the wrong way towards the Predators end, and completed a "hot lap" as his teammates chuckled.
But the miniature defenceman making his NHL debut got the last laugh, and authored a Rudy-like finish to the pre-game teasing. Sweatt scored his first NHL goal on his first NHL shot midway through the third period, a tally that stood as the winner in a 2-1 Canucks victory.
"I never would've expected it," Sweatt said. "I was just happy to get on the ice."
Sweatt beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne with a wrist shot over the right shoulder after taking a pretty pass from Daniel Sedin inside the blue line. "It was a great, great, pass," Sweatt said.
The win allowed the Canucks to erase a 1-0 third-period deficit and helped them extend a home-ice streak. Vancouver has earned at least one point in 13 consecutive home games (9-0-4).
Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who stood 5-foot-6 and weighed 165 lbs., was a walk-on football player at the University of Notre Dame in the 1970s. He was rejected by the school three times before being granted admission, and he spent two seasons as a tackling dummy before dressing for one game and recording a quarterback sack on the final play of the game. He was carried off the field by his teammates.
Ruettiger's story was made into a Hollywood film. He is from Joliet, Illinois, about 70 kilometres from Sweatt's hometown of Elburn.
"I had that nickname when I was in junior," Sweatt said. "It's kind of stuck with me a little bit, and these guys like chanting it. I think it might stick."
Other than Sweatt's heroics, there wasn't much worth watching Wednesday.
It was a Predators-style game - tight-checking, low-scoring, and ugly in all regards - as the visitors lured the Canucks into their trap and into a 1-0 deficit just 37 seconds into the final period.
The sides played two scoreless frames that were low on combined shots (38) and almost devoid of flow. Both teams were also putrid with the man-advantage, squandering nine opportunities between them.
The Canucks made the game's first big mistake when Ryan Kesler and Christian Ehrhoff collided in front of Robert Luongo's crease, opening a shooting lane while their goaltender was down-and-out. That allowed for defenceman Shea Weber to score his ninth goal of the season.
He'll be heading to the all-star game this weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina, along with three Canucks players and head coach Alain Vigneault.
Defenceman Alexander Edler missed his first contest of the season with back spasms, and had to be replaced by Sweatt. Edler joined an infirmary that already features defencemen Sami Salo, Andrew Alberts and Aaron Rome.
Pekka Rinne was terrific in the Nashville goal, stopping 33 shots, but Luongo was equally good. He made 26 saves, including a toe stop on Joel Ward in the final minute that preserved the victory. Alex Burrows tied the game 1-1, banging home a rebound from a Dan Hamhuis shot just two minutes before Sweatt scored.
"It was a pretty amusing moment," Vigneault said of Sweatt's goal. "And a pretty nice hockey moment."