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If you closed your eyes late at night and wished for the perfect game Saturday, you were left wanting.

It was impossible for this Canucks-Leafs rematch to live up to the hype, and inconceivable the Canucks and their fans would taste the retribution they so richly deserved.

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What the game lacked in blood, and revenge, it made up for in drama.

That was ensured when, with about a minute left, Troy Stecher desperately scooped a puck off the goal line in a play that saved the winning goal and helped send the game into overtime.

Stecher nearly won it there, too, but his shot was barely saved. In the third period and overtime, the Canucks were outshot 18-5. It made their 3-2 win in the shootout both improbable and sweet.

The Canucks were rightfully outraged when last these teams met, when the NHL chose not to suspend Nazem Kadri and, many believe, made the decision within minutes of the game ending.

So it was up to Vancouver to avenge a hit on Daniel Sedin, another on Jannik Hansen and whatever you want to call it when Matt Martin mauled Troy Stecher.