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Vancouver Canucks @ Calgary Flames - 8PM MT
CBC, NBCSN (TV), OMNI (Punjabi TV), Sportsnet 960 The FAN (Radio)
I never saw that coming. It looked like the Flames were about to fall in game two with little more than a whimper (recap/stats), until the Rogers Arena turned into the Flavian Amphitheatre. All of a sudden, game three has a narrative and the Flames have a point to prove.
With the series tied at one, the Flames' destiny is still very much in their own hands. The victory in game one means that if the Flames win their remaining home games, they are through to the next round. That'd be pretty cool.
On the off chance he's reading this, hi Bob Hartley. In need of a team talk before the game? Try this:
"It looked like they were trying to get that going for a few shifts before," Vancouver defenceman Kevin Bieksa said of the rough stuff at the end. "That ‘Ferklund’ or whatever his name is was running around trying to get something going. It’s not the first time we have seen that in playoffs. We have played against Ben Eager and some other dumb-dumbs like that before. So we know how to handle that."
- Vancouver Sun (link)
Dumb-dumbs? Ferklund? How very dare you!
I've seen people on Twitter call for blood in game three. I'm not sure about that. It hasn't made me want to see the Canucks get hurt. It's made me want to see the Canucks get beaten, and beaten badly. I want two tip-top professional performances in these two games, to swing the series firmly in the Flames' favour.
Ignoring all the physicality and silliness, it is about time the top line made an impression on the series. Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau had their first career playoff points on Kris Russell's consolation, but other than that the Jiri Hudler line has been pretty anonymous in the first two games. Maybe a return to home ice will reignite the magic.
Worrying signs mid-way through period two of game two when Sam Bennett left the bench with a potential recurrence of his shoulder injury. He returned in the third but his ice time was minimal - probably a good thing with how it played out. Bennett himself says he's 100%, so here's hoping it was more precautionary than necessary, and that he'll take the ice in game three.
For all he has been berated all season, Deryk Engelland has truly stepped up to the plate this series. No, he's not great, but he was good in game one and stood up for his team in the melee of game two. It's nice to see a veteran stand up and be counted, and at this point he'd have been a miss if the instigator penalty had not been removed
As for that Ferklund kid... yet again Michael Ferland had another starmaking showing. He needs to get a bit more streetwise, and maybe choose his hits more carefully, but the exuberance of youth has seen him blossom at the start of this series. Personally, I wouldn't try to curb him yet. He's been the impetus of most things good so far, and any attempt to change his style of play right now might negate his use.
Playoff Leaders
Calgary Flames | Vancouver Canucks | ||||
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Record: 1-1 | Record: 1-1 | ||||
Goal Differential: -2 | Goal Differential: +2 | ||||
Time on ice | |||||
Defence Kris Russell (28:24/game) Forward Sean Monahan (19:22/game) |
Defence Alexander Edler (23:48/game) Forward Radim Vrbata (17:40/game) |
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Points | |||||
Goals Kris Russell (2) Assists Michael Ferland (1) Sam Bennett (1) Dennis Wideman (1) Sean Monahan (1) Johnny Gaudreau (1) Points Kris Russell (2) Five skaters on (1) |
Goals Bo Horvat (1) Daniel Sedin (1) Chris Higgins (1) Ronalds Kenins (1) Radim Vrbata (1) Assists Alexandre Burrows (2) Christopher Tanev (2) Points Bo Horvat (2) Alexandre Burrows (2) Christopher Tanev (2) |
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Shots | |||||
Shots on goal David Jones (6) Dennis Wideman (6) Mikael Backlund (6) Shooting percentage Kris Russell (66.7%) |
Shots on goal Daniel Sedin (12) Shooting percentage Bo Horvat (33.3%) |
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Faceoff Leaders | |||||
Matt Stajan (66.67%) |
Henrik Sedin (73.53%) |
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#GRITCHART | |||||
Penalty minutes Deryk Engelland (42) Hits Michael Ferland (10) Blocked shots Kris Russell (7) Deryk Engelland (7) |
Penalty minutes Derek Dorsett (20) Hits Derek Dorsett (12) Blocked shots Alexander Edler (5) |
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5v5 Corsi/Fenwick (minimum 10mins per game played) | |||||
Corsi for% David Jones (63.27%, 2GP) David Schlemko (57.89%, 2GP) Fenwick for% David Jones (72.97%, 2GP) Matt Stajan (71.43%, 2GP) |
Corsi for% Henrik Sedin (73.91%, 2GP) Daniel Sedin (68.09%, 2GP) Fenwick for% Henrik Sedin (76.32%, 2GP) Daniel Sedin (73.68%, 2GP) |
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Save percentage | |||||
All situations Jonas Hiller (.932%) Even strength Jonas Hiller (.938%) |
All situations
Eddie Lack (.943%)
Even strength
Eddie Lack (.957%)
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Potential Starting Lineups (subject to change)
Vancouver Canucks | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing | |||
Daniel Sedin | Henrik Sedin | Alexandre Burrows | |||
Chris Higgins | Nick Bonino | Radim Vrbata | |||
Shawn Matthias | Brad Richardson | Derek Dorsett | |||
Ronalds Kenins | Bo Horvat | Jannik Hansen | |||
Left Defence | Right Defence | ||||
Alexander Edler | Chris Tanev | ||||
Dan Hamhuis | Yannick Weber | ||||
Kevin Bieksa | Luca Sbisa | ||||
Goalies | |||||
Eddie Lack | |||||
Ryan Miller |
Calgary Flames | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing | |||
Johnny Gaudreau | Sean Monahan | Jiri Hudler | |||
Sam Bennett | Mikael Backlund | Joe Colborne | |||
Michael Ferland | Matt Stajan | David Jones | |||
Brandon Bollig | Markus Granlund | Josh Jooris | |||
Left Defence | Right Defence | ||||
TJ Brodie | Deryk Engelland | ||||
Kris Russell | Dennis Wideman | ||||
David Schlemko | Corey Potter | ||||
Goalies | |||||
Jonas Hiller | |||||
Karri Ramo |
Just remember, whatever happens, Deryk Engelland has some sage advice for you: