STAYING ALIVE
Canucks head back to Calgary for Game 6.
The Vancouver Canucks did something they haven’t in three years: they won an elimination game Thursday against the Calgary Flames. Now, they need to win another.
Actually, they need to win two more elimination games, but that sounds a little daunting, so we’re going to stick with one. That’s the way the Canucks are approaching Game 6 Saturday night in Calgary after beating the Flames 2-1 at Rogers Arena.
“We strongly believe we can win the series, not just make it a long series,” Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis said after setting up Daniel Sedin’s goalmouth game-winner at 1:47 of the third period. “We won’t be satisfied just forcing Game 6 or Game 7 if we lose. The whole idea is to win the series and anything short of that, we won’t be satisfied.”
He’s right. There are no moral victories in the National Hockey League playoffs. There isn’t time for them. You win or you don’t.
Still, given the quickness with which the Canucks were tossed out of the Stanley Cup tournament in 2012 and 2013 — the last two years they made it — it was impressive to see their resolve and backbone Thursday when they dominated a Flames team that may finally feel a little pressure on Saturday. Even after falling behind early, quieting an already uneasy crowd, the Canucks played with confidence and assertiveness. They outshot the Flames 43-21 and were undeterred when it looked for most of the game that Calgary goalie Jonas Hiller might singlehandedly send them into another early summer.
Nick Bonino, who scored Vancouver’s tying goal, said team captain Henrik Sedin gave a rousing pre-game speech, telling teammates how the Canucks have been down before 3-1 in a series and rallied to win.
Sedin must have also discussed the offensive-zone faceoff play with his brother that allowed Daniel to make it 2-1 when Hamhuis swooped in to collect the puck from Henrik’s draw and sent a pass to the top of the crease.
“We try different things, but nothing has worked so far,” Danny said. “Tonight it did at the right time.
“We want to win this series — it’s not about playing well in (an elimination) game. We felt we could get back in the series and we’re going to go to Calgary to play Game 6.”
“Just go and play a good road game,” defenceman Kevin Bieksa said. “We didn’t get too far ahead of ourselves. We didn’t go out trying to win three games in one. We wanted to have a good start. We won the second period and we won the third.”
And they held off a Flames team that made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2009 on grit and resilience, including an ability to surge from behind in the third period. That’s how they won Game 1 last week. But on Thursday, the Canucks held the Flames to just five third-period shots and one sparkling scoring chance for Joe Colborne, who was stopped in the low slot by Vancouver goalie Ryan Miller.
“I don’t think we ever underestimated these guys,” Bieksa said. “We knew they were one of the best third-period teams in the league. It just so happened they came back on us in the first game. Tonight we were able to hold them.”
Struggling to make a mark in the series, Nick Bonino slammed a huge dent in Calgary at 13:31 of the second period when he tied it 1-1 with a bullet shot into the top corner from a sharp angle. The play began with Bonino taking a hit to get to the puck first on a shoot-in, then receiving a pass back from Radim Vrbata, who had also been largely invisible through four games.
The goal came amid a sustained surge of Vancouver pressure. The push essentially lasted the opening 40 minutes, as the Canucks outshot the Flames 34-16. And yet Calgary led for 30 minutes after opening scoring at 2:40 of the first period.
With the Canucks slow to regroup after a dump-in by the Flames, defenceman Alex Edler had his chip along the boards hit Matt Stajan and ricochet into the Vancouver slot to teammate David Jones. The Flame beat Miller stick-side.
The Flames’ entire season has been a counter-attack, their team able to collapse around its net and absorb pressure, then use its speed and stretch passes to counter. But the Canucks, too, have done their best work when it was least suspected, when the schedule or opponent was the most difficult.
No one Thursday morning was calling them to win this series.
“We’ve battled all year,” defenceman Chris Tanev said. “A lot of people counted us out at the start of the year. And at the end of the year, people weren’t sure we could pull it off and make the playoffs. I think everyone likes to play under pressure.”
They’ve got their wish.