(SportsNetwork.com) – The Vancouver Canucks will try to get even with the
Calgary Flames on Tuesday when the clubs meet for Game 4 of a Western
Conference quarterfinal series at the Saddledome.
The Flames lead the best-of-seven set 2-1, taking Games 1 and 3 over the
Canucks. Calgary picked up a 4-2 win Sunday at the Saddledome in the
franchise’s first home playoff game since 2009.
Sam Bennett, an 18-year-old rookie, and T.J. Brodie each tallied their first
career postseason goals to help the Flames grab a two games to one lead in the
series on Sunday.
Bennett’s marker early in the third, the first goal of any kind in his NHL
career, added some insurance at the time and proved to be the game-winner for
the Flames. Bennett was the fourth overall pick at the 2014 draft and made his
NHL debut on April 11 in Calgary’s final game of the regular season.
Calgary was hosting its first playoff game since April 27, 2009 when it
dropped the final test of a six-game series loss to Chicago. The Flames were
23-13-5 at the Saddledome during the 2014-15 regular season.
Jonas Hiller stopped 23 shots for the Flames on Sunday, while Brandon Bollig
and Sean Monahan added goals.
Shawn Matthias and Jannik Hansen lit the lamp for Vancouver. Eddie Lack
made 23 saves in the loss.
The last two meetings of this series have been punctuated by physical play
with Calgary and Vancouver combining for more than 200 penalty minutes over
Games 2 and 3. The third game was a little more subdued compared to Game 2,
but there still proved to be bad blood between these Canadian rivals.
Vancouver won Friday’s home test at Rogers Arena by a 4-1 count, but it was
the 166 penalty minutes combined between the two teams that captured
headlines. Calgary coach Bob Hartley was also fined $50,000 for his
responsibility in the brawl that occurred with just over a minute left.
On Sunday, Alexandre Burrows and Kris Russell were sent off late in the third
after a fight that started when Burrows checked Johnny Gaudreau from behind.
Burrows was also given a boarding penalty as well as an instigating minor for
the play. Vancouver’s Kevin Bieksa and Calgary’s Michael Ferland then dropped
the gloves with over a minute left as the Flames faithful were treated to more
fisticuffs late in the contest.
“We had great momentum in the first period and we just kept battling back,”
Hartley said. “It was a physical game, we kept our composure and scored some
timely goals.”
On Monday, the NHL rescinded a one-game suspension issued to Burrows. Though
Rule 46.22 subsequently calls for Burrows to be automatically suspended for
one game as a result of instigating a fight in the final five minutes of
regulation or in overtime, the league decided to erase the suspension based on
the fact that the bout with Russell was “not related to the score, previous
incidents in the game or prior games, retaliatory in nature or ‘message
sending.'”
As a result, Burrows will be eligible to play in tonight’s contest.
Lack has started all three games of this series over veteran goaltender Ryan
Miller and is expected to get the call again tonight. Miller missed over a
month with a knee injury suffered in late February before returning to play in
Vancouver’s regular-season finale on April 11.
The 27-year-old Lack made his NHL playoff debut in Game 1 and has played well
for Vancouver, posting a 2.36 goals against average and .914 save percentage
in the series.
“We had the chance to get the puck out on a few of their goals and we didn’t,”
Lack said. “We need to battle harder on the boards.”
The Canucks and Flames split four meetings during the regular season and each
club won a game at the Saddledome.
This series marks the seventh postseason encounter between the clubs, but the
first since the 2004 conference quarterfinals, won in seven games by Calgary.
The Flames have won four of the six prior playoff encounters.
Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday in Vancouver.
