Canucks in ROUND ONE
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Vancouver takes Game 1 in Overtime Thriller
In a fairly even first period it was Calgary who drew first blood on the powerplay after Brandon Tanev was called for boarding. Baertschi extended their lead to two before the period was out. Vancouver came out guns blazing in the second, taking 18 shots in that frame and getting goals from Henrik and from Sharp. A powerplay marker from Tyler Bertuzzi in the third would put them ahead but Johnny Gaudreau scored with a minute forty to play to send us into overtime. Six minutes into the extra period it was veteran Patrick Sharp who notched his second of the game and played hero in game one for the underdog Canucks.
1st Period
CGY (PP) Dylan Strome (Wideman, Gaudreau)
CGY Sven Baertschi (Giordano)
2nd Period
VAN Henrik Sedin (Pouliot, Horvat)
VAN (PP) Patrick Sharp (Hischier, Bertuzzi)
3rd Period
VAN (PP) Tyler Bertuzzi (Pouliot 2, H. Sedin)
CGY Johnny Gaudreau (Tryamkin, Kulak)
Overtime 1
VAN Patrick Sharp 2 (McAvoy, Pouliot 3)
Goalies
Markstrom (VAN) 25-28,
Dubnyk (CGY) 34-38
Calgary with statement win to even the series after two games
The Flames were embarrassed at home in game one and they came out with a vengeance, scoring three in the first period and dominating throughout the game, outshooting their opponents 38-24. The game was never in doubt and the Flames showed their excellence and demonstrated why they are the clear favourites in this series. Sean Monahan had a hat trick, eventually chasing Markstrom in the third. How will this young Canucks squad respond at home to this trouncing?
1st Period
CGY Sean Monahan (Wideman, Poirier)
CGY (PP) Jiri Hudler (Strome, Connor)
CGY Kyle Connor (Colborne, Gilmour)
2nd Period
CGY Sean Monahan 2 (Gaudreau, Wideman 2)
3rd Period
CGY Sean Monahan 3 (Giordano, Gaudreau 2)
CGY Mark Giordano (Bouma, Hudler)
VAN Horvat (Bertuzzi, McAvoy)
Goalies
Dubnyk (CGY) 23-24,
Markstrom (VAN) 27-32, DeSmith (VAN) 5-6
Vancouver not going away with hard fought home win in Game 3
Coach Dan Bylsma made some lineup changes, inserting veterans Dan Hamhuis and Teemu Hartikainen in the lineup for Rasmus Andersson and Nikita Filatov, respectively, and taking out Stefan Noesen in favour of Josh Anderson. In a defensive first period it was Vancouver who broke through with a goal from rookie Nico Hischier. In the second the Flames ramped up their attack but Markstrom held firm until a heartbreaking goal was allowed to Paul Byron with only sixteen seconds to play in the period. In the third Calgary continued to push and keep Vancouver on their heels but Patrick Sharp took advantage of a rare opportunity to fire a wrister past Dubnyk midway through the period for a goal that would stand as the winner.
1st Period
VAN Nico Hischier (Pouliot, Sharp)
2nd Period
CGY Paul Byron (Matthias, Baertschi)
3rd Period
VAN Patrick Sharp (Pouliot 2, Hischier)
Goalies
Markstrom (VAN) 28-29,
Dubnyk (CGY) 18-20
Calgary again pulls even in series with key road win in Game Four
Kyle Connor opened the scoring in the first with his second of the series but Teemu Hartikainen answered for Vancouver before the period was out. In the second Cole Cassels took a hooking minor and the Flames took the lead on a powerplay goal by Jiri Hudler. Colborne would extend their lead to 3-1 less than a minute later and the Flames would withstand Vancouver's third period efforts at a comeback. Both teams now head to Calgary for a critical Game Five.
1st Period
CGY Kyle Connor (Strome, Poirier)
VAN Teemu Hartikainen (B. Tanev)
2nd Period
CGY (PP) Jiri Hudler (Gaudreau)
CGY Joe Colborne (Tryamkin, Monahan)
3rd Period
No Scoring.
Goalies
Dubnyk (CGY) 23-24,
Markstrom (VAN) 24-27
Calgary with clutch win at home to take series lead
The Canucks played one of their best periods of the series, and maybe the season. They dominated the Flames in every facet of the game, outshooting them 19-3 in that first twenty minutes. To Devan Dubnyk's credit, he allowed only one goal on those nineteen shots, putting on an absolute clinic in net to keep his team alive. In the first intermission he gave a fiery speech to his teammates and they came out much more motivated in the second, scoring two goals in a much more even period. Both goalies were solid in the third and Vancouver couldn't break through to tie it, so we go back to the West Coast for a Game Six that the Canucks need to stay alive.
1st Period
VAN Bo Horvat (Vlasic)
2nd Period
CGY Dennis Wideman (Monahan, Gaudreau)
CGY John Gilmour (Gaudreau 2, McQuaid)
3rd Period
No Scoring.
Goalies
Dubnyk (CGY) 33-34,
Markstrom (VAN) 19-21
Hopes dashed at home in Game Six as Canucks fall in overtime
Dan Bylsma made some lineup adjustments, inserting Filatov, Noesen and Andersson for Hartikainen, Anderson and Hamhuis. It was a tight game through twenty minutes with no score but in the second the dams burst with Giordano opening the scoring and Noesen tying it up minutes later. Mikhail Sergachev's first of the series would give the Canucks a short-lived lead but Monahan would answer for the Flames a minute later. The teams would go into the second intermission tied at 2. Just 50 seconds into the third period Kyle Connor gave Calgary the lead but Canuck captain Henrik Sedin scored the game tying goal midway through the frame that ultimately sent us to overtime. With fans on the edge of their seats hoping for a miracle and a game seven overtime began, but their hopes were shattered just two minutes in when a point shot from Brett Kulak beat a screened Markstrom and sent Calgary through to round two.
"It's a disappointing result," said assistant captain Bo Horvat post-game, "we feel that we really gave it our all in this series and this game and last we felt we played some of our best hockey of the season and sometimes the bounces just don't go your way. We'll prepare in the offseason to be even better next year because I don't like being done this early in the season." Coach Dan Bylsma said to media that he was "proud of our boys, this team was an underdog coming in and we gave one of the best teams in the league a real scare. I think with a couple of bounces going differently we could have found ourselves in the second round. You never like to lose in the playoffs, it's a sick feeling, but we have something to build on and I believe we've earned some respect, from ourselves and others, with how we played in this series.
1st Period
No Scoring.
2nd Period
CGY Mark Giordano (Bouma, Hudler)
VAN Stefan Noesen (Svechnikov, McAvoy)
VAN Mikhail Sergachev (C. Tanev, Beruzzi)
CGY Sean Monahan (Poirier, Gaudreau)
3rd Period
CGY Kyle Connor (Monahan, Gaudreau 2)
VAN Henrik Sedin (Horvat, Bertuzzi)
Overtime
CGY Brett Kulak (Wideman, Baertschi)
Goalies
Dubnyk (CGY) 22-25,
Markstrom (VAN) 21-25