Vancouver Trumps Calgary 4-1 In Game 2 Victory

While the Calgary Flames got the “W” in game one with the last minute slap by defenseman Kris Russell, game two was a different story. The Vancouver Canucks crushed the Flames on Friday night’s game two matchup.

Russell was the lone goal for Calgary late in the third period while on the power play, preventing Eddie Lack from earning a shutout. So far, he has two goals in two games in the playoffs. In three playoff appearances with three different teams, he now has three goals. He had only four goals in the entirety of the regular season. Pretty good run for him so far. His play was a huge factor in Calgary’s success later in the regular season when captain Mark Giordano was sidelined with an injury.

Four goals were recorded by Vancouver, and Calgary was not able to come back from the deficit. An even strength goal from Daniel Sedin in the early first period set the tone for the game. A power play goal not long after by Chris Higgins set Calagary back even further. In the third period when Ronalds Kenins put Vancouver up by three, things definitely started to get interesting. An empty-net goal by Radim Vrbata to finish things off prompted a lot more to happen than just more goals being scored.

Penalty minutes–156 penalty minutes in the third period alone, and 166 total penalty minutes were recorded as of 10:16 p.m. MT on Friday.  Those statistics prove how the emotions in the playoffs can change a game. The passion of both teams was prevalent, that much is for sure. Lack even got into things after a scuffle took place in front of his crease. Things got heated, and the game was surely a sign of the intensity of the playoffs. If this is only game two, there is no telling what will take place when the series moves over to Calgary on Sunday for game three.

“It was a heat-of-the-moment thing. A good rivalry is growing.” – Engelland on the scrum at the end of the game pic.twitter.com/lXH4ac8RO9

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) April 18, 2015

Jonas Hiller, Calgary’s goaltender, had a phenomenal game on Wednesday night. He saved 26 shots out of the 29 he faced. Friday his play was sub-par, and it definitely contributed to the team’s loss. Goaltenders are usually the first to get blamed, when in reality, if the defense doesn’t do much, the goaltender is left to fare on his own. Game two was not an accurate read on Hiller’s capability as a goaltender, and going into Sunday, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be the choice for starter.