Flames come from behind to beat the Canucks in series opener
Posted April 15, 2015 10:21 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Kris Russell broke a tie with 29.6 seconds to play in regulation, as the Calgary Flames used a third period rally to beat the Canucks 2-1 in Game 1 of their first round playoff series.
The Canucks brought a lead into the third period, as the only goal through 40 minutes came from rookie Bo Horvat. Horvat had his initial shot blocked, but his backhander on the rebound banked off a Calgary defenseman and past Jonas Hiller to open the scoring at 12:08 of the second period.
Vancouver was unable to hold onto the lead, as the Flames tied the game 7:59 into the third period. A turnover at the blueline led to David Jones beating Eddie Lack with a high shot to make it 1-1.
The game-winning goal came at the end of a dominant shift by Calgary. The Flames hemmed Vancouver in its own end for about a minute before Russell’s shot from the point found a way past Lack. Sam Bennett earned an assist on the goal in his post-season debut, and just his second career NHL game.
Vancouver head coach Willie Desjardins believes his team strayed from the game-plan after Jones scored the equalizing goal.
“Sometimes when they score, you want to get it back and you maybe over-extend yourself a little bit. We tried to open it up and made a couple of choices that weren’t great choices.”
Lack made 28 saves in his first career playoff start, while Hiller one-upped him with 29 saves to earn the win.
The Canucks may point to their powerplay when they look for improvements heading into Game 2. Vancouver was 0-for-3 with the man-advantage. Calgary was unsuccessful on its only powerplay chance.
The teams will continue the series with Game 2 on Friday at Rogers Arena.
