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 Vancouver used goals from left wingers Daniel Sedin and Chris
Higgins, on the power play, to build a 2-0 lead with just over seven
minutes gone in the first period. Goaltender Eddie Lack then made
some big saves to preserve the lead.
The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1.
"We had a great start," said Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis. "It's
nice to be rewarded with some goals early on."
Frustration and tempers boiled over in the third period when a brawl
broke out with 1:17 remaining. That resulted in three players from
each team being ejected and 132 minutes in penalties handed out.
The animosity between the teams could carry over when the series
moves to Calgary for games Sunday and Tuesday.
"We knew they were going to try something," said Canucks center
Henrik Sedin, who assisted on his brother's goal. "They tried it
before and I'm sure it's going to happen again.
"That's part of it. We move on to the next game."
No one on the Flames was making any apologies for what happened.
"It's the playoffs," said defenseman Kris Russell, who scored
Calgary's goal. "It's two teams that don't really like each other.
"Stuff like that is going to happen. I thought our guys did a good
job of sticking up for each other. We are going to Game 3. We have
to win it."
Left winger Ronalds Kenins and right winger Radim Vrbata, into an
empty net, scored the other Canucks goals. Right winger Alex Burrows
collected two assists as Vancouver snapped a seven-game, home-ice
losing streak in the playoffs.
Lack stopped 22 shots for his first playoff victory. One of his best
saves came in the third period, when he shot out his leg to stop
left winger Johnny Gaudreau, prompting chants of "Eddie, Eddie" from
the crowd.
Lack also showed his feisty side. During a second-period skirmish in
front of his net, he used his blocker to whack a couple of Flames.
"The boys battled hard from start to finish," said Lack. "I got run
over a couple of times. I gave a couple of hits too."
Hamhuis credited Lack with staying calm even when Calgary players
crashed into him.
"Eddie has been great for us," said Hamhuis. "They were getting a
little bit frustrated.
"Eddie is solid. He's mentally strong."
Canucks coach Willie Desjardins shrugged off the late melee.
"There's always lots of emotion in the game, guys play hard and
sometimes things erupt," he said.
"You always want your team to compete and they certainly weren't
happy with the outcome. It probably escalated a little bit farther
than they wanted maybe. I don't know."
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Flames coach Bob Hartley denied his team was trying to send a
message.
"It was about two teams competing," he said. "They have some gritty
guys on their team and we have some gritty guys on our team.
"That's no big deal."
The Canucks controlled the first period, outshooting Calgary 13-3.
The Flames didn't get a shot on goal until just over six minutes
were gone and by then were trailing 1-0.
"We would love to have those starts every game," said Daniel Sedin.
"We played well for 60 minutes. We got two early ones. We had to
take some chances and open up things. Overall, it was a very good
game."
Russell said the Flames were on their heels most of the first
period.
"They outplayed us," he said. "They got a lot of momentum. I thought
we slowly clawed our way back.
"In the playoffs, you can't take periods off, take shifts off. A bad
period lost us the game. We have to be aware of that. We will learn
from this."
Calgary goalie Jonas Hiller made 26 saves before being replaced by
backup Karri Ramo with 5:52 left in the third period. He stopped
both shots he faced.
NOTES: In the Canucks' seven previous home-ice playoff losses, they
scored just nine goals and were outscored 13-3 in the third period.
... With a goal in Wednesday's series opener, C Bo Horvat became the
first Canucks player since Todd Bertuzzi in 2001 to score in his
first NHL playoff game. ... Canucks D Kevin Bieksa didn't practice
Thursday or participate in Friday's morning skate but dressed for
the game. ... Vancouver's roster has played a combined 802 playoff
games, fifth most of the 2015 postseason teams. ... Calgary coach
Bob Hartley said there's no truth to speculation that C Sean Monahan
has a shoulder injury. ... Flames D Kris Russell's goal on Wednesday
was his first game-winner since Nov. 3, 2013, a span of 133 games.
... In Calgary's six previous playoff series against Vancouver, the
Flames have won the opening game twice and went on to win both
series.
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