VANCOUVER – Goaltender Eddie Lack made 22 saves to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames to tie their NHL Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series at one game apiece.
Daniel Sedin, Chris Higgins, Ronalds Kenins and Radim Vrbata had goals for the Canucks, but it was Lack who earned the love of the Rogers Arena crowd, with fans chanting his name every time he stopped the puck.
The game degenerated into a full line brawl late in the third with fights erupting all over the ice deep in the Vancouver zone after a whistle.
Among the combatants, Vancouver’s Brad Richardson took on Calgary’s Matt Stajan, while Deryk Engelland squared off with the Canucks’ Derek Dorsett.
“Intensity’s high. It’s playoff hockey. You expect things to kind of boil over,” said Dorsett. “We stuck up for each other and we took care of things when we had to.”
WATCH: Postgame comments from the Canucks and Flames
Following their Game 1 loss on Wednesday, the Canucks went into Friday’s tilt saying Game 2 was a “must-win” and they certainly played like it in the first period. Vancouver opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game when captain Henrik Sedin connected with brother Daniel, who wristed the puck past Flames goaltender Jonas Hiller.
“We got off to a great start again, like we did last game,” said Henrik. “We played a good game again. The difference was we scored a few more. That’s why we won.”
The goal was Daniel’s first in the playoffs since Game 2 of the 2011 Stanley Cup final.
WATCH: Daniel Sedin’s goal
Six minutes in Canucks rookie Bo Horvat dazzled the fans with a rush that saw him blow by Flames forward Jiri Hudler and draw a delay of game penalty.
Chris Higgins gave the Canucks a two-goal lead on the ensuing power play, beating Hiller with a shot that ricocheted out of the net.
WATCH: Chris Higgins’ goal
The Flames showed some jump following the first intermission, but Lack stopped all 11 shots he faced in the second period.
The chants of “Eddie! Eddie!” grew louder when the Swedish netminder came out swinging after Flames forward Brandon Bollig fell on him during a scrum in front of the net.
Just over two minutes into the third, Ronalds Kenins scored his first career playoff goal, which was set up by Horvat.
WATCH: Ronalds Kenins’ goal
The Flames ended Lack’s shutout bid when Kris Russell scored on the power play with less than four minutes left in the game.
Vrbata added an empty-net goal with two minutes left in regulation time.
Shortly after, a brawl broke out in the Canucks end of the rink.
The two teams have a recent history of bad blood. A line brawl between the two teams during a game early last year led then-coach John Tortorella to charge the Flames dressing room during the first intermission.
Flames coach Bob Hartley will likely be looking for more from Calgary’s top line of Juri Hudler, Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, as the trio have yet to score a goal. Hudler only has one registered shot on net in the series.
“They are playing against the Sedins. We’re talking about a 20-year-old centreman (in Monahan) that could have played junior this year. They’ll bounce back. They found a way all year. They’ll get better.”
-with files from Canadian Press
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