The Flames Got Hot, But Burned Out

It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. And the Canucks 4-3 victory in Calgary was just that. The Flames came out blazing (ok, last pun I promise), scoring twice before four minutes were gone in the first. It looked as if this game was going to be a blow-out, and I was a bit worried, not going to lie. Luckily Kesler netted his 34 goal of the season roughly five minutes later on the powerplay. Despite coming within one, the Canucks were outplayed for pretty much the entire period. The Flames have been playing for their playoff-lives for a few weeks now, and having the number one team come into your building, on a three game road win streak, is more than enough motivation to come out swinging. The Canucks response was more than encouraging.

The second period was a flurry of activity, with a total of four goals scored, three by the Canucks. Daniel brought the teams even with a beauty, from who else but Henrik, about 10 minutes in, but David Moss put the Flames back on top just over a minute later. Kesler should have got an assist on it, as the puck went off his face when Hamhuis tried to clear the zone. The Flames were able to put the puck on net, and Moss was there to jam one in. This was a little disconcerting, but the Canucks, being down already in this game, kept pushing. Burrows tied it up with just under five minutes to go in the period with a wicked redirect from Daniel's point shot. Kelly Hrudey broke this play down in the post-game, saying Burrows and Daniel do this all the time in practice, and he could see them look at each other, with Burrows taking a few steps out from the front of the net. Daniel's shot was definitely not on target, so Kelly was right on the money, as was Burrows stick. 

With just under a minute to go in the period, Rene Bourque got a tripping penalty, one of only four total in the game, two for each team. The Canucks capitalized with only 16 seconds to go in the period. Kesler won the face-off back to Ehrhoff who ripped a shot that deflected off the traffic in front, right to Daniel who just popped in the net for his second of the game and 37th of the year. Perfect position with his stick on the ice, its what goal-scorers do, just like Don Cherry says: "Keep your stick on the ice!" 

Although his stats weren't great, Luongo played very well in the third. Calgary turned up the pressure dial, as was expected, and the Canucks responded. Calgary only registered six shots in the third, but had a lot of scoring chances and hit a few posts. Bobby made some great saves in traffic, and the defense was able to keep his line of sight clear for the most part. It was a great effort, with an even better outcome. They went down early, but as Burrows pointed out in the post-game, they didn't panic or talk about it on the bench. They all knew what needed to be done and went out their and did it. They are looking in top form these days, which is great timing.