Flames at Canucks
After stealing home-ice advantage away from Vancouver in the opener, the Calgary Flames look to bring a 2-0 series lead back to Alberta when they visit the Canucks for Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round matchup on Friday. Calgary pulled out the victory in Game 1 with another of its patented third-period comebacks, as David Jones forged a tie eight minutes into the session and defenseman Kris Russell scored with 30 seconds remaining for the 2-1 triumph.
It was the 11th win of 2014-15 when trailing after 40 minutes for the Flames, who tied for the league lead with 99 goals in the final period during the regular season. Vancouver received its best efforts from a pair of players making their postseason debuts as rookie Bo Horvat scored the lone goal while Eddie Lack turned aside 28 shots. However, it wasn't enough to prevent the Canucks from falling to 0-7 at home in the playoffs since Game 5 of the 2011 Stanley Cup final against Boston. Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins has yet to announce whether Lack will be back in net for Game 2 or if he will turn to veteran Ryan Miller, who was not sharp in his return from a knee injury in the regular-season finale versus Edmonton.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CNBC, CBC, TVA
ABOUT THE FLAMES: Following a superb sophomore season, Sean Monahan struggled in his playoff debut, finishing with a minus-1 rating while losing nine of his 12 faceoffs. Despite the suspicion of an injury, the 20-year-old insisted he was in perfect health. "I've heard a lot of things lately that were wrong with me, but I'm perfectly fine," Monahan said. "I got a lot of texts before the game asking if my shoulder was OK and stuff like that, but I wasn't really sure what they were talking about. A lot of people can speculate, but I'm 100 percent."
ABOUT THE CANUCKS: Daniel Sedin shared the team lead with six shots in Game 1 but was unable to break through. The 34-year-old left wing has gone 12 postseason contests without a goal since tallying in Game 2 of the 2011 Stanley Cup final versus the Bruins. "We can be better in that department, for sure," Sedin said, referring to his entire line. "We need more shots and traffic, and after that, things can open up."
OVERTIME
1. Flames C Sam Bennett, 18, notched an assist on Russell's goal in his first career playoff game after also setting up a goal in his NHL debut in the team's regular-season finale.
2. Vancouver D Kevin Bieksa did not practice Thursday due to an undisclosed injury but is expected to play in Game 2.
3. Monahan led all Calgary forwards with 20:09 of ice time in the series opener.