Sunday April 19 - Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames - 7:00 p.m. - CBC, TSN1040
Game 3 of best-of-seven series, currently tied 1-1
The Saddledome will be an ear-splitting Sea of Red as the Calgary Flames host their first playoff game in six years tonight against the Vancouver Canucks. Calgary's last home playoff appearance was a Game 6 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009, before the upstart 'Hawks went on to defeat Vancouver in six games in the second round. The Flames were backstopped by Miikka Kiprusoff, their leading scorer was Olli Jokinen with five points, and their best two-way forwards were Daymond Langkow and Todd Bertuzzi, who recorded a plus-four.
In 2009, Dion Phaneuf was still a Calgary Flame. That was a long time ago!
Is it sabotage that caused the Canucks' team bus to get caught in traffic on the way to the rink for the morning skate today in Calgary?
Once the team arrived, some eager eyes watched from the stands. Looks like Jake Virtanen's having the time of his life!
More importantly, a couple of bodies were missing from the Vancouver blue line this morning.
Edler had a monster game on Friday, finishing with a team-leading 24:45 of ice time, a plus-two, three shots and four hits, including the one that may have hobbled Calgary's star rookie Sam Bennett.
Bieksa, we believe, is battling some sort of viral infection—and he's not the only player around the league who's sick. Goaltender Braden Holtby missed Game 2 of the Washington/Islanders series due to illness, and Sean Monahan of Calgary suggested earlier this week that illness was also the reason why he took it easy in practices earlier this week.
Willie's playing it close to the vest:
With Ryan Stanton the only extra defenseman that the Canucks are currently carrying, I think we can rest assured that they won't both be out tonight. I'll expect both to play—Willie has been pretty generous about dishing out rest time for players as needed all season long.
As for the Flames, there were no noticeable absences at their morning skate.
If you missed the news yesterday, Deryk Engelland had his instigator penalty from Friday night rescinded, which means he won't face the automatic suspension that would accompany such an infraction.
Interestingly, the instigator still appears on the box score, which gave Engelland a record-setting 42 minutes in penalties in the third period.
If you think Friday's brawl wasn't one for the ages, consider this: Engelland's penalties tie a record set by none other than Dave "The Hammer" Schultz in 1976, in the heart of the Broad Street Bullies era:
The only punishment with lasting implications from Game 2 is a $50,000 fine for coach Bob Hartley—which is not chump change for a coach. Harley did sign a new multi-year extension with the Flames last December, but with the game's top coaches currently earning salaries in the range of $2 million, he'll feel that.
It's also twice as much as the $25,000 fine he received for the infamous line brawl of 2013-14—the one that led to the dressing-room storming incident. When I think back on that insanity, I have to give Willie Desjardins and the rest of the Canucks big props for keeping their cool on Friday night when the situation could have escalated further if they had come unglued.
Mark Spector of Sportsnet is having a tough time believing that Deputy Dan Hamhuis was invited into the fray to try to make peace, but his bemusement does lead to a fun piece that recounts some of the other big lies that have been dished out by NHL players over the years.
That'll help keep us entertained until game time.
The Caps and Islanders look like they're headed for overtime. Chicago's playing a rookie goalie against Nashville at noon, and Ottawa's playing a veteran goalie against Montreal later this afternoon. Plenty of hockey intrigue to while away a beautiful Sunday here in Vancouver.
Enjoy the game!
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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