Flames take Game 4 and push Canucks to the brink
The Calgary Flames are one win away from advancing to the second round after defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 in Game 4 on Tuesday to take a 3-1 series lead.
Johnny Gaudreau, Jiri Hudler and Sam Bennett all scored for the Flames, who have not won a playoff series since 2004, when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.
Star Performer: Hudler celebrated his Lady Byng Trophy nomination by contributing his first points of the series with a goal and an assist. His goal was the eventual winner.
Turning Point: The Canucks trailed for nearly the entire contest, but they briefly tied the game with Henrik Sedin's power-play goal 8:12 into the first period. Unfortunately for Vancouver, Hudler regained Calgary's lead 68 seconds later and the Flames never looked back.
Goalie Comparison: Eddie Lack was replaced by Ryan Miller after allowing three goals on seven shots in the first period. Miller was perfect the rest of the way, but the damage was already done. Jonas Hiller had his best start since Game 1 for Calgary, stopping all 15 shots he faced in the third period to seal the victory.
| Goalie | Shots | GA | Saves | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiller | 29 | 1 | 28 | .966 |
| Lack | 7 | 3 | 4 | .571 |
| Miller | 15 | 0 | 15 | 1.000 |
Top Highlight: Vancouver came out firing in the third period, but Hiller weathered the storm with sound positioning and good vision, which he displayed on this save after a cross-ice feed to Nick Bonino.
(Courtesy: NHL.com)
Stat of the Night: The teams combined for 22 penalty minutes in Game 4 - a significant decline from 69 in Game 3 and 166 in Game 2.
Series at a glance
Game 1: Flames 2, Canucks 1
Game 2: Canucks 4, Flames 1
Game 3: Flames 4, Canucks 2
Game 4: Flames 3, Canucks 1
Game 5: Thursday, April 23, 10 pm ET
Game 6*: Saturday, April 25, TBA
Game 7*: Monday, April 27, TBA
*If necessary