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Canucks edge Flames to stay alive in lopsided Game 5

Anne-Marie Sorvin / USA Today

The Vancouver Canucks extended their season by more than doubling the Calgary Flames in shots in a 2-1 victory in Thursday's Game 5.

The Flames drew first blood with a David Jones goal in the first period, but Vancouver responded with goals from Nick Bonino and Daniel Sedin to cut its series deficit to 3-2 and force a Game 6 at Calgary.

Star Performer: Calgary netminder Jonas Hiller was the only reason the game remained close. He faced 34 shots in the first two periods alone and finished with 41 saves in a valiant effort.

Turning Point: Bonino's goal, scored 13:31 into the second period, allowed the Canucks a sigh of relief. Not only was it Bonino's first goal of the series, but it also let Vancouver assume control of a game they were losing despite holding a massive puck-possession advantage.

Goalie Comparison: Hiller was amazing, but Ryan Miller was good enough to earn the victory in his first playoff start with Vancouver. Miller rebounded from allowing a weak goal 2:40 into the contest and was perfect the rest of the way.

Goalie Shots GA Saves SV%
Hiller 43 2 41 .953
Miller 21 1 20 .952

Top Highlight: Bonino made no mistake on this one-timer set up by Radim Vrbata. He fired the puck top shelf over Hiller to bring the home crowd to life after a tentative first half of the game.

(Courtesy: NHL.com)

Stat of the Night: Calgary went 0-for-3 on the power play after scoring four goals on 11 opportunities in the first four games of the series. The Flames had two chances to tie the game with the man advantage in the third period but only managed one shot in those four minutes.

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: Canucks 2, Flames 1
Game 6: Saturday, April 25, 9 pm ET
Game 7*: Monday, April 27, TBA

*If necessary

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