[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by calgARI

That was the most Flames-esque win of the series so far in that it looked a bit more like the routine regular season win in how they approached it, albeit rare that they scored 3 in the first and 0 in the third. Just thought they were methodical and kind of balanced, almost patient in their approach.

I actually didn't think the Flames were great in the first period. Seemed a step slow and gave up a quite a few grade A opportunities. They were very very good defensively the rest of the way though, outside the first few minutes of the third period.

It was very Flames in how they produced their offense, extremely opportunistic and generating high quality chances when they were able to generate offense, even if they didn't produce a ton of overall chances. Would have really liked to have seen them score on Miller. That will be a storyline going forward for certain, because that guy can be an elite-level goaltender. Hiller will need to continue playing extremely well and I think it'll take a 1-0 or 2-1 win in one of the next three games for the Calgary Flames to win their first playoff series since 2004.

The good news is that Vancouver just doesn't generate a lot of quality chances and they are looking tired. Flames look energized and continue to have an incredibly masterful team and game equation. Nice having more output from the top guys.

Brodie the best player in this series.

Ferland the most impactful player in this series and the playoffs so far.

Tonight Backlund was perhaps the best player on either team.

Stajan incredibly important. Flames centers badly outplaying Canucks centers.

They may seem close but it doesn't feel close to me, in large part of the Miller factor. Also felt that it was a strange vibe tonight. Best three games of the season were Kings, Games 1 and 3 of this series. Tonight was a little more regular-feeling. Will need another top-end performance to close this thing.

Backlund was great tonight. That penalty kill by him and Monahan was huge.