jessica rinaldi/reuters
Canucks forward Trevor Linden scored the winner for Vancouver last night.
Seldom has a professional sports team enjoyed a home advantage as much as the Flames have this season.
After winning an NHL-high 30 games on their ice surface during the regular season, the Flames bounced back last night with a 3-2 victory over the Red Wings, cutting Detroit’s lead in this playoff series to 2-1.
The Flames were manhandled in Detroit, but it was a different story in Calgary last night, and you get the impression that members of the team anticipated a positive result.
“We just feel good about playing here,” said defenceman Mark Giordano, who scored an unassisted goal to tie the game at 2-2 in the third period. “We established a game plan and we never steered away from it, not even when (the Wings) went ahead early in the third.
“We just never gave up, especially not in our building. We got a good team effort from everyone on our team tonight.”
They did. Heck, even captain Jarome Iginla ended his drought and scored a goal.
It was a terrific night for all three Canadian teams in the NHL playoffs. All three defeated their opponents by a goal.
The Vancouver Canucks find themselves ahead of the Dallas Stars 3-1 in their playoff series largely because of some unlikely sources.
Trevor Linden, for instance. He used to be a star with the Canucks, of course. A long time ago. In the twilight of his career, though, he’s a role player. And the role he played last night loomed large because it was Linden who scored the game winner by jamming in a rebound late in the third period.
And the Ottawa Senators also are up 3-1 in their series after squeezing past the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.
All three Canadian teams are back at it tomorrow night
