Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Temperature Rising In Calgary/Vancouver Series

04/18/2015 at 5:49pm EDT

from Jeff Patterson of TSN,

So this much is clear: the series is tied -- and the series is on. Oh, it’s on alright. Friday’s late-game fireworks at Rogers Arena signalled the return of the rivalry between the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames. How any of the five-on-five brawl carries over as the scene shifts to the Saddledome on Sunday remains to be seen, but there is no question that a healthy amount of dislike has been introduced into this Western Canadian showdown. And that’s exactly as it should be at this time of the year, especially between two long-time rivals.

Coming into the series, much was made of the high-end youth on the Calgary Flames – Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau and 18-year-old Sam Bennett, but through the first two games of the series, it’s Canucks' prize rookie Bo Horvat who has set the bar for the first-time playoff participants. Horvat nearly blew the roof off Rogers Arena with an electrifying first period end-to-end dash that resulted in a Dennis Wideman delay of game penalty for knocking the puck out of play. The Canucks scored on the ensuing power play to take a 2-0 lead. Horvat later fed fellow freshman, Ronalds Kenins, for the 3-0 goal early in the third period to give the Canucks some breathing room. Horvat, who turned 20 earlier this month, has a point in each of his first two Stanley Cup playoff appearances and sits atop the Canucks post-season scoring derby at this early stage of the proceedings.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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