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VANCOUVER – The Canucks held a brief late morning practice at Rogers Arena before jumping on their jet and heading back over the Rockies for Saturday's Game 6 in Calgary. Chris Higgins, Jannik Hansen, Nick Bonino, Brad Richardson and Ronalds Kenins were all given the day off. Of that group, Richardson remains the biggest question mark heading into Saturday's showdown at the Saddledome. He returned to the line-up and played 11:44 in Thursday's 2-1 victory that extended the series and kept the Canucks season alive. However, Richardson, who missed most of the second half of the regular season with ankle injury, was forced to sit-out Game 4 in Calgary after appearing in the first three games of the series. His status for Game 5 remains questionable. The others who skipped practice should be ready to play on Saturday night.

*Nick Bonino had his best game of the playoffs on Thursday night. Bonino delivered his first goal of the series beating Jonas Hiller with a quick snap shot from the left face-off circle 13:31 into the second period. But his best work was still to come. Bonino was a huge part of two third period penalty kills that held Calgary to just one shot on goal. He led all Canucks forwards by logging 2:46 of short-handed ice time in Game 5 and took all four face-offs on the night while the Canucks were killing penalties – winning three of them.  That freed up the Canucks to clear the puck, running valuable time off the clock as the Flames were forced back into their own end to regroup on the power play

*it was a good night for a number of hard-working Canucks. Chris Higgins skated miles on Thursday and was a big part of the successful penalty killing unit. With his tireless work ethic, his willingness to get in on the forecheck and disrupt breakouts, Higgins looked the part of a savvy playoff performer in Game 5. Perhaps the biggest reason for that was his spot on the depth chart. Higgins started the series on left wing on the second line and as such was placed in a top six role. He scored once – the game winner in Game 2 – but that remains his only point of the series. Chris Higgins is better suited to a bottom six role and that's where he was placed on Thursday by head coach Willie Desjardins. Higgins still saw 17:13 of ice time, but the expectations on him change when he is freed up to bang and crash and force turnovers. He started the game on left wing with Brad Richardson and Shawn Matthias but also had some effective shifts with rookie Bo Horvat

*Jannik Hansen had his finest period of the season with the Canucks season on the line and the team clinging to a one-goal lead. Hansen, who hit a post in the first period, led all forwards on the team with 7:34 of third period ice time – that was a full minute more than the next closest forward. Hansen spent most of the period with the Sedins, but also formed a formidable penalty-killing duo with Brad Richardson. On the night, Hansen logged 18:32 of ice-time – two full minutes more than in any other game in the series so far and nearly three minutes more than his series average

*Ryan Miller was sharp when called upon making his first start of the series. Miller has now allowed one goal in his five periods of action since replacing Eddie Lack after the first period in Game 4. The veteran netminder's best stop on the night came when he stared down Joe Colborne in the slot on the power play with about seven minutes remaining in the third period. Miller has stopped 35 of the 36 shots he has faced in the past two games. He will be back in goal for Game 6 on Saturday

*The Canucks' conversion rate still needs improvement. Through five games in the series, the Canucks have outshot the Flames 159-124 or an average of 31.8 per game to 24.8. And yet, they have scored just nine goals on Jonas Hiller plus added one into an empty net for a team shooting percentage of 6.3%. Among the 16 teams that qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Canucks are ahead of only two – Montreal (5.7) and Ottawa (5.4)

*A touching scene just moments after the final buzzer on Thursday night at Rogers Arena. At the elevator taking team personnel, media and fans watching in suites from the 500 level to the ground floor, Flames President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke and former Canucks enforcer Gino Odjick shared a brief word and an embrace. The two were together in the Canucks organization in the early 1990s. Odjick is battling a rare heart condition and no longer resembles the feared tough guy he was when he played for the Canucks. But he is still a regular around the rink and it just seemed to be fate that brought him and Burke together in that setting. It was an honest show of emotion from the irascible Burke -- minutes after a tough loss for his hockey team -- and spoke volumes of the respect he has for his former player who's going through tough times

*Quick hits: the Canucks opened the scoring in the first two games of the series. The Flames have scored the first goal in the past three games. The team that has scored first is 3-2 in the series. Kris Russell continues to lead the series in scoring with four points. Six Canucks are tied for the team scoring lead with three points apiece in the series. Daniel Sedin is the only Vancouver player to score two goals so far. The Canucks blocked 17 shots on Thursday compared to Calgary's 16. Flames blueliner T-J Brodie led all players in Game 5 ice time logging 27:21. Alex Edler was the top Canuck at 23:51. Through five games, Dennis Wideman leads all skaters in the series having played 136:01 followed by Brodie 134:15 and Kris Russell 133:21. Edler leads all Canucks in the series at 118:15 while Chris Tanev is the only other Vancouver skater to top the century mark in minutes at 109:14.