Vancouver, BC – 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.

--

When Chris Higgins scored to extend the Canucks' lead to 2-0 at the 7:06 mark of the first period, it not only gave the team a cushion it didn’t have in Wednesday’s series opener, it did something the Canucks as a team had not done in more than two months. The 2-0 first period lead was the first the Canucks had enjoyed since a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins on February 13th.

--

At the outset of the playoffs, one area many observers felt the Canucks had a wide edge on Calgary was in balance and depth, particularly at the forward position. And just two games into this series, that appears to be the case. Already 12 different Canuck skaters have picked up at least a point compared to just seven for the Flames. After Friday night, five different Canucks forwards have scored a goal, while David Jones is the lone Flames forward to find the back of the net so far. Defenceman Kris Russell has accounted for two of the three Calgary goals scored in this series, including Wednesday’s final minute game-winner.

--

Eddie Lack is proving that he is up to the challenges of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Friday, the Canucks netminder stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced to collect his first NHL playoff victory. He has has a 1.51 goals against average and a 94.3% save percentage after stopping 50 of the 53 Flames shots directed his way so far. And tracking back to his final two starts of the regular season, Lack has surrendered just four goals in his past four games – two of them coming in the series opener.

--

One of the surprising statistics to emerge from Game 2 was the fact that Daniel Sedin went 4-1 in the face-off circle. That stands out because brother Henrik is the centre on the line and almost never gets waved out of the circle. So for Daniel to take five draws in a game is significant because he took a grand total of five face-offs in the 82-game regular season. His four face-off wins on Friday also doubled his regular season total. So he was busier than usual in that department and, perhaps, that allowed him to get into a groove.

--

As the series heads east over the Rockies, the Canucks have to feel confident in their ability to get results on the road. The team went 24-14-3 away from home during the regular season and was 5-2-1 in its last eight games played on the road and 7-3-1 in its last 11 as the visitor. The Canucks split their two games at the Saddledome this season, recording a 4-2 win on opening night back in the second week of October.

--

Game 2 Quick Hits: Derek Dorsett paced the Canucks with five hits on Friday. Daniel Sedin registered six shots for the second straight game. Alex Edler led all Canucks with 24:45 of ice-time, while partner Chris Tanev topped the team’s even-strength ice time at 19:24.