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Vancouver Canucks' Alex Burrows, left, checks Calgary Flames' Deryk Engelland during the first period of game 2 of an NHL Western Conference first round playoff hockey series in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday April 17, 2015.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press

Three minutes into the game, the arena seething with want, pulsing for a display from home team, an announcement of might, the Sedins delivered.

The Vancouver Canucks had been on the precipice of ignominy. The team had lost seven consecutive home games in the playoffs, stretching a long way back, to a beautiful-yet-awful day, June 15, 2011, when the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.

No team in a century's worth of NHL history had lost eight postseason games in a row at home.

Daniel Sedin stomped on the spectre of ignominy. The Canucks, after they lost the first game of the playoffs in the last moment to the upstart Calgary Flames, burst on the ice Friday night zooming on a cocktail of desperation and determination.

They needed this. They needed this more.

They laid into the young Flames physically, controlled play, and in one early rush up the ice, Henrik Sedin tossed a puck across the Flames zone over to his brother.

Daniel Sedin teed up a wrist shot, one he had practised a day before, and flung it up, on the mark, and past Calgary goaltender Jonas Hiller, who on Wednesday night had been nearly impenetrable.

The Canucks, and Rogers Arena, exhaled, and exalted. The score was soon 2-0. Vancouver kept its foot on Calgary's throat – outshooting the Flames 13-3 in the first period – and while the effort was imperfect, the Canucks flagging for stretches, Vancouver wrested its reputation from the indelible stain in the history books.

The final on Friday in Vancouver was 4-1 – Vancouver goaltender Eddie Lack strong in net to backstop the victory – and the first-round series is tied 1-1.

The evening ended in a melee of lashing out, punches thrown, a scatter of gloves, helmets and sticks in the Canucks end, the net askew. It erupted with about a minute left, and the two teams were assessed 132 penalty minutes. Calgary's Deryk Engelland scored 42 of them himself, two fighting majors and three game misconducts.

"No big deal," said Flames coach Bob Hartley of the display, claiming he didn't have a good view of it from the Calgary bench. "It is what it is – it's playoff hockey."

There's a history. January, 2014, was a demarcation point, when a line brawl began a Flames-Canucks game, when former Canucks coach John Tortorella attempted to get in a fight with Hartley after the first period. Many of the combatants of that ridiculous night are gone – but it also roughly marks the moment when the Flames pivoted from terrible to their current trajectory of winning hockey.

"It's happened before," said Vancouver's Daniel Sedin of the fights to end Game 2. "We stood up for ourselves."

On a night where the Flames were overmatched, throwing some punches was the only solace they could draw. "Frustration built up in the game," said Michael Ferland, who garnered a 10-minute misconduct. Asked if he managed to burrow under the Canucks skin, Ferland said, "I hope so."

Brendon Bollig also was tagged with a 10-minute misconduct. "You've got to send a message somehow. We didn't have it tonight."

The Canucks did, from the start. "A good game, again," said Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin. "The difference was we scored a few more."

It was a declarative victory after the Flames barely won Game 1.

This series becomes an echo of the past. This is the first time these two teams have met in the playoffs in 11 years, and only the fourth time they've met in the past three decades, but past becomes prologue. The last three series all went to Game 7, overtime. This one feels destined.

"It's self-explanatory," said Canucks forward Jannik Hansen earlier on Friday.

"We need this one badly and, hopefully, our play will show that."

It did, mostly. The Canucks came out in a flurry, a tangible display they needed it badly, but thereafter, up 2-0, the Canucks floated somewhat, as the Flames rallied, but could not really close the gap.

In the first half of the second period, the Canucks registered only three shots on goal, but the Flames, even as they pushed, didn't notch their 10th shot on goal for the game until five minutes were left in the second.

Calgary's ballyhooed first-line led by Sean Monahan was badly outplayed most of the night.

At even-strength, the Flames had only nine even-strength shot attempts when Monahan was on the ice, compared with 20 against. Excluding that, the Flames and Canucks were equal in puck possession. Monahan, with Johnny Gaudreau and Jiri Hudler, were the hottest line in hockey in recent months. This series, however, they have not been a force. In Game 2, the job to shut them down was a shared effort by the Canucks, from the Sedins, to Brad Richardson's line, to the work of Bo Horvat.

Hartley noted the Flames's youth – that Monahan, a second-year pro, could still be in major junior hockey, given he is 20, and Gaudreau, who finished college hockey a year ago.

"They found a way all year," said Hartley. "They will get better."

The Canucks' power play produced the second goal. Chris Higgins swept in a rebound. Higgins was on the roster for all those home playoff losses.

It was his first playoff point since June 4, 2011, Game 2 against Boston in the Cup final.

The power play has for Vancouver been a black hole for several years but in recent months it was revived, finishing ninth in the league this season – concluding the regular season on a run of 11 goals on 33 power plays.

The zest in Vancouver's veteran roster, especially the Sedins, could be felt and seen early on Friday night. A couple of minutes before the puck drop, Daniel Sedin was second on the ice as the team entered to raucous cheers. Sedin immediately was in a sprint, long, swift strides. There was no way the 34-year-old was going to cede the game to a bunch of kids, at least for one night.

Game 3 is in Calgary on Sunday night.

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