Canucks benefit from experience

Flames' coach Darryl Sutter was disappointed in the play of captain Jarome Iginla against the Canucks.

Updated: April 9, 2004, 11:57 AM ET
By By Jim Wilkie | NHL Insider
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Calgary nearly bulldozed its way to victory in its first playoff game in eight years Wednesday night at GM Place, but the inexperience that comes with such a long postseason drought doomed any chance of the Flames rolling over the Vancouver Canucks.

In a 28-second span early in the second period the Flames erased Vancouver's 2-0 lead with two power-play goals created by fearlessly charging the net. That lapse would have beem the start of a collapse on past Canucks teams, but they patiently waited for their chances to pay off while finishing off a 5-3 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinal series.

"I think that some of our players played a very nervous, perimeter game. And you know they're top players, they can't play that game," Calgary head coach Darryl Sutter said afterward.


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