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PLAYOFF SERIES: Western Conference quarterfinals; Canucks lead 2-1.
Losing a starting goaltender in the playoffs could cause a team to panic.

It only made the Vancouver Canucks play better.

With Johan Hedberg expected to make his first start this postseason, Vancouver will try to take a 3-1 series lead back home when it faces the Calgary Flames in Game 4 of the quarterfinal series.

With Hedberg playing in place of injured Dan Cloutier, the Canucks grabbed a 2-1 series lead with a 2-1 victory in Game 3 on Sunday at Calgary.

Captain Markus Naslund scored in the second period and Matt Cooke snapped a tie 89 seconds into the third for the Canucks, who aren't expected to have Cloutier for Game 4.

Late in a scoreless first period Sunday, Cloutier made a save on a shot by Calgary's Oleg Saprykin. The puck rebounded out front and Cloutier appeared to twist his knee while scrambling to reach it.

Cloutier had to be helped off the ice with what the team termed a ``lower body injury.'' Third-stringer Alex Auld appeared on the bench early in the second period.

Hedberg was beaten by Chris Simon 64 seconds into middle period, but was perfect the rest of the way, finishing with 19 saves. Vancouver tightened up defensively in the final period, making sure Hedberg didn't have many difficult saves to make.

``After we got the lead, we didn't give them much,'' Naslund said. ``Our defense is playing strong and we're not screwing around with the puck and gambling. We're making smart plays and making sure we don't turn pucks over.''

Cloutier returned to Vancouver on Monday to have the apparent knee injury evaluated, meaning Hedberg likely will start Game 4.

As a rookie in 2002, Hedberg started all 18 playoff games for Pittsburgh as it advanced to the Eastern Conference finals before losing to New Jersey.

Hedberg's appearance Sunday was his first since a 5-4 loss at Columbus on March 21.

``That run with Pittsburgh has really helped me throughout my career,'' Hedberg said. ``I draw on that experience all the time. You've been there once, you know what it's about, how long the series are, not to get too high or too low.''

Losing Cloutier means the Canucks could be without their No. 1 goalie and top-line forward Todd Bertuzzi, suspended for the playoffs.

With Hedberg starting for Vancouver, he will be facing a former teammate in Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff. Both were on the 1999-2000 Kentucky Thoroughblades of the American Hockey League, then the farm team of the San Jose Sharks.

Kiprusoff stopped 23 of 25 shots Sunday in the first playoff game in Calgary since April 23, 1996.

The Flames need a win Tuesday to avoid heading back to Vancouver with a 3-1 series deficit. Calgary, however, is 0-8-2 in its last 10 home games against the Canucks since 5-0 victory on Dec. 29, 2000.

``Of course you want to win, but it's a seven-game series and as a team we're focused on the long-term goal and that's to win four games,'' Calgary's Andrew Ference said.

Calgary has injury concerns of its own for Game 4.

Defenseman Toni Lydman left Game 3 with an ``upper body injury'' and didn't return. Center Craig Conroy missed most of the second period after taking a stick to the face, but returned in the third wearing a full visor.

Penalty killing has been a problem for Calgary in this series. Six of Vancouver's eight goals have been scored with the man advantage. The Flames, meanwhile, are 2-for-22 on the power play.

Game 5 is Thursday at Vancouver.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Canucks - 101 points; 3rd seed. Flames - 94 points; 6th seed.

PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Canucks - Naslund, 2 goals and 5 points, Naslund, Brendan Morrison and Ed Jovanovski, 3 assists; Mattias Ohlund, 11 PIM. Flames - Simon, 2 goals; Jordan Leopold, 3 assists, Matthew Lombardi, Simon and Leopold, 3 points; Ville Nieminen and Simon, 8 PIM.

PLAYOFF SPECIAL TEAMS: Canucks - Power play: 40.0 percent (6 for 15). Penalty killing: 90.9 percent (20 for 22). Flames - Power play: 9.1 percent (2 for 22). Penalty killing: 60.0 percent (9 for 15).

GOALTENDERS: Canucks - Hedberg (1-0, 1.47 GAA); Auld (no appearances). Flames - Kiprusoff (1-2, 2.70); Roman Turek (no appearances).

Calgary 4, Vancouver 0

April 14, 2004

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Special teams and special goaltending.

The Calgary Flames used both to even their first-round playoff series with Vancouver on Tuesday night, beating the Canucks 4-0 in Game 4.

Miikka Kiprusoff made 20 saves for his first playoff shutout. Stephane Yelle sparked the penalty kill unit with a short-handed goal and Chris Clark connected on a power play.

The Flames, winning a home playoff game for the first time since 1995, scored two goals 27 seconds apart in the second period. Their power play, silenced for the first 22 chances, also came alive in Calgary's first win at home against the Canucks in 11 tries.

The series resumes Thursday with Game 5 at Vancouver.

Coming back from a lower-body injury, Yelle helped clear the puck out of the Flames' zone and then took a pass from Clark before burying the puck pastVancouver goalie Johan Hedberg.

``Chris Clark made a great play, I got the puck in the slot and just shot it,'' said Yelle. ``It feels good to score short-handed and get the team going.''

With two Stanley Cup rings in seven seasons with the Colorado Avalanche before being traded to Calgary in 2002, Yelle is one of the most experienced players on a young Flames team.

``We've worked hard at our overall game this year and I think we have a team that's prepared for the playoffs,'' he said. ``Tonight, our preparation and focus was good, and we stuck to our game for 60 minutes and it paid off.''

Yelle scored just one minute into the second period against Hedberg, who faced 31 shots in his first full playoff game for Vancouver after replacing injured Dan Cloutier in Game 3 on Sunday night.

``We have a lot of young guys in the room,'' Calgary's Shean Donovan said of Yelle, ``and we look up to him a lot to add that leadership.''

Calgary's penalty killers had been roundly criticized after the first three games of the series, with Vancouver scoring on six of 15 power plays. But the addition of Yelle, who replaced injured power forward Chris Simon, appeared to stabilize the unit, which was fifth in the league for short-handed goals during the season.

Calgary's second goal, on the power play, came on a right-wing blast by Clark. And 27 seconds later, Donovan put the Flames ahead by three.

But Donovan credited Yelle with turning the game in Calgary's favor.

``Obviously he's one of the best penalty killers in the league,'' Donovan said.

In an attempt to generate some offense, Vancouver pulled Hedberg with more than three minutes left in the third period. But Calgary responded with an empty-net goal by Jarome Iginla.

Game 4 followed the same gritty, hard-hitting play of the first three. And the pace was set early when Iginla crashed Vancouver defenseman Mattias Ohlundhard into the boards twice on one shift.

Ohlund has shadowed Iginla effectively through most of the series.

``I thought we got outbattled for some pucks in our zone,'' said Canucks coach Marc Crawford. ``I was concerned about the slippage in coverage and you can't have that in the playoffs.''

Canucks forward Brendan Morrison said Calgary won more of the one-on-oneconfrontations throughout the game.

``They were better than us in the battles,'' he said. ``They were more

Notes: Martin Gelinas leads the Flames in playoff experience with 124 games in 15 years in the NHL. ... Defenseman Toni Lydman, hurt in Game 3, is out with a suspected concussion, and was replaced by Mike Commodore. It was the first NHL playoff game for the 24-year-old Commodore. ... Tuesday's attendance inCalgary was 19,289, the 12th straight sellout at the Saddledome.