Henrik Sedin plays huge role in Canucks' win

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Daniel Sedin finally scored a goal in Game 6 against Nashville and his brother had a hand in what proved to be the series-clinching winner for the Vancouver Canucks, who advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 17 years with a 2-1 victory against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

Daniel's power-play goal, his first of the series and sixth of the playoffs, erased some of the pressure from both his and Henrik's shoulders and it gave the Canucks a much-needed 2-0 lead over the Predators. Nashville got one back, but it wasn't enough.

Daniel played only 14 minutes in Game 6 and Henrik played just 17:47. A lot of that was a result of eight and a half minutes of penalty kill time over the first 40 minutes, but in the third period when the Canucks were clinging to their lead, Daniel played more than six minutes and Henrik more than seven, proving coach Alain Vigneault was telling the truth when he said he never lost confidence in the twins.

The Sedins finished the series against Nashville with only 7 points and a minus-10 rating. They know they have to be better against either San Jose or Detroit, but for the moment they got to enjoy a victory that they had a big part in. Henrik spoke about it afterwards. Here is what he had to say:

Q: What does it mean to get over this hump and make it to the Conference Finals?

A: It's huge. For me and Daniel, we've been here a long time and never really been part of any success. To have played with players that were here in '94, to know what it meant to this city, it's a great feeling.

Q: It was another virtuoso performance by Ryan Kesler. Can you touch on his night and his series?

A: He was unbelievable. He plays PK, power play and 5-on-5, and he does it all really well. It was fun to watch him this series and we're going to need him to continue to play this way.

Q: To get the two-goal lead on this team and kill all those power plays, how big was that?

A: It was huge. Again, they are one of these teams that you can never really shut down. They're there. They have a great goalie back there and they know he isn't going to give up a lot of goals. They know if they go into the third period and they're down one or two goals they still got a chance. That's the way they play and that's why they were still in this series after five games. It was a tough one.

Q: What does it say about your team the way you guys played in the third period tonight?

A: Oh, it says a lot. We came out and played our best period when we needed it the most. This is a group that really sticks together and believes. It showed again tonight.

Q: I know it's quick, but Detroit and San Jose play tomorrow, so I gotta assume you'll be watching while relaxing?

A: Yeah, with a smile on our face. We don't really care. It's two good teams again. We've been through two good teams already. We'll see. It's going to be long flights anyway, and we'll take whoever we get.

Q: Does regular season success matter now? You guys were 3-0-1 against San Jose and 2-0-2 against Detroit.

A: No, I don't think so. We had a lot of success against Chicago in past years, too, and they've still beaten us in the playoffs. It doesn't really matter.

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter: @drosennhl