Bruins vs Red Wings

It took seven months and 83 games, but the Calgary Flames have gone from expected to compete for Connor McDavid to stealing home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Expected to be among the candidates for the first pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, the Flames instead earned a berth in the playoffs for the first time in six years. And in winning 2-1 against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Wednesday, have stolen home-ice advantage in the Western Conference First Round series.

Game 2 is in Vancouver on Friday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, CNBC, TVA Sports).

VANCOUVER – Goaltender Eddie Lack will make his first Stanley Cup Playoff start for the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the Calgary Flames (10 p.m. ET; CBC, USA, TVA), coach Willie Desjardins confirmed after the morning skate.

Most expected Lack to start because No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller is not fully recovered from a knee injury sustained on Feb. 22, but Desjardins wouldn't confirm it earlier in the week.

Now that he has, the questions shift to Lack not having any playoff experience. The easygoing Swede isn't worried about it.

"Not yet, no," Lack said when asked if he felt any extra nerves. "I've been trying to prepare as I have all season here and obviously there's a little more media in here but other than that I kind of feel normal."

VANCOUVER -- It wouldn't be the Stanley Cup Playoffs here without questions about goaltending.

With memories of Roberto Luongo-Cory Schneider controversies lingering, first-year Vancouver Canucks coach Willie Desjardins wouldn't reveal his starting goalie for Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday (10 p.m ET; CBC, USA, TVA Sports).

All signs point to Eddie Lack starting ahead of Ryan Miller, if for no other reason than Miller said he is not fully recovered from spraining his right knee Feb. 22. Desjardins said Miller is ready to play when needed, but the coach isn't about to reveal whether that will be in Game 1.

"It makes a difference knowing which goaltenders are going to start, and this time of year you look for all the advantages you can get," Desjardins said. "It's not that you don't want to share information, but you want to win, so you try to find every edge."

CALGARY -- It's about enthusiasm, not inexperience. Open minds, not star-struck eyes.

It's the message Calgary Flames coach Bob Hartley delivered to his players about to skate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time.

"Our team is built on passion. Willingness to compete, willingness to suffer, and that's our DNA, that's our culture," Hartley said. "I wish I could go to the local pharmacy and buy some experience, but I can't. You have to earn this, but that's the only part missing. On the other side, we have great leadership and we have great will. That's been our story all year and we're not going to change it."

The Flames, in the playoffs for the first time since 2009, have little experience on their side heading into Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, USA, TVA Sports).

VANCOUVER – Vancouver Canucks forward Chris Higgins called linemate Radim Vrbata an assassin after a two-goal game late in the regular season, but he is no longer a silent assassin.

With Vrbata's 31 goals leading the Canucks, it's hard to ignore the significance of his role in their return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing the postseason last year. Forget unsung hero, Vrbata is the Canucks MVP in many eyes, and Higgins has noticed other teams are paying special attention to the soft-spoken sniper too.

"You look at the stat sheet and see Vrbata has 31 goals and you are going to put some good players out against him," Higgins said. "You get a little more attention playing with him for sure."

That could a good thing for the Canucks now that Vrbata is no longer playing on their top line with Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. After a strong start to his first season in Vancouver playing to the right of Sedin twins, Vrbata is having late-season success with Higgins and Nick Bonino on the Canucks' second line.

The Vancouver Canucks are poised and ready to make a run for the ages in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Making it certain that the first Canadian team in 21 seasons wins the Stanley Cup will be those twin-engines up front in Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, who have each topped 70 points this season.

There's the emergence of Bo Horvat, and the dependability of forwards Nick Bonino, Chris Higgins, Alexandre Burrows and Jannik Hansen.

The Canucks played meaningful games down the stretch and got it done with goaltender Eddie Lack filling in for an injured Ryan Miller.

"We were never in this position before," Henrik Sedin said. "There were a few years where we made the playoffs a few weeks before the season was over, and last year we were done a few weeks before the playoffs so it's exciting because every night every game meant something."

CALGARY -- Jiri Hudler is as elusive on the ice as he is off.

But while the bashful Calgary Flames forward has never proven to be a big fan of chatting about personal accolades, linemates of the right wing haven't been shy to step in and discuss Hudler's best NHL season.

"A lot of people might not have expected that but in this room we know how he can play," said Sean Monahan, who has served as Hudler's center for much of 2014-15. "It's no surprise to us. I don't think he minds not getting that attention that some of the other guys get.

"He flies under the radar a little bit. That's something that he likes. He's doing a great job for us. He's taken a big chunk of this season and carried us."

The Calgary Flames are not supposed to be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

They weren't supposed to contend in the season after picking fourth in the 2014 NHL Draft. They weren't supposed to get enough offense from their top forward line of 20-year-old Sean Monahan, rookie Johnny Gaudreau, and veteran Jiri Hudler.

The Flames weren't supposed to stay in the playoff race when they lost captain Mark Giordano, their best defenseman, to injury. When Giordano sustained a biceps injury on Feb. 25, the Flames were not in a playoff position.

Calgary hasn't let everything it wasn't supposed to do stop it from making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so why stop now? The Flames will parlay riding the momentum of playing a quarter of the season fighting for a spot in the playoffs into winning the Stanley Cup.

One of two teams that didn't reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season is guaranteed to be in the Western Conference Second Round this season.

The Calgary Flames haven't been in the playoffs since the 2008-09 season and haven't won a playoff round since 2004, when they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Vancouver Canucks missed the playoffs last season after making it for five consecutive seasons, including twice as the Presidents' Trophy winner. Like the Flames, the Canucks haven't won a playoff round since they last reached the Stanley Cup Final, which was in 2011.

The past two times the Flames and Canucks have met in the playoffs, the winner of the series went on to play in the Stanley Cup Final.

VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Canucks coach Willie Desjardins has admitted he wasn't comfortable having 19-year-old center Bo Horvat in his lineup to the start the season. Now he's counting on Horvat to play a big role in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Horvat slowly earned Desjardins' trust throughout an impressive rookie season, going from less than 10 minutes of ice time per game in his first month to averaging almost 14 minutes since March 1. His line is playing third-line minutes, gaining confidence offensively while earning tougher defensive matchups from his coach.

Horvat has 10 of his 13 goals and 16 of his 24 points since the All-Star break. During a recent nine-game stretch without a point, Desjardins said he was more impressed by Horvat's play in his own end, including when he was matched up against Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter during a crucial 2-1 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

"That line's job is to play against some of the other teams' top lines," Desjardins said. "I was able to play them against Kopitar and Carter, and if you can play a 19-year-old against those guys, they are doing a great job, whether they score or not."