Canucks, Flames penalty parade
It was the colorful Canuck Kevin Bieksa who supplied the night’s best quote – the resurgent defenceman also supplied the game with a solid effort – when asked post-game about the brawl. Every skater on the ice was involved in that battle, which broke out with 1:17 left and the game already decided; refs Dan O’Halloran and Brad Meier doled out 132 minutes in penalties.
In that brawl, Flame Michael Ferland got a misconduct and was gone from the game, along with a host of other players, including Flames defenceman Deryk Engelland, nailed with 3 game misconducts, two fighting majors and an instigator penalty. He may end up with a suspension.
Earlier, at the 9:53 mark Ferland got called for charging on Chris Tanev and could have gotten another minor for intentionally running over Canucks goalie Eddie Lack, on his way to the bench for an extra attacker.
Emotions high for Game 3
None of it was appreciated by the veteran Bieksa, 33, who has played 67 Stanley Cup playoff games, all with the Canucks, and managed 115 penalty minutes himself. He wasn’t on the ice for the melee at the end, but never one to back down from supplying a comment, he opened his mouth and out popped a pretty quotable quote.
“It looked like they were trying to get that going (the rough stuff) for a few shifts before,” Bieksa said about the brawl. “That ‘Ferklund,’ or whatever his name is, was running around trying to get something going.
“It’s not the first time we have seen that in playoffs,” he added. “We have played against Ben Eager and some other dumb-dumbs like that before. So we know how to handle that.”
By implication then, Mr. ‘Ferklund’ is a dumb-dumb, something the 22-year-old will doubtless hear about. That, naturally, suggests a response on the ice somewhere down the road in this best-of-seven.
Bieksa’s Ben Eager comment comes from Eager getting into it in the playoffs against the Canucks when he was with the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks. He’s also remembered for something he didn’t do, being flashed by a Canucks female fan in the penalty box during a playoff game in 2011. It’s become a kind of boob-tube highlight.
Flame forward ‘Ferklund’ didn’t get the flash treatment, but he did get the ire of Bieksa and his teammates, which guarantees an exciting Game 3 in Calgary on Sunday night.
