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Here’s what to watch for when the Vancouver Canucks play the Calgary Flames in Game 6 of their Stanley Cup playoffs series as it heads to the Saddledome: 1. The Canucks are riding an emotional high after avoiding elimination with a 2-1 win over the Flames on Thursday night. Vancouver still trails the series 3-2 and has little margin for error. The Canucks dominated Game 5, outshooting the Flames 43-21. They also created more traffic around the net and got to some of the rebounds given up by Calgary goaltender Jonas Hiller. That’s something the Canucks must continue to do if they hope to force a Game 7 back in Vancouver on Monday night. “That’s what we do, just keep throwing pucks in and get in there,” said defenseman Dan Hamhuis. “Those are tough angles, and throwing all different angles on him every shot can be an adventure and get guys going to the net and try to stuff it in.”  2. The Canucks need to be better with the puck and can’t afford turnovers. The Flames opened the scoring Thursday off a turnover, and the Canucks were lucky the Flames didn’t put a couple of other giveaways into the back of the net. Vancouver also can’t afford to take the late penalties like it did in Game 5.
Forward Chris Higgins, who has played 61 playoff games with Montreal and Vancouver, said the Canucks need to play with urgency but not desperation. “I know that you can’t push it completely out of your mind when it’s Game 2 versus Game 6, and someone is going to win the series,” he said. “There’s just less room for error, more than [saying] your desperation level is higher. “You just know, if you don’t come to play for just a short amount of the game, that can be your series.” 3. If the Flames hope to win their first playoff series since 2004, they must continue to employ their pounding forecheck that gives the Canucks headaches, moving the puck out of their own end and a smothering defense that blocks shots and prevents Vancouver from getting rebounds. A missed assignment in front of the net allowed Daniel Sedin to score the winning goal on a rebound Thursday. “We need a good start, obviously," said Flames defenseman Kris Russell. “When you get down to these final games, it's crucial to play a good 60 minutes. It starts in the beginning. We’ve got to make sure we establish our forecheck early and get everyone involved and our speed going." 4. The Flames will be playing in front of a large, noisy crowd. Controlling emotions will be important, especially for the six Calgary rookies. Calgary must stay away from taking bad penalties and can’t panic if they fall behind. The Flames also want to end the series at home and not be forced to win a Game 7 in Vancouver. “You've got to keep your emotions in check, but we've all played hockey for a long time,” said center Matt Stajan. “It's not our first playoff game. Just experiencing the highs and lows of the first five games, these guys have to take care of themselves individually and get what they need. “We have to respond if we want to win this series. They responded last game, played a really good game. We're going to have to go out and do it. Enough talk, just go out there and get this thing done." Projected lineups:
Canucks
Daniel Sedin-Henrik Sedin-Jannik Hansen
Sven Baertschi-Nick Bonino-Radim Vrbata
Shawn Matthias-Brad Richardson-Chris Higgins
Ronalds Kenins-Bo Horvat-Derek Dorsett
Alexander Edler-Chris Tanev
Dan Hamhuis-Yannick Weber
Luca Sbisa-Kevin Bieksa
Goal: Ryan Miller
Flames
Johnny Gaudreau-Sean Monahan-Jiri Hudler
Sam Bennett-Mikael Backlund-Joe Colborne
Michael Ferland-Matt Stajan-David Jones
Mason Raymond-Josh Jooris-Brandon Bollig
Kris Russell-Dennis Wideman
T.J. Brodie-Deryk Engelland
David Schlemko-Corey Potter
Goal: Jonas Hiller
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