Dose: Calgary burns Vancouver

Saturday’s four-game slate of action wasn’t great from a pure hockey standpoint.

One contest was agonizing to watch (Red Wings at Lightning), at least in comparison to riveting, violent one that ended right before it began (Capitals at Islanders). After that, two teams seemed like they’d race out to force Game 7’s only to give up leads, with one (Vancouver) ending up with a lot more egg on its face than the other (Nashville).

Those last two games, and the violence of Capitals - Islanders, made it maybe the wildest night we’ve seen so far in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs. I think. Feel free to disagree though.

Anyway, let’s enjoy this Sunday Dose, shall we?

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FLAMES 7, CANUCKS 4 (Calgary advances)

-- Yes, that’s right, the final score isn’t a typo.

Imagine how mind-blowing this already mind-blowing score must be to someone who maybe turned off the game early in the first period when Vancouver went up 3-0? Perhaps even someone who has to work on Sunday and decided to turn off a 3-1 game after the first period was over?

The Canucks had 3-0 and 4-3 leads in this game, and while the final score is misleading (Calgary piled on two empty-netters), it doesn’t change the fact that this was a soul-crushing finish to a not-particularly-promising season for Vancouver. If I were Canucks management, I’d try to sell off valuable assets for a rebuild or partial rebuild.

Cool story for the Flames … and maybe Calgary fans are even happier to see Vancouver sliding down.

-- The ENGs inflate things for sure, but it doesn't change the fact that Calgary's big line came up big once again. Jiri Hudler had the best game of all with two goals and two assists while both Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan both had one-goal, two-assist games. Hudler and Gaudreau are now at six points in as many postseason games while Monahan had five points in six. Impressive stuff.

-- That wasn't the only Calgary line that had a big game, though. Michael Ferland scored a goal and two assists, much like Matt Stajan (who had the game-winner). David Jones generated three assists. I wouldn't count on more of that from that trio, but it's a great bonus for anyone who stumbled on them on Saturday.

-- Jannik Hansen was one of the few Canucks to have a good Game 6, managing a goal and an assist with an even plus/minus.

-- I wouldn't lay too much blame on the Sedin twins, in this game and others. Yes, they had twin -2 ratings, but each grabbed an assist and generating OK offense. The biggest issue may simply be that they're no longer good enough to be the best scorers on a good team.

BLACKHAWKS 4, PREDATORS 3 (Chicago advances)

-- James Neal seemingly put the Predators into prime position to get to Game 7 with the first two goals of the contest. Neal had five points in this series, all coming in the past three games. Neal also had a +3 rating and eight PIM in the past three contests.

-- Just like that, Scott Darling is almost certainly out of the mix unless Corey Crawford REALLY flops in the second round. Darling allowed three goals on 12 shots before being pulled 11:16 into the game.

Remarkably, Corey Crawford only faced 13 shots through the remaining 48:44 of the game.

-- Another big game for Duncan Keith (the game-winner, two assists) and Jonathan Toews (one goal, two assists as well).

-- The goal Patrick Kane scored was just astounding, though. You're not supposed to be able to shoot like that, especially when you've returned far too soon from an injury.

-- Challenging series for Pekka Rinne after a fantastic regular season. The good news is that he won't face the Blackhawks every night in the 2015-16 season.

ISLANDERS 3, CAPITALS 1

-- The ridiculous end of the game scrum generated 26 PIM, including a 10-minute misconduct for Cal Clutterbuck, who had quite the all-purpose game with a goal, seven hits and three SOG.

It seemed like officials handed out penalties pretty oddly, especially a misconduct to Matt Donovan, a decision that still seems to puzzle everyone involved ... at least everyone on the record, as the refs don't answer questions after the game.

-- Speaking of calls, it was odd that there weren't any whistles before Nikolay Kulemin's game-winning goal. Alex Ovechkin delivered a questionable check on John Tavares after there was a bit of scrum already, but it all went by and Kulemin won it.

It's weird that this all worked out for Islanders, but it did, and in front of an incredible crowd.

-- I'd watch out for suspensions ... if there wasn't a Game 7 coming up. Instead, maybe there's a risk for a fine, though I wouldn't be shocked if the NHL just wanted to look the other way.

-- John Carlson was finally rewarded with his first goal of the 2015 postseason. He did it on 17 SOG in six contests.

-- Tavares keeps coming up big, this time with a goal and an assist. Something tells me that kid's going to be OK.

-- Jaroslav Halak just tortures the Capitals in elimination games, doesn't he? He stopped 38 out of 39 shots this time around. If he wins Game 7, it will be quite the narrative.

-- Braden Holtby wasn't half-bad either, stopping 35 out of 37 in defeat.

RED WINGS 4, LIGHTNING 0

-- Yeah, this game was rough at times. Like, make a certain fantasy column fella a little worried about the quality of the second round, entertainment-wise.

-- Petr Mrazek now has two shutouts in the past three games after stopping 28 shots. Mrazek hasn't faced a whole lot of shots since stealing Game 1 against Tampa Bay.

-- Much like Carlson, Steve Stamkos has 17 SOG in six games, only Stamkos hasn't even found the net. That has to work out sooner rather than later, right? As strong as Detroit's defense has been, he feels due.

-- Jonathan Drouin was scratched in Game 5, and it's easy to see why. He didn't even receive nine minutes of ice time in his playoff debut in Game 4, generating a -2 rating (meaning he was on the ice for both Detroit goals).

-- Jason Garrison received 20:04 TOI in his second game back from injury after grabbing an assist in just 14:14 TOI in his return.

For a full list of injuries and suspensions, click here. Go to Rotoworld's NHL page for breaking hockey news and more.