CALGARY — Daniel Sedin had a goal and two assists for the Vancouver Canucks in a 5-1 season-opening win over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
Jannik Hansen, Brandon Sutter, Alex Burrows and captain Henrik Sedin also scored for the visitors in a rematch of a Western Conference quarter-final playoff last April between Calgary and Vancouver.
The Flames won that series in six games to advance to the second round, where they lost out in five to the Anaheim Ducks.
Vancouver defenceman Ben Hutton recorded his first point in his NHL debut with an assist on Hansen’s goal. Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller made 29 saves for the win
Jiri Hudler replied for the Flames with Karri Ramo stopping 39 of 44 shots in the loss.
The two clubs square off again Saturday in Vancouver for the second of their five meetings this season in the Pacific Division.
Henrik Sedin scored on a sharp-angled wrist shot at 16:31 of the third extend Vancouver’s lead to four goals.
The Canucks led 4-1 on an own-goal by Calgary at 8:17 in the third. Flames defenceman Dennis Wideman knocked down a long, off-speed shot by Burrows, but tipped it past Ramo.
Daniel Sedin restored Vancouver’s two-goal lead with five seconds left in the second period. A Dan Hamhuis shot deflected off Ramo, then Sedin and into Calgary’s net to make it 3-1.
The Flames trailing 2-0, Hudler halved the deficit at 3:39 of the second. Canucks defenceman Luca Sbisa turned the puck over under pressure from Sean Monahan. Johnny Gaudreau dished to Hudler who beat Miller between the pads.
Sutter scored a pretty goal in his first game in a Canucks jersey. He batted a rebound out of the air past Ramo with a deft touch at 18:01 of the first period. The Canucks dealt forward Nick Bonino, defenceman Adam Clendening and a draft pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in July to obtain Sutter.
Hansen took Hutton’s cross-ice pass along the boards and beat Ramo top corner glove side with a blast from the top of the circle at 10:34.
Calgary’s Micheal Ferland and Vancouver’s Derek Dorsett dropped the gloves two seconds after the opening faceoff. Flames winger Brandon Bollig and Canucks forward Brandon Prust then traded punches eight minutes into the game.