Calgary Flames not taking series lead over Canucks for granted

After Sunday's 4-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks in front of a home crowd, the Calgary Flames are seeking a repeat performance as they get set for Game 4 of their opening series in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The team held an optional skate on Monday. While they acknowledge for the first three games they have been playing well, they are not about to rest on their laurels.

"We're just trying to roll four lines, activate our [defence], and everyone's got to put in a good effort. And that's what we're doing," said veteran forward Matt Stajan. "Everything's out there on the line, and we're a hungry team. We know they're going to be a hungry team tomorrow night trying to get a game back, so it's a big test for us."

And the team is looking to take advantage of this next game on home ice.

A win tomorrow night is critical since the series moves back to Vancouver on Thursday for Game 5, and Vancouver hasn't dropped any back-to-back games at home since January.

"We have tons of respect for the Canucks, but all year we've prepared ourselves according to our game plan," said head coach Bob Hartley. "We know how deep they are, we know how talented they are, but we're not going to change our recipe. We're going to prepare ourselves, like 80 per cent of our preparation will be on our team and 20 per cent will be on the Canucks."

For forward Joe Colborne, discipline will be an important issue moving ahead.

"Our penalty kill's been good. You can't expect to be killing off at the rate we are, especially with the skill that that team has. So we're playing with fire a bit there and that's something we've talked about we want to tighten up," he said.

So far in the series, five of the Flames' rookies have seen action on the ice, and they've made major contributions. Sam Bennett racked up his first NHL goal ever, a game-winner in Game Three. Michael Ferland is proving to be a force to be reckoned with, tallying a series-leading 18 hits.

The team's veteran players get credit for the rookies' maturity throughout the season.

"Our leadership, our veterans, our dressing room is a very strong dressing room," Hartley said. "Our young players are unbelievable, but Mark Giordano in the background, Matt Stajan, Dennis Wideman, Kris Russell. I hate to mention names because I always forgot some, but we're a family. I think that we're bigger than a team, we're a close family. We all care about each other, we always pick up each other. For me it's not surprising, I'm very impressed, but I'm not surprised."

The Calgary Flames take a shot at a 3-1 lead in their series against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. MT.