Al MacInnis scored a power play goal in the first period to draw first blood:
The first period ended with the home team being down 1-0.
At 1:45 of the second period, Vancouver’s Doug Smith drew a holding penalty on a somewhat questionable call. The Canucks Brian Bozek and Rich Sutter flew down the ice on a shorthanded 2 on 1 and came very close to tying the game. The Canucks were dominating play, despite being shorthanded.
Then veteran Harold Snespts retrieved the puck behind Kirk McLean and passed it up the left hand side of the ice to a streaking Trevor Linden. Trevor split the defense and scored an amazing goal that thrusted the Coliseum Fans into a frenzy:
NHL Playoffs Round 1, Game 6 (Source: CBC/CFTK-Terrace, Original Broadcast)
Host: Steve Armitage / Color: John Garrett / Play-by-Play: Bob Cole
By the middle of the 1988-89 season, the Vancouver Canucks found themselves struggling and only maintained hope of a playoff spot due to an unexpectedly poor season by the Winnipeg Jets.
However, a club-record seven-game winning streak in February would change everything.
The team would delight the hometown fans in the late stages of the season, putting together a 12-game home unbeaten streak. The Canucks finished with 74 points, and went on to secure a playoff position on March 23. They were to face the NHL’s number one team in the regular season, the Calgary Flames, whom everybody expected to be settled in five games or less.
Game 1: In the first game, the Canucks’ Paul Reinhart, an ex-Flame, sought revenge by sending a wrist shot through traffic over Mike Vernon’s left shoulder to break a tie late in the third period. The Canucks had won 4-3 and struck first blood in the series.
Games 2 and 3: The Flames showed everybody how they managed 117 points during the regular season, dominating the Canucks in all facets of the game in scoring 5-2 and 4-0 victories.
Game 4: The Vancouver Canucks bothered and pestered the talented Flames into taking bad penalties, resulting in four power-play goals and a shocking 5-0 lead, which chased Vernon from the game. The Canucks hung on for a 5-3 win and tied the series.
Game 5: The overworked Canucks were no match for the depth of the Flames in game five. The Calgarians cruised to another 4-0 win.
This sets the stage for Game 6, which took place on April 13, 1989. Here’s the Hockey Night in Canada intro: