Calgary, AB -- Canucks force Game 7 behind Morrison's triple-OT goal

Brendan Morrison scored 2:28 into triple overtime, as the Vancouver Canucks staved off elimination with a 5-4 win over Calgary in Game 6 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series at the Saddledome.

Morrison kept his team alive by taking a pass from Markus Naslund in the right corner and skating out to the front before going wide to beat Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, ending the longest game of the season and longest in Canucks history.

"We did what we wanted to do," Morrison said. "We stayed alive and now we have to go out and win the next one."

Alex Auld stopped 36 shots for the win that evened the series at 3-3, including 17 in overtime. The inexperienced netminder is the third goaltender in the series for Vancouver.

Starter Dan Cloutier sprained his ankle in Game 3 and is still out, and Johan Hedberg was benched due to shaky play in Game 4.

Goals by Jarkko Ruutu, Daniel Sedin, Brad May and Geoff Sanderson staked the Canucks to a 4-0 lead midway through the second period, but it was all Calgary from there as the Flames scored the next four to break even and send the game into overtime.

Oleg Saprykin, Ville Nieminen, Martin Gelinas and Chris Clark tallied during the monumental Flames rally, but it was still not enough to send Vancouver packing.

Kiprusoff finished with 47 saves on the first 51 shots he faced, but the 52nd proved to be the fateful blow.

The Flames will now have to wait until Monday to try to win their first playoff series since defeating Montreal in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1989. They will have to do it on the road as Game 7 will be played at Vancouver's GM Place.

Calgary was looking to become the first playoff team since the 1985 Minnesota North Stars to overcome a four-goal deficit en route to victory.

The Flames came within inches of ending it in the second overtime session, but a left-circle wrister by Nieminen rang off the post after getting by Auld's glove with 11 minutes left.

Both teams had point-blank scoring chances less than three minutes later. Saprykin and Stephane Yelle has successive shots stopped by Auld before Sanderson was stoned by Kiprusoff on the ensuing rush at the other end.

"I felt like both teams were getting some chances," said Canucks captain Trevor Linden. "Both teams had opportunities to end it. They hit a crossbar and we missed the net a few times, but it's overtime and that's the way it goes."

A carefully-played fourth period ended with the Flames on the power play via a late holding call on Mattias Ohlund as he reached out and pulled down Shean Donovan with only 36 seconds to play. The advantage carried over to the second overtime, but Calgary couldn't muster much offense with the extra skater.

Auld made 12 saves in the first overtime session, one more than Kiprusoff.

Just 16 seconds after Sanderson's goal made it 4-0, Saprykin's goal ignited the Calgary comeback. He tipped a wrist shot from the point on the way in, knocking it down through the legs of Auld to narrow the gap to three. The officials went upstairs to make sure Saprykin's stick didn't make contact with the puck above the crossbar, but after a lengthy review, the goal stood.

Calgary looked to get back in it with a second goal a little more than two minutes after the first on a spectacular individual effort by Nieminen. Nieminen took the puck out wide to the right before breaking toward the crease and stickhandling to his forehand around Auld to cut it to 4-2.

The second intermission did little to dampen the Flames' rally as Gelinas lit the lamp 1:14 into the third period, deflecting a shot by Clark behind Auld to make it a one-goal game.

With eight minutes remaining in regulation, Daniel Sedin looked to give the Canucks a two-goal lead again with an amazing display of hands in the slot, but Kiprusoff stood tall to kick the puck away.

The save proved to be huge as yet another deflection of a Regehr point shot -- this time by Clark -- went through the five-hole of Auld, leading the home crowd to erupt at the sight of the tying goal with 7:04 to go in the stanza.

Calgary showed a lack of discipline in the opening stanza by committing four separate minors. Vancouver, in turn, controlled the tempo, peppering Kiprusoff with 14 shots before finally getting one by the netminder with just under two minutes left.

Three Flames got caught below the goal line when the puck came out to Henrik Sedin at the lower left circle. He then slid it over to a wide-open Ruutu at the right of the goal mouth for the easy tap-in goal and a 1-0 lead.

The Canucks picked up right where they left off in the second period, scoring two quick goals to take the life out of the Flames' contingent.

Daniel Sedin tallied his first of the playoffs on the power play 5:32 into the middle frame after unleashing a nasty wrister from the left circle over the shoulder of Kiprusoff.

Vancouver made it 3-0 only 70 seconds later, reaping the benefits of May's first of the series. May was left all alone in front when Sanderson fed the puck over from the left boards. May then patiently fired a wrister past Kiprusoff's stick side.

Sanderson scored a goal of his own midway through the session for a four-goal margin, but the Flames began their comeback just 16 ticks later.

Kiprusoff seemed to revert to his Game 1 form up until that point, allowing four goals on the first 22 shots he faced. He then regained the magic that saw just four goals get behind him in the last four games before Morrison's winner.