Vancouver Canucks left wing Alex Burrows is mobbed by teammates after scoring in overtime to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks to win Game 7 in Vancouver Tuesday. (Reuters) VANCOUVER: The No. 1 seeded Vancouver Canucks edged the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in overtime in game seven of their NHL opening round playoff series. Last year's playoff finalists Philadelphia Flyers also reached the NHL playoff quarterfinals Tuesday by defeating Buffalo 5-2 in another game seven. Alex Burrows scored his second goal 5:22 into overtime and Roberto Luongo made 31 saves for the Canucks who averted an epic collapse after winning the first three games of the best-of-seven series then dropping three straight. “We knew it would be tough series and we stuck with it,” Canucks forward Daniel Sedin said. “It was great to see Burrows get the winning goal.” Burrows intercepted an ill-timed Chris Campoli pass out of his own zone and blasted a shot over the shoulder of rookie Chicago goalie Corey Crawford. Burrows became the hero after almost costing his team the game by taking a bad penalty early in the overtime. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews set the stage for overtime by scoring a shorthanded goal with just under two minutes left in the third period to make it 1-1. It was the first goal of the 2011 playoffs for Toews, who was Chicago's star player during their championship run last season. The Canucks had been eliminated from the post-season in each of the last two seasons by the Blackhawks. After getting revenge on Chicago, Vancouver, who had the best record of any team in the regular season, now face Nashville in the quarterfinals. Flyers 5, Sabres 2: In Philadelphia, the hosts won Game 7 of the first-round series against Buffalo to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. The defending conference champions, who raced to a 4-0 lead and chased Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller in the third, must wait to learn their next opponent: Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay. Braydon Coburn, Danny Briere, James van Riemsdyk, and Ville Leino all scored against Miller, and Dan Carcillo added a goal in the third. Flyers goalie Brian Boucher, who may have solidified himself as the No. 1 goalie for as long as Philadelphia's postseason run lasts, made 25 saves but lost a bid at the Flyers' first shutout of the playoffs when Tyler Myers made it 4-1 in the third. Brad Boyes scored on a late backhander for Buffalo to trim it to 5-2. Canadiens 2, Bruins 1: In Montreal, the home team edged Boston to force a Game 7. The decider is Wednesday in Boston, with the Bruins looking to beat the Canadiens for only the ninth time in 33 postseason series. Montreal's Brian Gionta and Michael Cammalleri scored during two separate two-man advantages. Dennis Seidenberg scored for Boston, which played more than half the game without ejected winger Milan Lucic but still outshot the Canadiens 32-27. Lucic was given a major for boarding and a game misconduct for a hit from behind on Jaroslav Spacek. Boston had taken the lead in the closely contested series with consecutive overtime wins, but couldn't get the equalizer past sharp Montreal goalie Carey Price, who made 31 saves.
