Game two.

The Abbotsford Canucks were back in Coachella for the second leg of the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

The Canucks were looking to take a stranglehold on this best-of-five series and head back home with a chance to advance early.

But it wasn’t the start they were looking for on the road. Giving up three goals in the opening period, the Canucks found themselves down bad after 20 minutes.

However, thanks to a coaching masterclass, the away team rallied in the back half to show off the reliance they have brought all season long. Going back and forth, they eventually clawed their way back to lead this game.

Unfortunately, that lead didn’t last forever. After an unfortunate giveaway, the Firebirds took the game in extra time to even the series heading back to Abbotsford.

Let’s check in on the action.

Why change a good thing? With neither of the Canucks’ injured players returning, the lineup remained unchanged from the opening game.

It was a typical Game Two start, with two combatants throwing down early.

Jett Woo took a big hit in the numbers, which sent him to the ice and eventually the bench. He did not return to the game.

Answering the call was Jujhar Khaira, who stood up for his fallen teammate by dropping the gloves for a fight with Ian Mackinnon.

Unfortunately, the Firebirds were on the receiving end of the gained momentum.

Coachella defender Gustav Olofsson took the puck off the ensuing face-off and unloaded a labelled slapshot to the top corner.

The home team drew first blood for a second straight game, with an opening goal to set the tone early.

The difference in this game was that the Canucks failed to grab a response.

Regrouping in his own end, Game One’s third star, Guillaume Brisebois, coughed up the puck behind his own net.

Collecting the puck was Logan Morrison, who banked the puck back to the rookie Ty Nelson, who unloaded the one-timer from distance.

Hitting Cole McWard on the way, the puck took a quick ricochet to beat Silovs cleanly and give them their first two-goal lead of the series.

The Canucks did respond with a couple of chances, though.

First up was Danila Klimovich, who collected the puck in the circles before stickhandling through a few defenders for a backhand shot.

Despite following with the rebound, he couldn’t bank it past a scrambling Nikke Kokko, who was out of sorts.

Shortly after, Linus Karlsson broke through for a breakaway, sending a shot into the netminder’s glove for his best game save.

Sparking a skirmish after the whistle, Karlsson was handed the game’s first penalty, earning a two-minute call for roughing.

With the penalty killed off, Abbotsford did earn a powerplay of their own, where they collected their best shot of the game.

Max Sasson, working behind the net, fooled the entire arena, sending a cheeky behind-the-back dish to Chase Wouters at the netfront.

Unfortunately, he rang the puck off the post to keep them off the scoresheet.

And as is typically the case in hockey, the Firebirds made them pay for the missed opportunity.

With time winding down, John Hayden circled the net before finding Max Lajoie alone in the slot. Taking the puck off the skate, he fired a shot that hit the pads of Silvos and trickled past him to triple their lead.

Although the Canucks did not play a poor period, per see, things did not go their way as they ate a three goal deficit heading into the dressing room.

Looking for a spark, Manny Malhotra elected to insert Nikita Tolopilo into the mix for his first taste of AHL playoff hockey.

With Silovs seeing all five playoff games to date, it was a good opportunity to give their 1B some minutes in the hopes that he could steal a game.

In addition to the goalie change, Malhotra put his forward lines in the blender.

And boy, did it work.

The first change was putting Phil Di Giuseppe alongside Aatu Räty and Linus Karlsson on the first line.

Grabbing the puck in the corner, he spun and sent the puck toward the net. Sometimes, you have to get lucky, and that’s precisely what he got.

Banking off a defender, the puck squeezed through the wickets of Kokko to get the Canucks on the board.

The Firebirds responded, but Tolopilo stood tall for his first pair of AHL playoff saves.

The Canucks rewarded their new netminder with a goal at the other end

With the puck at the blueline, Cole McWard sent a deliberate shot wide of the net. Grabbing the puck for a battle along the boards was Jujhar Khaira, who poked it through to Nate Smith

With no hesitation, he corralled the puck and provided the strong wrap-around all the way around the pads to cut the deficit to just one goal.

Once again, the Canucks show extreme resilience to will their way back into the game.

While ultimately, it’s on the players to respond with a couple of goals, credit must be given to Manny Malhotra for recognizing the stagnant start. Rather than letting the game go by, he wasted no time calling a lineup audible, which resulted in most making immediate differences.

Over the next stretch of hockey, the Canucks received some puck luck, with the Firebirds hitting several posts.

The Canucks couldn’t find an equalizer in the middle frame. But, considering where the period started, they absolutely enjoyed the one-goal deficit in the final period.

It was a hectic start, as the Firebirds sent a few shots toward the net.

Luckily, Guillaume Brisebois was up to his old tricks, getting his body in front of a grade-A chance.

We call that a Brise-block.

And that block came up huge.

Following the gained entry, Kirill Kudryavtsev dropped the puck to Sammy Blais. He found Nate Smith on the right side with a quick heads-up play.

Rather than shoot, he fooled everyone by dropping it to Jujhar Khaira, who had a yawning cage to even the score.

The shot caused some confusion in the arena, as play continued shortly.

After a quick video review, it was determined that the puck did, indeed, hit the back bar.

And just like that, the Canucks crawled back to score three straight and tie the game midway through the third period.

At the other end, Tolopilo held up his end of the bargain, stretching out to get a pad down on several jam attempts.

With six minutes to go, the Abbbotsford Canucks completed the comeback…

Sammy Blais broke into the zone courtesy of a fantastic solo effort, splitting the defence to get in deep.

Working the boards, he got the puck down to Nate Smith, who made the quick pass to a driving Khaira.

Taking the pass, he shot the puck farside to beat Kokko for his second goal of the game and period to give the Canucks their first lead of the night.

But don’t plan the parade just yet…

The Firebirds grabbed a dirty one late, with several players hacking at a loose puck. Eventually, Ben Meyers got the last touch, jamming his second goal of the game to tie the game in the final minutes.

That goal stood, as neither team could find a late go-ahead goal.

For the first time of the postseason, the Abbotsford Canucks would have to settle the score in overtime.

Like the third, the overtime session started with some solid looks for the home team, nearly beating Tolopilo.

The netminder was the early hero in the extra frame, making several saves to keep the game going in overtime.

Nevertheless, despite the strong saves in both overtime and the game itself, Nikita Tolopilo made the final mistake.

It’s an unfortunate ending to a solid game for the netminder who came in relief. And with the goal, this game heads back to Abbotsford in a 1-1 series tie.

The series now shifts to Abbotsford for the next three games (if necessary). They will enjoy a small break, with Game Three coming on Wednesday, May 7th. The puck drops at 7:00 pm at the Abbotsford Centre.