Canucks solve goaltender dilemma, Ryan Miller to start

With the Vancouver Canucks' season on the line, coach Willie Desjardins has decided on his starting goalie for Game 5 against the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.

While at first reticent to reveal his choice, Desjardins confirmed Thursday that veteran Ryan Miller will get the start.

Miller signed on to be the Canucks' No. 1 goalie in the summer and held the job until he suffered a knee injury in February. Lack carried the load the rest of the way and has played in 25 of Vancouver's last 27 games, while Miller's only action prior to Game 4 was a start in the regular-season finale.

"Not ideal circumstances," Miller said about having to spell Lack in relief. "I didn't want to have to come into that kind of a pivotal game. I would have liked to see a tight score there, but the coach was looking for a spark for the guys. Eddie's performed really well in the series so far."

Eddie Lack played the first four games of the series, but allowed three goals on seven shots in Game 4 before getting the hook in favor of Miller, who stopped all 15 shots he faced.

"Obviously, we're disappointed," said Lack. "But there's a new day today, new possibilities and we're just looking forward to (Thursday).

"I want to play and I felt like I've been good at home, but it's not up to me. Whatever the coach's decision is going to be I'm going to be behind it 100 percent."

Raise their game

No matter who got the nod from Desjardins, the Canucks have to raise their game another notch in order to avoid elimination in front of their fans.

"It's got to be a group effort. I think your leaders are always a big part of it, but I think belief at this time of year is always the most important," Desjardins said. "If you believe that you can win then that's what drives you to play hard and keeps you going."

A lot has been made about Henrik and Daniel Sedin's ice time in the series, and Desjardins conceded that his balanced four-line approach might need some tweaking with the season on the line.

"You've got to adjust to the situation. What brought you here doesn't count. It's what happens now that's important," Desjardins said. "One sign of a good team is not to panic and totally change everything, but at the same time you have to make adjustments when you need it."

Getting shots through

One modification that needs to be made is getting more shots through after Calgary blocked 29 of Vancouver's 70 attempts in Game 4.

"It's the biggest one so far and we've just got to come out and play hard," Henrik Sedin said. "We can't change too much. There's a few things we've looked at where we can make some adjustments, but overall we've got to trust that we're doing a lot of things well and trust the process."

The Canucks have lost 13 of their last 15 playoff games dating to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, but Desjardins is confident his veteran core help can force a Game 6 in Calgary on Saturday.

"They've been down 3-1 in a series and come back, they've been up 3-1 in a series and lost," he said. "They know at 3-1 the series isn't over."

Burrows out, Baertschi in

The Canucks announced forward Alexandre Burrows is done for the series after he left the morning skate prior to Game 4 and was taken to hospital. Desjardins said Burrows remains in Calgary, but added the injury isn't serious.

Vancouver will insert forward Sven Baertschi into the lineup.

The 22-year-old was acquired from the Flames in a trade earlier this season and was recalled from the American Hockey League prior to Game 4. The 22-year-old had two goals in three regular-season games with Vancouver,

Baertschi, the 13th overall pick in the 2011 draft, skated on a line with Nick Bonino and Radim Vrbata at practice yesterday.