(SportsNetwork.com) – The Anaheim Ducks will aim for a third straight victory
and also a measure of revenge when they host the surprising Calgary Flames in
Tuesday’s Pacific Division showdown at Honda Center.
The Ducks have won two straight on the heels of a two-game losing streak, a
skid which featured last Tuesday’s shootout loss in Calgary.
The Flames notched a 4-3 win against visiting Anaheim last week, with Sean
Monahan providing the decisive goal of the shootout. Jonas Hiller, who had
spent the first seven NHL seasons with Anaheim before signing with Calgary
last summer, picked up the win in his first encounter with his old team.
Hiller made 24 saves through regulation and overtime and stopped Jakob
Silfverberg and Corey Perry in the shootout.
Calgary has won two of the last three meetings with the Ducks, but Anaheim
has dominated the Flames on home ice, winning 18 straight encounters in Orange
County. The last time the Flames beat the Ducks on the road was on Jan. 19,
2004.
The Ducks are currently leading the Pacific with 31 points, two more than
second-place Vancouver and three ahead of Calgary.
Anaheim is 2-0 since last week’s loss to the Flames, picking up Thursday’s
road victory over Vancouver before beginning a three-game homestand with
Sunday’s close win against Arizona.
The Ducks scored both of their goals on Sunday in the second period and held
on for the win in the third. Arizona’s Keith Yandle made it a one-goal game
less than nine minutes into the final stanza, but the Coyotes couldn’t even
the score despite outshooting the Ducks 17-5 in the third.
Patrick Maroon netted the eventual game-winning goal late in the second
period, while Kyle Palmieri recorded the other marker. Ryan Kesler supplied
two assists and Maroon also added a helper for the Ducks, while Frederik
Andersen turned aside 26 shots in the win.
“I haven’t been playing well lately. Tonight is a stepping stone for me,” said
Maroon, who recorded his first goal of the season.
Andersen stopped only 16-of-19 shots in last week’s loss to the Flames and is
1-0-1 with a lifetime 3.13 goals against average in this matchup. Anaheim
backup Jason LaBarbera is 2-5-0 with a 3.08 GAA in his career against Calgary.
The Ducks, who are 6-2-3 as the host this season, will complete their
homestand Friday against Chicago.
Calgary, which finished 14 points out of a playoff spot last season, is one of
the league’s most surprising clubs in 2014-15 and has picked up wins in eight
of its last 11 games.
The Flames went 4-1-0 on a recent five-game homestand. The lone loss came
against Chicago last Thursday, two days after Calgary beat the Ducks. However,
Bob Hartley’s club was able to return to the win column on Saturday, rallying
for a shootout win over the New Jersey Devils.
Calgary trailed the Devils by scores of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 before sending the
game to an extra session. The Flames scored two goals with their goalie pulled
late in regulation to knot the game at 4-4 before winning in the shootout.
Jiri Hudler scored with 2:22 remaining to pull the Flames within one and
Curtis Glencross tied it with just five seconds to play in regulation. After
the overtime period could not solve things and each team scored once in the
first three rounds of the shootout, Hudler snapped a wrister past Scott
Clemmensen and Travis Zajac’s response glanced off the glove of Karri Ramo to
end it.
Ramo finished with 25 saves for the Flames. Glencross netted two goals and
Josh Jooris also scored in the victory.
“I don’t know how they do it, but we found a way again,” said Hartley, whose
club now has a league-high five wins when trailing after two periods. “We’re
not making it easy, but we’re making it interesting.”
Calgary hopes to stay hot tonight when it begins a three-game road trip. The
Flames are 7-4-0 as the visiting team this season and will also face San Jose
and Arizona during this swing.
Hiller is expected to get the start tonight in his second career appearance
against his former club.
