The Anaheim Ducks scored three unanswered third-period goals to erase a two-goal deficit and beat the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Friday at Scotiabank Saddledome. Leo Carlsson tied the game early in the third period and finished with a goal and an assist for two points.
Calgary built a 3-1 lead in the first period on goals from William Stromgren, Joel Hanley and Joel Farabee. Anaheim answered with goals in the second and three in the third, including the eventual winner from Cutter Gauthier and an empty-net insurance goal from Nikita Nesterenko. Morgan Frost led the Flames with two assists but finished on the losing side as Calgary fell to 7-9-1.
Key Moments: How The Ducks Rallied
Calgary came out fast. Stromgren opened the scoring at 2:23 of the first period on a backhand, assisted by Zayne Parekh and Yan Kuznetsov. Jeff Malott answered for Anaheim just 27 seconds later to tie it 1-1, but the Flames regained control late in the frame. Hanley scored on a slap shot at 16:29, and Farabee added a snap shot goal with assists from Parekh and Frost at 19:02, sending Calgary into the first intermission up 3-1.
Anaheim cut the deficit to 3-2 in the second period when Tristan Luneau beat Dustin Wolf with a snap shot at 12:02, assisted by Jackson LaCombe and Carlsson. The Ducks then took over in the third. Carlsson tied it 3-3 just 55 seconds into the period on a snap shot set up by Beckett Sennecke and Mikael Granlund. Gauthier put Anaheim ahead for good with a slap shot at 18:26, assisted by Granlund and Sennecke, and Nesterenko sealed it with an empty-net wrist shot at 19:46.
Top Performers
Carlsson finished with a goal and an assist to lead the Ducks in points, while Granlund recorded two assists. Gauthier scored the go-ahead goal. Anaheim goaltender Ville Husso stopped all 10 shots he faced in relief, while Lukas Dostal allowed three goals on 11 shots before being replaced.
For Calgary, Frost set up two goals for two points, and Parekh also had two assists on the blue line. Dustin Wolf made 24 saves on 28 shots in a losing effort. Anaheim out-shot Calgary 29-21 and went 1 for 3 on the power play. The Flames won the faceoff battle 34-26 and out-blocked the Ducks 22-12, but could not hold their first-period lead.
What It Means
The win improved Anaheim to 9-7-1 and kept the Ducks within four points of the final wild-card position in the Pacific Division, according to the standings released after the game. Anaheim also took a 2-1 lead in the season series against Calgary. The Flames dropped to 7-9-1 and sit sixth in the Pacific, two points behind the Ducks.
Anaheim has won three of its last four games, including wins over the Edmonton Oilers 5-4, the Ottawa Senators 6-3 and the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4.
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