Photo: AP
By Michael Walters
The Anaheim Ducks hosted the Calgary Flames for their final home game of the season. John Gibson was back in net after missing several games with an upper-body injury. Alex Stalock was reassigned to San Diego. Dustin Wolf was in net for Calgary.
This was Jakob Silfverberg‘s last game at Honda Center. The Ducks did a video tribute to honor him at the beginning of the first period. The team also got together with his family for a group photo at center ice after the game.
Recap
The Ducks got the first power play of the game just under five minutes into this contest, but it would be the Flames who would score shorthanded to take a 1-0 lead. Andrew Mangiapane scored after a turnover by the Ducks led to an odd man rush.
Just over halfway through the first period, Nazem Kadri scored from the slot during 4-on-4 play. Calgary led 2-0 after the first period.
Early in the second period the Flames made it 3-0 with a power play goal by Andrei Kuzmenko. The Ducks challenged for goalie interference, but the refs upheld the goal despite Kuzmenko pushing the puck and Gibson’s left leg pad into the net.
Calgary added another goal late in the second period to make it 4-0. Connor Zary scored with a backhand at the side of the net.
The Ducks mounted a comeback in the third period. Sam Colangelo scored his first NHL goal after getting to a loose puck behind Wolf and sweeping in the net.
A few minutes later Trevor Zegras made a fancy pass behind the net to Frank Vatrano, who scored short side to pull the Ducks with in two.
Olen Zellweger then got the Ducks within one goal with a point shot that deflected and went past Wolf. In about four minutes of play suddenly the Ducks were back in it.
The Flames responded though with two goals from Kuzmenko, who completed the hat trick. He scored on the power play with just under six minutes to go and then added another about three minutes later. The Ducks ended up dropping this one 6-3.
Analysis:
Anaheim got off to a rough start and it unfortunately continued for the first two periods. The Ducks were only able to manage six shots on goals halfway through the game and had 10 through two periods. They found themselves down 4-0 in what looked like a complete blowout of a game.
The Ducks did fight back to make it interesting as they scored three goals in just over a span of four minutes in the beginning of the third period. However, the Flames responded with two more goals to dash any hopes of the Ducks coming back for Silfverberg’s final game at Honda Center.
Special teams was a big factor in this game. The Flames scored twice in five power play attempts and a shorthanded goal as well. The Ducks had two power play chances and couldn’t get anything going.
It was great to see the Ducks try to fight back in the third period instead of just getting blowout, but they are going to need a better effort like they displayed earlier in the week if they want to beat LA and Vegas in their final two games.
Team Notes/Stats:
Sam Colangelo scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game.
This was Silfverberg’s last game at Honda Center and he has two more before he retires from the NHL. After the game he talked about still playing hockey likely in Sweden in the future.
What’s Next?
The Ducks travel to LA to face the Kings tonight at 7:30 PM.
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April 13th, 2024
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