CALGARY – The Anaheim Ducks tightened their grip on their playoff series against the Calgary Flames with a 4-2 win on Friday.
The Ducks lead the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal three games to one. Game 5 is Sunday in Anaheim, where the Ducks will look to close out the series.
Matt Beleskey’s power-play goal early in the third period stood up as the winner and Patrick Maroon added an empty-net goal to secure the victory.
Jacob Silfverberg had a goal and an assist and Andrew Cogliano also scored for the visitors. Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen made 25 saves for the win.
Sean Monahan and Michael Ferland replied for the Flames, who suffered their first loss at home this post-season. Calgary’s Karri Ramo stopped 25-of-28 shots in the loss.
The Honda Center has historically been a tough building for Calgary. The Flames have just one win there – a single playoff victory in 2006 – in the last 11 years.
“It makes sense that if we go home 3-1, we’re in a better position than they are,” Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said prior to the game. “Two-two, they’ve got momentum coming into our building, so we’d much prefer the 3-1.”
The Ducks opened the third period with a four-minute man advantage. Calgary’s Joe Colborne was slapped with a double minor for high-sticking Francois Beauchemin at the second-period buzzer.
Beleskey batted in a rebound at 1:11 for a go-ahead goal and Anaheim’s second power-play goal of the game. Calgary had almost a minute’s worth of 5-on-3 midway through the period, but didn’t counter.
With Ramo pulled for an extra attacker, Maroon sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:23.
Anaheim drew even late in the second on a turnover in Calgary’s end. Seconds after the Flames killed off a minor for too many men, centre Kyle Palmieri stripped Johnny Gaudreau of the puck and dished to Cogliano, who beat Ramo between the pads at 16:42.
Anaheim scored first, but the Flames led 2-1 after a stronger opening period. Calgary’s relentless forecheck hamstrung the Ducks defencemen breaking out of their own end.
The Flames outshot Anaheim 9-2 before the Ducks began generating scoring chances late in the period.
Ferland lugged the puck along the boards and bulldozed his way into Anaheim’s zone, where he beat Andersen with a slapshot from just inside the blue-line at 5:44.
Monahan’s first of the series tied the game at 4:37. He mopped up on a rebound after Gaudreau slipped through Ducks coverage with fancy stickwork and got a shot away.
Anaheim opened the scoring with Silfverberg’s power-play goal at 3:58. Ryan Kesler gained the zone and dished laterally to the Swede, whose wrist shot ticked off the stick of Flames defenceman T.J. Brodie and beat Ramo high glove side.
Calgary beefed up Friday with rugged wingers Lance Bouma and Ferland returning to the lineup from injury. Anaheim forward Tomas Fleischmann drew in for the first time in the series for Emerson Etem.
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