ANAHEIM, Calif. – Corey Perry has made a name for coming up clutch in big moments. He also gave the upstart Calgary Flames an up-close and personal lesson on what it takes to be the difference-maker in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Perry scored the winner 2:26 into overtime as the Ducks eliminated the Flames with a 3-2 win in Game 5 on Sunday night.
“Textbook Perry,” said Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen, who made 17 saves.
Anaheim got a scare when Perry was on the wrong end of a brutal-looking knee-on-knee hit from Matt Stajan late in the second period. Perry had to crawl to the bench, unable to put any weight on his right leg, but returned a few minutes later and received a huge ovation.
Perry earned bigger cheers when he put a Patrick Maroon rebound past Flames goaltender Karri Ramo as he was sprawled on the ice to end the game.
It was Perry’s fourth goal and eighth point of the series, giving him a league-leading 15 points in just nine games.
Matt Beleskey and Ryan Kesler also scored for Anaheim, which advance to the Western Conference finals for the fourth time in franchise history and first since winning the Stanley Cup in 2007.
The Flames finally got scoring production from Jiri Hudler and Johnny Gaudreau, who both scored. The combination of Hudler, Gaudreau, and Sean Monahan had accounted for only two goals and one assist through the first four games.
But Calgary couldn’t sustain its brief periods of success. The Ducks blistered Ramo throughout, and turned up the heat to start overtime, with seven shots in less than three minutes. Ramo finished the game by making 44 saves.
“I’m rooting for them,” Flames coach Bob Hartley said. “We didn’t give them anything. They earned it. They were the better team, and you have to tip your hat to them because they work hard and they battle. It’s not by luck that they beat us.”
The Ducks will have home-ice advantage in the next round against the Chicago Blackhawks, which bodes well for the Pacific Division champions. They are 5-0 at Honda Center, thanks in large part to their prowess on both the power play and penalty kill.
After conceding a power-play goal at home for the first time this post-season to open the scoring on Hudler’s slapshot 10:43 into the first period, Jakob Silfverberg found Kesler for a one-timer blast to capitalize on Joe Colborne’s attempt to put Hampus Lindholm in a sleeper hold, tying the game at 1-1.
The Ducks have now converted on 7-of-19 power plays at home this post-season, a staggering 36.8 percentage
The Flames responded 56 seconds later to retake the lead. Gaudreau eventually capitalized on the Ducks’ failure to clear the puck in their own zone, scoring his second goal of the series and fourth of the post-season.
Dennis Wideman added two assists for his second multi-point game of the post-season. He was also effective in helping stifle the Ducks’ dominant offence by blocking nine shots, but it wasn’t enough to stave off elimination.
Beleskey set a new Ducks’ post-season record with his fifth straight game with a goal when he redirected Francois Beauchemin’s power-play shot 59 seconds into the third period to tie the game at 2-2.
And while the disappointment was palpable afterwards, David Jones was pleased that the Flames were in this position, making the post-season at the expense of the defending champion Los Angeles Kings and playoff stalwart San Jose Sharks before ousting the rival Vancouver Canucks in the first round.
“We lost and we’re done, but this team played unbelievably down the stretch just to get into the playoffs and win a round. Beat these guys, broke their little streak they had going, and we were right there tonight,” Jones said. “They’re real deep and a strong team too. I think they have a good chance to go all the way, but I’m real proud of our team.”
Notes: The Flames have now lost 22 consecutive games at Honda Center dating back to the 2006 Western Conference quarter-finals. … Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau advanced past the second round of the playoffs for the first time in seven career appearances.
Comments