Two teams in the midst of a revival meet Thursday when the Anaheim Ducks play host to the Calgary Flames.
Both teams have won consecutive games after losing streaks. The Ducks have rallied back after losing five consecutive games and 13 of 14 going back to Nov. 15. The Flames were on a four-game losing streak and had dropped six of their previous seven before their back-to-back wins.
The Ducks are set to open a season-long eight-game home stretch after a 2-2-0 road trip that concluded when they defeated the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings on consecutive days by scoring nine combined goals.
John Gibson made 18 saves over the first two periods before being pulled for feeling sick in the easy 5-1 victory over the Devils on Sunday, while Lukas Dostal made 29 saves to get past the Red Wings 4-3 on Monday in his first win since Nov. 1. Adam Henrique scored a combined four goals in the victories, including his first career hat trick against New Jersey.
Anaheim showed a rare sense of urgency against Detroit, taking a 3-0 lead in the first period before increasing it to 4-0 on a goal from Troy Terry at 1:46 of the second period.
“We haven’t been in that position many times this year,” Terry said of the big early lead. “The story of our season has been getting a goal or two behind and having to battle back. (Monday) we got the lead early and I liked the way we managed the game.”
The Ducks continue to await the return of forward Trevor Zegras and defenseman Jamie Drysdale from lower-body injuries; both started to skate with the team before the road trip and are likely to play again before the end of the homestand.
The Flames found some success during a quick two-game return home when they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Saturday and the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Monday. They preceded that by going 0-3 on a road trip and are in Southern California for consecutive games with a visit to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
The last two losses on that three-game road trip came in games that were tied through three periods, leaving the Flames on a four-game points streak (2-0-2).
Jacob Markstrom made 33 saves in the victory over the Panthers after missing the previous seven games with a broken finger. Martin Pospisil, Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman each scored goals, with Backlund and Coleman scoring while short-handed.
Coleman is on a seven-game points streak.
Calgary has eight short-handed goals this season, tied with the New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues for most in the NHL at the start of play Wednesday. The Flames’ 82.0 penalty-kill percentage was 10th in the league.
“We’ve got some players that can skate well, and if there’s a chance, we talked about that we don’t cheat for chances, but if the play’s there we go for it,” said Backlund, who broke a 1-1 tie at 3:31 of the third period. “If we can find a way to score some big goals, that’s big for the team.”
But the Flames are one of the worst teams with a man advantage, scoring 11 goals with an 11.3 power-play percentage.
–Field Level Media
