Flames at Ducks
While Mark Giordano may have unwittingly levied the first shot with his knee-on-knee hit on fellow defenseman Cam Fowler earlier this month, Anaheim Ducks veteran Ryan Getzlaf delivered his own message by lowering the boom on the Calgary Flames captain in the late stages of a series-opening victory. Buoyed by that big hit, the streaking Ducks vie for their 29th consecutive home win over the Flames on Saturday when the Pacific Division rivals play Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round series.
As for the open-ice hit that turned Honda Center into a frenzy, Getzlaf insisted he was just playing the body and it was business as usual while coach Randy Carlyle was far more succinct. "(It) was just the example of our guy making the difference," Carlyle said of Getzlaf, who also collected a goal and an assist in Thursday's 3-2 triumph to increase his point total to 29 (five goals, 24 assists) in his last 19 games overall and his postseason point total to a franchise-best 101 (30 goals, 71 assists) in 105 career contests. Calgary was undone in large part by its special teams, as Anaheim went 2-for-7 on the power play while the Flames failed to convert on a pair of two-man advantages late in the game. "We're frustrated and our discipline hurt us, but we're right there," Giordano said. "We can play with these guys, we know we can."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports
ABOUT THE FLAMES: Brian Elliott dragged a dismal 1-7-3 mark against the Ducks with a 3.20 goals-against average and .884 save percentage into the series, but the 32-year-old was done in by his mates - rather than his 38-save performance on Thursday. "It's tough when we give them everything," Elliott said. "Two power-play goals and a bad change, it's not like they really earned it that much. We kind of gave it to them. We clean things up (in Game 2) and we take care of business." Kris Versteeg has been all business this month as he set up goals by centers Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett on Thursday to increase his point total to 10 (two goals, eight assists) in his last eight games.
ABOUT THE DUCKS: Jakob Silfverberg scored and set up a goal Thursday to increase his playoff point total to six (one goal, five assists) in his last five contests. Fellow forward Rickard Rakell (team-leading 33 goals) also tallied to extend his point streak to three games, during which he has two goals and three assists. Ryan Kesler was held off the scoresheet for the third time in four contests but contributed in the series opener by winning 13 of 21 draws to help Anaheim seize a decided 49-29 edge in the faceoff circle.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim D Shea Theodore notched two assists on Thursday after mustering just one point in his previous nine regular-season games.
2. Calgary LW Micheal Ferland recorded a team-best seven shots on goal and three hits in just 11:49 ice time in the series opener.
3. Ducks LW Nick Ritchie is eligible to return to the ice Saturday after completing his two-game suspension for punching Chicago's Michal Rozsival last week.