Flames at Ducks
THE STORY: A glance at Friday’s results quickly sums up the state of the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks. After the Flames defeated Stanley Cup contender Chicago 3-1, the Ducks lost at home to the NHL’s worst team – the Columbus Blue Jackets – 3-2 in overtime. Calgary will try to build off the Chicago victory by opening a three-game road trip Monday against the Ducks. The Flames have lost a remarkable 13 straight regular-season games at Anaheim – the last six by one goal – and haven’t won there since Jan. 19, 2004. Calgary is tied for 11th, four points behind Minnesota. When Anaheim failed to capitalize and didn’t pick up what seemed to be an easy two points, it might have officially shifted itself into seller’s mode in advance of the Feb. 27 NHL trading deadline. The Flames defeated the Ducks 1-0 in overtime in the first meeting of the season Jan. 12.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, SNET-W (Calgary), FS Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE FLAMES (24-22-6): With backup goaltender Henrik Karlsson back after missing nearly two months with a knee injury, Calgary might be able to confidently give Miikka Kiprusoff a rest. Kiprusoff has played in all 13 games since the calendar flipped to 2012, and started 12 of them. He is 6-5-1 during that span. Calgary’s special teams have been solid lately. The power play is 7 for 29 and the penalty killers are 23 for 25 in the last 10 games.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (19-24-8): If Anaheim winds up missing the playoffs, it will be hard to pinpoint an exact cause. The Ducks have failed to deliver consistently in all aspects of their game, from captain Ryan Getzlaf – who centers the top line – having an off year all the way back to goaltender Jonas Hiller. The defense has done little to support its goaltender and everyone – forwards included – has contributed to Anaheim’s fifth-worst goals against average of 2.94.
OVERTIME:
1. Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne scored twice Friday and has 655 goals, one behind Brendan Shanahan for 12th on the all-time list.
2. The under is 5-0 in the Flames’ last five road games against teams with a losing record.