Ducks at Flames
After producing very little punch in the first two contests, the Calgary Flames showed in Game 3 that they don't plan on going down without a fight in their Western Conference semifinal series. Calgary now looks to even the matchup when it hosts the top-seeded Anaheim Ducks for Game 4 on Friday.
The Flames were outclassed in the opening pair of games, scoring just one goal while allowing a total of nine as their losing streak at Honda Center reached 21 games (0-16-5). Calgary was on the verge of going down 0-3 in the series before doing the unthinkable, as Calder Trophy finalist Johnny Gaudreau scored a power-play goal with 20 seconds remaining in the third period to forge a 3-3 tie before Mikael Backlund tallied 4:24 into overtime to hand Anaheim its first loss this postseason. The Ducks elected to regroup from the stunning setback with a trip to the Alberta resort town of Banff during the two-day break between games, something that was appreciated by the players. "It was pretty nice," defenseman Cam Fowler said. "It's not every day you get the chance during a playoff series to kind of come out to a place like this and unwind a little bit. I thought it was a great thing for our team."
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, RSN, TVA
ABOUT THE DUCKS: Despite the outcome on Tuesday, Corey Perry and captain Ryan Getzlaf continued their torrid pace this postseason as the former scored his sixth goal while the latter notched a pair of assists. Perry entered Thursday leading the league in playoff scoring with 14 points and Getzlaf was right behind his teammate with 12. Matt Beleskey - who failed to record a point in the first-round sweep of Winnipeg - has picked up his play, registering a goal in each of the first three games versus Calgary.
ABOUT THE FLAMES: Captain Mark Giordano was encouraged after Thursday's practice, as he absorbed his highest amount of contact since suffering a torn biceps tendon in late February. However, the defenseman understands he still is nowhere close to returning to the lineup. "It's still pretty early with this type of injury, so we've got to be smart about it," Giordano said. "It seems like every day is getting better and better, so it's been all positive." Coach Bob Hartley, whose team is 4-0 at home this postseason, was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the first time in his career.
OVERTIME
1. The Ducks have recorded 87 hits - including a postseason-low 21 on Tuesday - over the first three games of the series after registering 173 over the four contests versus the Jets.
2. Calgary C Lance Bouma, who has been sidelined since suffering an upper-body injury on April 7, hopes to make his playoff debut Friday.
3. Anaheim LWs Tomas Fleischmann and Jiri Sekac skated on the third and fourth lines, respectively, during Thursday's practice and could make their first appearance of the series in Game 4.