Flames at Ducks
If the Calgary Flames hope to stay alive in the postseason, they'll need to find a way to win at Honda Center. Calgary looks to stave off elimination Sunday when it visits the top-seeded Anaheim Ducks for Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
Anaheim has been anything but a Magic Kingdom for the Flames, who have gone 0-16-5 in the Ducks' building since capturing Game 3 of the 2006 first-round matchup between the current Pacific Division rivals. Anaheim dominated Calgary at home in the first two games of this series, scoring a total of nine goals while allowing just one. The Flames avoided an unenviable 3-0 deficit by rallying for a 4-3 overtime victory on Tuesday but were pushed to the brink three days later as they dropped a 4-2 decision for their first home loss of the postseason (4-1). That triumph put the Ducks one win away from their first trip to the conference final since 2007, when they went on to capture their lone Stanley Cup championship.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBCSN, RSN, TVA
ABOUT THE FLAMES: Calgary is winless in four trips to Honda Center in 2014-15, scoring a total of six goals in the defeats. Mikael Backlund, who scored in overtime of Game 3, believes the Flames are due. "At some point, you've got to win there," he said. "Things are going to happen if you play well, and I think this year we haven't played a good full 60 minutes there. If we find a way to play a real solid 60 minutes, we have a chance to win."
ABOUT THE DUCKS: Matt Beleskey's hand remained hot Friday as he snapped a 2-2 tie during a power play early in the third period, giving him a goal in each game of the series. The four-game streak matches the franchise playoff record set in 2009 by Corey Perry and equaled two years later by Teemu Selanne. Beleskey, who set career highs during the regular season with 22 goals and 32 points, led the team with eight game-winning tallies and tops the club again with two this postseason.
OVERTIME
1. Perry leads the league in playoff scoring with 14 points but had his five-game streak snapped Friday after being kept off the scoresheet for just the second time in eight contests this postseason.
2. Calgary hasn't trailed 3-1 in a series since 1991, when it battled back against Edmonton in the Smythe Division semifinals to force a Game 7 - which it lost in overtime.
3. Anaheim D Francois Beauchemin became the franchise's all-time leader in playoff points by a defenseman - and moved into fourth place on the club's overall postseason list - on Friday, notching two assists to pass Scott Niedermayer with 35 points.