Ducks at Flames
The Anaheim Ducks are playing at a high level as they visit the Calgary Flames on Monday in the fifth contest of their seven-game road trip, but their goaltending depth could be tested again after an injury to John Gibson. Anaheim's 3-2 overtime victory in Chicago on Saturday was diminished as Gibson, whom the Ducks hope potentially emerges as an elite goalie, departed with an upper-body injury following a collision with the Blackhawks' Richard Panik.
Anaheim is expected to recall Anton Khudobin from San Diego of the American Hockey League and if Gibson misses time, Frederik Andersen gets another shot as the club's No. 1 goalie. The Ducks are 10-2-1 in their last 13 games as they surge toward the top of the Pacific Division standings and the thought of them missing the Stanley Cup playoffs after a 1-7-2 start is long-forgotten as they begin the Pacific Northwest portion of their season-high long trek. Anaheim will also be without Chris Stewart for 4-to-8 weeks after the power forward had his jaw broken in a fight with Columbus defenseman Dalton Prout on Thursday - a significant blow seeing as Stewart was thriving on a line with captain Ryan Getzlaf and newly-acquired David Perron. Calgary saw its three-game winning streak snapped with a 4-1 loss in Arizona on Friday and is eight points behind Nashville for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket, FSN San Diego (Anaheim), Sportsnet West (Calgary)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (27-19-8): Ryan Garbutt (three goals in nine games since being acquired from Chicago) replaced Stewart on the Getzlaf line and saw his new linemates each score Saturday, with Getzlaf's sixth of the season and third in six games coming on a power play in overtime. Perron has five goals in 11 games with Anaheim since being acquired from Pittsburgh and earned the praise of his centerman. "He's been great,'' Getzlaf told reporters. "Ever since he got here, he's added a new, little spark to us. He's enabled us to have a little more depth in our lineup. He's done a great job."
ABOUT THE FLAMES (25-26-3): Calgary is the second-worst penalty-killing team in the league (75 percent) after permitting three power-play goals in each of its last two games. "We pride ourselves on being a disciplined team, and these past couple of games we've gotten away from that,'' Flames forward Josh Jooris told reporters. "We're better when we're even strength and keeping the flow of the game." David Jones, who hasn't scored in 14 contests, left Thursday's 6-5 shootout victory in San Jose with a lower-body injury and did not play Friday.
OVERTIME
1. The Ducks boast the top penalty-killing unit in the NHL (88.3 percent), but have yielded a power-play goal in three consecutive games for the first time this season and in five of their last six games.
2. LW Johnny Gaudreau paces Calgary with 21 goals and 51 points while RW Corey Perry (21 goals) and Getzlaf (42 points) lead Anaheim.
3. The Ducks won the first two meetings of the season, including 1-0 on Dec. 29, and have won four straight and six of the last seven encounters.